May 17 - Today, students read the paired texts about Breaking being a demo sport at the next Olympic Games (Scholastic Scope, May 2024, pp. 13-17).  To support students who may not be familiar with this sport, Mr. Wilds showed the class several videos to help them better understand both the transferrable skills from other athletics that go into Breaking and provided students a more local/Canadian take on the sport.  Mr. Wilds showed a clip of the Break City All-Stars (from Kirkland) from a Quebec television dance competition, a video from an aspiring Olympic hopeful and a local b-boy (Lazy Legs) who is known worldwide as someone who does not let his disability limit his passion for breaking.

Mr. Wilds provided the class with the vocabulary terms that will be a part of the assessment, which will be posted later today in Google Classroom for students to complete.  Additionally, note that the Flip video link is up in Google Classroom for students to film their debates.  Videos will be due before May 26.

Have a wonderful long weekend and see you all next week!

May 16 - Due last night, via online submission was the Google Doc that was meant to be used to submit the final version of the ERC debate.  This document has been posted since May 8th, providing students plenty of time to type up their rough draft that was written and edited during class time.  Any student who did not manage to do so was spoken to by the teacher and was explained the late submission policy, if applicable.   

Next, we returned back to the activity from earlier this week on the usage of dashes in writing.  Mr. Wilds had students take down sample answers, should the ones composed by students in the class be different.  This was turned back in to the teacher for classwork credit. 

We then turned our focus to ERC, looking at Unit 6.2 which explores names, attributes and symbols of the divine across the three largest world religions.  In our next ERC block, we will look at other religions, including polytheistic and aboriginal spirituality.

Please note that the Flip video link is now up for students to film their debates.  Videos will be due before May 26.

May 15 - Due tonight, via the shared Google Doc from the teacher that is posted in Google Classroom is the final version of the ERC debate.  While many students have either turned in in or are close to submitting it, there are a handful of students who have really pushed their submission to the last day.  Mr. Wilds reminded the group that this has been posted since May 8th and if submissions are not made by the deadline, there will be a deduction in marks.

To support students with using the Flip application, Mr. Wilds did a live demo of the various features.  Highlighted features included the sticky note (for having the spoken parts on screen), how record and trim clips, along with how to submit the finished product.  The last stage of the assignment will be posted tomorrow and will be due before the next ERC class.

May 14 - After going over some questions and reminders regarding the two homework assignments, we moved on to a new activity, using Scholastic Scope.  On pages 30-31 of the May issue, there is an activity titled Write Like A Pro.  In this activity, students learned of the different ways that they could properly incorporate a dash in a text.  After reading a piece and going over how dashes were being used, students received an activity handout where they were to rewrite sentences, incorporating dashes properly, as learned during the block.  By the end of class, students handed in this activity, which we will be correcting in an upcoming class.

Please note that the reading assessment is due tonight and the ERC Final Version is due tomorrow.  Students who have yet to submit one or both need to get these turned in ahead of the posted deadline.

May 13 - Welcome back from the weekend!  To begin, explained the evaluation criteria, for both the final copy of the debate (due this Wednesday, May 15th), along with what he will be focusing on for the Flip video, which will be assigned on Day 1 of our cycle of days at JRHS.  Additionally, with permission from a student in the class who has completed the assignment, he was able to show the class what the final product should look like (i.e highlighting off).

We next watched a video that provided a grammar lesson about the usage of less or fewer in a sentence.  Using pages 2-3 from Scholastic Scope, students practiced this using the 3 texts.  Next, we had a quick evaluation, during this block, where students were asked to show mastery of today's lesson.  Please note that any student who was absent today will be exempted from this activity.

May 9 - At the start of the block, Mr. Wilds went over the two homework assignments that are currently on the go.

First, posted to Google Classroom yesterday is the file that students will be editing for their ERC debates.  These are due by May 15th.  Students should be consulting their rough drafts, building on what they have done so far, both in areas of writing conventions (spelling, grammar, word choice) and commentary / using text evidence.

Next, later today, a reading assessment will be posted online for the text titled Lost Boy, Found.  After distributing the key vocabulary terms for this text from the May 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope, we completed the reading of this text.

May 8 - In ERC today, we turned our focus to Chapter 6 of the textbook, which looks at first representations of the divine in history.  We will move on to unit 6.2 in our next ERC block.

Please note that the ERC final draft will be posted in Google Classroom for students to type and submit, later today.  This should be done at home and Mr. Wilds has been checking that all students have completed their work and has encouraged students who have missed classes or who have not completed the rough draft of the debates to receive help in ped support.

May 7 - Today, at the start of the class, Mr. Wilds checked to ensure that all students have completed a rough draft of their ERC debates.  Any student who is missing parts were reminded that they need to sign up for afternoon ped support, tomorrow, to catch up.  Additionally, tomorrow the final version of the assignment will be posted in Google Classroom.  Those students who have yet to show Mr. Wilds that they have completed the rough draft will not be able to type their final copy.

After the check-in, students received their final issue of Scholastic Scope for the school year.  We looked at a few of the texts that are found in the May issue.

Next, we looked at the reading assessment that was to be submitted last night.  While all students in the class completed this assignment, the same cannot be said for students in the mirror section.  As a result of this, we only focused on the most common incorrect answer and went over why so many students may have incorrectly responded.

May 6 - Welcome back from the long weekend!  With the rough draft of the ERC debate now complete, Mr. Wilds had the class ensure that they have all the necessary paragraphs completed.  Students should have an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, one paragraph that attacks the other side of the debate and a conclusion that follows the guidelines.  Should any student have been absent from school and missed the instructions for how to write any of the paragraphs, Mr. Wilds reminded them that they should be coming to ped support to catch up.

Next, 20 minutes of class time was given to editing the rough draft.  Beyond checking the spelling and grammar, Mr. Wilds challenged the class to think about how the debate sounds if read out loud.  If there were any parts that needed to be revised, this was the time to do so.  Also, if students needed to consult a dictionary or thesaurus, they were able to use the ones that were kept at the back of the classroom.

For the remainder of the block, we discussed exam protocol and looked at the exam schedule, as it is now posted on the school website.  In tomorrow's class, Mr Wilds will be asking to see the completed rough drafts of the debates so he can determine who is ready to move on to the final version, as of this Wednesday.

May 2 - Today, we wrapped up the rough draft of the ERC debates.  Next week, Mr. Wilds will be checking to ensure that all paragraphs have been completed as a draft before releasing the digital file for students to type up and submit, as homework.  Many students who missed school signed up for afternoon ped today to catch up before we start the long weekend.  Any other students who also need to attend afternoon ped support with Mr. Wilds should send him an email, over the weekend, to attend his next session on Monday afternoon.  Enjoy the long weekend, everyone.

Apr. 29 - Welcome back from the weekend.  Today, we turned our focus back to the writing of the ERC debates.  Last block, we completed the writing of the introduction.  Today, we moved onto the writing of three body paragraphs.  All that remains is to attack an argument on the other side and to compose a conclusion, which we will look at completing in the next few days.   

Please note that students who have been absent or who are struggling with this assignment should attend ped support, as this will likely lead to having difficutly for the writing and presentation of this debate.

Apr. 26. - In English today, we began the block by correcting the reading assessment, which was due last night.  This was the first time in a while that we were able to do this and the teacher went over the most common errors, as made frequently by some members of the group.  Despite this, the class average was quite good and students should be on the lookout for their results, later today.

Next, we moved from the brainstorming phase of the debate and on to the rough draft.  Following the instruction prompts on the board and using all the work that students have already completed using their brainstorming notes, we were able to complete the introductory paragraph for the debate.  We managed to write the full introduction paragraph, which started with a hook, followed next with a summary of the debate and closed with the thesis that students wrote in class.  Each paragraph took an average of 10 minutes to write.  This exercise is meant to show the group why taking the time to brainstorm before writing can actually be a great assistance and saves time and anxiety, in the long run, when writing longer and more complex texts.  

Students who were not present today in class are strongly encouraged to sign up for afternoon ped support, as soon as possible.  This can be done by sending Mr. Wilds an email, this weekend, to attend his next session, Monday afternoon.

See you all next week!

Apr. 25 - Today, we returned to the brainstorming phase of the ERC debates.  After going over what we have done so far, today we finished the last page of the graphic organizer and we are now ready to proceed to the writing of the rough draft, starting in our next class.

Please note the reading assessment for the texts on Alcaraz are due tonight.  See Googe Classroom for more details.

Apr. 24 - Today we continued with the ERC debates by working on a brainstorming exercise with a graphic organizer.  Students selected which side of the debate they could best support, using text evidence (direct quotes) taken from the article in Scholastic Scope.  Additionally, students ranked their evidence from weakest to strongest, as this helps determine in which order they will be brought up during the debate.  Additionally, we looked at evidence from the other side of the debate that can be seen as either flawed or weak.  This will be used as a rebuttal.  Finally, students learned how to compose a proper thesis statement, which will be inserted at the start of the first paragraph.  The brainstorm was turned in to the teacher, for safe-keeping until our next class.

Apr. 22 - Welcome back from the weekend.  As always, on Day 2 in our school cycle of days, today we looked at a text from Scholastic Scope.  After distributing the key terms and vocabulary for the text and watching a video, we completed the reading of the text Growing Up on Alcatraz and students listened to the paired poems, titled The Isle of Alcatraz, which is found on page 26.  These texts, along with the sidebar on pages 24-25 will be part of the reading assessment, which will be posted to Google Classroom, later today.  These assessments will need to be submitted before the end of the day, this Wednesday.

Following this reading, we turned our attention back to the ERC debate piece on AI.  We read and discussed the text from Dave Ram, as found on page 12.  Students highlighted key points that could be used in the debate, should students want to choose his side.  We will continue this ERC work in our upcoming English classes.

Apr. 19 - Today, using the debate article from Scholastic Scope, students thought about effective pieces of evidence that could be used to debate on the following topic: Will AI do more harm than good?  Using text evidence to support their stance on the issue, the class will need to complete a guided brainstorming in preparation for the writing of their debates.  Additionally, students will need to film, using the Flip application, a video of their delivery of the debate.

We will be building upon the work that we started today, in classes following the weekend.

Apr. 16 - While today would normally be used for presentations, the guidance department at JRHS set up a counsellor in the classroom session, which was hosted by Kids Help Phone.  The session covered the services offered, how to reach them if students are in crisis and sample reasons why a young person may want to reach out and use this service.  As this took up much of our class time, remaining presentations will be carried over to our next block.

Finally, a reminder that tomorrow is a ped day (strange for a Wednesday, but, why not?).  See you all when we get back to school. 

Apr. 15 - Welcome back from the weekend.  Before starting presentations, we did a quick grammar review of the proper usage of except and accept.  After covering the rules, students completed an exercise on pages 2-3 of the April 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope.  We managed to correct this exercise, as a group, then turned our focus to the presentations for the day.

Groups 3, 4 and 5 had their turns today to present their term project to the class.  Mr. Wilds will be sharing, via a private comment on the assignment in Google Classroom, a link to view the footage of the presentation.

Next, with the remaining time in class, students took a quick quiz on the lesson that we started the block with.  This was done on paper and was turned in to the teacher, for marking, before the bell rang, signalling the end of the block.

On deck next for presentations are groups 6 and 7.  Please note that for students who have yet to complete their reading assessment for Killer Smog, the deadline is this Wednesday.

Apr. 11 - Today, we read the text titled Killer Smog from the April 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope.  Before jumping into the text, the teacher showed the class a clip from the author where she discusses the importance of author's craft when creating an interesting and engaging piece of writing.  Additionally, she spoke about the revision process, which is an area of weakness for many writers at the high school level.

For homework, students are to complete a reading assessment for this piece.  This assessment also includes a vocabulary section, in which students can either consult the handout given by Mr. Wilds or use a dictionary for assistance.  The reading assessment is posted at 2 PM in Google Classroom and is due, next week.

Apr. 10 - In ERC, we returned to the reading of the course text, finishing up unit 2.3 which looks at autonomy and social order, focusing on the rights/duties of citizens who live in our democracy.  Having completed this, in our next ERC class, we will explore the topics for an argumentative writing task and students will start brainstorming for this assignment/presentation.

Finally, for those students who have not taken their extension opportunities for reading assessments from February or March, please note that no further extension will be provided as Mr. Wilds needs to return work to the class.  Should you have not made arrangements to catch up with those assignments, despite being notified via Google Classroom to do so, the teacher has given grades of zero for not submitting the work.

Apr. 9 - Today, students took in the assembly that was spoken about before the weekend.  During our time in class, Mr. Wilds spoke about the projection of voice, during presentations or public speaking assignments.  In some cases, it was difficult for the audience to adequately hear the presenter, due to where their focus was, which may have been on the board or cue cards rather than on the actual audience.  This becomes evident when students watch the video of their presentations, which Mr. Wilds has privately shared with them.  this is found as a link, in the private comments, posted in the assignment in Google Classroom.

Lastly, a note that for any reading assessments that have not been completed in February or March, this is your last week to do so before the teacher gives students grades of zero for not having made arrangements to make up the missed homework by using their extension.  Several classmates are patiently awaiting their results and it is not fair to hold off on their results any longer.  Thank you for your understanding and see you next block.

Apr. 5 - After our school closure due to the snowstorm yesterday, it was nice to get back into our routine.  Today, we started our class with the teacher discussing an upcoming school assembly, which will occur during class time on Tuesday, next week.  Cycle one students in the school will be attending the Nikamu Mamuitun performance, during A and B blocks.  A promotional video was shown to the class to help them understand and prepare for what they have been invited to experience.

Next, we moved on to our in-class presentations for the term 3 project, with groups 1 and 2 presenting today.  Mr. Wilds will be sharing to members of the group the video footage taken of their presentations, via a private comment on the marking page for the project.  Should students wish to review their performance or show their parents, this link will open the recording of the presentation and is only shared directly with members of the presentation group.  'On deck' for our next presentation block will be members of groups 3, 4 and 5.

Meanwhile, due Monday is the latest reading assessment.  If any student has not yet managed to complete this reading assessment, they should do so ahead of the deadline.

Enjoy the ped day on Monday and remember to safely look at the Eclipse, should you wish to do so!  

Apr. 3 - Welcome back from our extended Easter break!  Before reading the March 2024 play from Scholastic Scope, we went over any final questions and reminders ahead of term presentations, which begin this week (group presentation order and websites can all be found on Google Classroom).  Next, reading roles and key vocabulary terms were distributed to the group for the play titled The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington.  For homework, due April 8th, students are to complete a short reading assessment on both the text and the vocabulary terms.  This will be posted, in Google Classroom, as of 2:00 today.

Mar. 28 - Before starting ERC today, Mr. Wilds took a bit of time to speak with students about the message that was sent yesterday on Mosaik about the upcoming project.  One of the important points dealt with the usage of cue cards, should students wish to have this 'safety net' while they are talking in front of the class.  The teacher showed the group, using Google, two sites that showed what cue cards are (i.e. not torn paper) and how to properly use a cue card (i.e. point form/cues - NOT FULL SENTENCES).  The group was told that if a student goes up either with notes not written on cue cards OR with full sentence text written out, the teacher will tell the student to put these away and they will need to proceed with their presentation, without any written reminders of what they wanted to cover.

Next, we spent much of the class block reviewing unit 2.3 from the ERC textbook.  The teacher showed the class the email to parents, regarding inappropriate language (slurs, homophobic, racist and so forth) that are not only hurtful and inappropriate in schools, but in greater society, as well.  Additionally, the teacher showed the class a powerful video from a television show (The West Wing) that shows how some people of influence use can wrongly guide others who don't know any better or who want to be part of the perceived 'in crowd'.

For homework, should students wish during the extended Easter Break, they can continue to work on their upcoming presentations and get together (in-person or virtually) to do a run-through, as we rapidly approach the term 3 English presentation.

Happy Easter, everyone!  See you on Wednesday when we read the March 2024 play from Scholastic Scope.

Mar. 27 - After some reminders and distribution of classroom Chromebooks, much of the class time was spent on providing students with the opportunity to work on their talking points for the presentations, which begin next week.  Students used the Chromebooks to consult their websites and accessed the Google Doc of suggested things to talk about when they are presenting to the class, which both are posted in Google Classroom.  Students can continue this work, at home.  Also, groups may be planning opportunities to do a run-through, using video conferencing software such as Facetime, Google Meet and/or Zoom.

Mar. 26 - Today in class, students began returning the class novels that they signed out.  Should any student have returned the novel that was signed out by a different classmate, they are either responsible for locating their borrowed copy or perhaps there was an accidental switch made, resulting in the other student turning in the novel.  In any case, these novels need to be returned to avoid students being charged fees for replacing them.  Those students who did not have their novels on hand today can bring them in our next block.

Next, five minutes were given to student groups to assemble and discuss which sections of the website they felt best to present, next week.  This information was turned in to the teacher and with this divided up, the class was able to access their published websites, using Chromebooks.  Students worked alone on writing some of their peaking points, which will be worked upon and developed, as we get closer to the start of our in-class presentations. 

Please note that for those who have yet to complete their reading assessment, this is due to be submitted, tonight.  Also, students can continue to work on their presentation, outside of class time.

Mar. 25 - Welcome back from the weekend!  Today marks the final phase of the term project, with student groups reflecting on the work that they have done and what they will be saying about it, during their presentation.  To help with this, the teacher showed the group a Google Doc with many ideas on what could be discussed, during student presentations.  Additionally, Mr. Wilds spoke about best practices (cue cards should not be full sentences/paragraphs, don't read the board, face your audience, and so forth) for when students are presenting to the class.  This Google Doc will be posted online for students to begin working on what they want to cover during their presentation, once the group has divided up the speaking tasks.

A suggestion that came from a student was for groups to 'Facetime' each other and do a run-through, before presentation day.  Offering some constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement goes a long way in supporting each other, as should have been the case throughout this project.

Please note that for those student who have yet to complete the reading assessment, the deadline is tomorrow.

Mar. 21 - Today, the teacher updated the class about how the project is unfolding, especially after the homework opportunity, last night.  While some groups are mobilizing and putting in a strong effort to get the project done, too many students are either putting in far little time or no time whatsoever, especially as we approach toward tomorrow's deadline of 3:35.  The teacher showed the class a few groups who are mobilizing and who have very little work left to be done to complete this part of their project.  This is to illustrate that it is possible, if only students put in the required effort, outside of class time.  Ideally, websites should near completion, tonight.  While the teacher has class time earmarked for the project, this should be for reviewing or last-minute altering to add some finishing touches to the site.  Should student groups be using this time to create content, they will likely not be able to finish and submit their finished website, resulting in a loss of grades.

Today, we focused on reading the Scholastic Scope article titled Escape from Darkness (pp. 4-10).  Later today, a reading assessment will be posted online for students to complete.  This will be due early, next week.

Mar. 20 - At the start of the block, the teacher went over how so few students in the class did any work on their projects, last night.  With homework being an integral part of the program and that this project has a deadline of this week, Mr. Wilds spoke about how he is quite hesitant about allowing students the weekend as they have very poor work habits around completing homework.

To illustrate, the teacher singled out the 2 students in the entire class spent time at home working to advance their projects.  The teacher even showed a website that was worked on, outside difference between this website and the ones from students who did not do any work outside of class time was radical.  If groups can put in an honest effort, with each member devoting 30 minutes per night on this project, not only will the final result be strong but there may not even be a need for a weekend extension.

Most of the class time was devoted to working on the Chromebooks to move forward on the project.  As it currently stands, the deadline for this project is this Friday, at 3:35 PM.  If student groups show motivation and need to have the weekend, Mr. Wilds will consider this, based on how the class reacts and puts in an effort, beyond the limited time we have in the classroom.

Please note that whereas today, Mr. Wilds moved the ERC course, tomorrow he will not have the Chromebooks and we will be looking at a piece in Scholastic Scope.

Mar. 19 - Before starting work on the project, Mr. Wilds informed the class that team leads were sent scanned copies of the work that was produced, last week.  These scans are meant to be retrieved from the email that was sent, saved to the Google Drive account then imported onto the Google Site that is being made for the project.  Using the SmartBoard, Mr. Wilds explained the difference between downloading to the Chromebooks (which are shared devices among all students at JRHS) versus adding the files to student Google Drive accounts.

Additionally, students were enquiring whether they had the weekend to finalize their project.  The honest answer is that it depends on how productive students are in the class time that has already been allocated and that the group completes work at home, also.  Should students take it for granted and waste time, then the project will be due this Friday at 3 PM.  Otherwise, if students are making good progress and using all the opportunities to produce an amazing product, then the teacher would be willing to allow for work to be done over the weekend.  This will be determined in the next few days.

For the duration of the class, student groups began to work on their projects, after we made our way to the school library to use the Chromebooks from there that the teacher reserved for student usage during the block.  As Google Sites has an autosave feature, students can continue working on the project, at home, tonight.

Finally, after surveying the class, we will convert tomorrow's ERC block into an additional work block for the project.  We will pick up this missed class, later in the term. 

Mar. 18 - Welcome back from the weekend!  Today, we moved forward in the Term 3 project, with Mr. Wilds thoroughly reminding students about the purpose of the website, going over the rubric for this section of the project and showing the class the 'shell' of the websites, which have been shared among all student groups by the teacher.

Except for Day 2 this week, Mr. Wilds will have Chromebooks accessible to work on the project.  This, along with student members being responsible and accountable, should provide ample time to collectively complete a well-designed and thorough website that teaches the literary term.  Some class time was spent on group members dividing up the tasks, based on preferences, skills, and commitments this week.

Please note that any student who has yet to complete any reading assessments this term needs to make arrangements to attend ped support.  Every student has been notified, via Google Classroom, and they need to be responsible by showing up.

Mar. 14 - Posted yesterday, via Google Classroom are the digital instructions, submission requirements, timeline and rubric for the entire term 3 project, which we have been working on for the past few weeks.  Following today's block, student groups should decide if they need to sign up for afternoon ped support to make sure that they have enough time to submit the work, before tomorrow's deadline.  If so, an email needs to be sent tonight to confirm attendance for tomorrow.  Please note, no signups are permitted on the same day so student groups need to make responsible decisions following where they have reached by the end of today's class.

For the remainder of the block, class time was given to student groups to continue working on their projects.  

Finally, please note that those students who have yet to submit their reading assessment for the text that we looked at this past Tuesday, they need to submit their work ahead of the deadline.

Mar. 12 - In today's class, the teacher distributed the March 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope and vocabulary terms for the paired texted articles that discuss the power of failure.  A reading assessment for these texts will be posted in Google Classroom for students to complete and submit, before the deadline, later today.

After playing an audio reading of these texts, student groups were permitted to sit together and continue working on the rough drafts of their project.  The final, polished version is due this Friday, before the end of the block.  Should student groups feel that they will not be able to meet this deadline, they should not wait and make arrangements to attend afternoon ped support, this week.  Mr. Wilds has afternoon ped support on day 4 (Thursday) and day 5 (Friday), this week.  Please be reminded that students should sign up via email, the day before they intend to attend (no signups are permitted on the day).

Mar. 11 - Welcome back from March break.  As displayed in Google Classroom, the teacher reviewed our timeline for the project.  By the end of this week, all groups should have moved from the rough draft to the final version for their tie-in assignment to the novel.  While some groups are on track, after reviewing what has been done so far, several groups need to focus this week and be productive to meet the deadline for this week.  

As today is day 1 in our school cycle of days, we worked with the ERC textbook for part of the class, covering and discussing content from pages 47-49.  With the remaining time in class, student groups were permitted to sit together, review what has been done so far in the English project and work towards finishing their rough drafts.

Mar. 1 - Happy 1st day of the month and last day until spring break.  We unfortunately were unable to correct the reading assessment that was due last night, as not everyone completed it ahead of the deadline.  The teacher reached out to students regarding extensions, following the break.  We used class time to continue working on the rough draft of the project.  During this time, the teacher moved about the classroom, answering student questions and offering suggestions to help groups with their work.

Enjoy the March Break, everyone!  See you when we get back to school!

Feb. 29 - Posted in Google Classroom on the 'Stream' page, students can find a weekly timeline that goes over the various due dates and tasks to be completed as we move toward presentations for the term project.  The teacher covered this information with the class, answered questions, and even carefully explained the process for absenteeism when we reached the presentation stage.   Students and parents alike can take a look at this post and know what is expected as we make our way through this term project.

Following this, the teacher distributed the rough draft worksheets for the project assignment, and time was given for group brainstorming and work, during class.   In the advent of students not being present next class and having the group materials, the teacher collected the work that was completed and will keep it safe and distribute it back to the groups, in our next English block.

Kindly note that for those who have yet to complete the current reading assessment in Google Classroom, the deadline to submit the work is tonight.

Feb. 28 - In class today, student groups for the English project sat together and selected their assignment that tied in with the novel, Flipped.   Time was given for student groups to review the 12 choices, select their favorites, and using the ranking system that was used in a previous block, student groups chose what literary terms they would be focusing on for their term project.  Additionally, the teacher carefully went over specific instructions and points to think about for each assignment, to help student groups best understand how to do a good job on this section of the term project.  In some instances, other students in the class even offered up some ideas and suggestions to help their classmates.  

Please note that the selected assignments will be posted in Google Classroom and we will get down to work on this, in our next class.

Feb. 26 - Welcome back from the weekend.  Before reading a text from Scholastic Scope, we turned our focus back to the term 3 project.  As students have had ample time to discuss and make arrangements with people to work with, intended groups were formed and this information was recorded by the teacher.  Next, the teacher organized the group selection and presentation order, by using a website to randomly shuffle the groups into order.  The presentation options will be posted today so that students can pick and rank their favourite assignments.  Using the ordering that was created today, in our next English class, students will pick their novel assignments for a component of the term 3 project.

Next, reading roles were distributed, the teacher handed out to students a vocabulary list and we completed the reading for the play titled Into the Underworld (Scholastic Scope, February 2024, pp. 13-18).  A reading assessment, due before Feb. 29th, will need to be completed on this text along with the piece titled Life in a Maya Village, which is found on page 19.  Please note that if any student is absent because they are leaving on vacation, they will need to complete and submit the homework before departure, so to not lose marks and be required to attend an afternoon ped support block, following Spring Break.  

Feb. 23 - For black history month, today students attended an assembly where the two speakers shared their experiences with racism and provided strategies to deal with these issues, along with educating students on the many harmful ways that racism impacts people's lives.

Feb. 22 - Due to a misunderstanding about our scheduled time for the Black History Assembly, today's class was delayed with a bit of movement to and from the auditorium.  Upon coming back to the classroom, we took some time to focus and discuss the novel project.  Students got to understand better how the 'engine' or tie-in assignment with the novel has a very specific literary term focus, which students will then need to build an entire website around.  We looked at a few specific assignments, some of which dealt with literary terms such as plot, setting, dynamic character and theme.  In total, there are 12 to select and in an upcoming class, we will determine student groups (max size is 3 students per group), along with the order for choosing assignments and presentations.

As some students did not manage to complete the reading assessment before the deadline, the teacher was unable to correct this with the group.  These students will be assigned a mandatory ped support block, tomorrow, for a final opportunity to complete the reading assessment.

Feb. 21 - At the start of the block, the teacher spoke a bit about the difficulty that can arise when there is a limitation on group size and how it can be challenging to pick who best to work with, on group projects.  A proposed solution to this possible issue could be that the teacher takes control and forms groups for the upcoming project, however, the class felt that they could handle this freedom of choice.  Following when we finish watching the movie, we will work on group formation and presentation order for the project.

Much of class time today was spent watching the movie.  While we didn't quite finish it, we have reached partway through the final chapter of the book.  

For homework, for those students who have yet to complete their reading assessment on Heart Saver, this is due to be completed and submitted, tonight.

Feb. 20 - Welcome back from the long weekend.  As we are closing in on finishing our viewing of the movie adaptation of the novel, today the teacher introduced the term 3 project, which we will be starting as soon as we finish the movie.

This project can be done in pairs or groups of a maximum of 3 students.  While students can choose who they want to work with, at this point of the term, they should be aware of who is a dependable/hard worker who will ensure that quality work is done on this project, especially given that term 3 is worth 60% and that this project touches all three competencies in the term.  After determining groups, the teacher will determine the presentation order, which also determines which group picks first for the literary term assignment.  This drives the focus of the project, leading to the design of a website (using Google Sites) and a presentation to the class explaining the decisions and rationale behind the links and videos that the team shared on their site.  We get to work on the project following March break and presentations will start in early April.

Next, we continued watching the movie, picking back up from where we last left off.  We will continue watching the movie in an upcoming block.

This a friendly reminder to those who have yet to submit their latest reading assessment, the deadline is tomorrow, via Google Classroom.

Feb. 15 - As is customary on day 2, today we read and discussed an article from the Feb. 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope.  After watching a video from the illustrator who was hired to graphically design the images and look of the piece and receiving the handout for the vocabulary terms associated with the piece, we completed the reading of Heart Saver, as found on pages 4 through 9.

For homework, due Feb. 21, students are to complete a reading assessment for this piece.  

Feb. 14 - Happy Valentine's Day.  Today, students completed their last reading assessment for the novel.  Following this, we turned our focus back to the ERC course, starting our reading and discussion of unit 2.2, which is titled Freedom Comes With Responsibility.  Please note that any student who happened to be absent today and who did not complete the reading assessment will be required to attend an upcoming ped support block so they do not fall behind their peers.

Feb. 13 - After a few general announcements and reminders, we were planning to correct the reading assessment that was due for homework last night but were unable to do so as there were a few students who needed an extra opportunity to submit the work, in tomorrow's afternoon ped support.  Instead, we started watching some of the movie adaptation of the novel,  Flipped.

As tomorrow is Day 1 in our school cycle of days, we will be having one final reading assessment, on the last two chapters of Flipped.  Following this, we will be moving on to our ERC lesson for the day.  

Feb. 12 -  Welcome back from the long weekend!  After addressing the many questions about 'the big game', we turned our attention back to the reading of the novel, Flipped.  Picking our reading back up from page 184, today we managed to finish the book.  On Wednesday, we will have our final reading assessment on the last two chapters of the novel.

For homework, students who have yet to complete the take-home reading assessment on Pangolin Rescue need to submit it before the end of the day.  Ideally, we will be correcting this in class, tomorrow, should everyone submit their work.

Feb. 8 - With two chapters remaining to the reading of the novel, Flipped, class began with the discussion about the difference that exists between novels and their movie adaptations on the big screen.  We spoke specifically about the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series, both of which have made it to the big screen, however, readers of the novel have strong opinions on the quality of both adaptations as they never seem to meet up with expectations.  Some students who have read the Percy Jackson series and watched both the movie adaptation and the reboot on the Disney+ platform say that the reboot sticks more closely to the novel.  This is probably why the upcoming Harry Potter series will also get a reboot, in the future on the HBO+ platform.   This was to drive home the point that there are vast differences that often separate the two texts.  This is the same for the novel that we are reading, Flipped.  One particular character that drives a lot of the story in the chapter that we are about to read today doesn't make the 'cut' in the movie version.  This was to remind students to beware of choosing to watch the movie over reading the book.

Today, we read most of the chapter titled Flipped.  We reached up to page 184 and stopped at the area of the page where the chicken tracks across the page.  In our next class, we will pick up our reading from this spot before moving onto the final chapter of the book.

Feb. 6 - At the start of class, we went over several announcements and items about what we have been looking over in our classes.  First, we went over the survey that was completed yesterday, following the novel reading assessment.  Mr. Wilds explained how trends are used to determine policy in schools.  We also looked at a news report, focusing on the Canadian astronaut who will be part of the Artimus II mission.  This was to bring forth a Canadian connection to the last Scholastic Scope reading assessment.  Next, we discussed what it means for a species to be critically endangered, even looking at the list of animals that, sadly, we are at risk of losing entirely.

Using the audio version of the text, we collectively covered the text Pangolin Rescue (Scholastic Scope, Dec/Jan 2024 issue, pp. 20-22) along with reading the infographic titled The Amazing Pangolin on page 23.  These texts, along with the vocabulary handout that the teacher distributed, will be on the next reading assessment, which will be posted for students to submit before the deadline, later today.

Feb. 5 - Welcome back from the weekend, everyone.  Today, Mr. Wilds was unable to run the class due to a professional development exam from Google.  However, his substitute was able to run the block.  As students knew last week, today we started with the in-class reading assessment on the four chapters from the novel that we covered last week.  Immediately following this assessment, students next completed their anonymous student surveys, using a username and password that the substitute distributed once the reading assessment was done.

Mr. Wilds will be making arrangements for students were were absent today to complete their reading assessments, outside of class time.

See you all tomorrow!

Feb. 2 - This upcoming Monday will be the next in-class reading assessment for the novel, Flipped.  This assessment will cover novel chapters titled Looming Large and Smelly up to and including The Dinner.  The teacher let the group know that while he will not be physically in the classroom, he will be present in the building, completing a professional development exam.  Once the novel assessment is done, students will need to ask the substitute for a username and password to complete an anonymous student survey about their experiences and feelings about school.

Next, due last night, via online submission was the reading assessment for the play from Scholastic Scope that we read at the start of the week.  Unfortunately, there were a few students who did not manage to complete it, resulting in our inability to correct it.  These students, along with any other student who has work to complete for the second term, will be assigned an afternoon ped support block, this Monday.  As this will be the last opportunity to complete work before grades are submitted to the school for report cards, these students need to attend.

We next moved back to focusing on the reading of the novel, completing the final chapter that will be part of Monday's evaluation.  Over the weekend, should any student need to read to review, they should do so in advance of Monday's assessment.

Feb. 1 - Continuing from where we last left off, today we started our reading on page 137 and managed to read to the end of the next chapter, which was titled The Serious Willies.  With the remaining time, we spoke about some of the more disturbing aspects of the dinner at the Loski's, including some foreshadowing that was done in previous chapters, along with the irony that things can be so rotten at the Loski household, despite things looking perfect from an outside perspective.

Meanwhile, for those who have yet to complete their Scholastic Scope reading assessment, please be reminded that the deadline for submission is tonight.  Tomorrow, we will look over this assessment before moving onto the next chapter of Flipped, titled The Dinner.

Jan. 31 - Posted on Monday in Google Classroom is the reading assessment that students need to complete for the Scholastic Scope reading that we completed in our last English block.  The teacher reminded the group that they need to do this reading assessment before Friday and also, for those who were unable to complete the last reading assessment on the class novel, they need to make arrangements to do so, before the end of this week.

We next turned our attention back to the reading of the class novel, Flipped.  After a quick recap, we completed the reading of the chapter titled Looming Large and Smelly and read up to page 137 of the chapter titled The Visit.  In our next English class, we will complete this chapter and move further along in the novel.

Jan. 29 - Welcome back from the long weekend, everyone.  Today, as is customary on Day 2 of our school cycle of days, we dived into reading a text from Scholastic Scope.  At the start of the block, reading roles for the play titled Stranded in Space (Scholastic Scope, Dec/Jan 2024 issue, pp. 12-18) were given to several students in the class and we read the piece, as a group.  For homework, due Feb. 1st, students are to complete a reading assessment on this text.  Students can use both their magazines and the vocabulary terms for this reading that the teacher distributed to the group.

Concerning the last reading assessment on the novel, Flipped, students who have yet to complete the last one need to attend morning ped support on Day 5 or Day 6 (Thursday or Friday, this week) with ample time to log on to a Chromebook and to complete the assessment.  Any student who does not manage to do this will be assigned a mandatory ped support on Monday afternoon, Feb. 5th from 12:55-1:45, which will result in missing training or arriving late to practice for this day.  Students do not need to make arrangements with their teacher to attend morning ped support - just show up, complete the assessment and get ready to start classes for the day.

Jan. 25 - As today is Day 1 in our school cycle of days, it was the day reserved both for ERC and the reading assessment on the class novel. Flipped.  We began the class by reviewing the concept of how people should formulate informed judgements when making important decisions.  To help illustrate this, we looked at a case study, as shared by the teacher, which had no right or wrong answer.  Students reflected on the situation and explained, from their perspective, how they felt would be the ideal way to proceed, should they have been the 'coach' in the scenario.

We next took a break from this to complete the second reading assessment on the novel.  As these assessments are in locked mode and are meant to be completed in class, any student who was not present at school today will need to make arrangements to complete it, outside of class time, next week.

Once all students submitted their assessment, we came back to the case study, which as many students had already guessed, actually happened to the teacher when he first started working at the school.  While his choice was not necessarily the same as many students would have chosen, the main goal here was to show how sometimes it isn't about right or wrong, but making a decision that any individual feels is best and that they can confidently support and believe that it was the right call, at the time.

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone!  See you when we get back to school on Monday (which will be day 2 in our cycle of days).

Jan. 24 - Tomorrow, right before the ERC lesson begins, we will be having our second assessment on the novel, Flipped.  Today we finished up the small amount of the chapter, The Yard, that we had not finished in our last class.  After this, we did a bit of prep work for our next Scholastic Scope text, which will be read on Day 2.  The teacher showed the class a slideshow about the Artimus project, intending to start a lunar colony on the moon.  Artimus 2 will launch in November 2024 and will have a Canadian astronaut on board.

Additionally, we watched a short video about life on the ISS, as filmed by an astronaut who was on board.  It covered a lot of the questions by students about life in space.

Jan. 23 - After going over some important points from the chapter that we read yesterday, today we managed to read most of the chapter titled The Yard from the novel, Flipped.  In tomorrow's English class, we will finish up what is left before carrying on some additional activities.

Jan. 22 - Welcome back from the weekend.  On the whiteboard, the teacher wrote out a reminder of our adjusted cycle of days, given that the mid-year exam week has been cancelled.  Today is Day 4 and this Thursday will be day 1.  As is customary, we will be having our in-class reading assessment on the novel, Flipped before moving on to the ERC lesson for the day.  This assessment will cover the chapter titled Brawk-Brawk-Brawk up to and including The Yard.  Please be reminded that this Friday is a ped day and if any student misses the in-class assessment, they will be able to complete it in an afternoon ped support block.

After a recap of where we last left off in the novel, today we covered the important chapter titled Get A Grip.  After our reading, the teacher took some time to go over some of the big issues and themes that come out of this chapter, which changes the tone and course of the rest of the novel.

Jan. 19 - As customary on Day 1, today was our ERC block in our course calendar of days.  However, before starting the class, a short reading assessment, based on the first four chapters of the English novel, was completed.  For those students who were unable to attend class today, Mr. Wilds will reach out to your parents and sign you up for afternoon ped support, this Monday.  Please note that due to the cancellation of the mid-term exam week, Monday will be Day 4 in our cycle of days, hence this arrangement will be made.

Once all students who were present submitted their assessments, we moved back onto Unit 2.1 of the ERC textbook.  Last class, we looked at the motives behind the various choices that people make.  After reviewing this quickly, we looked at the various references, experiences or information that may help sway our life choices.  We finished off by looking at what it means to make an informed judgement.  This includes how people can have a conflict in values, which can add complications, especially when making a judgment call.

Jan. 18 - To start the class, the school administration held a virtual assembly, covering important reminders and announcements to the whole school.  Following this, we quickly reviewed what we read yesterday and continued with reading the next chapter from the novel, Flipped.  Before the end of the block, we completed reading the chapter titled The Eggs.

Tomorrow, students will complete their first in-class reading assessment on the novel.  While we have been using class time to read and discuss, some students may feel the need to review the first four chapters, individually.  The teacher reminded the group that this assessment will be 'closed book', so should they have lost focus or were not present for the readings, they can review the text for homework.

Jan. 17 - Due tonight, for those who have yet to submit, is the reading assessment that was assigned last Friday.  The teacher used a bit of class time to remind students to complete this and to use all available tools to maximize their scores.  This includes the magazine and the vocabulary terms that the teacher distributed to the group to help with the assessment.  Given that it has been quite some time since we looked at this piece, students are STRONGLY encouraged to look over the text, as many details are likely forgotten.

Additionally, on Friday, we will have our first in-class/closed-book reading assessment on the class novel, Flipped.  While the teacher is reading the text with students at school, any student who feels that they need to go over again any chapters that need reinforcing can do so at home.  The assessment covers novel contents from the first 4 chapters, from Diving Under up to and including The Sycamore Tree.

Today, we moved further along with the novel, reading chapter 5 (titled Brawk-Brawk-Brawk).  Tomorrow, following the group correction on the Scope reading assessment, we will move onto the other side of this story, learning about events from Julianna's perspective.

Jan. 16 - In English today, we returned to the reading of the class novel, Flipped.  To truly understand the significance of events from the chapters that we covered today (Buddy, Beware and The Sycamore Tree), the teacher shared a story about a former grade 7 student from over a decade ago.  For a class project on this very novel, this student shared a powerful story about his teddy bear, which reinforced the idea that special things can be more than the sum of their parts (p.34), which is a powerful lesson from the novel.

Students are reminded that there will be a short reading assessment, based on the first four chapters of the novel, on day 1, before we start ERC class.  This reading assessment will be a closed book and students should prepare/review, as necessary.  Additionally, any student who has yet to complete the take-home reading assessment that was assigned before the weekend needs to be done for tomorrow.

Jan. 12 - Happy Friday, everyone.  Today, we jumped into the reading of the Scholastic Scope text titled This is the End of The World (Dec/Jan 2024 issue, pp.4-10).  To help students better understand the text, we first watched a video by the author, Lauren Tarshis, who many students are familiar with as she writes the popular "I survived..." series from Scholastic.   In addition to this, the teacher showed the class a brief slideshow to get them to be a bit more familiar with Alaska, which is where the devastating earthquake occurred in 1964.

For homework, due Jan. 17, students are required to complete a reading assessment on this piece.  As there is a vocabulary component, those students who were absent today may go see the teacher, upon their return to school next week, to receive the vocabulary definitions that appear in the text and that may also appear on the assessment.

Jan. 11 - In ERC today, we started unit 2 by looking at motivations that help guide people.  A lot of the class discussion centered upon our early influences (parents, teachers, friends) and also how personal values, needs, and wants help shape young people as they start making big life choices, such as deciding on a career when they leave schooling.  We will build upon this theory and discussion when we have our next class, in one full cycle of days in our course calendar.

Jan. 10 - Today, we dived into the first two chapters of the class novel, Flipped.  In the first chapter, we were introduced to Bryce and learned about how he perceived events upon moving to his new home and in his interactions with his neighbour, Juli.  By the end of the chapter, we learn more about their interactions, as they move on from age 7 right up until the start of high school.  In chapter 2, the story 'flips' for Juli recounting the same events, allowing students to learn about her side of the story.

As tomorrow is an ERC block, we will not have time to read more of the novel, however, students are free to reread what was covered today or choose to read ahead (however, we will be keeping pace inside the classroom and they may be brought back to a previously read chapter, should they pull out in front of the group).  Periodically, there will be reading comprehension assessments so students should review the text, if necessary.

Jan. 9 - Welcome back to the first English class since the holiday break!  At the start of class, students signed out a copy of the class novel, Flipped.  They also received a copy of the Dec/Jan 2024 issue of Scholastic Scope.  Both texts are expected to be brought to every class and the teacher showed the group the updated schedule of what we will be covering in classes, starting today.  On cycle days when we don't have ERC or Scholastic Scope readings/corrections, we will be focusing on reading and discussing the novel.  Please note that it is up to the teacher's discretion to occasionally deviate from this schedule, as it may become necessary from time to time.

After a bit of an introduction to the novel, the class ended.  We will start the reading of the novel, in our next class.

Jan. 8 - Welcome back to school following the holiday break, everyone!  After a few housekeeping items and updates, we completed a short grammar activity on plurals and possesives.  After watching a short video outlining when to use an apostrophe, students were given a handout with three paragraphs where they needed to select the correct usage when prompted.  Before the end of class, we managed to correct this worksheet.

Next class, students will be given a class novel to borrow, which we will be reading in class, over the next few weeks.  This novel will also lead to a class project, which will count in the third term.  Students are asked to bring the novel to every class and to take care of this loaned resource, as they will be charged should they return it in terrible shape or they do not manage to return the copy which they signed out with the school.

Dec. 21 - Today, we returned to the inferencing assignment that we have been working on in class, as a whole group.  Students shared notes with their teacher and he wrote answers to the various questions, which students wrote down to help guide them with their writing.  Additionally, students learned how to differentiate between competency levels, even grading the last question with their new understanding of how marking works at the high school level.

As we don't see each other tomorrow, Mr. Wilds would like to take this time to wish students a restful holiday break.  See you all in when we return to school, in the new year!

Dec. 20 - As was previously announced, today students completed an 'open book' assessment on World Religions to close off Unit 4 of the course textbook.  Using classroom Chromebooks, students complete the Google Form which was set to locked mode in Google Classroom.  This prevented students from navigating to any other pages beyond the quiz and made them rely on the handouts that they were supplied with for their answers.  Any student who needed a bit of additional time was allowed to do so by returning later after the class finished.  Additionally, should any student be absent for this assessment, they will be directed to attend an afternoon ped support block, following the holidays.

Dec. 19 - Continuing the lesson from yesterday's block, today students were distributed a worksheet on making inferences for the Scholastic Scope text titled Follow the Water.  Based on the seating arrangement in the class, students were assigned one of three questions from the worksheet (the first one was already answered by the teacher, yesterday).  Students were asked to make notes and share these with the teacher, which provided him with ideas on what to use in the writing of the answer.  We also looked at marking schemes, making it more clear how to get higher grades at the high school level by being thorough enough when communicating understanding when writing.  While we didn't quite finish this activity, we do have some time left to wrap things up before we break for the holidays.

Dec, 18 - With the teacher's strike and the weekend now in the rearview mirror, today we returned to a writing exercise that has been sadly on the back burner for far too long.  Using the Scholastic Scope text titled "Follow The Water", the teacher led the group through a discussion/note-taking exercise to help students plan their writing and communicate effectively and thoroughly when writing out an answer to a question.  The teacher asked the class to locate a handout called Inferencing Stems and he displayed a question that required students to create an inference from the text.  Students helped guide the teacher with ideas of what should be included in the answer and, by using the inferencing stems handout, the teacher typed out a solid answer to the question.

In our next English class, students will be assigned one of four inferencing questions that they are to make notes on to prepare their written answers.  These notes will be shared with the teacher and he will compose a solid answer, using the skill of inferring.

Dec. 15 - Welcome back to school, everyone!  At the start of class, the teacher went over a few housekeeping points of interest and verified that every student present had the ERC handouts (Monotheistic and Polytheistic Religions) that were distributed and covered in classes before the teacher's strike.  On Day 1, students will have an 'open-book' assessment in class and will need to consult information from these handouts.  Students were told to keep these safe in the ERC section of their binders, in advance of Wednesday's in-class assessment.

Next, due last night, via Google Classroom, was our latest reading assessment.  We took time in the class block to go over these answers, as a group.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone - the holiday break is near!!!

Dec. 7 - As a result of the teacher's strike, the scheduling of the ERC course has been particularly impacted due to losing consecutive day one in our school cycle of days.  Today, we took back a bit of the time that we lost and the teacher distributed and went over with students in the class a couple of handouts that will need to be consulted to complete an upcoming online assessment on religions that have helped shape modern Quebec.  These handouts should be kept in student binders and will also be posted in Google Classroom for students who may require a digital copy of the text. 

Dec. 5 - The start of class had the teacher reminding students of the educational decree from the Ministry of Education about cell phones in the classroom.  In the student agenda, this is addressed in the student code of conduct that students are not to bring their cell phones into the classroom.  Additionally, they are only to be accessed during recess or before the start of academic classes (which start at 8:05) or at the end of the day.  At any other time, if a teacher sees a cell phone (or Bluetooth devices), the phone can be confiscated and turned in to the administration.  Several students have seemed to become a little lazy with this rule, bringing their phones to class instead of keeping them in lockers, as required.  The teacher pointed out the rule and let students know that this rule can only get stricter and too many students taking advantage of this middle-of-the-road regulation can result in a schoolwide ban on all cell phones, should the school decide that they need to get more strict due to too many infractions.

Next, we discussed what the difference is between a podcast and a video.  After we established the differences between both forms of media, we listened to a podcast about travelling to Mars.  Next, we listened to the short story titled Follow the Water from Scholastic Scope (November 2023, pp.25-31).  Later today, a reading assessment will be posted online that contains a vocabulary section that covers the terms on the handout, given to students today.  Students will need to submit this reading assessment, in advance of the deadline posted in Google Classroom.

Dec. 4 - Welcome back from the long weekend, everyone!  On this snowy December day, we turned our attention to unit 4 of the course textbook.  In this unit, students learn a bit about how religion helped shape Quebec society.  Throughout this unit, we focused on some of the parts more than others, as much of the content of the unit covered lessons from history classes, repeating information that some students became familiar with as far back as grade 5.  One such aspect that we looked at was toponomy, which is the study of the names of places and institutions.  Students should have realized that a lot of the names of our streets, towns, and institutions in Quebec come from Christian texts, Amerindian culture or a hybrid of the two, blending to show the important ties between both cultures. 

In an upcoming class, students will complete an evaluation of the various religions that make up our modern cultural mosaic.  More to come on this term 2 assessment, in the future.

Nov. 30 - Due last night, via Google Classroom, students should have turned in the latest reading assessment.  Should any student not have completed the take-home assessment before it was due, the teacher let the class know that they will be signed up for afternoon ped on Monday for an extension opportunity to complete it.

Next, the teacher took time to review the in-class assignment that was turned in our previous class.  This assignment was corrected and the teacher made comments in the document to highlight areas that were either incorrect, required deeper / more thorough answers or had issues with spelling/grammar.  In many cases, students discovered that not reading questions carefully and by not effectively collaborating to ensure that the final product was the best work from the whole collective led to marks being lost.  As this is a work in progress, we will have other opportunities to improve upon this experience, in the near future.  Later today, results will be sent out and students will be able to access the sample answer key, via a link in the comment section for the assignment.

With some of the time remaining in the block, we corrected a portion of the reading assessment.  A big focus was on how students can use Scholastic Scope as they take the quiz and how eliminating wrong answers can help students narrow down to the most correct answer when taking quizzes that are in multiple-choice format.

With a ped day tomorrow and parent-teacher conferences on the horizon for the teacher, Mr. Wilds wishes everyone a wonderful long weekend!  See you next week!

Nov. 29 - As mentioned in the previous post, today students took the activity from yesterday to the next level, working first on completing a few remaining questions on a worksheet and then being put into randomized groups to work on a collaborative digital version of the assignment.  Students were put into groups of 3 (in most cases) and a couple of classroom Chromebooks were made available to digitize the answers that were agreed upon by the team.  By the end of the block, all groups managed to turn in their work, in Google Classroom.  Well done, everybody! 

Nov. 28 - After a few general announcements, along with the collection of health forms that are required to be physically filled out, returned and kept on file in case of an emergency at school we turned our focus to today's activity.  Today in class, we looked at a paired text reading from the November issue of Scholastic Scope.  This reading provided the class with a lot of information about the pesky mosquito.  After looking at the body text, the timeline and the infographic on page 15, students were given time to identify some solutions to the issue of malaria infecting 230 million people per year.  These solutions were to be found in the text and students were given hints that they were to find and highlight in their Scope magazines.

In our next block, students will continue working on the assignment, identifying fascinating new pieces of information that they learned about the mosquito, before proceeding on to a group in-class assignment.

Nov. 24 - Today was our first day back following the 3-day work stoppage.  Students who did not complete their last reading assessment were sent a reminder to attend afternoon ped support, on Day 4, which falls on Tuesday of next week.  After a few general reminders and the return of graded work, we turned our focus on the November 2023 Scholastic Scope play, titled Olympians Rising.  After a short introductory video about the world of Greek Myth, several students were assigned reading roles and we completed the reading of the play.

For homework, due before Wednesday, students need to complete a reading assessment on the play.  Students absent from class today should read the play independently and either use a dictionary or ask Mr. Wilds for the handout of key vocabulary terms that were given in class today.

Finally, a fond goodbye to Ms. Forest, who completes her Master's level field experience today.  We all know that you will do great on your future adventures!  

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Nov. 20 - Welcome back from the long weekend.  For Ms. Forest and Mr. Wilds, this is what is called transition week.  Basically, Ms. Forest will mark and return all work that she assigned to students during her time here and will no longer be present, following this week.  As this is the case, today (and for the rest of the school year), the class was taught by Mr. Wilds.  

The first point that was addressed was the feedback and link for the footage from the Anti-Racism presentation, which is shared in Google Classroom.  The teacher explained the three areas that were covered in the post, which can be found as a private comment under the assignment, and showed the class how they could access the 'game film' from their presentation.  In the meantime, Ms. Forest will be working on grading the assignments.  Students will be notified, via Google Classroom, as soon as these are released.

Next, we looked at a grammar lesson on the proper use of the terms there/their/they're.  This was an area of confusion that the grade 11 English teacher, next door, has recently commented was an area of difficulty for students at the cycle 2 level.  After watching a short video from Scholastic Scope, students were allotted 3 minutes to highlight in their magazines the correct usage of the terms, in a block text.  Once this was completed and corrected as a group, the teacher distributed a handout, which will be graded and returned, for this lesson.

For homework, students are reminded to complete their reading assessment before Nov. 22.  This was assigned last week and is found in Google Classroom.

See you all Friday, following the 3-days of the strike.

Nov. 15 - Class began with listening to the text The Rise of the Meme, the reading assessment will be due before November 22nd, meaning that the assignment closes midnight on November 21st. 

The class then transitioned to finishing off the "Anti-Racism" presentations. Any students that are absent, or their partners are absent, will go November 16th, or into next week if necessary. The goal of the presentation is to do it in class with your peers, thus they are to go in front of the class. 

The presentations have been a joy to watch and very well done! Grades can be expected before the end of next week (November 24th). 

Nov. 14 - Today marked the first of two days of the 'ERC Anti-Racism Project'. Students were chosen at random with a random generator and the students that were chosen were able to present their projects. Students are able to look at one another's presentations and edit their final versions prior to the due date on Wednesday November 15th. Ms. Forest also pointed out key points in the projects that were good examples for others to take note of. This form of evaluation allows for students to expand their view of their work and improve what they have made if need be.

Nov. 13 - In class as a group we corrected the reading assessment for "Code Talkers" which was due last night at midnight. The rest of class was for a work period to finish up the `ERC Anti-Racism' project. Students are to finish their draft for Tuesday's class, but can submit a final version until Wednesday November 15th at midnight. 

Nov. 10th - Class today was dedicated to working on the ERC 'Anti-racism' project. The instruction sheets are posted to Google Classroom in the "Materials' Section. Students are to complete the project prior to class on November 14th as that is when the presentations begin. Please note that tutorial videos for submission have been posted. Students are able to submit their final drafts up to November 15th at midnight.

Nov. 8  - Students were given a lesson on how to identify imagery and how to use it. Afterwards, students were assigned an activity where they were given a drawing based on a song lyric of saying of their choice. Once they draw the drawing that accompanies the lyric they chose, they are two write two sentences for justification. One sentence will be on how they interpreted the lyric, and the other on why they chose the particular lyric. 

Students are to complete their drawing for next class. 

Nov. 7 - Today students were assigned the ERC "Anti-racism" project which is the last unit in ERC with Ms. Forest. As a group, students were also given their November issue of Scope Magazine. Students are to read the text Code Talker alone at home and complete the reading assessment BEFORE November 13th. 

Ms. Forest provided students with the instruction sheets for ERC, along with a detailed discussion on the marking and overall expectations. The presentations start on November 14th and students will have on more in-class work period. 

Nov. 3 -  Happy Friday! The purpose of today's class was to look at the reading assessment for Lost in Death Valley. 

In the beginning however, students were notified of the measures that are being implemented in the school regarding uniform and cell phone policy. Also there was discussion on the upcoming strike on November 6th that ends at 10:30 am, students are expected to come into school for C-Block at 11 am. 

The reading assessment was corrected and students were reminded that they are to submit their mood board for tonight at midnight at the latest. 

Nov. 2 - Ms. Forest had to step out suddenly prior to the class starting, so Mr. Wilds came in to fill in the students on the end of term, as well as the basics of Literary Devices. Students will have a lesson on imagery coming up next week instead. 

Nov. 1 - Happy November! Students were assigned the task of writing an email to Ms. Forest after a discussion on how to email others in a more professional way.. Students were provided with a presentation that included slides and a format for them. 

The "email" is to be done in the Google Classroom assignment that provides students with a template via a Google Slide. This is to be done by Wednesday Novemeber 8th, 2023. 

Oct. 30 - Class today was dedicated to the reading of the story Lost in Death Valley from Scholastic Scope magazine. Students who were absent on Friday, which there were many grade 7s missing on Friday due to sports, were filled in about the upcoming unit in ERC. 

Students were guided once again through where they would find out about content that they missed when they are gone for sport. 

Students were also notified about the upcoming end of term and the upcoming possible strike days. The reading assessment is due before November 3rd. 

Oct. 27th - Today students were assigned the task of helping Ms. Forest create the final ERC assessment that they are going to do while working at JRHS. The topic for the unit is anti-racism. Ms. Forest taught the students the concepts that they would need to use for the assessment such as intersectionality and microaggressions. For most of the classes, the mind map was done on the whiteboard in the classroom. Ms. Forest made the last one digitally and it is posted across all sections in "ERC November 2023". 

Students have just below a week to vote on the project they would like to do and the top 3 formats will be chosen. Once the formats are chosen, Ms. Forest will make a detailed instruction sheet that will go in the same section of Google Classroom. 

Oct. 26th - Today in class students were advised on what the next ERC project is going to be regarding the anti-racism and the self unit for those that are going to be absent tomorrow. Given the amount of absences tomorrow,  ERC is going to be based on taking into account the absences tomorrow so for those that are going to be there, they are going to help design how the evaluation for the next unit will be done. After this, as a class, we corrected the reading assessment for The Great Ticket Disaster from the October edition of Scholastic Scope Magazine. 

Oct. 25 - In class students finished off their Orange Shirt Day presentations and hung up their Orange Shirts. The students are going to continue throghout the week to work on the Music Artist Project. Tomorrow we are correcting the reading assessment for The Great Ticket Disaster and continuing with the assessment. 

Oct. 24 - Students were given Chromebooks in order to do research for the biography section for their Music Artist Project. They were also presented the rest of the project and the expectation for each section. Students were also able to ask Ms.Forest any questions as they were working. The slides containing the instructions are available in Google Classroom for the students, along with a format on Google Slides for the students to put their Mood Board / Collage in. 

Oct. 20 - Class was dedicated to peer review for the artist text that the students worked on this week. Prior to the start of the tutorial, Ms. Forest had the class listen to the story from October's edition of Scope Magazine titled The Great Ticket Disaster  that describes the issues with ticket master and the Eras tour. Students are to submit a write up that is edited and typed for next Friday, October 27th. 

Oct. 19 - Today was dedicated to students presenting their orange shirt day questions. In class, most students were able to share the responses to the questions given to the students earlier last week. The worksheet was also accompanied with an orange shirt template for students to design. Once the students shared their questions, they were able to show off their designs. Those who were not able to share are going to go early next week. The responses were thoughtful and the class was very considerate when listening to their peers! 

Oct. 18 - Class opened with a discussion on the scope text The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the correction of the reading assessment for the play itself. Once completed, the corrections students were given the opportunity to get their questions answered about their Artist Project. The rest of the class was dedicated to time to work on the in-class write-up that will be peer reviewed in-class on Friday. 

Oct. 17 - Today students picked the music artist that they wish to pick for their next major project. Students also submit their Dr. Seuss worksheets from last week. Afterwards, Ms. Forest presented a slideshow of the details for the next major project, expectations, and guidelines. 

Oct. 16 -  For the first class of the week, students were taught the proper format for answering long answer questions in English. For the assignment, Ms. Forest taught the student the steps for writing out a question, along with a reading of Green Eggs and Ham as the text. Students who were not able to complete the worksheet are to bring it into class Friday October 20th. 

Oct. 11 - Today in class we discusses the assignments that are currenlty ongoing in both ELA and ERC. Students were reminded that they have their Orange Shirt Day activity due on October 19th, as well as the reading assessment for Scope that will be due for October 18th. We also discussed Ped support for those who may still be struggling with Google Classroom and doing assessments on time that need to be submitted via classroom. 

Afterwards, we read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as a class with readers that were assigned prior to class. Students also were shown the vocabulary sheet for their reading assessments. 

Oct. 10 - Welcome back from the long weekend! Today students were assigned their ERC worksheet on Orange Shirt Day and the residential school system. The class started with a presentation on truth and reconciliation, and then students were instructed on the next major assignment for ERC. Students are to answer three long answer questions, then they are going to colour in an orange shirt design.  

On Thursday, October 19, students are going to present their questions to the class, as well as their shirt designs. Students got a portion of the class to begin answering the questions or doing the t-shirt design. 

Oct. 6 - Due today was the reading assessment for the debate article titled Is It OK to Be Rude to Alexa? (pp. 10-11), along with the paper copy of the classwork assignment for Curse of the Hope Diamond.  Students turned in the paper assignment, along with the Grammar classwork assignment that we worked on in yesterday's class.

Next, after a few housekeeping announcements, we proceeded to correct both the reading assessment and went over the answers to the Grammar classwork assignment, for the remaining time for the block.

Next week, Ms. Forest will be taking over as head teacher of the group.  Mr. Wilds will remain in the building and will pop by from time to time.

Enjoy the long Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!  See you on Tuesday, next week!

Oct. 5 - After some housekeeping announcements and reminders, today the class received their October issue of Scholastic Scope.  As this is now the second issue for the year, the teacher took a bit of time to go over the different types of articles and activities that can be expected from each issue.  For instance, every issue will have a piece of nonfiction, a fictional story, a short read article, a debate, a play and a grammar lesson.  

Today, we focused on the grammar lesson, which covers the proper usage of then vs. than.  After watching a quick video, called the 'Grammar Hack', students were given 3 minutes to read and highlight the proper usage of the two, using short passages of text found on pages 2 - 3.  To supplement this lesson, students were given class time to work on and complete an additional worksheet, which students put into the classwork section of their English binder.  We will go over these answers in a block, later this week.

Oct. 4 - At the start of the class, the teacher showed the group the two postings that had been uploaded to the classwork section of Google Classroom.  These posts both apply to upcoming assignments.  The first is the reading assessment, due to be submitted before Friday, on the debate article that we read last block.  Next, we looked at the post for the classwork assignment on Curse of the Hope Diamond.  The teacher opened each of the three files so that students knew what materials were available to support the handwritten assignment, which will be turned in at the start of class, this Friday.

A large part of the class was spent reorganizing and checking student binders.  Any student who had handouts either loose, in the wrong section or missing was able to receive a copy or had the chance to move it to its' proper spot, given how students were taught to organize their subject binder.  Over the past few blocks, it has become apparent that several students have already lost control of their ability to organize themselves.  As a result, we took a bit of class time to reset and move forward.  Later this term, students will be asked to leave their subject binders behind for a grade.  It will be expected that students maintain being organized, moving on from today's block.

Finally, students were handed out a copy of vocabulary terms that go along with the debate article.  This handout can assist students as they complete their current reading assessment on the text.

Oct. 2 - Welcome back from the weekend.  Today, we started with going over the class work assignment that was given for the text Curse of the Hope Diamond.  The teacher reminded students of the 3 steps required when using text evidence and explained how it should be applied when working on this assignment.  The handwritten assignment will be turned in at the start of the block, this Friday.  Later today, Mr. Wilds is going to post the example that was explained on the SmartBoard, along with a file for students to print off at home should they have lost the handout or feel the need to start over again.

Next, we turned our attention to the debate in the September 2023 issue of Scholastic Scope, titled Is It OK to Be Rude to Alexa? (pp. 10-11).  As a class, we managed to read and discuss this debate in great depth.  For homework, to be digitally turned in before Friday via Google Classroom, students are to complete and submit a reading assessment on the text. 

Sept. 29 - Happy Friday, everyone!  First, every student managed to successfully post their Flip video before the deadline.   As a class, we discussed some challenges and lessons learned so that when this software is used in the future, students can build upon their performance.

Next, as tomorrow is National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, otherwise known as Orange Shirt Day, we used today's ERC block the explore this issue, learning from two videos that we played and respectfully discussed with the group.

The first video, produced by CBC Kids News informs the class about the history, context, and scope behind authentic reconciliation.  The second video is of an audio reading of the children's story titled When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson.  While meant for a younger audience, this story helps students understand what was taken away from indigenous survivors of residential schools and how some managed to hold onto their traditions, language and culture in the face of this sad chapter in Canadian history.  

We will be continuing to learn about this in upcoming ERC classes as we work towards our next project and presentation.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Sept. 28 - Today is the last day for students to post their Flip video for the Walk A Mile In My Shoes presentation.  While many students have already successfully posted their presentations, there are several who are pushing really close to tonight's deadline.  Class began with Mr. Wilds reviewing the instructions, how to access Flip and what it looks like when students successfully post their videos.  Additionally, Mr. Wilds sent to all students whose videos have been posted a private message, in Google Classroom, confirming that their videos are present in Flip.  Should students not receive a message confirmation, this should indicate that the video has not been successfully uploaded in Flip.

Next, due last night, via online submission was both the reading assessment and Inferencing assignment for the play, Rogue Enchantments.  As a class, we went over the answers to both of these tasks.

Sept. 27 - In English class today, the teacher distributed and went over a resource document titled How To Use Text Evidence.  This skill ties into the classwork assignment that we are currently working on, from yesterday's class.  

After this explanation, students continued working on their classwork assignment on The Curse of the Hope Diamond.   This handout will be picked up next week (TBD) and no further class time will be given to students to complete it.   Any work that still needs to be done will be required to be completed at home.  The reason behind not assigning a due date just yet is the three assignments that are currently 'on the go'.  A reminder that the Scope reading assessment and Inferencing assignment are both due today, via Google Classroom.  Additionally, Flip videos should be uploaded by tomorrow, at the latest.

Sept. 26 - At the beginning of the block, Mr. Wilds covered some reminders regarding class procedures and assignments.  A particular issue that has happened for a few students has to do with not submitting work in the proper file format.  For instance, if the instructions state that students need to turn in digital work using a provided Google Doc file, students should not submit their assignments in PowerPoint, as a PDF or any other alternate file format.  This often happens when students are using devices, such as personal cellular devices, rather than a laptop or desktop.  Additionally, installing the Google Chrome web browser and logging in using the school email to complete work will go a long way to avoid submission issues.  During the class, Mr. Wilds worked with a few students directly on some of these issues and solutions to resolve them, if possible.

Next, using Scholastic Scope, students followed along as the teacher played the audio reading of the short text titled The Curse of the Hope Diamond (September 2023 issue, pp.18-19).  From here, we learned about how to write a claim and find text evidence that is meant to back it up.  Using a handout, students were asked to choose whether they felt that the curse of the Hope Diamond was real.  After establishing their position, students turned to their texts and were to find between 2 - 3 pieces of text evidence that they could write a commentary (2-3 sentences in length), explaining how each supports their stance.

This assignment is meant to be done in class and not as homework.  In an upcoming block, additional time will be given to students to continue to work on this assignment before the teacher picks the work package up. 

Sept. 21 - From the September 2023 issue of Scholastic Scope, today we focused on the play, Rogue Enchantments.  To help students better understand the text, students were given two handouts to supplement the play.  The first was the definition of vocabulary terms and the second was how to pronounce some of the Spanish words that are found throughout the play.  For homework, due before Sept. 27, students are to complete a reading assessment and an assignment on Making Inferences.  The teacher has given students a few handouts, teaching students how to infer and a few sentence stems that can be used when writing about making an inference.  Additionally, to assist with the assignment, the teacher showed the class a model that answered the first question of the assignment.  Students, via the editable Google Slide, posted in Google Classroom, will need to complete the remaining 3 questions, following the model shown and discussed in question #1.

Please also be reminded that students should be working on their ERC presentations for Flip.  Given the long weekend, students who use their time wisely will find that they are much less stressed than if they wait to complete these tasks at the last minute.

Sept. 20 - Due last night, via the shared Google Doc posted by the teacher in Google Classroom, was the rationale behind the design of the shoe for the Walk A Mile In My Shoes assignment.  Should there be any issues regarding submissions, Mr. Wilds will be troubleshooting these with students in the next few days.  Today, students cut out their shoes and put them on display, at the back of the classroom, for curriculum night, which is held tomorrow.  Any student who did not have their finished stencil on hand today can simply turn it in, tomorrow.

Moving onto the next phase of this project, the teacher showed students how to access and spoke about best practices, using the Flip.  Flip is a free software for students to film presentations and turn them into their teacher.  Student presentations, covering the 4-5 points written as the rationale that led to the shoe design, will be the content of the presentation.  The teacher strongly emphasized that they should be testing their devices tonight.  If any student has a barrier to recording their presentation, speaking to their teacher early will allow us to figure out how best to solve the problem.

A link to access Flip was posted as an assignment in Google Classroom.  All videos should be uploaded before our next ERC class, which falls on Day 1 of the cycle of class days.

Sept. 19 - As some students have been struggling with keeping up with homework and assignments lately, we took a bit of class time to really get the group to really grasp what acceleration means for our program and how to use various tools (this website, Google Classroom, student agenda, morning and/or afternoon ped support) to stay in good standing in both the class and the overall program.  This differs greatly from other programs found at JRHS and we took a look at the difference in classroom instructional time that lends to having more work to be completed at home.

Ms. Forest next worked with the class, correcting the reading assessment that was due, last night.  Any student who has not completed the take-home assessment before the deadline is invited to attend ped support, in the morning, on Day 5.  A private note has been sent to students via Google Classroom, advising them of this situation.

For those students who have not already submitted their Walk A Mile In My Shoes rationale, using the Google Doc found in Google Classroom, this write-up is due before the end of today.

Sept. 18 - Welcome back from the weekend, everyone!  At the start of the block, we reviewed the two homework assignments that are being worked on.  First, the reading assessment for First Day Fly is due before the end of today.  Tomorrow, we will use class time to go over the answers to the reading assessment and discuss strategies for answering multiple-choice questions.  Meanwhile, due tomorrow, students should have completed their write-up that covers the rationale behind the design of their shoe for the Walk A Mile In My Shoes.  Students should complete this writing assignment using the Google Doc that the teacher created and shared with everyone.  It is found in Google Classroom and students can build upon the work that was started on Sept. 15th during their in-class work block.

Next, students were distributed a resource handout titled What Is An Inference?  This handout teaches students the literary term, inferencing, while also including a few questions to test that they clearly understand what it means to infer.  Additionally, the teacher provided the class with another handout that helps students with starting reporting about inferencing that they make when reading.  Inference sentence stems gives several suggested ways to 'get the ball rolling' when students report on what they understood by reading 'between the lines'.  In an upcoming class, we will be exploring inferencing using one of the texts from the September issue of Scholastic Scope.

Sept. 15 - Due today, in class, was the design of the 'shoe' for the Walk A Mile In My Shoes assignment.  There was a bit of confusion at the start of class about whether or not students needed to produce their write-up.  The teacher mentioned that this was NOT due today and in actuality, this was the in-class task for the day.

After presenting to the students what needed to be produced for their write-up, students were given the duration of class time to work on a rough draft of this.  Via Google Classroom, posted later today, students will be given an assignment that they will need to type up the final version of the rationale behind the design of their 'shoe'.  The due date for submitting this will be before our next ERC class, which is on Sept. 20th (Day 1). 

Sept. 13 - In ELA today, the teacher started the block discussing two posts to the Stream tab of Google Classroom, which were posted last night.  The first post pertained to how to log in to the digital version of Scholastic Scope.  After a walkthrough of the steps, Mr. Wilds showed the class a few additional features that are built in to help students who may struggle with focus or who may want to listen to the audio versions of the texts.  Next, assisted by Ms. Forest, we went over how we will be pacing our classes over the cycle of days in the school calendar.  On Day 1, we will have our ERC block.  On Day 2, we will read a text from Scholastic Scope.  For homework, due before Day 6, students can be assigned a homework and/or reading assessment to complete before the deadline.  This should allow for ample time to complete the work and not put too much pressure on students, should they have an important competition or event that would make it difficult to complete homework for the next school day.  Students should be able to plan their schedules accordingly and pace their work so that they can produce quality work.

Next, students received their first issue of Scholastic Scope.  After receiving a handout of key vocabulary terms, students listened and followed along to an audio reading of the text, First Day Fly, narrated by the author.

Assigned for homework today, due to be completed before Day 6, is a reading assessment on this text.  Check the Classwork tab of Google Classroom for the instructions and the digital assessment.

Sept. 12 - Today in ERC, students planned for the design of their 'shoe'.  The teacher first distributed a handout with ideas for students to plan what they wanted to include in their design.  After picking five ideas from the list, students were able to ask Ms. Forest for a couple of different stencils.  Using the Art supplies that they brought to class, students used class time to start working on their assignment.

The teacher let the class know that they will need to finish their 'shoe' on Thursday and bring the completed stencil to class on Friday.  Should any student require additional stencils or wish to look over the assignment, they can check Google Classroom as the teacher will post files in the Classwork section.

Sept. 11 - Our fantastic student teacher, Ms. Forest, joined us today.  She will be working alongside Mr. Wilds, progressively taking over some of the classes, in the first couple of months of this school year.  As was explained, Mr. Wilds will work closely and plan the lessons with Ms. Forest, as she wraps up her teaching degree at McGill University.  Today, students produced a quick-write piece on a prompt on the board.  Students were given one minute and wrote their thoughts on the statement: You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.  After the minute passed, students were asked to put their pencils down and were invited, should they wish to share their thoughts on the prompt.  Next, the teacher discussed what we will be working on tomorrow, which will be designing their own 'shoe'.  Students will have a stencil, which they will include colours, quotes, words that describe them, likes and dislikes, values and norms and so forth.  We will be working on this during class time tomorrow and it will be due later this week.  Additionally, a presentation component will be required, however, it will not be a 'traditional' in-class presentation.  More on this to come...

Sept. 7 - At the start of the block, Mr. Wilds covered a few homeroom/housekeeping items before we really dived into today's topic.  Once we were settled, we took a look at unit 1.1 from the ERC textbook, which deals with values and norms which are at the heart of identity.  We defined what a value and a norm are, along with having a discussion on the differences that exist between the two and how they help shape ones' identity.

In our next class, we will dive back into this and move towards our first assignment for the school year.

Sept. 5 - After getting settled back into the classroom, we spent class time setting up the classroom binders.  While there were several students who may not have had their materials purchased yet, they were still able to take notes and follow along with how to stay organized for the two courses that will be taught by Mr. Wilds.  To allow a bit more time for students to go out and purchase their school supplies, Mr. Wilds will be checking at the start of next week to make certain that everyone has what is required for the course.  In case students need to consult the document that was shown in class today for how to organize the subject binder, they can refer to the Stream page of Google Classroom, as the file was shared so that this can be worked on, at home.

In the meantime, we will be working on the first ERC unit in the next few classes.

Sept 1 - Today was our first formal day of school.  Much of the class was devoted to answering any student questions, through a game of 'ask me anything'.  This allowed students to ask whatever they were wondering, whether it be about their teacher, the school or the program (as long as it was appropriate, which it always was!).  Additionally, Mr. Wilds handed out the course outline to help students understand more about the two subjects that he teaches, some of his class expectations, the evaluation criteria and the course materials to be purchased and brought to class.  After the long weekend, the teacher will help students with how to set up their binders before proceeding into course content.

Additionally, the teacher started collecting the program contracts from students.  Any student who did not have these in class will be able to turn them in, next week.

Aug. 31 - Welcome to John Rennie and the first day of high school.  Today was mostly to help students orient themselves, meet many of their teachers, receive their locker locations and locks and have fun meeting the students in the class.  I hope that everyone had an enjoyable experience and I look forward to working with you all this school year!