Before Spring Break Div 9 students 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.
Today we celebrated International Pi Day with a mathematical investigation into circles.
After reading the story Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi written by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Wayne Geehan students tested out the formula for calculating the circumference of a circle by measuring various circular objects in the room. What they discovered is that the circumference of a circle, regardless of size, will always be 3.14 or 3 1/7 times the diameter of the circle.
Students also learned that Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day format) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π.
To end our investigations we tested the formula on some apple pies. Not only did the pies taste great but they also proved that the formula to calculate circumference is accurate and works every time.
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In this activity, students designed their own superheroes using only fruits and vegetables. Throughout the lesson students were required to use their knowledge of vegetables and fruits, as well as their imagination to describe their superhero’s physical characteristics and superpowers.
Students also learned that they need to eat five or six servings of vegetables and fruit every day and that vegetables and fruit provide us with the vitamins, minerals and fibre we need to stay healthy.
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On February 28, 2018, students from Div 8 along with their big buddies from Div 2 wore pink in support of Pink Shirt Day. They also came up with these messages to encourage everyone to practice kindness and that together we can make a difference to help combat bullying.
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.
Students were shown a picture of Kandinsky’s concentric circles. They were then asked to explore concepts of colour and how it relates to emotion. Examples were: What emotion do you associate with red? (anger, embarrassment etc.) What emotions do you associate with blue? (sadness, loneliness, calm) What emotions do you associate with yellow? (happiness, contentment, warmth) etc. They were then given a sheet that had multiple hearts on it and asked to creatively express using colour how they were feeling. The results are quite stunning.
In celebration of National Literacy Day student from Div 9 along with their big buddies from Div 2 created their very own literacy equations after reading This Plus That written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The book provided inspiration to help students come up with their own fanciful equations on literacy. Some examples they came up with were “book + quiet space = reading”, “writing + music = song writing,” and “reading + writing = literacy”.
After reading The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers students compiled their own letters to the main character from a crayons perspective.
In this story Poor Duncan just wants to colour. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit! Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other.
Students all came up with their own humorous conversations around why they quit as they expanded their knowledge of writing as a tool to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.
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This week Div 8 and 9 students removed the mulch from our garden of daffodils. Many of them were surprised that the daffodil stems have already pushed through the soil and are preparing to bloom. Over the coming weeks students will track and document the growth of the daffodils, review the life cycle of daffodils, and investigate factors that can enhance or hinder growth.
“Life is a rainbow road, multicoloured with the most brilliant hues and contrasting with the darkest tones.” Ted Harrison
For more information on Ted Harrison visit: https://tedharrison.ca/pages/about