A huge thank you to the teachers on the Sports Day Committee and the Grade 7’s who designed and ran all the stations.  Great Leadership!  Thank you to the parents and alumni students who joined us. We loved seeing you.

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This year, our unit on the Cherry Blossoms (sakura in Japanese) made an impact on the students.  We learned so much about the cultural importance and significance of the Cherry Blossoms in Japanese culture, and how Vancouver had come to have its own Cherry Blossom Festival.   Above all, we learned that symbolically the cherry blossoms have come to represent a message of renewal and an understanding that “nothing is permanent“.

As well and just as important to us as a class, the cherry blossom also symbolizes friendship.  We learned a traditional saying: “there is no stranger under a cherry tree“.   These messages got Div. 6 through some dreary Covid times after the Christmas Break.  As a class, we made a simple agreement that if the weather was good, we would, as in the video we watched, put out a tarp under a cherry tree and have a picnic (a centuries-old tradition in Japan named Hanami).  We waited for spring and went out for walks hoping to have a cherry tree revealed, but we learned we did not have one.

45 min. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGtqH_Tfq8A 

Fast forward to today:  Mr. Lee made an announcement that the arborists would be trimming trees in our side park and that the students should stay away.  At that moment, an idea took hold of my mind.  During afternoon Silent Reading, I told the students about my idea, and I quickly painted our polite request on large paper.  I wanted to get the arborists’ attention and make a statement.

First, we practiced lining up the sentence.  I realized I missed the word “tree”, but the show had to go on!

Then, we went to the ridge overlooking the park and tried to get the attention of the arborists.

Lastly, a very kind and “cherry blossom aware” arborist came over to me to share his understanding of the symbolism while I shared our story.  He gave me a card with a phone number to call and the children cheered!!

I’ll definitely make the call and plead our case.  Depending on time, and since we’re working on persuasive writing (plastic in the oceans) we may just include some student letters too!

Note:  Cherry blossoms are native to Asia. They can also be found in China, South Korea, and India and they have great significance in all these countries.  Of course, they have been shared with the world and we now enjoy them too.

Taking the time to give thanks and express our gratitude for all that you do has brought us nothing but happiness this week. The children have happily buzzed around making cards and gifts.  They are filled with excitement to share everything with you this weekend.

Thank you, Moms!

Jumping at recess with the support of the Grade 7 Leadership Group. A pile of Fun!  A big thank you from Div. 6.

The weather was perfect and Div. 6 had an amazing time.  I wanted to thank the parents who walked with us and helped with supervision.  I could not do it without you!  I also wanted to thank the children of Div. 6 who showed such great care for each other, the environment, and the salmon fry; following all the rules and procedures that I laid out for them this week.  You were amazing, kids!

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Today we spent about 40 minutes doing an external examination of the salmon.  From looking for nostrils to noticing the lateral line and the scales, who knew the exterior of a salmon could be so interesting.  Did you know that salmon have the same number of scales when they are fry (the stage that they are currently at in our tanks) as they do in their adult stage?  Did you know that scales will regrow if lost and that scales have rings like a tree?  You can count their age by looking at the bands of rings on them.

Then we moved on to an internal dissection.  It was super interesting.  From finding out if our salmon was male or female, to finding out the size of his brain.

Along the way, we used a graphic of the human body and compared the salmon’s anatomy to ours.  We asked questions such as: why is the heart located near the lungs?  What are the ‘lungs’ of a fish?  In the salmon, where do you expect the heart to be? What part of the human body is most like fish scales? What is the importance of slime?  Do fish have ears?  What a fun day!

Parents of Div. 6,

On Friday, April 22nd at 1:10, rain or shine, we will leave the school to walk to Beecher Creek Park to release our salmon fry.  We invite any parent who wishes to walk with us to join us.  The walk is part city walk and part nature trail and takes around 25 minutes to complete (one way).  Please ensure that your child has appropriate footwear and outerwear for this walk.  If they wish to bring a water bottle or any extra clothing, I would advise them to take their backpacks.  The release does not take a lot of time, but if the weather cooperates, I will give the students a chance to play at the park before returning to school. 

To the best of my abilities, I will take a photo of your child releasing their salmon.  The photo will be placed in their blogfolios within two weeks.  We will return to school on time, or earlier, for regular pick-up at 3:02.  

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me,

Mrs. Marto

Parents of Div. 6,

• On Thursday, we have our 2^nd annual PAC Easter Egg Hunt.  The event will go forward rain or shine. Please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing for the weather.   Many thanks to the PAC for organizing this wonderful event for our students.
• As part of the Art Starts Program, the students, who will be watching Squamish Story Videos throughout this week, will have an opportunity to take part in a Question and Answer session with artist Kung Jaadee
• And, finally, in class, we will be watching Peter Rabbit the movie and doing a small arts and craft project.  I will provide a small treat that they can have during the viewing of the movie.  Parents, please do not send treats for this event as there will not be enough time to quarantine the treats. Less is often more appreciated and better for their health as well.

Early Spring and Easter well wishes,

Mrs. Marto

Please see the instructions below:

Hello Parents,

In Social Studies we are learning about why stories are so important to indigenous people.  We have spoken of the importance of the Elders who hold the responsibility of telling these stories as accurately and carefully as when the story was first told to them.

As an extension, we are also learning about Oral History and how the collection of these stories gives voice to those who often don’t have a lot of representation in typical history books.   Children’s voices can often be lost because their experiences are rarely documented in writing.  The students were charmed by the idea of Children’s History.

So….   Homework….

I have asked the students to do a simple timeline of their life, with your help (they should have brought home a long strip of paper).  The example above is helpful and a good guide but lacks some soul.  It would be good if your child included what is in the example, but also included 2-3 other moments that were meaningful to them.  You can add dates in the form of, “When I was 3, I moved to Canada”.    Please do not make the timelines too long as the students will be turning them into an oral story to be shared in a small group and I am hoping they can do that without reading off their paper.  This is a “rough copy” type of document.  It should be in chronological order and neat enough to read, but no other frills.  

Thank you for your support, as always,

Mrs. Marto

Parents,

As you know, we’ve been going ‘deep’ into our ocean theme.  This term, we have focused on Ocean Zones, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity.  We have also begun to look at the damage brought on by oil spills. Upon our return, we’ll be delving further into the ecosystems, looking closely at marine pollution and indigenous perspectives on sustainability.

As luck would have it, Metrotown-Metropolis currently has an exhibit exploring this very issue.  If you happen to be at the mall this holiday,  stop by to check it out.

Happy Spring Break (a little in advance),

Mrs. Marto