Oct. 2019

Thurs.31 Oct

REMINDERS...

  • Take Our Kids to Work Day: Wednesday, 06 November ... grade 9 students visit job sites - no grade 9 classes that day.
  • Remembrance Day Ceremony: Thursday, 07 November
  • Remembrance Day: Monday, 11 November (no school)
  • TNT Expo (at Halifax Forum): Wednesday, 13 November ... details will be sent home tomorrow.
  • Assessment Day: Friday, 22 November (no school)
  • PD morning & Parent Teacher afternoon: Thursday, 28 November (no school)

MATH

  • Upcoming Test... Mon.04Nov: Cumulative Assessment (this will feature not only some problems as we've been working with over the last two weeks, but also all outcomes addressed to date - see chapters 1-3 from our textbook and all tests/ICAs to date)
  • Tomorrow we'll be working through the cumulative review material found after chapter 3 in the textbook

SCIENCE

  • Chemistry Unit Test Tues.05Nov - See File Storage for outline and practice questions (from textbook). We'll take some more time tomorrow to work through the rest of those review questions to prepare.


Wed.30 Oct

REMINDERS...

  • Student photos were sent out today... they are due back by Thursday or you can place orders online.
  • Take Our Kids to Work Day: Wednesday, 06 November ... please make arrangements and return forms to homeroom as soon as possible.

MATH

  • Upcoming Test... Mon.04Nov: Cumulative Assessment (this will feature not only some problems as we've been working with over the last two weeks, but also all outcomes addressed to date - see chapters 1-3 from our textbook and all tests/ICAs to date)

SCIENCE

  • Chemistry Unit Test Tues.05Nov - See File Storage for outline and practice questions (from textbook)

Thurs.24 Oct

REMINDERS...

  • No classes tomorrow, Friday, 25 October (PD Day)
  • Take Our Kids to Work Day: Wednesday, 06 November ... please make arrangements and return forms to homeroom as soon as possible.

MATH

  • Surface Area ICA was returned and reviewed today - see File storage for solutions
  • Homework practice assigned yesterday was pg.41, #9-11,13-16 ... this should be completed over the weekend if it was not done last night.
  • We are nearing the end of this unit of study and will be revisiting some earlier content before advancing into unit 4.

HL 803 and 804

  • Scripts and video clips for the Mock Interview assignment in Google Classroom were due last night by 9pm. These must be turned in the assignment space before returning to class next week.
  • The exploration task in myBlueprint is not assigned for homework at this time, but feel free to spend some more time getting acquainted with that platform. We will be building up a portfolio over the course of this year and you will be using this to help with course planning for your NS High School experience when the time comes to make firm plans.

SCIENCE

  • Class time was given to work on your Kahoot Chemistry Review game. Instructions can be found in the assignment space found in Google Classroom. If you are able to share your game to me (username: pohearn), please do so as soon as possible. If that feature is blocked due to your account status, paste the screen shots of your questions and answers into the Doc in the assignment space in Google Classroom.
  • You do NOT need to TURN IN the Kahoot task at this time... after the games are played in class, screenshots of the podium screen will be pasted into the same Doc and THEN TURNED IN.

Wed23 Oct (2:11pm)

REMINDERS...

  • No classes this Friday, 25 October (PD Day)
  • Take Our Kids to Work Day: Wednesday, 06 November ... please make arrangements and return forms as soon as possible.

MATH

  • Surface Area ICA was today.
  • Homework practice assigned afterwards was pg.41, #9-11,13-16

HL8

  • Be sure to turn in your scripts and video clips of the Mock Interview in Google Classroom by 9pm tonight.
  • The exploration task in myBlueprint is not assigned for homework at this time, but feel free to spend some more time getting acquainted with that platform. We will be building up a portfolio over the course of this year and you will be using this to help with course planning for your NS High School experience when the time comes to make firm plans.

SCIENCE

  • Class time was given to work on your Kahoot Chemistry Review game. Instructions can be found in the assignment space found in Google Classroom. Screen shots of your questions and answers should be pasted in the Doc as soon as you are done creating the game. Time will also be provided for game play after enough of you are done creating. 9pm due date will remain on the assignment - aim to have all creation done and pasted in to the Doc by then to allow for play time next week. Stay tuned for more information.

Mon 21 Oct (3:07pm)

REMINDERS...

  • No classes this Friday, 25 October (PD Day)
  • Take Our Kids to Work Day: Wednesday, 06 November ... please make arrangements and return forms as soon as possible.

MATH

  • More practice with surface area... see file storage for some notes
  • No new homework added for tonight.. but take some time to work through the samples in the class notes which were not completed during class.
  • ICA planned for tomorrow will be moved to Wednesday... there will be a special presentation tomorrow for all grade 9s in the morning.
  • Extra help will be available tomorrow over lunch... bring questions and your lunch.

HL8

  • Some students have spoken with me about work that is flagged in PowerSchool as missing. There were quite a few hard copy submissions turned in without names over the past few weeks, some of which have since been identified. Some items were turned in via paper or emailed rather than through the Google Classroom assignment space. All work past due has been marked and is now current in PowerSchool. If there are items still flagged as missing, they were not turned in.
  • To address any work still outstanding, please see me at lunch time on Tuesdays when my room is open for extra help. I will be available at that time to discuss any possible options for completing outstanding work.
  • Moving forward, most assigned work will be posted in Google Classroom and must be submitted through that platform. Notifications will continue to be posted here for all assigned work.
  • Mock Interview Assignment (in Google Classroom), due 9pm Wednesday: The video interview assignment requires uploading a video to the assignment space to be turned in, in addition to the scripting done in a Doc shared with a partner (or in some cases two). Please do not 'SHARE' your files to me - they must be added to the assignment work space in Google Classroom and turned in through that platform. The template Doc provided for scripts should already attached to the assignment - if for some reason it got removed, add it using the 'add or create' button in the assignment space.

SCIENCE

  • No class today... time will be provided in class to continue working on the Chemistry Kahoot games.

Thurs 17 Oct

MATH

  • More practice with surface area... see file storage for some notes
  • HOMEWORK: pg.31-32 #8,10,11

SCIENCE

  • A bit on physical and chemical properties... see file storage for slides

Wed 16 Oct

MATH

  • Test from last week was returned and reviewed.

SCIENCE

  • Short test was today. Kahoot assignment will resume in class

Tues 15 Oct (2:35pm)

MATH

  • Results from last week's math test can now be viewed in PowerSchool. It will be returned and reviewed tomorrow.
  • The results were not as strong as I had expected based on the work done in class leading up to the test - these outcomes will naturally recur later in the year, but before the end of this term we will be revisit and reassess the material from this test to be sure there aren't any glaring gaps in skills/knowledge before getting too much farther along. Some students were concerned that this would drag their term grade down - I assured them that we would spend a bit more time with targeted practice in the areas where many struggled. With regards to term grades, as we prepare report cards and remarks, I always look at how valid certain assessments were throughout the term and remove those items which are clear outliers or were a poor representation of students' true ability. Until that time, the results of last week's test will remain in place. Please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns on this or any other matter.

SCIENCE

  • Test Wed 16 Oct.: Featuring topics from our current chemistry unit
  • Kahoot quiz: Students have begun creating an interactive multiple choice quiz using Kahoot!. This is an independent assignment but we will have some time in the near future to play the games in small groups during class time. The assignment criteria are as follows: 10 questions from the material we have discussed to date; at least 5 questions must feature relevant images or video/gif to support the question; wrong answer options should be reasonable and not just random words or numbers (to reflect reasonable mistakes students would make in trying to answer the questions).
    • Students should be using their gnspes accounts to access Kahoot! and login as a student.
    • Kahoot quiz is NOT assigned for homework at this time - more class time will be provided (with Chromebooks) before the due date is reached (due date TBD).
    • STUDENTS WILL NEVER REQUIRE A PERSONAL DEVICE (cell phone, tablet, or laptop) FOR CLASS ACTIVITIES OR ASSIGNMENTS ... students are, at times, permitted to use their own device if they prefer (or if it is faster/easier for them to navigate), but devices will always be made available if they are required during class.

Fri 11 Oct (2:24pm)

MATH

  • Working through chapter one content... more work with distance between points (on the Cartesian grid and just with coordinates) and area of compound figures using coordinates ... see File Storage for notes.
  • Lunch time extra help offered every Tuesday (bring a lunch, some questions and evidence of attempting all recently assigned work). .
  • The math test from this week will be marked and recorded over the weekend (may not be until sometime Monday). It will be returned and reviewed on Tuesday.

SCIENCE

  • Bonding Webquest assignment in the Google classroom (903 code: 1fq6b86 , 904 code: oya6bk7) - due Friday evening (tonight) at 9:00pm.
  • Review Kahoot task started in class if the webquest was done. This is not homework for now ... I will provide more class time next week to complete this and to test out the games in small groups.
  • Test Wed 16 Oct.: Further review offered on Tuesday in class. Test will feature the following from our focus on chemistry...
    • Navigating the periodic table (identifying the mass and numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons, group and period numbers and family names for any element)
    • Bonding (sketch/identify Bohr models, sketch Lewis models, write the reaction equations with charges for ionic bonds, draw compound formations for covalent bonds, determine the type of bond given two elements)

HL8

  • More on employability - Two short documentaries viewed with stops for discussion throughout. Links are in the assignment "Canada's Job Market" found in Google Classroom.
  • Current Assignments in Google Classroom: Employability Task (due today), Canada's Job Market (not homework for the weekend, due Thursday evening next week - more time will be given next class).

OTHER

****Thanksgiving Monday 14 October... No classes.

****Dance next week: Thursday 17 October

Thurs 10 Oct (1:03pm)

MATH

  • Test involving chapters 2 and 3 was yesterday - it will be returned and reviewed on Tuesday (after the long weekend). Grades will be updated in PowerSchool after the weekend.
  • We have moved in to chapter 1 (3rd unit) which focuses on square roots, perfect squares and application of the Pythagorean relation.
  • Today we did some work with distance between points (on the Cartesian grid and just with coordinates)... see File Storage for notes.

SCIENCE

  • Extra class time has been given to finish the bonding assignment from last class.
  • Webquest assignment in the Google classroom (903 code: 1fq6b86 , 904 code: oya6bk7) - due Friday evening at 9:00pm.

HL8

  • Focus has shifted to employability - taking account of personal interest and relating those interests to potential careers.
  • Assignment in Google Classroom due tomorrow (Friday at 2pm).

Fri 04 Oct (1:05pm)

MATH

  • Discussion and Q&A on yesterday's homework task (Chapter Review and Practice Test, pg 144-146).
  • UPCOMING TEST: MOVED TO WEDNESDAY 09 OCT (WAS Tues. 08 Oct) ... All material seen to date (chapter 2 and 3 from the text book) will be featured (all exponent laws, rational numbers , order of operations). We'll chat more about that tomorrow to help avoid any surprises next week.

SCIENCE (904)

  • Covalent bonding... a quick overview and some practice as a group. Students started ICA04 following today's lesson - this was collected at the end of class, but will be returned next day with time for completion after some further discussion. See File Storage for notes with examples.

HL (803)

  • Time management scheduling task done in class and a video discussing some time management tips. HERE IS THE VIDEO viewed in class.
  • Short reflection assignment in Google Classroom - due date is set as 3:00pm but it will be accepted as late as 9pm Sunday evening... please turn in as soon as possible if it wasn't done in class.

HL804 ... the assignment started yesterday (in Google Classroom) is also due this afternoon by 3:00 (no later than 9pm Sunday evening).

Thurs03Oct (3:10pm)

MATH

  • Practice/Work day preparing for next week's test. Began work on Chapter Review and Practice Test, pg 144-146 (all parts are relevant).
  • UPCOMING TEST: Tues. 08 Oct ... All material seen to date (chapter 2 and 3 from the text book) will be featured (all exponent laws, rational numbers , order of operations). We'll chat more about that tomorrow to help avoid any surprises next week.

SCIENCE (904)

  • Ionic bonding... a quick overview and some practice as a group. Students completed a quick ICA following the lesson - we'll discuss that tomorrow before moving on to covalent bonding. See File Storage for notes with examples.

HL (803)

  • Time management scheduling task done in class and a video discussing some time management tips. HERE IS THE VIDEO viewed in class.
  • Short reflection assignment in Google Classroom. A template document is attached to the assignment space - please use it. This assignment is due tomorrow, Friday 04 October by 3:00pm, with a maximum extension of 9:00pm Sunday 06 Oct.

Wed02Oct (9:05pm... better late than never?)

MATH

  • ICA02 was returned and reviewed today (answer key will be added to file storage tomorrow).
  • A few quick questions were handled regarding the homework from last night.
  • Three methods for dividing with fractions were presented with an example of each - we'll take some more time to practice more tomorrow (notes will be added to file storage tomorrow).
  • No New Homework added for tonight, but be sure to finish last night's practice (I'll be checking on your progress tomorrow): pg.127-129, #6,7, 9-11, 14 AND pg.135-137, #6, 8, 11-13
  • Lunch time extra help will be every Tuesday over lunch. It is expected that students come with their lunch promptly at 11:45 and have specific questions to ask. It is also expected that students have been attempting all recent assigned work (in class and homework). Attendance will be tracked and logged in PowerSchool for reference using the following codes (these do NOT count toward term grades, they are just for reference):
    • 0 = did not attend, 1 = attended, but did not raise their own questions, 2 = attended and engaged with questions of their own.

SCIENCE (903)

  • Recap of ions and ionic compounds before the short ICA on Ionic bonding (open notes).
  • Introduction to covalent bonding - how to know if it is covalent or ionic and determining the formula for compounds

Tues01Oct (11:38am)

MATH

  • ICA02 was today (again, open notes). A few warm up items were handled before the assignment (see File Storage)
  • Following the ICA, some homework was assigned - some of this should be familiar, some may seem new. Do as much as you can in a reasonable time by using the examples found on the leading pages and we'll fine tune tomorrow.
  • HOMEWORK: pg.127-129, #6,7, 9-11, 14 AND pg.135-137, #6, 8, 11-13
  • Lunch time extra help started today (every Tuesday over lunch). It is expected that students come with their lunch promptly at 11:45 and have specific questions to ask. It is also expected that students have been attempting all recent assigned work (in class and homework). Attendance will be tracked and logged in PowerSchool for reference using the following score codes (these do NOT count toward term grades, they are just for reference):
  • 0 = did not attend
  • 1 = attended, but did not raise their own questions
  • 2 = attended and engaged with questions of their own.

SCIENCE

  • Ionic bonding. Some notes and discussion with examples. More next day.
  • See File Storage for notes from today.