Category: Term 1

Skulls Project: Student Voice

Hello, Grade 7 students and families! I’d like to formally welcome our first post from Div. 2’s ‘News Crew’. They will be periodically updating our class blog with information about projects, assignments, etc.

Below an excerpt from their overview of the clay skulls activity our class completed for Socials:

“This project was a great overview of what we learned in Socials. Creating skulls that represented our earlier ancestors. These skulls ranged from early Ardipithecus to our generation Homo sapiens. We started by using clay to put together our skulls. We needed to round out the clay and then use tools like chopsticks to help make the eyes. Ms. Jesse Lyn (our artist in residence) taught us about clay making and how ceramic is made.

To make the ceramic skulls we first need to learn how it happens. The first material is clay which can be found at the bottom of streams and riverbanks. Then we need to model the clay like we did with our skulls. After the clay sculptures or in this case skulls, gets taken to a giant oven [kiln] that warms up between 2124’f and 2264’f (1162-1260’c). After it is done being fired it is given back to us to glaze.

After about 2 days or so Ms. Jesse Lyn brought back out hominid pottery. As we were going to start the 2nd phase, glazing. (Please note: glazing is a pottery term of when you put color into your pottery, but it could also be the icing on a cake. The first phase is what we’re going for!).

You grab a brush of a color you think fits your skull and then you paint. There is red paint, a couple of different grays, [beige and white], and a darker color. “Why would you paint your skull red?” you might ask. Well, the reason is quite simple. When the clay gets fired the colors change drastically so when you get your skull back the red will now be a pinkish-gray. Each group took about 10 minutes, so with 5 groups the glazing took roughly 50 minutes. And so, we had to wait 2 more days. There would be a chance that you wouldn’t recognize your pottery after it was glazed, but that’s why the teachers thought ahead (like they always do from years of experience) and made us engrave our initials into the back of the skeleton’s skulls.

So, we wrapped out skeletons into some wrapping paper and brought it home. It should now be at your house and you’re staring at it while you’re reading this. Or, your kid might have lost it.”

Thanks so much, News Crew!

-Ms. Ward

Reminders for this Week:

Hi, Grade 7s!

A few reminders as we begin our week together:

-Hip-hop continues every day this week, with our performance for parents/guardians/families on Friday

-Your “Out of My Mind” and “Pumpkin Chunkin” reflections on Teams are due by the end of the week

-Please make sure to stay on top of your work for Ms. Ramen (Socials, Math, etc.)

-Skull sculpting part 2 is Thursday… make sure you dress appropriately, as the glaze can stain!

-Math quiz next week. Make sure you have finished your ‘cheat sheets’ and bring them with you

Thanks!

-Ms. Ward

Who Can Be An Artist?

As we continue exploring our identities as artists, we have been discussing what makes someone an ‘artist’. We brainstormed whether or not an animal could be classified as an ‘artist’ or not! According to our discussions, an artist means someone who: shows creativity, produces some type of art (painting, sculpture, writing, song, etc.), improves their skills, does art as a job or hobby. According to our definition, would the dog in the video (below) be considered an artist? What do you think?

 

Skull Sculpting: Blending Art & History

Did you know that some historians have found evidence that sculpture as an art form has been around since 25000 BCE? Today, we had the privilege of learning the fundamentals of clay and sculpture from our artist in residence. Our classes began creating a clay model of hominid species of their choice. Later, we will glaze them and reflect on our experience. Take a look at some of our progress photos below:

Out of My Mind: A Film Adaptation

We have officially finished our first read-aloud, Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper! This is ideal timing, since there is a film adaptation being released this month!

The film version of the story stars Phoebe-Rae Taylor, an actress who also has cerebral palsy (just like Melody does in the novel). Melody’s internal voice is played by Jennifer Aniston. Take a look at the trailer, below, and see what parts of the novel seem to have made it into the film (and what, perhaps, has been changed!):

Reminders:

Hi Grade 7s!

A few important reminders:

-please make sure to hand in your clay permission form to Ms. Ramen ASAP so that you can participate in the sculpting activity!

-we will finish testing our catapults (weather dependent) this week, and then we will post our footage and reflections onto our Teams page

-Ms. Ramen has posted a survey about your year-end Grade 7 events (dinner/dance). Please fill it in at your earliest convenience

-stay on top of your upcoming due dates and overdue assignments! Term 1 is over halfway finished, and you do not want to be scrambling to catch-up!

A special thanks to all our students who represented us at the Remembrance Day assembly last week. Thanks for making us proud!

Best wishes,

-Ms. Ward

Remembrance Day: Exploring Canada’s ‘Hidden’ Heroes

As we prepare for our Remembrance Day assembly on Friday, our class has been exploring the ‘hidden heroes’ of Canada’s military in World Ward II. Have you ever heard of the Cree Code Talkers? These were members of the Indigenous community who translated messages from English into Cree as a way to protected confidential information. This way, if anyone else was listening in, they couldn’t crack the code! The Code Talkers were only one example of the thousands of Indigenous people who served in Canada’s military during both World Wars. Yet, once they returned from battle, Indigenous veterans faced racism and prejudiced laws that did not afford them the same supports and rights as other veterans. Even today, we discussed how often these heroes are often still left out of history textbooks, movies, books, and media. As part of our effort to learn more, our class is presenting some information about Indigenous military members on Indigenous Veterans Day (November 8th).

Feel free to watch the video(s) below to learn more about the Code Talkers, and Indigenous military members (both past and present):

Behind the Scenes: Animating Over the Garden Wall

Have you ever wondered how animations are made? In Over the Garden Wall, they used many different techniques to create their animation. One scene in particular required many tests and tweaks… the Highwayman’s song! Feel free to check out the video below to watch the process of creating this scene:

Over the Garden Wall: Summarizing and Analyzing

As we prepare for Halloween and the ‘spooky season’, our class is exploring the mini-series “Over the Garden Wall”! We have been working to develop our skills in creating detailed summaries (including setting, plot events, characters, etc.) and beginning to craft our abilities in analyzing (noticing symbolism, creating theories, deep-diving into characters).  This show is also loaded full of interesting imagery, spooky lore, and nods to fairy tales.

Over the Garden Wall (TV Mini Series 2014) - IMDb

We are currently exploring episodes 3 and episode 4, and watching Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice make their way through The Unknown.

Stay tuned for more information and extra content!

-Ms. Ward