Thursday, 25 October 2012

Away

Hi kids. I'm not feeling well and will be away tomorrow (Friday). I hope you have a wonderful day, enjoy the sunshine! Your weekly report will go home on Monday.

Sorry you didn't get a chance to do your updates Christina and Owen. Maybe you can do extra next week?

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Links

Here are the links I had promised last week surrounding media/bullying/cyber bullying:

http://play.longlivekids.ca

www.nobully.ca   

We've had some really great conversations around these topics in our Community Rectangle-turned-Community Oval. Students have been insightful (I think I spelled that wrong the last time I used that word!) and mature. I have been quite impressed to say the least.

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We're working on taking risks in class, particularly in Math. I explained to the class that you learn when you make mistakes (just like my spelling one above) and that figuring things out yourself can be more meaningful than learning it from the teacher. As we progress through our unit on Place Value students will be provided with more opportunities to problem solve with their peers. The more successful we are with group work, the faster we can get into our Tribes! We played a new Tribes game today called Milling to Music. Ask your child what they thought of it? Tomorrow we are trying the spider web again. One of my favourite parts of doing Tribes is the reflection piece because these students of mine are so phenomenal at being honest about their experiences.

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Within the next 2 weeks you will be receiving information regarding upcoming projects/assignments:
               - an In The News oral presentation
               - a monthly homework calendar
               - a non-fiction book report

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I appreciated Ethan today for working toward his goal of not speaking out and trying to regulate his own behaviour.

Last week I wanted to recognize Dawson on Thursday for his incredible work toward being a successful learner. He is working incredibly hard at his goals.

Thanks to Tyler for spoiling 2 of my lessons today by knowing what I was going to teach before I even taught it.

Great job Colby on always raising your hand to participate in lessons in every subject. Your perseverance is remarkable.



Thursday, 18 October 2012

Woodend Trip

Yesterday we went to Woodend, we played lots of games. Here are the games we played. We played this game with wooden ski's that had skipping ropes attached to them, it was really easy for our group because one of us would be at the front yelling "right, then left" and we would lift the foot that was called. We also played a game where we had two pool noodles and we were divided into two teams, then we were blind folded and had to find our way to the noodle and tag our opponent below the waste. It was really fun, but hard to go in the right direction. There was also this game with long black trays and we had to run a golf ball down them while they were next to each other, and had to get the golf ball into the pink cup without your skin or clothes touching the golf ball. There was also a really fun game that we played when we were on a log and we were in two teams again and everyone was trying to get to the opposite side of the log without touching any of the ground. My teams strategy was to ask one of the people from the other team to curl up in a ball on the log, then one of the people on my team would step over them to try to get past all of the people on the other team.  We also played a game where there was a big A frame about ten feet tall, and someone had to stand on the part that was going across it, the instructor told us to split up so half of us were on one side holding long ropes attaching to the top of the A frame and the other half was on the other side of the A frame. Then one half started to pull and the other side would start walking in one direction, and one of the legs on the A frame would move and the person standing on the A frame would move while the other people were pulling on it. Another fun activity was that we went to this station where there was a spray painted maze on the ground and, Well, it was kind of like battle ship but with humans instead of the game pieces. It was fun because you had other friends directing you around the spray painted board on the ground. It was really fun. I don't have much room to write any more so this is it for now!


Here are everyone's thoughts on the cooperative learning games:

Makenna - I was a little shy when I was with other grades because I'm not usually with other grades.

Katie-Lynn - it was fun but I was a little shy but then I got a little better because we worked together to get good.

Abby - I was a little bit shy too because I was the youngest one in my group.

Sebastian - I was a little bit nervous because when she (the instructor) would yell at the other people talking, I wasn't used to people yelling but then I got used to it.

Owen - it was a little awkward at first because I didn't know people at first but as we worked together I got to know them better.

Amy - it was weird because we had to go really close to people that we don't usually go partners with and we don't usually talk to a lot and we have to get really close to them on the log roll thing.

Robin - I was shy in my group too because I was with people that aren't in my class and it was frustrating when people were yelling and not listening to each other's ideas.

Kylee - I didn't really feel like I was in the group because the older kids were taking charge and not really including us.

Erika - I felt I wasn't really in the games because all the older kids were going first and I didn't get to play some of the games that I wanted to play and some of the people in my group were just not paying attention to me and not listening to Tyler's ideas and he had very brilliant ideas.

Dalton - I had a phenomenal day and it was really quite easy for me because I'm quick, small, and intelligent and I quickly found a way to get through the log roll.
      Ethan - Dalton was the only person to get across the log on both rounds.

Hailey - I think I had a good day because we were working as a team and trying to get things done.

Nathan - it was really hard on the lava thing because no one was hardly listening to anyone's ideas. People decided to go one way and another person decided to go the other way and got wrong. It was really hard for explaining our ideas. Everyone was shouting and everyone didn't get to explain their answers.

Dan - I had a good day but I felt I was left out of most of the activities. For the lava activity, no one would listen to my ideas and that made me really frustrated.

Tyler - It was kind of getting frustrating because even though I had a bunch of ideas that would probably work but the older kids wouldn't listen to me and they wouldn't even look at me and that's when I got really frustrated.

WELCOME BACK JOSH!

Ethan - It was pretty good but when we were doing that A-frame game where we had to pull the ropes, me and Dalton were pulling it to balance it in the back but people kept pulling it to almost make it fall. It was pretty good in the log one but not when I fell on my head.

Cassandra - it was fun just always 2 or 3 people would take charge and not listen to other people's ideas. I had some ideas and I tried to tell them but they just kept doing it their way and it didn't really work.

Christina - it was fun but on some activities when I was trying to help tell somebody some ideas, nobody wanted to listen to me because they were kind of fooling around and being silly.

Isaac - I think it was kind of easy and hard. Like in the log cross thing I had some really good ideas and I think Colby and I were pretty good on the lava one working together and sharing ideas. Everyone had really good ideas on the A-frame.

Dawson - I think it was kind of easy on the lava one when me and Bryce had good ideas and we all worked on it. We helped a lot of people across. On the log one, I had a good idea and no one really listened to me. Also on the tray game I had a really good idea but people didn't really do it.

Justin - I felt very left out because nobody even bothered to listen to me. I just felt like I was nothing to them.

Maxx - I thought it was really good. Our group strategized a lot and we did really good. We worked together and stuff.

Miss Hall -

Ode to Isaac

Hail Ye Hail Ye! Today is Isaac Day! We dedicate this day of learning and fun to Isaac Windsor, a great friend and student who we will miss when he moves to Trenton tomorrow. Here is what his classmates had to say about him today in Community Rectangle:

Hailey - I'm going to miss Isaac because no one can find a better manhunt person to play with

Justin - I'm going to miss Isaac's funniest personality

Katie-Lynn - I'm going to miss him

Makenna - have fun in Trenton

Robin - he's funny and good luck in Trenton

Amy - good luck in Trenton and happy holidays for all the ones you're going to miss

Dawson - I hope you have a fun time in Trenton and I'll miss you

Owen - I'm going to miss Isaac, he's one of the funniest people I know

Kaden - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c he's been my best friend since I was in Grade 3

Christina - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c he was a really great friend and I hope he has a great time in
                 Trenton

Cassandra - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c of when he would invite me over to play at his house

Colby - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c I'm never going to find a better jokester

Ethan - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c he taught me how to do a fakie ollie and whenever he went over to
            Kaden's house he was always funny

Josh - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c I've known him since Grade 1 and he's been my best friend since    
          Grade 1 and he's like a brother to me

Dan - I'm going to miss Isaac b/c I've known him since Grade 1

Maxx - If today is Isaac day we shouldn't have Math. I'm going to miss Isaac b/c he is a great friend to
            me and everyone in this class

Nathan - Isaac was a good friend to everyone b/c he's always been kind to everybody

Dalton - I don't want you to go

Tyler - I don't want Isaac to go b/c he's really funny and he's probably one of the funniest people in
            the entire school and he's awesome and I want him to stay one more week

Rylee - I'll miss Isaac b/c he used to teach me how to draw

Riley - have fun in Trenton

Abby - I'll miss you

Kylee - have fun in Trenton, I hope you make new friends there

Miss Hall - I will miss Isaac's funny personality, insightful brain, and kind heart. He was a wonderful student and I wish him all the best at his new school in Trenton. Isaac Day is clearly a true holiday as everyone has turned rather silly this morning! They are all smiling and enjoying themselves, which is what Isaac is all about.

Issac - I'm going to miss Cherrywood, it was a fun school. We did lots of fun activities and fun field trips. I'm going to miss Kaden and all of my friends and since Kaden is coming over today, we can probably just hang out and I'm going to miss all of my friends. I'm also going to miss plastic bags!



Wednesday, 17 October 2012

It's Been A Few Days...

I apologize for not having written a post lately but I've been marking assessments and writing progress reports and just haven't had time. Christina is working on a very detailed post about our Woodend trip - it should be up sometime tomorrow. Thank you to Mrs. Desilets, Mr and Mrs Snyder, and 'Bob' for coming to support us on our trip. It made my job much easier and I very much enjoyed the company!

Owen will be updating our website as well with new things to celebrate (like those students who joined the Choir) and he will give an update on how the Rugby team did at their tournament.


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On the weekend I will be writing about the Social Media/Bullying discussions we've been having in class (you should have received a social media article yesterday). I will also share a few links I've come across in the past few days.

Thank you for sending back the weekly reports signed. I am looking forward to posting pictures of us learning, and of our work. I have a bunch of pictures from Woodend but there are students from the Gr. 5/6 class in them so I cannot post them on the blog. They will be in our hallway soon!

Students should have come home with their Math duo-tangs today for you to look over their practice work, problem solving, and quizzes from our Patterning unit. Please initial one of the quizzes so that I know you have seen your child's work.

      Level 1 = D (needing a great deal of assistance to meet the curriculum expectations)
      Level 2 = C (needing some assistance to meet the curriculum expectations)
      Level 3 = B (meets the curriculum expectations with minimal assistance)
      Level 4 = A (meets the curriculum expectations with no assistance)

**I explained to the class that their grade for the unit is not determined solely on a test mark, but that it encompasses their answers in class, group work, problem solving, work on the SMART Board, as well as their daily work and quizzes. Overall, I was incredibly pleased with their progress.

We started Place Value review today and will continue that throughout the week. Keep working on those times tables at home, they will come in handy soon.
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Some upcoming dates:

October 18th - Isaac's last day :(         (insert crying Miss Hall)  
                        I am declaring this day Isaac Day and it will be grand! I hope I don't forget my camera.
October 19th - Science quiz (open book)
October 24th - Dawson's birthday
October 25th - Peter Pan money/form due and it's Brennan's 3rd birthday
October 29th - Full moon (yuck!)
October 30th - Progress Reports Go Home
October 31st - Halloween (more info to come)

In November, parent volunteers will be starting (schedule to come next week) our Reading Program with our new pen!! Our In The News unit will continue. We will be learning about lines in Art and we will learn about the last 3 systems of the body in Science before we start our mini-research projects. We will continue to work on persuasive writing, adding in letter writing, and a non-fiction book report. I have an idea for homework/support at home floating around in my head and am hoping to have it ready to start in November.

I feel like I am forgetting something...the kids can tell you that this is pretty common for me lately with so much on my mind. Love those sticky notes! I need a vacation...want to go back to Florida Josh?!

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Today I appreciated Dan who stayed after school to sweep up the mess from our newspaper scavenger hunt. Thank you sir.

If Erika could be more insightful I don't know what I would do with myself. Wait until you read her comment from today's Community Rectangle.



Thursday, 11 October 2012

Cross country

When I went to Cross Country I arrived there at about 11:45a.m. I went with the rest of the Cherrywood group across the field and put our bags down under a big tree. The first race was the Atom girls and they were at 12:20p.m. or somewhere close to that time. My race was at 1:20p.m. and I was waiting so long for that time to come. When my race finally came I had to go to the washroom but I survived until after the race and came in 26th and 30th. I was pretty good considering that there was like 80 to 100 people in the race. I had a great time at the two races and watching the other people racing before and after me. It is always fun running for my school, and it was really fun running into the forest and out by the road. I really am looking forward to the next year's race, and can't wait for it to come. When one of the Bantam girls were running they fell down and hurt their ankles but got up and kept on running and came in 15th even though she fell. Oh, and before the race I walked around the track where we were supposed to be running so I knew where to go and wouldn't get lost. Ok, that is all for now. BYE!

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

We're Pretty Popular

I logged in to Blogger tonight and discovered we've had over 1000 page views on our Class Blog!! Many are from us reading them each morning, however, 1000 is pretty significant for a blog that has only been up for a month.

In more exciting news...there are already two lines on our Celebration Chart where we are only 2 squares away from our next reward (Games Day as voted by the class).

I have been busy marking assessments and putting in comments for the Progress Report Cards that go home on October 30th. Now that everyone is settled and my expectations are known to all...the Learning Skills will be evaluated a little harder than in the first few weeks of school. I explained to students today that after our Tribes, character ed lessons, and group work opportunities that I am expecting more self-regulation. Our class is doing well working in pairs but only about half of us can handle working in a triad. This takes time and practice and is a goal we will work toward throughout the year.

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A few things to ask your child:

How are you doing on your Mad (2) Minutes?
What does the circulatory system have to do with transport trucks?
What Tribes activity did we do involving our first name?
What is the patterning rule for the numbers 2, 5, 4, 7, 6, 9, 8?
Why aren't you commenting on the blog? (That question is for Dan)
Who did you vote (or not vote) for in the Student Council election? And why?
What have you learned to do in computers?

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I have a few students who are in need of scissors and a handful who need indoor shoes or slippers. I would greatly appreciate it if those were sent in when possible. We also need newspapers for our upcoming Literacy unit.

Our trip to Woodend is next Tuesday October 16th, please let me know if you'd like to meet us there. I do need at least one parent to help supervise.

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Christina will be posting tomorrow about the Cross Country Meet. We wish our Rugby Team luck on Friday's tournament.

Check out our website as Owen updated it today.



Thank to today's Star, Nathan who really focused today. He always had his eyes on me when I was speaking, and just about every day when he leaves he wishes me a good night. I appreciate you trying out different ways to stay on-task and how you are trying to better your self-regulation and problem solving skills. You make our class a better place by showing others what growing looks like.