The students were definitely on their "A" game today, as they worked their seats off in class this morning and afternoon. To kick off the day, we finished watching the final video summary of Homer's Odyssey in class. The students' nailed every one of the comprehension questions and listened attentively. For the middle two blocks the students were given an in class assignment (see photos below) to choose a topic from the library books provided and to do a short research project. I was really impressed at how hard most of the students worked throughout, and the number of links they drew between the myth, legends, and information they were reading and more current stories they were familiar with. Great job!
There was the initial high of being back, seeing friends and catching up...and the eventual crash of not sleeping enough over the break, or not being used to getting up early. It was a typical first day back from Spring Break in Divisions 7 & 8. We began our morning with an interview and writing assignment, in which the students shared what they'd done over the break. In the afternoon after a new rotation of explorations class, we began our Ancient Greece unit with an introduction to Homer's "Odyssey".
HOMEWORK: There isn't any homework tonight, but please remember to bring your GYM STRIP for tomorrow and Friday. BONUS: Other than the Gods Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes and Helios mentioned in the videos we watched today, name another ancient greek god and their responsibilities and powers, and put it in the comments section below. 20 pts for each correct entry, and only one submission per person. **Must not be a god or goddess chosen by another classmate, all submissions must be different.** We swung into Spring on Friday, finishing off a very good week with students presenting their Spring Break Travel assignments, then having a fun afternoon, of food, fun and games!
Have a Fantastic Spring Break Holiday!!! Looking forward to seeing everyone back in class on the 3oth! Today was to be the day when students were able to present their Spring Break Travel assignments, but the wind storm overnight had the school without power until late this afternoon, and classes and parent-teacher conference were cancelled.
**Any parent who had their parent-teacher conference cancelled, please contact me at: [email protected] if you have any questions, or if you would like to arrange a new meeting for after Spring Break.** HOMEWORK: Please remember to bring your items for tomorrow's Swing into Spring Class Party! There are lots of students missing from the list, so please feel free to bring something to share with the class. (List is below) Division 7: Drinks: Cedar - Mountain Dew / Adriana: Root Beer Snacks: Abe - Chips / Jordan - Cupcakes / Adrianna - Cookies / Saymoora - Chips / Ethan - Brownies Fruit: Logan Veggies: Mr. Main Plates: Abe Cups: Mr. Main Division 8: Drinks: Terrell - Mountain Dew Snacks: Sara - Cookies / Mike - Chips / Breanna - Cupcakes Fruit: Meghan Veggies: Mr. Bedard Plates: Cai Cups: Dionne The students finished up their jars this morning...I love the creativity and use of colour!!! Once the students returned from their Explorations class, they had one final double block to complete their Spring Break Travel assignment. Each student will need to present their holiday itinerary in class on Thursday. I would suggest every student have at least some visuals to back up their presentations. (For example, even if the student plans on giving details of their proposed trip using cue cards, I would suggest having at least 2 - 3 visuals on a slide show to show the places they will be visiting.)
Students also helped put together a list of items they can bring for our Division 7 & 8 Spring Break Class Party on Friday afternoon. (I have attached a photo of the list of items the students have signed up to bring.) HOMEWORK: Prepare to present your Spring Break Holiday itineraries in class tomorrow. You can present using a slide show, a document, a video, a poster or just visuals. REMINDER: Tomorrow is an early dismissal for Parent-Teacher conferences. School dismisses at 1:49 on Thursday afternoon. Any parent who is unable to attend tomorrow, please feel free to contact me at: [email protected] if you have any questions, or would like to arrange a meeting for some time after Spring Break. BONUS: Ask your parents / guardians what their favourite songs were from the 80's and 90's, and post their reasons why in the comments section. (Be sure to mention who you asked (Mom, Dad, Step-dad, etc...), and include the artist and the song title. 10 points for each posting. Students finally had the chance to finish up (or begin) working on their Jar Painting Art Projects that we had begun back in December. The students created their own individual designs, in preparation for the lacquer sealant on Wednesday. They look great!! For the afternoon blocks, both classes continued with their Spring Break Travel projects and it was intriguing (and entertaining) to hear their reactions to the fact that many of their hotel and flight costs had jumped overnight. I even heard a student say, "now I understand why my Mom stresses out when she's booking our vacations!" To top off the day, the students sat in our an assembly about Camp Kawkawa, hosted by Mr. Rowe and the leadership students.
We kicked off our day with a Spelling showdown. Student could volunteer to go head to head with one of their classmates, in a spelling challenge based on a list of grade 7 level words. The students participated enthusiastically and the final 6 competitors in each class, earned their team points. After explorations class, both classes were tasked with putting together a Spring Break Travel itinerary. (The details are all situated on the Humanities page.)
There is no Homework, but any student who hasn't finished their Revised copy of their Compare/Contrast Essay, or posted their Dice News story should get it in as soon as possible. Wow! What an interesting day for me! I was lucky enough to get to visit with all of our students for at least a couple of minutes today (some even in the office..), but otherwise, I got to play Principal for the day, as both Mr. Davids and Mrs. Hayer were away. It was really cool to see what their day entails, and visit with some of the other amazing teachers and classes we have at HD Stafford! I am happy for the experience, but looking forward to getting back to class tomorrow.
While I was in the office or cruising the halls most of the day, the students began their day with an Idioms work sheet, before heading to Explorations class. After lunch they were given time to watch and take notes on the Crash Course Ancient China video (which is posted on the Humanities page). HOMEWORK: Please look over your notes and make sure you create your one page, single-sided cheat sheet for tomorrow's quiz. Thursday morning is the last chance to show me your Point Form Chapter Notes for full marks. Please also finish your Revised Compare / Contrast Essay and posting your DICE NEWS Stories to the homework site (be sure to choose the correct division before posting). REMINDER: Please bring in your signed permission form for our trip to Lochiel U-Connect for the Google Expeditions Field Trip. DUE THURSDAY! NOTES: Here is the breakdown for tomorrow's Ancient China Review Quiz: 5 multiple choice / 5 True or False / 5 Matching Definitions / 13 fill in the blank or short answer / Written Section for comprehension. The students were besides themselves all morning in anticipation of getting their report cards today. In preparation for next week's student led Parent - Teacher Conferences, the students in both classes finished decorating their file folders for their term 2 portfolios. Because of the afternoon field trip, both classes attended Science class with Mr. Bedard. After lunch both classes walked up to Simonds/U-Connect to take part in the Google Expeditions Virtual field trip. It was an awesome experience, and with the exception of the monkeying around on the way to the school, the students were on their best behaviour for the staff at U-Connect. After returning from the field trip, we finished off the day with some DPA in the small gym, then returned to our homerooms for report card distribution. ( I have also posted pics from yesterdays screenings of our iMovie Trailers, since I was unable to post a recap on Thursday.)
HOMEWORK: None....if all the missing assignments are handed in. BONUS: post a paragraph (at least 5 complete sentences) describing what you learned, or liked best about today's field trip to U-Connect. Busy, busy day for Division 7 & 8 students today. Our day began with a fun Creative Writing exercise to get the student writing and to help them continue to build and cultivate their creativity. During our digital arts class today, the students put their photography skills to the test. The students had less than an hour to take the photos based on the basics we've learned about in class over the past few weeks, and to take their photos and insert them into a Google Slide show. Nearly every group completed the task before the deadline...nice work!!! We finished our day with our first class of Team Ball (a modified version of handball) in PE class.
HOMEWORK: A number of students have yet to show their completed Chapter 7 point form notes, or submit the Revised Copy of their Compare and Contrast Essay. Both are due by Wednesday. Students should also create their one page, single-sided cheat sheet for their Ancient China review quiz. NOTE: We originally scheduled our Review Quiz for Wednesday this week, but given the fact I will not be in the classroom tomorrow and that students have written tests on back-to-back days, we will be postponing our quiz until Thursday. |