Students in Division 1, 2 and 3 at Aubrey Elementary have been learning about Ancient Civilizations and the use of soapstone. Soapstone is a soft metamorphic rock found over the globe that has been used through history by various groups to create art and tools.

Soapstone’s use dates back to antiquity: early Egyptians carved it into scarabs and seals; in China and India it was used for ornaments, implements and domestic utensils. It was similarly used at various times over the past 7,500 years by First Nations, Inuit and Norse in Canada to create qullic, and oil lamps.

Indigenous Artist Connect to Nature with Soapstone Carving

The Art of Soapstone Carving-A Tabeka Gem Documentary

Inuit Soapstone Carvings

This integrated unit involved:

ADST -prototyping, food safety, and making their pizza to show creativity, originality, and bold flavors.

Math-financial literacy (budgeting).

Health-Nutrition and menu/recipe planning and the exploration of healthy/unhealthy ingredients.

French-food vocabulary and how to order pizza in French.

Students really enjoyed planning for this activity and made some incredible pizzas. The whole school smelled amazing and the judges were left salivating over their final creations. Once the pizzas were judged, students got to enjoy their final creations. They all turned out great and there was very little if any remaining pizza. Well done Division 3!

Today for Young People’s Concert students got to see Kutapira perform.  Kutapira is a fusion of Zimbabwean Marimba, Afro-Cuban & West African rhythms, Reggae, Samba, Afrobeat, Funk, Jazz, Cumbia, Disco and Hip Hop. 

What started out thirteen years ago as a youth world music initiative has metamrphosized into the crowd pleasing percussion explosion known today as Kutapira.

The name Kutapira means “sweetness” in the Shona language of Zimbabwe, a fitting title for a band that plays a fusion of Zimbabwean marimba with West African and Afro-Cuban percussion. 

For years they performed exclusively as a mallet swinging, skin-slapping quintet but now, in their latest evolutionary form, feature guitar, vocals and electric bass.

Students thoroughly enjoyed the performance and liked learning about the different instruments and how they are constructed to create their sounds.

Today students learned more about Diwali with their little buddies and created clay divas. Next week they will paint the divas once the clay air dries.

About Diwali:

https://youtu.be/LiVoXktqyIs?si=OgEuYndwNBNbFBr8

A timeline of Earth’s History:
https://explore.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/walk-through-time/timeline/

Students had a great time this week visiting the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and the Pacific Museum of Earth. During the field trip they got to learn about fossils (body and trace) and learned how scientists date rocks and fossils. They also had an opportunity to examine museum specimens to increase their awareness of biodiversity, evolution, ecology, and conservation.

The videos below talks about how important these skills are to develop and how to help kids develop them so that they can succeed in school, achieve their goals and plan for the future.

In class we have been learning about each executive function and students have been setting weekly intentions to help strengthen and develop these skills. In class we have been learning more about how the brain develops executive functions and students have been setting individual/collective goals around the following executive functions below:

Impulse Control
Ability to think before speaking, resist temptation, think about choices and consequences of behaviors before acting.

Flexible Thinking
Ability to think about different ways to solve problems, adjust to new situations, learn from mistakes, cope with routine changes, try new things, switch from task to another, and learn new things.

Emotional Control
Ability to regulate emotions, choosing which emotions are appropriate in any given situation, maintaining emotions under pressure.

Working Memory
Ability to follow instructions, pay attention, use relevant information while in the middle of an activity.

Self-Monitoring
Ability to have self-awareness of how one is doing in the moment to make adjustments of actions/behaviors to the current situation.

Planning and Prioritizing
Ability to plan daily tasks to meet short and long-term responsibilities.

Task Initiation
Ability to motivate self to begin tasks by directing behaviors and actions.

Organization
Gather and keep track of information and belongings.

Throughout the week they have been monitoring their individual and collective efforts. This critical reflection is helping them develop an awareness of their own needs and they are learning to monitor their progress, develop, and sustain growth in each of these areas.

Videos Links:

What is Executive Function?

https://youtu.be/ex0M-vPHPr4?si=jtMswwBLzLebAF6y

Executive Functions
https://youtu.be/ihP_ej4eixs?si=IJQjqCO_QikVhkf3

Executive Function-A Day in the life of…

https://youtu.be/I0IPjr9CKqg?si=KUb_vanW3Y7LmoPL

10 Ways to Train Your Brain to Be More Focused and Productive

https://youtu.be/322buwrWqhg?si=oP03hHzBPCtqsDej

How to Improve Your Concentration and Focus

https://youtu.be/XBpcaZrYdXw?si=OXbtA2CmClHYuilP

How does breathing impact the brain?

https://youtu.be/2HojLhKlJto?si=Btq0u93Et2KMEmks

The Science of Breathing

https://youtu.be/wpWa-z3wDmw?si=AVHppzaUEJHHPMjh

Last week students got to see the Pier 21 Musical, which reviewed the history of immigration during World War 2. It was a rich heartfelt musical featuring celtic and swing music. Students got to experience the adventures, heartaches and hopes of refugees, immigrants, orphans, and war brides, as they came through the gateway to Canada to make a new life in a new land. They also learned how Canadian soldiers left the Pier to free Europe from Nazi bullies, and entertained soldiers on CBC radio. The play was broken down into three parts:

Please view your child’s poem on their Spaces account.

Please see your child’s Spaces account to view their individual work.