The Learners of Division 16

Ms K Shellard and Ms A Clouston - Grade 1/2 Class

Learning About Ducks

April 18, 2024 / / 2 Comments

Dear Families of Div. 16:

The farmer delivered our duck eggs to our classroom late Friday afternoon and we were all very excited! Ms Ballarin’s class received three chicken eggs. Ask your child where they are keeping warm and growing in our classroom. Most days we have the opportunity to look through a scope and see the embryos develop. Each day something has changed. Ask your child what they noticed today in comparison to Tuesday. We are also learning with our “Egg Cycle” booklet what is happening inside the egg each day in its development. In 13 days, we are expecting our ducklings to arrive.  Ask your child to make a prediction about how what is growing inside the egg might have changed  when we observe the eggs next.

Big Ideas:

  • Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment

Curriculum Competencies:

  • Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
  • Ask questions about familiar objects and events
  • Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events
  • Make and record observations
  • Transfer and apply learning to new situations
  • Sort and classify data and information using drawings,  pictographs and provided tables

Content:

  • non-metamorphic life cycles of different organisms
  • similarities and differences between offspring and parent
  • compare observations with predictions through discussion
  • compare observations with those of others
  • communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language and drawing

Core Competency: Critical Thinking and Reflective Thinking

  • I can ask questions and consider options. I can use my observations, experience, and imagination to draw conclusions and make judgments.

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational.

Student Assessment of the Core Competencies – Personal Identity

March 15, 2024 / / 0 Comments

The students of Div. 15 and Div. 16 have been working on describing themselves using the Personal and Social Core Competencies. This is being completed by the students as part of the second term report card.

The Personal and Social competency is the set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society. Personal and Social competency encompasses what students need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.

The Personal and Social Core Competency has three interrelated sub-competencies:

Personal Awareness and Responsibility

Personal Awareness and Responsibility involves understanding the connections between personal and social behaviour and well-being; it encourages people to make constructive and ethical decisions and act on them.

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the factors that contribute to a healthy sense of oneself; it includes knowledge of one’s family background, heritage(s), language(s), beliefs, and perspectives in a pluralistic society.

Social Awareness and Responsibility

Social Awareness and Responsibility involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of connections among people, including between people and the natural environment. Social Awareness and Responsibility focuses on interacting with others and the natural world in respectful and caring ways.

First, we shared the story called More Than Words (linked below). Then, we all brainstormed “I can” statements as a group. After that, the students chose the three “I can” statements that best reflected themselves. Once the students wrote their three statements, we then began working on representations of ourselves using “people” cut-outs, special paper, construction paper, felt, ribbon and other supplies. The students were asked to create how they see themselves on their paper cut-outs. Please discuss the Core Competency “I can” statements with your child and how they chose to represent themselves in their cut-out(s). Your child’s “I can” statements will be coming home after Spring Break, as they are being displayed outside our classroom. We are keeping the “people cut-outs” to display in the gym for our Autism Awareness Month assembly and will send them home later in April. Thank you for your support with your child’s learning. Enjoy your Spring Break!

Pink Shirt Day (and Week!)

March 1, 2024 / / 1 Comment

This week we have been learning about Pink Shirt Day including this year’s theme: “All Kinds of Kindness”. Here we our in our sea of pink! For the past two weeks we have been reading books that focus on the concepts of love and kindness. Some of the titles we have shared are: Love, by Matt de la Peña, Big Wolf and Little Wolf, by Nadine Brun-Cosme and Olivier Tallec (my favourite book), In My Heart: A Book of Feelings, by Jo Witek and Christine Roussey, The Stray Dog by Marc Simont and A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker.

On Tuesday, Ms Papapanagiotou read us a book that was perfect for Pink Shirt Day called They’re So Flamboyant, by Michael Genhart and Tony Neal. I am attaching the link so that you can read and discuss it with your child. After we read the book, we designed our own personal flamingos and how we would want to look if we were a flamboyant flamingo. We then worked on writing about whether the students have ever had someone make a judgement about them or someone they know, or whether they have stood up for someone instead. This activity allowed us to reflect on the concept of kindness and what it means to be an inclusive and responsible member in our school community. We were able to connect with one another by sharing our own experiences and discussing what it looks like to stand up for others. I have attached a picture of Div. 16’s flamboyant flamingos on our bulletin board.

On Wednesday, we had a zoom meeting with the author Monique Gray Smith, a Cree writer who lives in Victoria and has written many children’s books. She shared two of her stories for Pink Shirt Day. The first was called, You Hold Me Up and the second was called, When We Are Kind. She talked about the importance of showing others kindness every day of the year. She taught us a word in Cree: tawaw, which means: welcome, there is room for you here! Words to live by! I am attaching a copy of her book You Hold Me Up to share at home.

On Thursday, we heard the true story about how Pink Shirt Day started in Nova Scotia. We then read the story called Pink Is For Boys, by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban. Below is the link for this story as well. Please share it at home as a family, to increase understanding of what we have been learning here at school. 

I’m also attaching a picture of us watching the zoom author visit.

  

 

Big Ideas:

  • Creative expression develops our unique identity and voice (Art).
  • Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals (Social Studies).

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors

Curricular Competencies: Explore personal experience, community, and culture through arts activities

Content:

  • Elements of design – line, shape, texture, colour
  • Personal and collective responsibility associated with creating, experiencing, or sharing in a safe learning environment

Core Competency: Social Awareness and Responsibility

  • I can build relationships and be a thoughtful and supportive friend. I can identify ways my actions and the actions of others affect my community.

Sprinkling Kindness on Valentine’s Day

February 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Ms Ballarin’s, Ms Pilgrim’s and Div. 16 all joined together to sprinkle almost 500 messages of kindness to the entire school population and the staff. We all brainstormed kind messages we could write to our Gilmore Community. After that, we each received 7 pink stickie notes, and wrote an encouraging message on each. We then were divided into three groups and we went to different classes in the school. We “sprinkled” these messages to every person by handing them one of our encouraging notes. The classes were so excited and the smiles were contagious. Ask your child how it felt to bring a smile to so many Gilmore students on Valentine’s day.

 

Ginalina Author Visit

February 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Two weeks ago, three classes had a zoom author visit with Ginalina.  She is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has written 3 books. She read her latest book to us called “Blooming Mountain” and sang us a song. She also shared her new music video which was inspired by the book. The read aloud of the book is not yet available, however there is a link to her music video attached below. Ask your child what they liked about the story and how many animals we counted on one page!

 

Daily Calendar Learning

February 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Dear Families of Div. 16,

As a class community, Division 16 has engaged in a daily Calendar routine. Each child is responsible for being the leader of this learning activity. There are many Math concepts and life skills that are included as part of the daily calendar routine.  These activities help students practice every day and build their number sense. They apply the daily number into different formats and math applications. We have also been learning to count by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to lead us to our 100th day of school, which occurred this week. In addition, Calendar provides opportunities for students to practice important skills such as self-regulation, oral language, presenting to their peers and leadership skills. For the last term, the Calendar will be done independently in a group of two.

Big Idea: Collaborative daily routines as a class community provides structure, enhances academic and social skills and increases a sense of belonging for each member of the community.

First Peoples Principles of Learning:

  • Leaning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational.

Learning Involved:

  • Strengthens overall number sense
  • Patterning, Counting, Tallying (by 5’s and 10’s), Counting in French to 10
  • Skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s
  • Graphing and analyzing the Weather, Days in School, Tooth losses and other such as for Lunar New Year
  • Months of the year, days of the week, number of days at school
  • Concepts of yesterday, today, and tomorrow
  • Promotes self-esteem by presenting what you are “good at” at the end of each Calendar routine
  • Promotes use of memory by asking students to remember what other students have said they are good at
  • Provides students with opportunities to practice leadership and presentation/public speaking skills
  • Enhances self-regulation skills to be an attentive listener when being an active audience member

Core Competency: Communication – Collaborating

  • Profile 4: I can confidently interact and build relationships with other group members to further shared goals.

Black History Month

February 9, 2024 / / 1 Comment

Alma Woodsey Thomas art for Black History Month

Over the past two weeks we have been learning about the black artist from the USA named Alma Woodsey Thomas. We read two books about her and watched a video that described how she designed her art. Most of her art was based on what she saw in nature. The students chose what they wanted to represent in their art and then chose the colours that did this. For instance, some of them wanted to represent the sea, while others wanted to represent flowers. Ask your child what they were trying to convey in their art. Also, ask them about the famous place that one of Alma Thomas’ art was displayed.

Big Idea: Inquiry through the arts creates opportunities for risk taking

First Peoples Principles of Learning:

  • Learning takes patience and time (very true for this art project, as it took great focus and time)

Curricular Competencies:

  • Explore elements, processes, materials, technologies, tools, and techniques of the arts
  • Develop processes and technical skills in a variety of art forms to refine artistic abilities

Content:

  • elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour, form
  • principles of design: pattern, repetition, rhythm, contrast

Core Competency: Creative Thinking

  • Creative growth requires patience, readiness to take risks, and willingness to try new approaches

Learning involved:

  • Students learned the significance of designing their art and then carefully colouring each shape to make their design

2D Shape Hunt

January 22, 2024 / / 1 Comment

In Math, we have started learning about 2D shapes and 3D objects through a variety of hands-on activities.  Last week, we reviewed our knowledge of 2D shapes by searching the classroom for common shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle)  we see in our environment. Take a look at some of the shapes we found in our classroom!

Big Idea: Objects and shapes have attributes that can be described, measured, and compared. 

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational. 

Curricular Competencies: 

  • Use reasoning to explore and make connections
  • Develop, demonstrate, and apply mathematical understanding through play, inquiry, and problem solving
  • Communicate mathematical thinking in many ways
  • Explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions
  • Represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms

Content:  

  • Sorting 2D shapes and explaining the sorting rule
  • Describing [and] comparing 2D shapes in the environment 
  • Identifying 2D shapes as part of 3D objects

Core Competencies: Critical and Reflective Thinking 

  • Profile 4: I communicate clearly and purposefully, using a variety of forms appropriately.

Learning involved:  

  • Students demonstrate their current knowledge and understanding of 2D shapes
  • Students deepen their understanding of 2D shapes by connecting them to real-life objects

A Party in the Pear Tree

January 9, 2024 / / 1 Comment

We were excited to present our afternoon and evening performances of our Winter Concert called A Party in the Pear Tree.  The students worked hard to learn their group songs, the two songs we performed with Ms Sokugawa’s class and all the actions. They did a beautiful job up on the stage for their performances and were all so enthusiastic! We hope you were all able to enjoy the show! Well done Div. 16!

Jingle Bell Walk

January 8, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Thank you to all of the families and parents who helped at the Jingle Bell Walk. The students had fun delivering the flyers and then picking up the items that were left our neighbour’s doors. It was a beautiful day to head out on our route and the kids enjoyed themselves and helping those in need. They also enjoyed the hot chocolate and cookies after the walk!

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