October 31

Today we had a spooooooky day of learning and fun.  

Reminders: 

- KIVA country comparison due on Monday

- read 30 min each day

- have a safe and happy Halloween

October 30

Yesterday, we went walking in our neighbourhood to collect food for the Surrey Food Bank in the We Scare Hunger campaign.  

Today, we finished our Halloween paper mache bowls.  

We also learned about different countries and compared them to Canada using CIA World Factbook.  We did this in order to be prepared to make a micro loan to an entrepreneur using Kiva.

Reminders:
- costumes in the afternoon (no weapons or masks)
- bring a mug for hot chocolate
- country comparison sheet (Kiva) due on Monday
- Grade 7 math test tomorrow
- Grade 6 page 38 #1, 2 due tomorrow
- French due tomorrow
- Grad Hoodie notice due ASAP
- read 30 min.

October 28

Today we painted our Halloween paper mâché bowls with our buddies.  It was messy but fun! We also taught a class in Argentina about North American Halloween traditions and we learned about their customs. 

Reminders for tomorrow:

- dress for the weather since we will be walking to collect donations for the We Scare Hunger campaign

- gym shoes

- be prepared for the EAGLE assembly

- French homework for Friday

October 21

October 16

Today we met a class from Ecuador through Mystery Skype.  They were able to guess where we were faster than we were able to guess their location.  They live in the capital city, Quito.  Their class had 14 students and they are an international school so they were from many different countries, like Spain and Argentina. They sang their national anthem to us and told us that they use the American dollar for their currency.

Here we are singing "O'Canada" to them.

Today, I would like you to write a blogpost either about today's Mystery Skype or about what we read in "One For the Murphy's."

During Math, the grade 6's practised relating the input to the output in a table by creating an expression.  They also practised plotting coordinates on a graph.  They have page 6-8 as homework if it is not finished.

We also met with our buddies and learned about rangoli art.  We created some chalk rangoli art and we will post some photos once we are done.  

October 14

Reminders:
- read
- Grade 6, page 22 and 23 # 2-4
- Gym tomorrow
- Band homework
- Booktalk: Jordan
- Terry Fox Toonie
- picture day on Monday, October 27
- I will be available for Meet the Teacher on Wednesday, October 29 instead of October 22nd because I will be supervising a group of students at WE Day on the day of the early dismissal

October 10

Reminders:
- Read
- Math Grade 6 p 22 #1
- Math Grade 7 p 18 #1, 3-9
- no school Thanksgiving Monday
- Tuesday Booktalk: Maysen
- prepare for your reading conference next week
Tuesday: Eesha, Zahra, Karen, Gigi, Kouju
Wednesday: Farhat, Esha, Tony, Alia, Manasseh
Thursday: Sidratul, Irah, Syrah, Nicole, Harkarn
Friday: Jordan, Rehmit, Vikram, Avreet, Sewak

October 8

Today we played a geopraphy game, Mystery Skype, with a class somewhere in the world.  We finally guessed that they were in New Jersey, near Atlanta.  

We are using atlases and Google maps to figure out where they are located.  Some of the questions they asked us were if we were west of the Prime Meridan and north of the Tropic of Cancer.  We asked them if they were north of the equator or if they were land-locked.

This is when we were asking questions.

In Science today we were lucky enough to observe a dead hornet's nest.

We looked at a cut portion of a wasp's nest too.

We discussed bees and their importance in the world's ecosystems.  

Reminders: 

- band tomorrow

- write a blogpost about your experience with this year's first Mystery Skype.

October 7

Today we discussed the elements of an effective book talk. Everyone has signed up for a book talk date.  Tomorrow Vikram will be gaining our first book talk.

Reminders: 

- finish yesterday's math homework (we had an assembly during math time today)

- Pizza Day is next Friday, October 17 and notices have been sent home

- return information forms if you haven't already done so

- answer the following questions in a new post in KidBlog: What surprised Carly in this chapter? (Chapter 3: Orange You Glad I'm Here?). What questions do you still have about the story?  

October 6

Reading Challenge:

- read 3 books minimum a month - try to pick different genres of books
- complete weekly reading journal entries
- present one Booktalk a month to the class (see criteria sheet)

Reminders for tomorrow:

- Read 20 - 30 minutes
- Grade 7, math page 13 #3-9, #7 as Assessment Focus
- Grade 6, math page 14 #1a-d
- return information forms
- Writing: good copy of opinion piece about oil pipeline
- Band tomorrow
- try to login to KidBlog at home
- explain the Reading Challenge to your family

- Avreet and Gigi will be doing a BookTalk tomorrow

- Question to respond to:  In the book "One For The Murphys" Julie Murphy seems different to the girl than her own mother.  Explain how she is different.  Please post your response in the comment section below.

October 3

Today for current events, we discussed the Enbridge pipeline being built between Alberta and BC.  The students will be writing  rough drafts outlining their opinion on whether the pipeline should be built or not.

We also learned about mindful breathing and using focus to quiet the brain in order to be ready to learn (MindUp).

In math, the Grade 6's worked on patterns in input/output tables and they have page 8 and 9 # 3-7 for homework.  The grade 7's learned about divisibility rules and they have page 12 # 1a - f for homework.  

In Science, the student created simple circuits that are labelled.  They need to explain how they work to a family member.

During Health and Career Education (HACE) we discussed our digital footprints and how to create a positive digital footprint.  Here is a video we watched.  Please talk about it at home.  Have a great weekend and remember to read every day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

October 2

Reminders: 

- Grade 7 - finish page 8, # 1-5 and 7 in workbook - finish #6 as Assessment Focus on a lined sheet of paper

- Grade 6 - finish page 7 #1,2

- Scholastic orders are due tomorrow

- Grade 6's have been given their immunization notices

October 1st, 2014

Today we visited the library, learned about materials that conduct electricity within our classroom and we also learned about different parts of the brain.

Reminders for tomorrow:
- read 20-30 minutes
- know examples of conductors and insulators
- Band
- Gym
- bring a "D" battery and a paper plate
- Grade 7's - explain the divisibility rule for "4"