A collection of moments from our Grade 7 learning community
Remembrance Day_ Acknowledging First Nations Soldiers
Please click the link above to access the article about the important role of Indigenous soldiers in Canadian history.
November 8th is a day that we honour Indigenous soldiers and veterans. Thousands of Indigenous people have served in wars throughout Canadian history, including WWII and the Korean War. Sadly, however, these soldiers risked their lives to protect a country that still demonstrated racism and prejudice towards them.
For Brain Breakfast this morning, we read about the real-life story of ‘Soaring Soren’, the first French Bulldog to win an agility competition! Many people did not think Soren could participate in agility training. much less win, because of his short legs, his large head, and his weight. Soren and his trainer Deb proved everyone wrong through practice, teamwork, and perseverance!
The video below includes photos and clips of Soren completing his agility training:
Some questions to discuss:
-Why did so many people think Soren could never do agility training?
-When is a time someone thought you couldn’t accomplish your dreams? Did you prove them wrong?
-Why is it important not to judge someone based on their appearance?
BONUS: Here is Rudy the Bulldog’s infamous run of the agility course!
As part of our ongoing investigation into the Science behind our teeth, we soaked eggs in a variety of liquids for one week. Above, you can see the staining that came from soaking the egg in coffee (left) and cotton-candy + water (right). The calcium in eggshells is similar to the calcium in our teeth. We noticed that the egg that was soaked in vinegar had no shell remaining. We determined that acidic solutions can weaken calcium. Then, we smashed the eggs to test the strength of their shells.
Mr. Murray also discussed another toothy animal during Science… we learned about shark teeth! Unlike humans, sharks continue to lose teeth their entire lives. When one tooth is lost, another one easily fills the gap. Humans only have our ‘baby teeth’ and ‘adult teeth’, so it is important we take care of them by brushing and flossing regularly!
Hello students, parents, guardians, and families!
Here are a few important reminders for next week:
-Photo retake day is November 8th (Monday). Please check Lochdale’s school website for more information.
-Please dress for the weather, and perhaps pack an extra pair of socks in case they get wet.
-Don’t forget to bring your planner to school!
Enjoy your weekend!
Today, we discussed why humans grow hair on our heads, faces, and bodies. We read Laxmi’s Mooch, a story about a young girl who learns to accept her facial hair. We discussed how many people may feel pressured to shave parts of their faces or bodies to meet beauty standards or gender stereotypes. Look at this image of Frida Kahlo, an influential artist who was also famous for her bold unibrow.
Our class also discussed why some people choose to remove their facial or body hair, and the methods that people might use (ex: shaving). Whether you choose to grow a moustache, shave your head, or somewhere in between, we need to make sure we keep ourselves safe and that we feel confident in ourselves!
Mr. Murray recently connected the world of maps and cartography to our explorations of storybooks around the world. We learned that the flat map we have been using to plot our storybooks is actually a distorted projection of the globe!
Have you ever wondered how our spherical world is converted into a flat map? See the video below for more information!
The video above discusses the way in which the size of different countries around the world can become misrepresented on a flat map. Mr. Murray explored the following online mapping resource with us to visualize how these changes occur and how our maps may not be telling us the whole truth!
The True Size Of Online Mapping Tool: https://thetruesize.com/
Today our class met our buddy class for the first time! With Ms. Barker’s Grade 1/2 class, we explored how humongous pumpkins can grow! Often, huge pumpkins need a careful combination of sun, water, temperature, and nutrients. Some pumpkins can grow over 500 pounds!
To find out more about extreme pumpkins, click on the article below:
Today in garden club we learned about how insects survive over the Winter season. Ms. Starling and Ms. Raven taught us about how many insects can be found in our garden, and the purpose that they all serve.
Then, we went on an ‘insect safari’ to see what we could find in our garden! We saw a centipede, worms, roly-poly/pill bugs, a caterpillar, an ant, and grubs! To find out how insects survive freezing cold weather, check out the video below:
What makes you feel confident? Today, we read a story about the importance of looking and feeling your best. In Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, a young man shares his experiences getting his hair cut at a barber shop. The author of the story based his book on his experience going to a barber as a child, and he wanted to represent the strength, power, and joy of his racial/cultural identity.
What makes you feel confident? A great new haircut? An outfit that represents your identity? Participating in an activity or sport or Art that you love? Surrounding yourself with people who compliment you?
Yesterday, we discussed what it means to feel conflicted. We might feel conflicted when we have to make a difficult choice, when we have to choose a ‘path’ to take, or when we feel that we wish we could be in two places at once. In the story, Amira feels conflicted when she realizes Eid (an important celebration in Muslim culture) and picture day are on the same day! Amira wants to go with her family to observe the conclusion of Ramadan; she is excited to wear her new shalwar kameez and to hand out bags of candy to her friends at her mosque. However, she is conflicted because she is worried that her classmates won’t remember her if she isn’t in the class photo!
Feeling conflicted is something that many people have experienced before! Sometimes, we might even feel conflicted between our responsibilities and our hobbies (ex: I need to complete my homework, but I really want to watch the soccer game).
Have you ever felt conflicted before?