TGIF Friday October 30th, 2009

Many thanks to parents who contributed to our class celebration this afternoon. Thanks to your generosity, my students, your children, were very well entertained and fed!!
We had an amazing fruit platter, some chips (yes, most were the healthy selections), some very delicious blueberry tarts, some 'low fat' Brownies (didn't know they made Brownies low fat lol) , dirt cups - a Halloween special which everyone wants the recipe for and and to wash it all down hot chocolate and pop as well as copious amounts of water (and a few bathroom visits). I can't imagine where they put it all but there was very little left over!! Teenages and their appetities, huh? We may need a second job just to feed them.

We watched The Day after Tomorrow which had a bit of a tentative connection to our science curriculum- global warming and the science behind it. I think the students enjoyed it - it was just a bit long for them at nearly two hours. Apart from the fact it's a little 'hollywoodified', the plot is based on a theoretical acceleration of the known issues of weather change and ,of course, gets its digs in about the sceptical political administration. Fortunately, it finished just before the dimissal bell.

Thank-you also to the parents who came in today to pick up homework for their children- some are back and some different students are away!!! So with your help we'll make an effort to keep them all up to speed.

Homework
Novel project assignments -that's it- I would encourage students to make an effort to advance their progress for their chosen novel components

Day in General

• We front loaded the day with some computer lab time for our novel assignments. Students are all working on various independent assignments which they chose earlier this week. I have been pleased with the progress that I have seen this week. It is encouraging.
• Science booklet work was started Thursday- we completed the booklets today and switched papers to mark each others work on the Rocks and Minerals information from Chapter 7. How rocks are Formed is the next booklet that we have started.
• For mathematics today we did a couple of problem solving activities which I though might be challenging BUT some of my bright sparks solved them in a heartbeat and made me go scurrying back to my samples folder for more. They are good with the patterns and conceptualizing. Many 'problems' that they are presentee with are not so much difficult math but have more a component of breaking down the information so reading needs to be very carefully done. (Don't tell them they are quicker than I am- and definitely quicker to 'get it' than I was at their age!! Don't want to swell their heads!!) :)
• I read another couple of chapters from Word Nerd. The students seems to be enjoying it although they were a little stunned today when the comments of the main character, Ambrose, were just a little too close to home about what it is like going through puberty as a teenage boy (nothing graphic but just a few comments that had them giggling and I guess shocked that I wasn't phased by the narrative).

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween tomorrow. Have a good weekend.

Mrs J.