Monday December 7th

Hello Everyone,
Monday is always a tough day to get off the 'ground'...

Homework
forgot to take in the Math cross #11!! So some have another night
Still have 6 Term 2 goal sheets to get
no new homework - we arrived back from the computer lab as the afternoon dismissal bell rang (my fault) I mis-calculated the time we had left at the end of the day!!

Reminders
return report card covers- still have four to get
Quadra Island commitment forms are due asap so I can calculate numbers. Thanks.

General Day
I was a bit of a nag with the students who arrived at school with no jackets on!! It's too cold for fashion!!
Started day with return of clothing left in class!!! Housekeeping anyone?

I returned spelling test # 10 and started prep for this week's unit #11 starting with the word HEIR and counting 15 words to JUDGE -test December 10th (Thursday)

We attempted to settle to an SRA reading lab next for about 40 minutes- some students had difficulty with the transition into a quiet work session this morning but we persevered and it finally became quiet enough to actually concentrate! (Monday? December? Cold? All of the above?) The reading activities require concentration and a fair chunk of time so it is not just busy, quiet work. The students are actually having to think and concentrate on written directions and reading comprehension questions. Some are re-reading more than once :)

Before snack this morning we crammed in a quick lesson on how to tell the time en francais (Qu'elle heure est-il?) - follow up demain (tomorrow) It might have been a review for some.

Music with Mrs. McPhee this morning- don't be surprised if your children are singing Marshmallow world for Christmas!!!

Math - had a bit of time to review through three worksheets- all very simple- identify coordinates and read letters to create a phrase, crosswork puzzle review of the Cartesian Plane vocabulary and solving a 'problem' using a linear graph.

Dear time - had to wake a couple of students up !!!! When it is quiet in class, some nod off!!

During our socials time today I introduced and made a presentation of the expectations for the upcoming project for term 2 socials. The students have all received a project outline with all the information. Gr 6 have a modern day country to chose and research and Gr 7 have an ancient civilization to chose and research. The directions and expectations are very thorough and five school weeks and two vacation weeks are available to get to work on it. I will be covering the 'how to's' during the coming weeks and the students will have class time but this is a project that will need a fair amount of class and home time dedicated to it if it is to be a successful venture.
If you have any questions about it just ask. I have thought about sending a project outline copy home or I can look into posting it on-line. Ask your son or daughter about it and let them know you know.

We finished the day with research time at computers. I have tried to make it clear that the project is not to be copy and pasted from a download!!!! It is pretty obvious when students (at this age anyway) do this because of the language and vocabulary disconnect!!! I am encouraging them to use the computer to gather information which we will then work on paraphrasing and creating their own 'version' of the information.

As I said earlier I mis-judged the end of the day bell and the students were ready to go and some already gone by the time the whole class made it back from computers- I guess I need to fix my watch!!
I also took the time to rearrange the seating tonight as some combinations are driving me (and some of their peers) around the bend!! So new homes for many students tomorrow in class.
See everyone then.
Mrs. J.