Thursday June 10th

It was nice to see some of our former students here to work with the younger students... Logan had some advice for our grade sevens going up to high school which was very succint and timely. The message; :Don't fail!"- a man of few words :) thanks Logan- your two words will probably resonate more than my year of mini-lectures!! lol
Seeing these students makes me aware of how fast our children grow up- it is both scary and exciting (but mostly scary!)

Homework
Math review test on the week's unit in statistical vocabulary and procedure (M&M and Reeces piece= Mean, median, mode and range) Review will be a one pager- students were asked to study our practic work to prepare
Novel to complete about 10 students left to finish (truthfully we might just have to get the literature questions for dicussion underway without them all!)
still awaiting a few science and French assignments but the majority are complete
Reminders:
UBC form, Don Ross form and BFF photos tomorrow with Mrs. Cardiff

General Day
Math - tried it first today- taught the comcept of an outlier (a number that does not fit the sample trend and which can have a skewing effect on results like the mean and range) Did some practice together and discussed (tried to) the implications of outliers on decision making in the workplace- what statistical evidence would you use to convince your employer that there should be a raise? What programs would you run if you were the manager of a recreational centre who had a high demographic of teenagers?

Music was with Mrs. Borsoff today

Completed the math worksheet after snack
&
Socials - we completed our tour of ancient sites in Greece with a visit to the remains of the castle/fortress of King Agamennon in Mycenae- back to Athens via the Corinth Canal and awe inspiring view of the blue Mediterranean Sea over which the temple at Cape Sounion sits a silent monument to days gone by- when you see the poet Lord Byron's name among those carved into the stone, you know that many have stood there before and it is humbling to know how long buildings can stand the test of time and that our time is epehemeral (Reminds me of a Shakespearian sonnet #55 "Not the marble nor the gilded monuments of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme...."
Anyway I do digress... sorry... Europe distracts me

Before lunch we had our (probably) last mythological performance from Isaac and Chris (again) they were inspired by some of the others to re-write their 'fractured' mythological tale and it was very good. It was called The Chris and Isaac Chronicles and they went back to the stories and blended together three myths (Prometheus, Perseus and Jason & the Argonauts) with a real modern twist that was quite disparaging of Lindsay Lohan!! The students enjoyed it and both boys' did a great job with their presentation despite the fact that they felt they had little time to practice. They did an excellent job and I think the best thing is they outdid themselves and were very proud of their effort. Way to go.

Physical Education with Mr. Parker

Dear time in class- managed to catch up with some students who have missed some assignments and get them started. To be honest there is a little less reading happening now but...well...it is June! Quiet is good.

Personal Planning continuation of the reproductive system- this time focussing on the male reproductive organs and hormones. The boys seemed a bit less comfortable today than yesterday but it might be because it is more personal to them than the female reproductive system which we read about yesterday. The students all have Teenage Survival magazines which they can keep and access at their leisure. I would love to encourage you to discuss our classes together at home by inquiring what we are learning and encouraging your children to ask sexual health questions that they may not ask at school. If interested I can suggest some excellent resources that may help get discussion with your DS's and DD's (Darling sons and daughters) going. Send me an e-mail. Is there anybody out there?

Art time to finish the day- I really have been trying to encourage completion of a number of projects- it seems that there is never enough time. Some are slow going and others are onto bonus art activities. What to do to light a fire under my slow going artists?

Dismissal 3pm
Have a great night. Until tomorrow...
Mrs. J.