March 2021

March 5, 2021

March is here and spring is in the air! Well...almost. The weather has been switching between warmer and colder days and yet the sunshine is a sure sign that spring is around the corner.

This week in Literacy, students continued to write or type the good copies of their fables. We have also been tying in Drama by writing our own Pink Shirt Day public service announcements and working on performing our Anansi play. It's been so much fun seeing how students are getting in character and using their voice to bring emphasis to certain parts of their plays.

In Science, we continued our unit on conservation of energy. We read and discussed ways in which we can conserve energy in our homes such as, turning off the lights when we are not in the room or turning off the water while brushing our teeth. We also tried to see if we might be able to light a bulb using a lemon battery. We found that we generated enough energy to light an LED bulb but even with 19 lemons, we struggled to power a larger bulb. We also started conversations around climate change.

We are continuing to learn about rhythm in Orff. Students were tasked with learning yet another song and we have been hard at work trying to understand rhythmic notation.

In Physical Education, we wrapped up our unit on volleyball and I have to admit how impressed I am at the growth of everyone! From our serves to volleys, I've seen huge improvements and the game in our last class was proof. I'm so proud of how much effort everyone put into learning the skill. Next week, we start a unit on gymnastics. I believe a letter with information will be sent home from the school and I look forward to learning with this unit will be all about.

Our dances are coming along and we will be presenting them next week. I can't wait to see how students will tell the story of finding the covid vaccine through dance.

It's the weekend! I hope that it is restful and enjoyable for everyone!

March 12, 2021

What a week it has been! Celine Joo - a Teacher Candidate from York University - started her placement with us this week. She will be teaching and learning with us over the next 4 weeks. We also had some pretty warm temperatures this week and so the playscape was open for us to enjoy.

This week we continued with our connection between Literacy and Drama as students presented their Anansi plays and continued to work on their Pink Shirt Day scripts. I was blown away by some amazing presentations where students were in character and used actions and their voices to bring the story of Anansi and Turtle to life. We also took the time to co-construct our success criteria for the Pink Shirt Day plays so that we can check back along the way to make sure that we are on the right track. Students also participated in CASI this week, which is a reading assessment. In a couple of weeks, we will be starting Book Talks. Students will have the opportunity to select from a variety of books and in small groups will read together and discuss themes and ideas within the texts.

In Math, we moved from nets into transformations on a grid. We started off the week playing a quick game of "Find the Triangle" - similar to Battleship - as we learned how to read locations on a grid. We also used some of the activities in IXL to help identify locations and understand movements on a grid. With a quick review, we moved into Transformational Geometry, and students were reminded that there are 3 transformations that we will be investigating over the next couple of weeks:

• Translations: The "sliding" or moving a shape on a grid. The shape still looks exactly the same, just in a different place.

• Reflections: In a reflection, a shape is "flipped" over a mirror line or line of reflection to face the opposite direction.

• Rotation: In a rotation, an object "turns" around a point.

We also practiced translations in a variety of ways and next week we will be working on reflections using Miras and we will then move onto rotations.

In Dance, students continued to practice and had the opportunity to get some feedback from Ms. Celine. On Monday, we start performances!

In Orff, we continued to learn a new song and it's getting pretty challenging as Mrs. Hunt adds more to the song. As we learn, we are understanding rhythmic notation in a deeper way and it's been a lot of fun. We'll continue to practice next week and hopefully, we'll master it soon!

In Physical Education, students participated in Gymnastics and it was a lot of fun seeing them attempt a variety of dismounts, jumps, and poses. With 4 stations - the balance beam, the horse vault, the floor, & an obstacle course - students will continue to master these activities next week.

In Science this week, we started wrapping up our unit on Conservation of Energy. Students participated in a lab about insulation and were tasked with determining the best insulator. They also had the opportunity to learn about food as energy for our bodies. As we learned about the digestive system, students learned a little about our upcoming unit which is the Human Body. On Friday, we had a short quiz to help get an understanding of what we have learned so far.

Next week would have been March break but as you know, it has been moved to April. On Sunday, the clocks "spring forward" and I look forward to seeing everyone bright and early on Monday morning. I hope that you have a safe and restful weekend!

March 19th, 2021

We lost an hour of sleep right before what was supposed to be March Break. Incredibly, students showed up and gave this week their all. I couldn't be more proud of them!

In Literacy, we spent some time catching up on past work that we needed to complete, from fables to autobiographies, and more. We also took the time to continue with our Pink Shirt Day plays which are coming along nicely. Next Friday we hope to present them to each other.

Next week, we will be starting Book Talks with the 4 exciting books below. This week, students heard about each of the books and made their selections. On Monday, students will find out their groups and we will begin!

In Math, we continued to work on transformations, specifically translations, and reflections. After moving shapes on a grid, we jumped into creating designs and challenging our table partners to transform our designs across a line of reflection.

Students tested their knowledge of translations and reflections in mPower. We also started a reflection name art activity that we will be continuing next week so please stay tuned! Next week we will also be moving into rotations.

In Social Studies we continued to brainstorm action plans related to our social issues. After some time brainstorming independently, we collaborated with a small group to see what ideas we might combine for an effective solution. Next week we'll continue to dig into these action plans and we hope to present them on Friday.

Ms. Celine taught French this week and it was all about food! After researching the French names for items from one of the food groups, groups of students were tasked with thinking about which foods they liked and which foods they didn't like. They presented their ideas as a group and then started to create their own Slides presentations of the foods they like, the foods they don't, the foods they eat often, the foods they eat occasionally, and the foods they eat rarely. Next week, we hope to have some more presentations as this offers students the opportunity to continue to practice speaking the language.

In Dance, we had the last of our presentations, and once again, it was great seeing students tell the story of the Covid vaccine through dance. The creativity of movements and the choices of music complemented each other and allowed for 5 unique presentations.

In Drama, we started a new play about a french fry eating contest. It's a silly play and it's nice to see students jumping right in and getting into character to bring the story to life.

In Orff, we learned about syncope and added yet another part to our song. We also learned that the order for the parts of our song is ABACA. Students are encouraged to practice the song at home and if possible, record themselves to watch themselves as they perform and reflect on their performance.

In Physical Education, we started the week with gymnastics and once the weather got a little nicer, we decided to head outdoors for Capture the Flag and Soccer Baseball.

It's the weekend! Please continue to stay safe and take care of yourselves.

March 26th, 2021

March is coming to an end. With the next couple of weeks being short weeks - due to the Easter holiday - we are fast approaching the April break. That being said, we've been hard at work collaborating and learning together in the classroom and online.

Here's what we were up to this week:

In Literacy, we dove right into our Book Talks. Students have been challenged with:

• reading a specific number of pages in their books with their group members each day;

• having conversations about what they are reading;

• completing activities that support their learning.

While we have had to adjust our page numbers a bit, it seems as though we've gotten in the groove. Today, many groups handed in artifacts of their learning. From predictions in Jamboard to Venn Diagrams comparing themselves to characters in the books, students are taking the time to explore themes and have important discussions about the author's message. We're hoping to wrap up our first set of book talks before the April Break.

In Social studies, groups continue to work on their action plans and we will be presenting our ideas to the class next week. From Slides presentations to posters, there are some incredible plans coming together to help challenge some of the social issues that exist in the world. I continue to be amazed by some of the ideas that students are coming up with. So much so, that I think many should be the decision-makers in our government!

In Science, we've started a new unit on the human body. Students will be tasked with learning about different organs and how they work within some of the systems of the body. Once finished, they will be creating their own life-sized model of the human body. This will help us in our understanding of the systems and will support our work as we start a design project later on this year. Please stay tuned!

In Drama, students continued to work on their plays about a french fry eating contest. We have a couple of plays - this one and their Pink Shirt Day play - to present before the break so we will also be taking some time to watch and perform next week.

In Music, we learned a new song that builds upon some of our prior learning about ostinatos. We're working on performances next week so I encourage students to please keep practicing 🎵🎶.

In French, students continued to work with Ms. Celine as they learn about food - specifically what they might eat during a meal. This week, students were tasked with creating a food journal about what they may eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks during an ideal day. Next week we will be moving into food in restaurants. I think there will be pretty yummy conversations.

I continue to be grateful for technology which has allowed us to remain connected whether learning at school or from home. A big thank you to all of the families who continue to support us. I certainly appreciate it!

This is our last post for March! I can't believe how time is flying by. Please have a safe and restful weekend. See you on Monday!