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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.

Students enjoyed the challenge of building gum drop structures with their older buddies from Burnaby Mountain last week.  Students had to test their knowledge of engineering as they tried to figure out:

Which shapes made by the toothpicks and gumdrops were the strongest? Squares, rectangles, or triangles?

Did the width of the base make a difference?

When the structure collapsed, which portions stayed in one piece? Why did those parts not collapse?

They were then tasked with using their discoveries to create a stronger structure that would support more weight.

After experimenting with creating 3 dimensional hands, some students tried to extend their thinking and apply this art technique to create other 3 dimensional forms of art.

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On Monday students in Division 4 and 8 had lots of fun playing in the dirt while they planted their seed potatoes.  After the break  we will continue to tend to the potatoes and observe their lifecycle before harvesting them in June.

This week Div 4 and 8 students were surprised to see that the daffodils we planted in the fall have begun to sprout and are preparing to bloom.  Some students were also puzzled by how much they have grown already especially since the ground has been covered in snow for the past week or two.  Over the coming weeks students will continue to track and document the growth of the daffodils, review their life cycle, and investigate factors that can enhance or hinder growth.

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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Students have been learning that ecosystems consist of a set of interconnected processes that depend on each other for their function and today they had the opportunity to begin creating an ecosystem in a bottle. Since beginning our investigations on biomes and ecosystems students have been learning how materials, like water, are cycled through the whole ecosystem to benefit each part of it and how the fish and the plants and the soil are all affected by the same water and depend on one another.  They have also been learning that all ecosystems have a feeding hierarchy; energy source; producers, consumers, and decomposers; and non-living things such as minerals and elements.

Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns.

Today in class we reviewed how how to do an image search and select only creative common photos that are available to be reused and do not infringe on copyright laws. One website students are encouraged to use for projects is:   www.photosforclass.com

Also, we reviewed how to select photos in a google search that are safe and able to be reused.

Lastly, we spent some time reviewing where to find information for projects in our online library catalog under Destiny Discover oand through our online library web resources.

In Science, we have been learning how plants and animals are interconnected and how they adapt to their environment over time.  We have also been learning about how water, sunlight, soil, and air help sustain life in our ecosystems.  Furthermore, students have been learning research techniques, questioning strategies, note taking, and referencing skills.