We spent some time this week discussing the importance of setting goals. After reading “One Word for Kids” by Jon Gordon”, the students worked on a project where they were asked to choose a single word to focus on for 2024. They began by using guiding questions to help determine some school and personal goals for the New Year. Then the students were asked to choose a “One Word” resolution that would fit with these goals. The idea is that this will become the students’ word of the year and will help guide them towards their goals and dreams for 2024. 

In science this week the students participated in a STEM activity challenge where they were asked to design and build a catapulting device to throw a basketball through a hoop. The students used the steps of the Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Test and Improve) for this

challenge. Given a specific list of materials, they worked with partners to build their catapults and then presented them to the class.

For art this week the students worked on a directed drawing of a simple city landscape. After completing their buildings with snow topped roofs, they finished the drawing off with a swirly sky. They used a sharpie to go over their pencil lines, before beginning to paint with watercolour paint. To create a deeper layer of blue in the sky, an extra coat of watercolour was added to the swirls in the sky. Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting was the inspiration for this art project.