In Math, the class is starting to review this year’s concepts. In ELA, the class is working on the novel “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. In Art, we are still working on a drama unit and are filming our own plays. In Health, the class just finished learning about healthy decisions related to violence. Discuss ways to determine when support is needed, and will soon be starting a body image and self-esteem unit. Social – They are working on building their own businesses and will be taking part in a Hanley School Business Fair tentatively set for May 12th. In Home Ec., the class has started a sewing basics unit. They are learning how to use a sewing machine and will be starting a rice bag sewing project very soon! In PE, the class has just finished badminton and fitness testing and will be beginning an Archery Unit, mixed in with Track and Field events (weather permitting). Science – They have finished optics and vision and are just starting forces, fluids, and density.

The Grade 9 class has continued to work hard for the month of April. They have been busy learning about William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in English class and have continued to study ancient civilizations in Social Studies. In Math, they have been working with symmetry and rotations. They have been enthusiastic towards badminton in Phys. Ed. class and many of the students are playing on the badminton team. They have been busy cooking in Home Ec. and have just switched sections in I.A., where they are learning about small engines and how to weld. They have spent the last few weeks studying musicals in Art class and have specifically looked into The Lion King and The Wizard of Oz.

Spring has officially arrived! The grade 10’s have been busy dodging rain drops and getting homework done. In ELA they’ve been studying short stories and poems about ethics and equity. In Social Studies they’ve been studying Canadian Sovereignty. The Periodic Table has been front and center as they study elements and compounds in Science. In Wildlife, they’ve just finished looking at Raccoons. Math has been looking at the relationships between exponents and radicals. Chicken Soup will be served up by the Commercial Cooking class this week. And in CAD, the designers are working on their floor plans and exterior views. Have a great April, everyone!

To update our classes: In History/ELA, we are studying WWII. In Work Place Math 20, we are studying trigonometry applications. In Pre-Calculus 20, we are examining quadratic functions and radicals. In PAA 20, we researching and cooking foods around the world. In Construction 20, we are building sheds. In Environmental Science 20, we are “Getting the Dirt on Dirt”. In Robotics 20, we are building robots. Welcome to a beautiful spring!

We have reached the halfway point of semester 2! With graduation day quickly approaching, the grade 12s are reaching the pinnacle of their high school education journey. The students remain busy with their course work in their various classes. The ELA 30 class has begun a study of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As the students read and watch the play, they are studying the universal themes that the play addresses. We will be applying these themes to our modern world as soon as we have finished the play. The Psychology 30 class has finished a study of childhood developmental psychology and will be studying the psychology of teenagers. Should be interesting! In Physics 30, Mrs. Prakash has the students learning about work in action. They have just completed their unit on dynamics. In Chemistry 30, the students have finished studying equilibrium and will begin their next unit on solubility. Mr. Herman and the Calculus class are studying derivatives. We are looking forward to another great month of learning, and another step toward graduation

Welcome back after the winter break! I hope everyone had a wonderful family day. We have started a new math unit on measurement. Please continue to practice mental math skills at home, as we will soon learn to add and subtract with larger numbers and knowing the basic facts will be of great assistance. For ELA, we have been dabbling in a few different things. The kids have been really pumped about writing lately, as we have been working on our creative writing stories. We even wrote a class book called “Fantastic Fiction” that you will have to check out at parent-teacher interviews next month! We have started our letters to our grade two pen pals in Martinsville as well. We have also been learning about the difference between fiction and nonfiction, as well as a variety of text features. We are working on a Robert Munsch author study, are doing well with our spelling program, and are learning about vowel digraphs and diphthongs in phonics. For health, Mrs. Leier has been coming in to talk to us about ways to stay on task, handle situations in an appropriate way, and to manage our emotions more effectively. Our first lesson with her included some role playing on my part where I had to be distracting to the kids throughout the lesson – I’m not sure who had more fun, them or me (haha)! In science, we are learning about solids, liquids and gases. For social studies, we have been learning about life in the past, particularly about the origin of Hanley. We have also learned about First Nations that connect to Hanley as well. I look forward to seeing everyone at parent-teacher interviews next month!

Wow, February is flying by! The 1/3 class has been busy! We have created a lot of fun winter and Valentine’s art! The students were very excited to create their mailboxes. Thanks for sending the materials! The class is looking forward to their potluck on the 12th. Thanks to Group A for sending the food! In ELA we have been focusing on paying attention to the questions we ask while reading a story. By seeking out answers to our questions, we are paying closer attention to the text. The grade 1s are starting to write good copies of some of their stories. They are pushing themselves to write five sentences and are doing a great job! They are also working on using uppercase and lowercase letters properly and spacing out their words. The 3s are focusing on paragraph writing and writing mechanics. In science, the 3s continue to study plants and the 1s are studying materials. We will be transplanting our garden and planting our beans and lettuce! Exciting! In social studies, the 3s continue to work on their Byron Through the Seasons project and the 1s did their own version by exploring how they spend time outdoors during the four seasons. The Grade 3 math test will be this Friday. A review was sent home this week. The 1s are studying numbers to 100.

The grade 4,5,6 class is busy solving mysteries in ELA. We continue with our weekly spelling tests. We are going to be starting a unit about electricity in Science. In Social Studies the students have been preparing for presentations about immigrants settling in Saskatchewan. The grade 5’s and 6’s are still working on decimals and fractions in math.

Ms. Bishop Moisan and the grade 4,5,6 class.

This month has been a busy one! Report cards came out at the beginning of next month; if you would like to see me to discuss your child’s progress, please feel free to contact me at the school. The class has been wrapping up their study of fractions and number theory in math, and have moved on to begin exploring measurement. In social studies, we have been discussing some current events and hot news items. We are starting to look at political cartoons and how we can interpret them. We are going to move on to a novel study soon. Science has the class looking into and studying temperature and heat. On Feb 12, we were finally able to get outside and have some fun as a class. We went to Brightwater for a sledding morning, then had a potluck, and wrapped up the day at the rink, skating. Thanks to Mrs. Barbara Farnsworth and Mr. Don Archibald, who came out to the hill and spent the morning with us. Also, I would just like to say how overwhelmed I was with the contributions to our potluck! The generosity and quality of all the items was humbling! Thank you to all the students and families. In closing, as always, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at the school (544-2511) or by email (Nicole.Bain@spiritsd.ca).

In Physical Education the students are going to start working on individual Badminton skills and rules, then some Badminton games, while still occasionally including some basketball and floor hockey games. In Art, the students are working though a Drama unit where the students are developing characters and will soon be doing some script writing! In Home Ec the students are reviewing Kitchen Basics and will be learning about the different types of flour mixtures and the function of ingredients. In Social Studies, the students are finishing up Land Use and History of Canada. The students are working on Optics and vision in Science. In Health class the students are working on an understanding of the impact of violence on the well -being of oneself, family, and community. In Grade 8 I.A., they are working on drafting Isometric projections. In ELA the class has just finished looking at Solomon Cleaver’s retelling of Les Mis, Jean Val Jean. Mrs. Bain was surprised by how much many of the students enjoyed it! The responses and connections made were outstanding. The students will be looking at a DVD of the musical Les Mis. Meanwhile, in Math, the students are quickly wrapping up their unit on Measurement.