As the school year is underway the grade 5/6 class is in full swing. We are about to wrap up our ELA unit about messages. As a wrap up project we are asking the students to create their own photo messages. I can’t wait to see what they come up with. We have been learning about classifying living things and have done an observation/investigation with some meal worms in Science. In Social Studies we have learned some map skills and are going to be reviewing about Multicultural Canada as well as how the world is connected. In Health we are focusing on Healthy lifestyles and promoting a healthy choices. In grade 6 math we are about to wrap up our first big unit with whole numbers. I can’t wait to meet and see you .

Hello Again!

Has one month flown by already?? I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving and got to indulge in a little turkey or at the very least some tasty pie!

This month has been full of a variety of things including multiple PD Days, many sick days (had by almost everyone!) and even laser eye surgery for myself! But let me get you up to date on what has been happening in some of our subject areas. In ELA, we are continuing work on a unit called “My Friends and I”. In Math, both Grade 3 and 4 classes are taking a deeper look into place values and number sense. In Science, we are still investigating what makes a structure and have even taken a stab at building some structures of our own! In Social Studies, we have moved on from looking at our world to now learning all about Saskatchewan. Tin Arts Ed., this class loves to express their creative energy through drawing, colouring and other fun Arts Ed. projects we have completed.

We continue to enjoy coming to class each day and now that most of us are over our beginning-of-the-year colds, we can spread our excitement for learning without spreading our germs!

Stay tuned for information coming home this week on a Grade 3/4 Halloween party that will be planned by a few of our high school students. A slight cost to cover meal expenses will likely be charged but I will send home the information as soon as it comes my way.

I hope you take some time to enjoy the last bit of fall weather before the snow comes!
Miss Adelman

What a great autumn; I can’t believe that October is half over already! Hopefully everyone can make it out to the “Meet the Staff” BBQ on Tuesday, which kicks off our student, parent, and teacher conferences for the fall. Please remember to contact Mrs. Block in the office to book your conference time with your child. It would be nice to see everyone there!

Just a reminder that the Halloween parade will start at 1:00pm on the 31st if you were interested in coming to watch. We will start getting the kids in their costumes around 12:45pm.

The students are very excited about learning and have settled down into our class routines. In math, the grade one’s are learning about numbers to twenty with Mr. Woods-Fehr, while the grade two’s are learning about numbers to one hundred with me. In ELA, we are about halfway through reviewing the alphabet letters and sounds with the grade one’s. I hope to finish this up in the next month or so and then they will begin spelling with the grade two’s. The two’s have done awesome with the spelling program so far. We are starting to talk about making connections as we read, so that is something that you could also focus on at home. Please remember to review the weekly sight words for grade one’s as it helps reinforce what we are learning at school. We are continuing to talk about safety in health, the senses in science, as well as belonging in our world for social studies. As always, please feel free to pop in or send me a message if there are any questions or concerns that may arise. I look forward to seeing everyone next week at the BBQ!

Someone once said that grade nine was the greatest year of all the school years, and we are beginning to understand what they meant. We love it. We love every minute of it. We get to do so many amazing things and learn so much interesting stuff. We were honored to have Charlotte and Grant bring us all an amazing meal on Monday the 7th. Thank you so much.

On Thursday, October 10th, we had the privilege of attending Student Forum. We heard an inspirational talk from Spencer West and were motivated to get involved in making our world a better place for all. We had an opportunity to talk about ways that we can enhance our classroom experience and take full advantage of the educational opportunities that are available to us as Canadians.

For instance, every day we get to go to Mr. Herman’s math class and learn about numbers. RATIOS!! We thought the Exponents unit was terrific and it looks this whole ratios unit is going to blow it away. In ELA, we are reading a book called The Sunflower. Ask us about it. It’s an incredible story with a really challenging message.

On November 6th, we get to experience a Grade 9 rite of passage, as we participate in the Canada wide “Take Your Kid to Work Day” We will be going to work with our parents, or with somebody else getting a taste of what our teachers refer to as “the real world”. Stay tuned for permission forms.

In Social we have delved deep into our personal histories and learned a great deal about our country, our families and ourselves. We’ve learned about the history of humans, Neanderthal, cro-magnon and other amazing discoveries. There is no shortage of questions and discussion items. This is learning at its best.

There is so much more we could tell you, but we’re out of time. If you want to know more, please track us down and ask us. Oh yes, one more thing….235 days until the canoe trip!

Math – The grade 8’s are currently working on square roots and the Pythogorean Theorem. They will be verifying the theory and practicing their hand at figuring out area and using basic formulas.

ELA – The Giver (8.1) and The Outsiders novel study (8.2)

Art – Sketching and mixed media on canvas

Science – The girls in Science are wrapping up the first unit of study about “Water Systems on Earth”, specifically; the geological forces that create fresh and salt water systems, and the study of tides, currents, and waves. Boys are working on the laws of reflection in a plane mirror

Health – Group 8.1 is studying “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens”. We are now at the point of Habit 2 “Begin With the End in Mind” soon we’ll be onto Habit 3 “Put First Things First”.

Health – Group 8.2 is making brochures “What’s so great about you!?”

PE – Students are busy with Tchoukball, Volleyball, and a variety of other games which include fitness components. We are getting ready for fitness testing that starts right after the Thanksgiving Holiday break. Soon we will start fitness circuits and some workouts in the weight room.

Social – Interdependence of Nations.

Home Ec –  Students are busy baking up a storm in the Baking Basics unit. The room smells and tastes yummy of pancakes, waffles, muffins and various kinds of biscuits. They will be having a cookie exchange party as they learn about the different types of cookies.

I.A. – Grade 8’s have just started their CAD drafting. They were pumped last day to get into the computer lab.

It seems like school just started and already September’s half over! The grade 10’s have gotten over the initial shock of waking up early and kickstarting their neurons and have settled in nicely. The rest of us are a tad UN-settled as they start Driver’s Ed, though. Their newfound freedom will be helped by their investigation of currency exchange rates in Math. In ELA, students are imagining a type of device they’d like to have in the future and writing about it. Wellness has thus far seen a sampling of sporting activities, like football and volleyball. Commercial Cooking is currently planning their first meal while their compatriots in IA are working on cabinet making. And finally, in science, the grade 10’s are exploring ecosystems and the environment.

Take care until next month! (Thanks to Truman for his contributions.)

Energizing. Cheery. Intriguing. Intense. Hilarious. Enlightening. This is just a sampling of the words yelled forth by this year’s Grade Nine squad when asked to describe the year thus far. In ELA, Mr. Kirk has us exploring Human Rights and Freedoms. In Social Studies, we’ve just finished making personal timelines and now we are looking at ancient human history and pre-history. They’ll be on display in our classroom shortly, so swing on in and have a look. (bring chips) Speaking of items on display, we’ve been working on painting the ceiling tiles. It’s a bit like the Sistine Chapel except with a little more Disney and Sports Logos. Do you have any questions about finding the surface area of a Composite Shape? You can ask us now, because that’s what Mr. Herman is teaching us in Math. Can you imagine having Ms. Prakash as a science teacher? It’s a blast. Literally. She sure likes blowing things up. Our leader, Mr. Graham is teaching us about Decision making in Health class and we’re looking at life for teenagers in past decades. It’s crazy. Volleyball, welding and Kitchen Wizardry round out our daily schedules.

All in all, I don’t think we’ve ever been happier.

The grade 8s are in various class combinations this year and getting a variety of topics in their classes. In ELA classes, students are reading The Giver as well as focusing on Poetry and essay writing. Science class has started this year with the topics of the Water Cycle and Light Reflection/Refraction. Study of various cultures, immigration, migration and maps is the focus in Social Studies. The two classes are at the same place in Math, reviewing some work from last year, and learning about exponents. Fitness courses, dodge ball and mat ball as well as throwing skills have been topics in Phys Ed. Lastly, isometric drawings, reviewing how to cook and putting those skills to the test making cookies have been the areas of study in PAA.