This Week

November 20-25

This week our class will meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We will have four main themes for the week:

• First, we will dive deep into a third water treatment option. This time, students will be preparing a product and a presentation. This could be a poster, a slideshow, or a video that they will share with others to help explain the water treatment option they choose to investigate. This will be a practice for the exhibition that we will be planning to wrap up this project.
• Second, students will continue to read Heck Superhero which will lead into our discussion of community agencies and support and how we need to support others in our community with mental health concerns and other needs.
• Third, students will continue learning about cells. As part of this unit, we will be partnering with the honours Science 9 class who will be teaching the grade 8s how to use microscopes. I'm excited to see students teaching students!
• Finally, we will be up to our necks in service learning. Our class will continue to organize and promote the annual holiday food drive, AND we will have a bake sale to support the students' choice to support a charity.

We have a lot on the go, but that's what makes our class meaningful and interesting. Continue asking your kids about what they are learning.

November 14-18

Turns out I'm horrible at maintaining a blog. It just slips my mind in all the busyness of the week.

Here's a recap of last week:

• On Tuesday students did a self-evaluation. They considered what they have done in term one that provides evidence of their core competencies: communication, thinking, and social responsibility. Parents will see these self-evaluations attached to report cards.
• Students also completed any last-minute outstanding work for term 1.
• Our class has organized and will run the annual holiday food drive.
• We also continued learning about cells and cell theory.
• On Thursday we dove back into our novel Heck Superhero.
• The highlight of the week was probably visiting Gardengate on Thursday afternoon where students worked hard in the cold, damp weather spreading out tarps, transplanting strawberry plants, and raking weeds. We all returned to school with rosy cheeks and cold fingers.

November 7-10

Time is flying by! Some sneaky students have already been putting winter holiday countdowns on my whiteboard. This week is a short one with Remembrance Day on Friday. We have Explorations on Tuesday and Thursday this week. This Thursday is also the end of Term 1.

Tuesday and Thursday we will be focused on tying up some loose ends before the end of term:

• Completing two columns in our water treatment comparison charts to meet the highest standard on our assessment rubric
• Completing a guided essay to meet the highest standard on our assessment rubric.

In addition to these on-going assignments, students will continue reading their novel Heck Superhero and examine the use of imagery, simile, and metaphor. We will also discuss empathy - an idea that was introduced during our Maker Day.

If we have time, students will also dive deeper into another water treatment option of their choice. Now that we've seen what it takes to go deep, the process should go faster as we move forward.

October 31 - Nov 4

Last week was unusual for a couple of reasons: First, we had Explorations on Halloween Monday. Second, we had our first Maker Day on Friday. All in all, it was a fun week.

Of course, we did a bunch of work this week, too.

On Monday, students taught each other about different types of water treatment methods. Since each one is an expert in one type of water treatment, they shared their knowledge with someone specializing in another method. We also practiced using descriptive words and learned what similes are. We ended the afternoon playing board games and card games. The class had a great time laughing and playing together.

On Wednesday, students used a rubric to evaluate their water treatment research and improve their note taking. This was a great work session with all students taking pride in their work. Students also participated in a brain-storming session with administrators by sharing their ideas for improving Brock.

Friday was our first Maker Day. Students were presented with a design challenge: to design a structure that would increase students' enjoyment during the lunch hour at Brock. Students used power tools and worked with all kinds of materials to make prototypes for their inventions.

October 24-28

Okay, it's been a while since I updated this website. I had great intentions...but, alas, life happens.

This week students are diving into the novel Heck Superhero. We are exploring the characteristics of a hero and, more importantly, what sustains us when we face challenges.

Also this week, students are continuing to dive deep into water treatment options. They are becoming experts in one area of water treatment and then teaching each other. They will also be writing a guided essay about the first water treatment they have studied.

If you want to see what your students are learning, ask to look in their Google classroom folders.

October 3-7

And we're off...

This week we launch our first big project. Here's the scenario and the question we will be answering over the couple of months:

Scenario:

A group of Kamloops residents are forming an off-the-grid community. They face several challenges and they are asking for your help. The first challenge is finding the best method for supplying their families with potable water. You need to know that they want their community to have a low environmental impact, they will be generating their own power, and they will not have access to the city’s treated water. You must research different methods of treating water and present the best option for your clients. Your presentation will need to convince community members that your chosen method meets their needs and is safe, cost-effective, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

Driving Question: How can we create potable water that is safe, cost-effective, sustainable, and eco-friendly?

Students began asking questions today to clarify the details of this project. They seemed engaged and I'm looking forward to the weeks to come.

On Wednesday we will be travelling by school bus to the Farmer's Market on Victoria Street and then to the Kamloops Water Treatment Centre. At both places we will be documenting what we see and hear and bringing our information back to school where we will be applying the information to our projects.

On Friday the class will continue working on our big project. Part of that learning will include a lesson on cells - because our cells need water, of course.

September 26-30

This week we meet Tuesday and Thursday.

What's up for this week? Let's start with Tuesday.

On Tuesday we start the morning by reviewing some grammar points and the states of matter. Next will be an introduction to water: why we need it, and why it's an issue in some communities. We will spend some time discussing online etiquette and keeping ourselves safe as we begin to blog our learning! The most exciting part of Tuesday will be the big reveal: our first big project challenge. Ask your kids what it's all about.

On Thursday, I will be away, but the kids will be in capable hands as they visit a nearby backyard to harvest apples. The apples will come back to the school to be chopped and frozen for another day when they will become pies! Also on Thursday, students will delve into the world of Jack Daw. Sound exciting? Ask your kids.

September 12-16

This week we meet Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

On Monday we did some projects around the classroom and for our school, started to explore the question, "What sustains us?" and set some goals for the coming year.

On Wednesday we are walking to the Community Garden on Crestline where we will harvest the remaining tomatoes and peppers from our school's garden plot. We will also clean up the plot. When we return to school we will continue with our "What sustains us?" assignment and have time to work on our vision boards.

On Friday we will look at students' ideas about what sustains us and we will be writing about our goals. There is a chance we will be asked by the local Gleaning Abundance Program to pick fruit from a Brock backyard. We are waiting to hear.

This week students have been signing into Google classrooms. These virtual classrooms are where students receive and submit assignments. Ask your student to show you around and see what they have been doing.

September 6-9

Our class meets for just one day on Thursday 8 September. We will spend most of our time getting to know each other, setting up classroom routines, and imagining what our year will look like.

I am excited to announce that our class (along with Mr. Coleman's classes) has been selected to have our own class set of Chromebooks this year. This link has information about the benefits of using Google Apps for Education in the classroom: Chromebook Initiative

There are some forms that need to be filled out here:

Parent Response Form (for parents and guardians) - no need to print this one

Google Apps for Education Consent Form - a paper copy of this form will be sent home for parent/guardian signatures