Enjoy your Monday away from school!
Just a quick note letting you know I've put a few new pictures up on the Pictures page. Click HERE. Email me if you need the password.
Enjoy your Monday away from school!
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There never seems to be enough time in a day to get to where we need to be. However, slowly we are getting through things and making things happen. We have spent a lot of our time thinking about our classroom, how we should be working, what tasks should look like, and what our jobs are as individuals. We've also been spending time thinking about ourselves, discovering our strengths, talents and how we can contribute. We have started some inquiry in math. The unknown made a lot of kids squirm BUT they did stick with the task and with encouragement were able to discover many patterns of their own. We participated in our first STEM challenge, and Stephanie, Shelby and Emily created the tallest structure. They worked hard at identifying the centre of gravity and used this to their advantage. What I've noticed is that many kids are shy and timid when it comes to thinking about and talking about their strengths. It has been a challenge for them to dig deep and come up with ideas that are relevant and matter. I trust that will come with time, and we will keep at it. I do want kids to feel proud of what they have to contribute and to recognize that matters. Today we added a few new layers to what will become classroom routine throughout the year. Every Day 2 we will do some class goal setting and evaluation. Today I asked kids to write down something they appreciated or felt positive about these first few weeks, as well as something that they think we need to work on as a group. We will come back and evaluate these in about a weeks time, and see what kind of progress we made. A few of the positives kids shared are as follows:
Things we should work on:
We also introduced the idea of class jobs and a classroom enterprise. I have to take some time this weekend to look through the ideas that were generated. We will begin this journey as October rolls around. To end the week, which hopefully becomes a routine we use throughout the year, I asked students to record an idea that STUCK with them this week. Once again it was hard for some students to think of a positive, or possibly to have the confidence to express this positive. I was pretty open this week, but I will continue to push students to think about themselves and the week, and identify what mattered to them throughout the course of those few days. Here is what our "board" looked like after the task was complete. (You can't really read the comments, but you get the idea) Enjoy the long weekend. Please check out the photos/videos page. (Email me for the password). It shows a few of the positive things (videos) that I saw happening this week.
We will be using these links in Science class tomorrow (Thursday). Soon we will use a different platform and I won't have to post stuff like this here...but for now this is how it will work.
Cluster 1 - Fluids Cluster 2 - Optics Cluster 3 - Water Systems Cluster 4 - Cells and Systems I have enjoyed the feeling in our class this week. It feels full of energy, welcoming, curious. There is a balance. There are those who love to talk and those who love to listen. There are those who are busy and those who are relaxed. There are smiles, chatter, and and overall feeling of warmth. I want to thank the kids for making my transition back into the classroom enjoyable and doable.
We have been busy doing the normal beginning of the year house keeping duties. It may be a record that we have 21 registration packages back in 2 days. We have done some work around setting classroom climate routines, ELA routines, and looking at Genius hour. In Math we introduced the idea of Number Talks, Estimation 180, and a little problem solving. We haven't got into much science and social studies yet...but taking time to build these foundations is important. The rest will follow suit. To be honest, the transition from being at home full time to having to get two boys ready for daycare in the morning and having to have a solid plan in place for our class has been a little overwhelming. I only remembered it was Friday halfway through this morning. This is why I'm thankful to have a group of kids who have really stepped up to make the transition possible. They've certainly dealt with my shortcomings with a smile on their face. Many moments stick out to me this week. One of those has been our Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) time in the morning. The first day students found it awkward and embarrassing to greet each other. In three short days we have made strides. I've been wrapping up our CPR time with a picture book read aloud, and instinctively kids are jumping in to tell me what the story is about. I have not made a seating arrangement, and this freedom of choice has been hard for some students to wrap their head around. It's hard to not have a space as "theirs" but most are coming around. I've even noticed some self-monitoring going on. Students have personally made the choice to move to other places in the room to best finish a given text. They are learning to be responsible and productive. This is easier at the beginning of the year, but they will continue to be pushed to make these choices for themselves. We have all selected a book to read, and started to talk about reading identity. We've looked at classroom jobs and students have indicated where they would like to help out. Students are getting efficient at moving the class around to meet my crazy requests. We've used some technology, like Plickers, Padlet boards and the new projector. We've been engaged in a energized game of Kahoot while looking at school policies, procedures, and classroom features. We have packed a lot into the first few days. I've seen kids open up and welcome in others. I have seen those who were quiet on day 1 become willing to share. Today kids had to share what their favourite part of school in the past has been, and there were quite a number who said EVERYTHING. How awesome to have so many students value the school process. Here's to a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend. I'm looking forward to doing some regrouping myself so we can start Monday where we left off. You know it's the first day when kids are sent home with a stack of informational papers. These papers need parent attention and signatures. Please read below for specific directions for the forms:
Demographic Verification Form (White): Go through the information and make any changes necessary in the right column. URIS form (yellow): Must be completed and signed for all students Aboriginal Identity Form (pink): Optional - May or May not be returned. Your Choice Acceptable Use Policy (blue): Needs to be signed by student and parent Student Locker Use: Needs to be signed by student and parent Permission forms package (green): Needs to be read through and signed by parent Canada Anti-Spam Legislation: Needs to be signed to receive the newsletter and mass emails. In addition there is a student fee of $45.00. If a student wishes to purchase a yearbook this is an additional $20.00. Let me know if there are any questions about any of the above information. If you are confused about any of the forms, feel free to bring them with to the start of year interviews and we can figure it out there. Now, about tomorrow's Kite Flying event. Here is the information that needs to be passed along to parents: Reaching Out to Show Kindness and Support On Thursday, September 10, 2015, during the noon hour, students are invited to join in on a community Kite Flying event that is being organized by Southern Health-Santé Sud and the East and West Region Youth Suicide Prevention Committees. This event is intended to symbolize “connectedness” and reaching out to each other to build a positive and supportive community. The kites will fly to demonstrate how strong foundations are built when we connect with ourselves and others. The kite string links us all together. The kite also represents the importance of dreaming and maintaining hope in our life. By bringing various community members and organizations together we can promote resiliency and encourage conversation around mental wellness, care for each other and staying connected. Individuals flying a kite will give themselves the gift of reflection and renewal while having fun. It can be a challenge to keep the kite in the air! Kite flying is a symbol of the innocence of our younger years and represents the hopes for our future. Students will have a chance to fly kites, share in a healthy snack and create a poster with the outline of their hands filled with positive messages of kindness and support for one another. The event is in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day. However, our goal is to focus on building strong networks of support and creating a community that shows everyone they are cared for and can find help at school if needed, rather than focusing on the words: suicide prevention. With adolescents it is important to make sure that our talk and support is built on language that strengthens the child. So we want our students to come away from this event knowing that Parkside offers a network of support that includes everyone and the kite flying acts as a symbol of connecting us as a community and showing our students that they can reach out for help when they need to as much as they can reach out when they see someone else in need of a positive connection. The eve of a new school year is upon us. I'm excited for the new faces to enter our class tomorrow. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and getting our year started. Tomorrow when you get to school you can bring you stuff to our class. We are in Room 7 - which is the middle class in the far hall. You will notice that the tables aren't set up as I want to spend some time discussing what you would like to see in the class this year. What you can do is pick a locker and put your stuff inside. We will take plenty of time in the morning to get organized and sorted.
I don't think that there have been too many changes to the agenda I posted previously. So please remember to take a look at that if you want to know what the day will look like. See you all tomorrow - and remember - if you are in band...bring your instrument. I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. I'm trying to pull some last minute things together before Wednesday comes. I'm excited nervous.
As I mentioned previously, we will be running a regular schedule starting from day one. Here is a glimpse as to what our day should look like (keep in mind that things may change depending on times, etc.) 8:30 - 9:00 - When you get to school I hope that you come find your room for the year, pick a locker, and get your stuff put away. 9:00 - Assembly (at least I'm assuming) 9:20ish - 9:40 Homeroom Time. I will share a little bit about myself and go through the schedule for the day. I hope we have time to have a class discussion about seating preferences. I'm curious as to how you prefer to work and want your input in setting up the class in a way that meets YOUR needs. Period 2 - 9:40 - 10:25 During this time the grade 8s will have FULL band (BRING YOUR INSTRUMENTS) or Drama. Grade 7s will have library. My goal for grade 7s during this time is to choose a book that they want to read to kick off the year. Break - 10:25 - 10:35 Period 3 10:35 - 11:15
Those in homeroom will continue working at setting up the classroom and we will then begin an introduction activity. You can start to think about symbols and ideas that you could use to represent yourself or things that you value. This will include some independent work time, as well as a whole class share. Period 4 11:15 - 11:55
Lunch - 11:55 - 12:50 Period 5 12:55 - 1:30
Period 6 - 1:30 - 2:05
Period 7 and 8 You will have French with Mme. Levesque in Room 3. Let me know if you have any questions about the day, or if there is anything that you feel we need to cover that I've missed. See you all on Wednesday! |
Room 7Just an awesome bunch of grade 7 and 8 students who will share their learning journey through this blog. Mrs. N's Reading JourneyLast ReadCurrent ReadNext ReadTo see a complete list of books I've read this school year, CLICK HERE.
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