Category: Social Studies

For Remembrance Day this year students from Division 4 wove their own wreath from ivy and made poppies from maple leaves to honour those who have served or made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

In this lesson we learned to:

• Identify elements in the visual arts, including traditional Coast Salish design motifs (circle, oval, crescent, trigon).
• Analyze, critique, and connect with art using visual thinking strategies.
• Understand that symbolism is a way to create, represent, and communicate meaning.
• Experiment with a variety of media to create a Coast Salish style animal.

This week students from Division 4 visited the Burnaby Village Museum to learn from Indigenous Educators about hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwxw̱ú7mesh history and culture. Using the First Peoples Principles of Learning, they explored the Indigenous Learning House and the Matriarch’s Garden at Burnaby Village Museum.

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In Term 3 students researched and presented their history projects about Canadian history at the School Fair with students from Division 3.

Fenix, Liam, and Sierra from our class along with Dylan, Ivy, and Alicia from Division 3 were all selected to attend the Regional Fair this year in Delta.

At the Regional Fair students had the opportunity to visit the Port of Vancouver and learn about the various types of ships that import and export goods.  They also got to create a photographic print using cyanotype. At the Regional Fair Liam, Fenix, and Dylan all won individual awards and Fenix was selected also selected to attend the Provincial Heritage Fair in Victoria this July.

All the students put an outstanding amount of effort into their projects this year and should be very proud of the research and presentations.

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Today students from Divisions 1-4 got the opportunity to meet Terry Beech our honourable Member of Parliament for the Burnaby North-Seymour riding.   During todays talk Mr. Beech explained more about the different levels of government and the differences between MLA’s and MP’s.  He also outlined some of his responsibilities as an MP and explained his role as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transportation. Students found his career path extremely interesting and were inspired by how he got involved in politics at such a young age.  They found Mr. Beech to be extremely personable and were excited to learn more about his experiences working in various levels of government.

On our recent trip to Victoria students had a guided tour of the Parliament Buildings and learned more about the architectural splendour of the Parliament Building, the history of the province, the legislative process and parliamentary democracy.​

Also at the Royal BC Museum students had the opportunity to take a self-guided tour through artifacts, documents and specimens of British Columbia’s natural and human history; see the wildlife photographer of the year exhibit; the First Peoples gallery and the award winning Our Living Languages exhibition.

We

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Aaron Nelson- Moody led students through a guided session on indigenous art and storytelling.  Students learned about the significance of a house post and learned about the symbols commonly used in First Nations art and carvings.  They then had an opportunity to create a drawing of a salmon using the techniques demonstrated by Aaron Nelson- Moody.

Big Idea

Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world

Works of art influence and are influenced by the world around us

Engaging in creative expression and experiences expands people’s sense of identity and belonging

Curricular Competencies

Identify how story in First Peoples cultures connects people to the land

Explore a range of cultures, and the relationships among cultures, societies, and the arts

Parents/Guardians: When you have a moment please log on to your child’s blogfolio and provide your feedback on your child’s Remembrance Day poetry.

Lesson Overview

Big Idea:

Using language in creative and playful ways helps us understand how language works.

Curricular Competencies:

Recognize how literary elements, techniques, and devices enhance meaning in texts.

Use writing and design processes to plan, develop, and create texts for a variety of
purposes and audiences.

Transform ideas and information to create original texts.

Make ethical judgments about events, decisions, or actions that consider the conditions of a particular time and place, and assess appropriate ways
to respond (ethical judgment).

On February 15th to honour the anniversary of our flag students from Div 8 and 9 assisted Ms Carson with the ceremonial flag raising. The students also learned about the history of the Canadian flag and its symbolism, as well as the reasons for Flag Day.

During this lesson students acknowledged that we reside on the traditional ancestral shared territory of the Coast Salish Nations of Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish.  Students also learned that there are three main groups of Indigenous people in Canada: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.

Before reading Little Bears Vision Quest written by Diane Silvey we also discussed the importance of stories and how they are an integral part of Indigenous culture. Students learned that stories are not just for entertainment but they are told to teach lessons and these lessons typically focus on ways to overcome a struggle, how to change attitude or behaviour and how to be the best person possible. In this particular story Little Bear learns to be kind, thoughtful and respectful toward others after being banished to a remote island.

After listening to the story students then created these bear paws to represent the qualities that make a good friend.