April 2018

April 6, 2018

Welcome back, we hope that you had a great long weekend!

This week, we dug a little deeper into identity and looked at the visible and invisible factors that impact our identities. We worked on an activity looking at the circles of me that asked us to consider and identify our race, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and religion. Students were offered the option to share their thoughts with the whole class but the activity was more of a reflection piece as we work towards our tdsbCREATES project - Narratives of NOW - starting later this month.

In Language we continued - and almost finished - our second book talks and activities. Students were hard at work recording movie trailers and book reviews. Next week we'll discuss where we'll go next with presenting our work to the other groups.

In Math we started looking at different strategies for multiplication. From the algorithm to the Box Method, students were exploring 2-digit by 2-digit and 3-digit by 2-digit multiplication. Next week, we will look at ways in which we can use the Base Ten Blocks to help us as one student spoke about using arrays for multiplication.

We were hard at work with our Kindergarten Buddies this week. We created centres for exploring the different building tools and we think they might just be ready for building next week. Students explored cardboard cutting and connecting using Makedo; they explored using gussets when joining wood with glue; and we pulled out the saws for some jinx wood cutting. We might just be ready to bring our passions to life!

In Science, students were given one minute to explain their inquiry question, what they have discovered so far and what they think they would like to build related to the human body systems. Next week, we'll continue our research around our questions and start creating.

In Art, we continued our work on our arpilleras and in French, we continued with our play.

Next week, permission forms will be coming home for our Field Trip to the Ballet on Friday, April 27th. Also, on Wednesday, April 11th, we hope that you show your support against homophobia and bullying of all forms by wearing pink for Pink Shirt Day.

April 13, 2018

What a busy and fun-filled week!

We continued our tdsbCREATES work around identity and dug a little deeper into race and sexual orientation. I shared my Personal Playlist Podcast with students and had them consider and identify a song for each of the following: nostalgic; speaks to their identity; a pick me up or motivational. I was amazed by the depth in their choices and the emotions that their songs evoked. We also had some time to consider the direction of our Narratives of NOW musical. We start next week and I think we're all really excited.

In Math, we worked to see how we might be able to use Base Ten Blocks to help with our multiplication. After a couple of days of practice, some students noticed a pattern and were really excited that they could use this as a shortcut to solving multiplication problems. We also worked through a variety of word problems which we are in the process of consolidating. Next week, we move into division.

In Science, students had the opportunity to test out their heart. We learned a little more about the circulatory system and our heart rates through an activity that got us moving. We also continued researching our inquiries and took some time to get feedback from friends. We're in the building or creating stages of our artifacts so stay tuned!

In French, we are continuing to work on our plays. This week, we had a short comprehension quiz and students did very well on it. Performances start next week!

In Art, some groups have selected materials and have started putting together their arpilleras based on a social or environmental issue.

On Monday we will be starting the day with a workshop from the National Ballet. As mentioned before, we are participating in the YOU Dance program and students will be attending a performance on the 27th, downtown. In order to get us ready, we will be having a dancer come in and share a little more about what to expect and she will also allowing us to learn a few moves. Students are asked to wear comfortable clothes and to arrive at school on time as we will be beginning promptly at 8:45. Have a fantastic weekend!

April 20, 2018

tdsbCREATES has begun! On Thursday, we met our Artist - Cathy Nostay - and began working on our 10-minute musical about Identity. Cathy began the day by getting to know the names of the students through song. Later, we moved into what we already know about musicals and even began to write our song about our protagonist about their identity. Next week we will be continuing to streamline our story and fine tune the scripts we've written for the beginning, middle and end of our musical. We only have 5 days to work and it's going to be fantastic!

In Math, we continued to look at division strategies and how division is related to multiplication. Students used arrays and also used our multiplication charts to help as we tried to solve problems related to division. Next week we will work on the algorithm and also repeated division by friendly numbers.

In Science, we continued our inquiries and some students have put in requests for materials for their models. I hope that we begin building next week!

In French, we continued to have some time to practice our plays and next week we are on to presenting. After that, we will be working on rooms and items in the home. This time, students will be supported in writing their own short plays using the vocabulary we will be learning.

In Social Studies, we continued our work on early societies and students were tasked with investigating an early society and determining the elements that made them function or caused them to fall apart. Next week we will be working to identify some of the similarities and differences between some of the early societies that we have been investigating.

Next week is a busy one filled with the Arts! On Monday, we will be having a workshop from the National Ballet of Canada and on Friday, we will be heading down for a ballet performance. On Thursday, we will be having another tdsbCREATES session with Cathy to continue our work on our Musical. On Wednesday, we will be having a number of Beginning Teachers coming in to visit our class as we work on a Design Challenge. It's sure to be a busy week and one filled with lots of excitement. Please check out our What's On At Shaughnessy page to keep on top of all the fantastic things happening over the next while.

April 27, 2018

We started and ended the week with YOU Dance. On Monday morning, students participated in a ballet workshop to prepare us for an experience that we enjoyed today. We visited the Betty Oliphant Theatre to learn a little more about ballet and view a number of amazing dances.

The Arts continued to take centre stage in our program this week as we continued our work on our musical for tdsbCREATES. We wrote songs and continued to work on our script which is close to being complete. Next week, we have 3 days of work and will be performing on Thursday afternoon should parents wish to join us.

In Math, we continued to problem solve using multiplication and division. We also started a Design Challenge that requires a budget. Students will be given $1000 and will have to purchase materials to build their prototype. It will be a real-life application to some of the work that we are doing around addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

In Science, students continued their inquiries and are ready to get creating. Presentations begin in 2 weeks!

In French, we presented our "Comment y aller" plays. It was great to see students performing in character and with expression. Next week, we're on to writing out own dialogues for short skits on items and rooms in the home.

Today was our last day with Mr. Goudreau, our Teacher Candidate. We wish him all the very best in his future in Education.