HiP Hip Hooray - We’ve Made it to May! 

This month we witnessed an amazing event - the solar eclipse. It was a school day for teachers, not for students, but we were all excited nonetheless. A few teachers even met up with friends that came to the school to take a look. We celebrated 2 birthdays, (Happy Birthday to Daniel and Lara!), led a school garden revitalization project, showed off our Métis inspired dandelion dot art at Arts Night (amazing job to our friend Chloe & Jack H. for your choir performance), began our learning with some intermediate students, welcomed a class pet (well sort of) and so much more! 

Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - We have started to edit each other's writing. First, peers identify the skills / criteria that they are working on and should therefore be included. Next peers take turns sharing their work, reading it aloud to their partner, demonstrating active listening (e.g., focusing on the reader, noting important details, asking clarifying questions, etc.). Then, the editor retells the piece in their own words, highlighting examples of the writer's identified area of focus. Finally, a next step is provided that could make their friend's writing even stronger. Many of the bunch also celebrated writing their first email to their grown ups. It was a lot of hard work for our friends (and then a lot of frustrating work on my end as we navigated a variety of new technical issues and restrictions). Apologies to you all, and thank you so much for your patience as we worked through them. 

Numeracy - Problem solving has been a huge area of focus this month. We have been working as a class, in our table groups, and individually to solve problems. We learned that working in our table groups requires a variety of collaboration skills (e.g., division of workload, positive & productive communication, compromise, focus, time management, leadership, confidence, etc.). These activities worked to highlight individual strengths, while exposing areas that could use a few more strategies. You may not believe this, but food has been a huge motivator for meaningful experiential learning activities. Students counted various containers of cookies,  crackers,  and cereal as they practiced/ demonstrated estimation skills, sorting, subtraction, addition, multiplication, and division concepts as they decomposed various amounts. Additionally (pun intended) they applied initiative, critical thinking, and concepts of fairness, equity, and integrity; combining remainders, and sacrificing larger individual group portions to ensure all members of the class received equal amounts. Try doing all that with a worksheet ;) I would also like to give a special shout out to our resident hard worker, Aidan Coyne who was awarded a medal for finishing the Knowledgehook Mathathon - Way to Go, Bud!

Outdoor Forest School / Inquiry Learning -  we began Eco Explores this month, every Friday we meet with Ms. Smolenaars grade 7 class, exploring various aspects of our local environment (e.g., signs of spring, human impact, safety and aspects related to  positive and negative risky play, challenges that various life faces, human responsibilities and calls to action, etc.). We started a mini marsh project and welcomed a snail into our class (Munchie, is adorable and loves veggies). No big deal, but we also led our school garden revitalization project; we removed over 30 bags of bush trimmings, dead foliage, and weeds! Though we were a bit sad to see these go (comforted by those still in the green space surrounding the school) because of how awesome dandelions are. We learned that dandelions are incredibly resilient, can be used in soups and salads, have medicinal properties, and serve a vital role as the season's first source of food for pollinators. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that they also make pretty necklaces, crowns, and bouquets. In fact, we were so inspired by our learning that we created beautiful dandelion dot art! 

Social Emotional - Emotions are starting to heighten as we enter our final months. We are tired, excited for the summer break, and have a ton of events that change up our schedule which create various levels of anxiety and excitement (at minimum). These emotions may come to the surface in a variety of ways, from asking a ton of questions, to being a irritable, sad, or even silly leading students to demonstrate uncharacteristic behaviour. As such, friends are being reminded of expectations regarding recess play, assignment / work responsibilities, and advocate and work through peer conflicts and misunderstandings, in an effort to move positively through the day. 

I just wanted to take another moment to thank all of you with your above and beyond support regarding our (ongoing) Earth Day garden revitalization project. Friends worked so, so hard! I am beyond proud of them and I know you all are too. But we honestly could not have done it without you. The outdoor education team had run out of options and it means the world to me (and the Baxter Bunch members who were beyond proud) that you all came to our rescue so readily. We are all so appreciative - the school community, our administration, the amazing Baxter Bunch, and of course - the earth! :)

Looking ahead… 

I can’t believe we are entering May, and the last stretch of our school year! I’m starting to get emotional myself feeling do proud of all we have accomplished this year, but also sad as I think about saying goodbye to my bunch. I can’t get caught up just yet though, because there is still A LOT to come in the weeks ahead and I will be pushing the kiddos as they get ready to move on! May brings field trips to the art gallery (grade ones - May 24th) and the butterfly conservatory (grade twos - May 9th), the Florence Meares outdoor Music Monday event (May 13th - outdoors), Jump Rope for Heart (May 17th), Professor Jamz (May 6th), and so much more. What a blast!

We've Marched into the Last Stretch, & are Racing to the Finish!

This month we celebrated two birthdays (Happy birthday Jhelani & Aleena), enjoyed a break with our families, welcomed a new friend (Prayushi - the Baxter Bunch is so excited to have you join us), created splashed colour art for Holi, are supporting those observing Ramadan, made connections between eggs, Easter, and the arrival of spring. Created sock ties for World Down Syndrome Day, with meaningful symbols to help spread awareness and acceptance of those individuals born with an extra chromosome. Oh, and ofcourse we have continued to explore the concept of ‘Inaaknigewin’ - the ways in which we interact with, experience, and treat the world around us. Wow! It’s hard to believe we had a week off and a few long weekends.

 Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - We have been working on ‘mico-story’ remixes illustrating how one word in a sentence can change its entire meaning, which is why we need to keep building our vocabularies and choose our words carefully. 

Numeracy - Analog time has been introduced, and as such we are differentiating between the hour hand and the minute hand, and determining what the corresponding numbers mean. We realized that our daily skip counting by 5’s will be a huge help with identifying the minutes past the hour.   

Outdoor Forest School / Inquiry Learning -  Our student structure continues to be a big focus, as we learn about stability, strategy, and teamwork. Structures can be made for a variety of purposes (e.g., stability, height, aesthetics, ) and created our own mini-structures using coloured marshmallows and different toothpicks. Friends presented their structures individually, and the class had to guess the primary focus of the structure. Friends took shape, colour, and size into consideration - structures were then compared and some tested to determine its ability to withstand weight.  

Social Emotional - We have an incredible presentation from Saidat! She highlighted the fact that we may be tiny, but we are mighty when we work together. That kindness, inclusion, and support are the ways to be a leader and make change.

Looking ahead…

 We are excited to begin our Eco Explorer activities with our grade 7 buddies. Acceptance & inclusion will continue to be fostered as we celebrate one another, adding new languages to our good -bye song - if your family speaks another language we would love for you to share "good-bye my friends" so we can add it. Maps will be introduced as we explore our community. Editing techniques will be examined and incorported as we add literacy devices to our best birthday ever, problem solve division questions through sharing activities, investigate simple machines, and so much more. 

 January Is Done, 

Time for Friendship Fun!

2024 has brought big brain boosts, with critical thinking and new expections, as we bump up our learning! We arrived back after the break reviewing rules and routines, while also discussing the ways in which we will build on our current practices to extend and apply what we already know. We celebrated 2 birthdays (Happy birthday to Chloe and Jack H.), made a class book for Ms. Brooke commemorating her time with us while letting her know how much we will miss her, got to see some amazing Energy Efficient Homes created by Mr. Perrino's class, and shared our Water Warrior presentations. We even performed experiements that changed states of matter from solids and liquids to gas. I would also like to say a special "thank you" to Lara who brought in a little new year gift for her friends.  So kind of you Lara, thank you.

Reminders: 

Lunches - many friends must be hitting a growth spurt beacuse they are hungry and may need a little extra food 

Thursday- library day (please remember your books) 

Friday -  Forest School Friday

(meaning dirt, mud, and an hour outside- please dress accordingly). 

Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - we have been exploring 'showing' versus 'telling' in  our writing by adding descriptive adjectives as well as our sensory details. We have also begun to incorporate literacy devices that include rhyme, alliteration, onomatopeia, and similes, to bring our writing to the next level.

Numeracy - mental math strategies like 'counting on' and' making friendly numbers', are being identified and utilized. We have been looking at common fractions, by dividing equally, applying these concepts to shapes and sum amounts. Comparisons and characteristics of 2 and 3 D shapes have been explored through our math bins; vertices are the very pointy parts, faces are flat, and edges are like the end of the shape (don't fall off).

Outdoor School / Inquiry Learning -  The forest continues to excite our friends as we discover animal tracks, newly formed ice, characteristics when it’s cracked, we even found a bridge that was human made and incorporated a natural handle to help us cross. It was a little tricky, but we all nailed it! We are investigating structures how they are made, and what considerations would be looked at when building structures for specifc local animals, versus thosed we would want for ourselves.  

Social Emotional - We have been talking about, and considering different perspectives, examining how they can change our thinking. We have talked about getting “stuck in the muck” of our own big yucky feelings and how impossible it can feel to get out of them. But, it is important that we process our feelings and work to move through them productively in order to push ourselves forward.

Looking ahead… 

February is the month we highlight black history, friendship, the Lunar New Year, and Carnaval. We will learn about how important our identity is, celebrate some amazing humans, welcome in the year of the Fire Dragon, and maybe even meet Bonhomme. Qualities of being a good friend will be identified, acknowledged, and reinforced. This includes inclusive practices and collaboration skills that will help with regard to social aspects as well as group learning situations. As an extension we will finally begin our celebrations around the world project. 

We will explore more of the arts in terms of drama through role plays, applying peer problem solving skills, and dance as a way of sharing our understanding of concepts and incorporating known movements through repetition and S“No”w Dance.

Report cards will also be making their way home this month… Please remember that these may not take into account all of the wonderful qualities your child encompasses. Of course academics have their place, and we will continue to work on them. That being said, my focus is on teaching the qualities that make them empathetic, kind, responsible global citizens. 

Thank you for your continued support, as always feel free to email me if you have any questions, would like to share important information, and/or have something to celebrate baxtert@hdsb.ca. 

2023 is Out the Door; as 

We Welcome in 2024!

It blows me away (get it, because of the weather ;) that we are already at winter break! This month sure seemed to fly by! This month friends learned about water. Water has been recycled for billions of years, we rely on water to live, as do all living things in some way. It is important to note that we have access to clean drinking water, and not everyone in the world does, including some people very close to us in Indigenous communities.  Friends made Cloud Dough, where we were able to develop an understanding around taking things slow, trusting and persevering when learning something new. We also performed at our winter concert, grade 1’s had a special craft day while grade 2’s had a STEAM day. Finally we all got to finish the year off enjoying a comfy, cozy movie day!

Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - we have been working hard in Reader’s Workshop, meeting in small groups to develop our skills. As a whole class, we have been experimenting with word ladders and nonsense words to practice blending, isolating, and differentiating sounds. We are also reviewing short vowel sounds and learning some tips for decoding tricky/unknown words (e.g., bossy, 2 vowels go walking, looking for words within words, etc.). Though it is important to note that some words don’t follow the rules at all and we just have to know them by heart. We have experimented with a variety of ways that we can demonstrate learning - mind maps, T-charts, slide shows, art, role playing, etc.  

Numeracy - Students continue to work on a variety of numeracy skills throughout the day. We have also introduced some new skills, composing and decomposing numbers, putting numbers together and breaking numbers down into parts. We also continue to develop an understanding that skip counting is essentially multiplication and fractions are division. We have also explored division as breaking a whole into equal parts, but also placing a number of items into equal groups. 

Outdoor School / Inquiry Learning - We explored the forest right behind the school - it is AMAZING!! What a wonderful way to authentically experience aspects of the water cycle, discuss impact, and witness changes. Students completed local animal projects doing their own research, obtaining information and pictures to share, creating a Google slideshow. It can take time and practice to learn so many new skills (researching, deciding what’s important, importing pictures that match their words, perseverance, and patience). As such, friends are learning how important it is to take their time following instructions while staying focused and practicing their skills a few times to ensure they are able to accurately demonstrate the new skill. The undo key is quickly becoming a new friend. 

Social Emotional - We are continuing to discuss, problem solve, and role play appropriate and productive strategies for dealing with peer conflicts and class problems. Students worked to identify which issues require a grown up versus those that they can work to resolve on their own. Collaboratively, students then shared ideas, and strategies for solving problems that do not require adult intervention. Our WITS (walk away, ignore and move on, talk it out, and then seek help) strategies are being referenced and allow students to build confidence, self awareness, and autonomy. 

Looking ahead to the new year, we will continue to build our decoding skills through daily word work. Identify Canadian coins and bills, conveying dollar amounts in a variety of ways. Develop an understanding around celebrations and traditions, that may be celebrated within our families and communities, and certain aspects may be impacted based on a variety of factories (e.g., influenced by other traditions, moving to a different country, Indigenous practices were lost as they were outlawed, etc.). Discuss simple machines, their purpose, explore aspects of the world including direction, continents, oceans, build the skills that allow us to use and create maps of our community, and so much more!

I will be sending home a few dry erase pages that can be used in a variety of ways. Please note, these activities will not be handed in for marks, but instead are used to solidify and/or adapt new skills. I just ask that they be kept in a safe place as I would like us to be able to use these resources once we return to class. 

I want to thank you all so much for all of the wonderful gifts I received. From ornaments, to a plethora of gift cards, amazing artwork, and even a funky hat; your generosity is unnecessary, but much appreciated! I will be well fed, full of coffee, and ready to share some new resources! Thank you all so very much!!

I wish you all a wonderful break! I hope you all stay safe and warm, have many laughs, are able to relax, and have an opportunity to take time to enjoy one another.

 I can not wait to see my bunch in the new year!! I am so proud of what we have done, and am so excited to see how far will come before June!

We Remember... November!

There was so much that we covered this month. We celebrated a friend's birthday (Happy birthday, Alex!) Diwali - special thank you to Lara and Aleena for bringing in items to share about the light festival, and commemorated Remembrance Day with discussions around the poppy, why we wear it to remember (those who fight, those who never return, those who do, those who serve in other ways, and especially for peace), and an assembly where we shared our art work and class ‘Peace Poem’. We discussed the school's new motto “Falcons of EVERY feather soar together”; our feelings and understanding around it - WE LOVE IT, especially the way it notes that we are all unique!! Watched a super cool presentation about being an ALL-STAR by NBA all-star entertainer Q-mack, discussed our different roles and responsibilities, unpacked our learning skills (organization, responsibility, independent work, initiative, self-regulation, collaboration), performed a science experiment that highlighted human impact on the environment (e.g., land, water, animals), and shared our progress and goals with our grown ups through our report cards and student-led conferences. 

Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - We have begun reading groups & sounds of the week, introduced 2 mind maps - a Venn diagram and cluster for organizing our thoughts, continue to review sounds (letter, vowel, and blends) through daily cvc (consonant, vowel, consonant) phoneme isolation practice, and are well into Writer's workshop. Student's know that writer's use sensory details to "show" readers, so that they can make pictures in their mind, rather than "telling" the reader. Visualizations allow readers to connect to text in a more meaningful way. We have begun ‘Author's Chair’, students help one another notice the skills they are working on (i.e. sensory details) and wonder about elements they might add (i.e. sequencing events).

Numeracy - Students continue to work on critical thinking through 'Math Picture', number sense with 'Number of the Day', as well as our estimation and problem solving skills, activating prior knowledge, determining what’s important, and making a plan. Additionally (pun intended) friends worked hard to understand the different aspects that would need to be considered if we started a Pokemon club for grades 1-3. We considered the class numbers, estimated participation, thought about the chairs and space needed, etc. 

Outdoor School / Inquiry Learning - We discussed whether (another pun) or not outdoor school could continue, we all agreed it can, as long as we dress appropriately. Please let me know if you might need any help with acquiring some winter gear - and a special thank you to Penny and family for their generous donations. Students have done so well with their researching skills, that they have begun their own individual local animal research projects. Starting from our 'Library Services' hub, they are able to safely research through the 'Life Science' link. We co-created the information criteria and will create individual Google slideshows that students will share with the class. 

Social Emotional - Bullying awareness was a large focus this month. BOO is the acronym that helps us remember that Bullying occurs when someone is B-being mean, O - on purpose, O - over and over. Students are realizing how important it is to use their W.I.T.S (walk away, ignore and move on, talk it out, and then seek help) when dealing with conflict. Using their W.I.T.S allows students an opportunity to build their communication and problem solving skills as they identify their feelings and advocate for themselves. 

Looking ahead, we will continue to build our writing as we introduce editing checklists, co-create our slideshow success criteria, continue to discuss human impact on the environment (especially with regard to water), and share various cycles that occur, including life cycles and the water cycle. Role play some conflicts that might arise and possible solutions, as well as certain emotions, and prepare for the winter break… It’s only 3 weeks away!! For any who may have a little visitor from the north Pole -  Ho, Ho, Hope you all have fun with those elves and their shenanigans. 

Review Preview

October Might be Done, but Fall is Still 

A Lot of Fun!

Wow! I can not believe how quickly the month flew by. Friends are well into our routines, therefore expectations should be readily known. This month we celebrated 4 (YES, 4!) birthdays, had a neon dance party, discussed the importance of gratitude, practiced a fire and lockdown drill, and of course there was Halloween with a mini-party and a special performance of spooky choral reading by the grade 7's. We even got to share our class and show off our learning with our grown ups during our open house. Our co-op student, Ms. Brooke, continues to be a very exciting and helpful additon to our class and gets bombarded with the best hugs!

Let's take a closer look at our learning so far: 

Literacy - We have begun Writer's Workshop and friends are loving it!! We learned that writer's do thing's to make their writing more interesting. Sensory details are a great way to captivate the audience and make a movie in our minds. We are learning that writing is a messy process, it is important to revisit our work, bumping up our writing with more information; carets, asterisks, and spider legs have been introduced as tools for editing. We played a blindfolded target game and learned the importance of feedback in helping us improve and related this to our learning.

Numeracy - We continue to estimate and check our educated guesses applying critcal thinking skills, at times changing our number based on clues given. Number of the Day allows us to compare numbers, representing quantities using tallies, 10 frames, and dot patterns, build skills related to place value using base 10 blocks, and  it even allows for us to practice addition and subtraction equations. We have begun working through 2 part problem solving questions, and learned we can check or work by moving backwards through our solving steps. 

Outdoor School  & Inquiry Learning- We have continued to focus on science, exploring local plants and animals, introducing life cycles, basic characteristics including how they have adapted to our climate and adjust to the changing weather.  We created beautiful fall pictures using watercolour paints, we all drew the front of the school and will continue to revisit and discuss the changes as the school year progresses. 

Social/ Emotional - We are continuing to identify and understand our feelings, while also realizing that we are only able to control ourselves (our words, actions, and how we allow ourselves to be impacted), and building knowledge around the affects of our 'inside hurricanes' (e.g., sore stomach, grumpy, tired, etc.) and the importance of advocating for ourselves. We haved discussed our roles and responsibilities at home and at school, and how those change as we learn and grow. As an extension, we are applying this to teachable moments in the class (e.g., peer conflicts, cutting in line, noticing something not in it's home, etc.) determining what information is necessary or important to share with Mrs. Baxter and what we can begin to work through on our own. 

Next month brings progress reports - we are a group that focuses on progress and not perfection, we will explore the importance of using our WITS (W-alk away, I-gnore, T-alk Out, or lastly S-eek Help) when dealing with peer conflicts, the concept of Peace, what it means to us individually, and to different cultures and communities, especially those new to Canada. 

September Start Up

We are only a few days in and I can honestly say that our grade 1/2 class is already.... well...  an amazing bunch! We are still going over expectations and establishing routines; that being said, we have formed working table groups, begun practicing daily 'mirror work' (affirmations), and have created a class creed with our Baxter Bunch cheer (sung to 'The Addams Family' tune)

The Baxter Bunch, 

We're happy and we're kind, 

we always use our minds,  

the best you'll ever find 

- we are the Baxter Bunch! 

We're always having fun, 

and we learn a ton, 

while helping everyone 

- we are the Baxter Bunch!! 

do do do do (clap, clap) - do do do do  (clap clap) 

 Do do do do, do do do do, do do do do ( clap clap). 

We will be starting each day with outdoor school, and with that, we have already started our first inquiry unit of study - our local community. Please come dressed appropriately for the weather. Also note that outdoor school carries the same expectations as our indoor classroom. Our Terry Fox Run/ Walk was a huge success, friends had a blast run iing, dancing, and chatting with friends while also learning about Terry as a hero and inspiration. 'Breakfast for the Brain' allows us to get our brains going and juices flowing, as it reinforces the learning we are doing in class. 

Let's take a closer look at our learning so far: 

Literacy - Our first activity was "making" stories, using loose parts. Often students can share elaborate stories with great detail, but then are limited by the words they can spell. This activity allowed us to share freely. We read 'More Than Peach' (it highlights the beauty of skin colour and all the wonderful shades we are), and 'Our Class is a Family' (showcases the shared characteristics of our families at home and at school). Friends made the connection between different types of audiences as we shared the pen to write letters to our new principal, Ms. Mckenzie Wells & our vice Principal, Ms. Puckerin, as well as our letter to our parents (pictured above). We are reviewing words, phonics, and strategies to incorporate when encountering new and/or unknown words. 

Numeracy -  We have reviewed patterns with a variety of manipulatives and even ourselves; creating 3D patterns with blocks, movement patterns with exercise, and strength building, colour and shape patterns, and so much more. Through bin activities and games, we have explored greater than/less than, checked our familiarity with common dot patterns, and utilized 10 frames to illustrate both number sense and addition concepts. Students used number lines to compare the hours spent at school versus the hours we spend awake at home. Friends worked together to problem solve how to divide a tarp (actually we figured out we needed two tarps) into equal squares (so we have a place to sit when things are wet), by repeatedly dividing in half. We quickly realized that the more we folded the smaller each square became. Math Pictures (promotes critical thinking), Number of the Day (soldifies number sense), and Estimation Station (relationships and probabilites) have also been introduced, and added to our weekly routines.

Social/Emotional - The Baxter Bunch enters the indoor classroom, each day with "mirror work" (our daily affirmations), and have begun discussing the importance of having a strong, mind, body, and heart. In our class we strive to celebrate everyone, and as such we are exploring what it means to be unique.  It is important to recognize how we are the same and can relate to one another while also celebrating the many differences that make us who we are. Students are deepening their understanding of families here at home and around the world. As an extension, friends were able to make the connection between the shared characteristics of our home and school families (e.g., we care for each other, we work to keep each other safe, we are respectful to our surroundings, we help one another, etc.). Respect is our number one rule, and as such we have begun talking about what it means to be respectful to people, places, and things. Inside hurricanes have been expored. Inside hurricanes occur when our feelings become too much. They can start as sadness, anger, frustration, and silliness; when they can no longer be controlled, we often see tears, hear yelling, crying, have stomach aches, and/or headaches, etc.  

Inquiry Learning - Students are excited to discover more about what is right at their fingertips (quite literally), engaging passionately in the learning process; asking questions, sharing theories, exploring foundational research concepts, applying new knowledge, etc. I can't believe all we have accomplished already! It may be early, but I can already tell I have the best class in the school (talk about luck, I almost feel bad for some of the other teachers - kidding). Please take a look at these fantastic resources from the University of Guelph. Students were able to advocate, and we now have a set for our class. They are great for identifying items in our environment for further research. 

What Will Next Month Bring?

We will continue to build independence through clear expectations and daily routines. We will celebrate a ton of birthdays. Reader's Workshop will become more focused with small group instruction, and we will explore student-teacher conferences to build our writing skills. Grading for Growth and the importance of formative assessment will also be introduced. 

HiP Hip Hooray - We’ve made it to May! 

This month we witnessed an amazing event - the solar eclipse. It was a school day for teachers, not for students, but we were all excited none-the-less. A few teachers  even met up with friends that came to the school to take a look. We celebrated 2 birthdays, (Happy Birthday to Daniel and Lara!), led a school garden revitalization project, showed off our Métis inspired dot art at arts night (amazing job to our friend Chloe & Jack H. with your choir performance), began out learning with some intermediate students, welcomed a class pet (well sort of) and so much more! 

Let's take a closer look at our learning this month: 

Literacy - We have started to edit each other's writing. First, peers identify the skills / criteria that they are working on and should therefore be included. Next peers take turns sharing their work, reading it aloud to their partner. Then, we demonstrate active listening (e.g., focusing on the reader, noting important details, asking clarifying questions, etc.) as they share their work. The editor retells the piece in their own words, highlighting examples of the writer's identified area of focus. Finally, a next step is provided that could make their writing even stronger.  Many of the bunch also celebrated writing their first email to their grown ups. It was a lot of hard work for our friends (and then a lot of frustrating work on my end as we navigated a variety of new technical issues and restrictions). Apologies to you all, and thank you so much for your patience as we worked through them. 

Numeracy - Problem solving has been a huge area of focus this month. We have been working in our table groups, which requires a variety of collaboration skills (e.g., division of workload, positive & productive communication, compromise, focus, time management, leadership, confidence, etc.) showcasing individual strengths while exposing areas that could use a few more strategies. You may not believe this, but food has been a huge motivator for meaningful experiential learning activities. Students counted various containers of cookies,  crackers,  and cereal.

Students practiced/ demonstrated estimation skills, sorting, subtraction, addition and multiplication from 1 to 120, division concepts as they decomposed various amounts into equal groups for their table and/or class. Additionally (pun intended) they applied initiative, critical thinking, and concepts of fairness, equity, and integrity; combining remainders, and sacrificing larger individual group portions to ensure all members of the class received equal amounts. Try doing all that with a worksheet ;) Special congratulations to Aidan Coyne who was awarded a medal for finishing the Knowledgehook Mathathon!

Outdoor Forest School / Inquiry Learning -  we began Eco Explores this month, Every Friday we meet and explore various aspects of our local environment (e.g., signs of spring, human impact, safety and aspects related to  positive and negative risky play, challenges that various life faces, human responsibilities and calls to action, etc.). Not to mention leading a school garden clean up where we removed over 30 bags of bush trimmings, dead foliage, and weeds! Though we were a bit sad to see these go (comforted by those still in the green space surrounding the school) because of how awesome dandelions are. We learned that dandelions are incredibly resilient, can be used in soups and salads, have medicinal properties, and serve a vital role as the season's first source of food for pollinators. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that they also make pretty necklaces, crowns, and bouquets. In fact, we were so inspired by our learning that we created beautiful dandelion dot art! 

 Social Emotional - Emotions are starting to heighten as we enter our final months. We are tired, excited for the summer break, and have a ton of events that change up our schedule. All of this anxiety and excitement can come to the surface in a variety of ways from asking a ton of questions, to feeling a little more emotional, to showing uncharacteristic behaviour. Friends are being reminded of expectations regarding , recess play, assignment / work responsibilities, and to initiate conversations advocating for themselves, to clear up conflicts and misunderstandings with peers in an effort to move positively through the day. 

Just wanted to take another moment to thank all of you with your support regarding our (ongoing) Earth Day garden revitalization project. Friends worked so, so hard! I am beyond proud of them and I know you all are too. But we honestly could not have done it without you. The outdoor education team had run out of options and it means the world to me (and the Baxter Bunch members were so proud) that you all came to our rescue so readily. We are all so appreciative - the school community, our administration, the amazing Baxter Bunch, and of course, the earth! :)