Tuesday March 1st

Another difficult day...
I look forward to being at a professional development opportunity tomorrow because we need a break from each other my students and I!
Tomorrow I will be attending a professional workshop in Vancouver concerning teaching Sex Ed. at this grade level so I need to leave a solid dayplan for my TOC. The students know that there will be a visiting teacher tomorrow and I have gone over the schedule with them so there should be no susprises.

Homework
Nothing new- same as Monday's list
Spelling test Thursday Unit 20
spelling activities Units 17-20
Science Chapter 7 up to the Plates map

Also a letter of permission to purchse a 'Grad' hoodie has gone home today after we tried on the sample sizes. Money and order form due by March 11th

General Day
Began the day with some information about what a lack of oxygen to the brain can result in and how self-inflicted fainting spells can be dangerous. They ALL listened well.
Ask your child why we had to share this information!

Language Arts: Communication Skills workbook- Ensuring that pronouns and antecedents are clear so we don't have any ambiguity and the references are clear.
"Piano for sale by lady with wooden legs" or "Take the shells off the peanuts before you eat them"
Re-phrasing the references more clearly...
'Piano with wooden legs for sale' and "Before you eat the peanuts take off the shells"
We did this activity aurally and orally.

BAND class

Math- we did the algebra worksheet together as I suggested yesterday and I need to look for a less challenging set of examples to do a review test as these were indeed too much for the majority of students. I guess that's what happened when I did the high school math workshop at the recent pro-d day!!!
I won't be using those for review after all!!
The students found the variables on both sides of the equation to be too confusing:
2x-1=x+4
2x-1+1=x+4+1
2x=x+5
2x-x=5
x=5
CHECK: 10-1=5+4 (9)
We haven't practised enough gathering like terms as is required for this example.

Family Groups: 11:30 -12 we tried to complete the team jersey decorating- we worked hard and well together. The students had to show me how to cut out a t-shirt properly!!!

DEAR time settled well today and that allowed me to assist some who have been away- so hard to keep up with all the absences (another 5 today)

Personal Planning- the decision making model - we did a sample scenario (skipping school) together and barinstormed positive and negative consequences of alternate decisions: what might happen if you do skip- what if you decide not to skip? After the example I asked the students to try one on their own to do with a friend being bullied on-line using the decision making model- I'm not sure that they had enough time so I may have to follow it up on Thurday.

2-2:30 was supposed to be Phys Ed. BUT I was unable to get the students attention long enough to move the already organized small groups into the already set up stations (thank you to the couple of students who went down to set up the gym). Apologies to the students who missed a fitness circuit because of the organizational difficulties of their peers and the lack of patience of their teacher (me)!

Instead we did some resistance band exercises at our desks and sitting on our chairs in the classroom. The reaction of the students to this alternative was proof enough that they understood why I had to abandon the gym. Most tried the exercises in class. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow in the gym.

2:30-2:45
We tried on the sample sizes for the grad hoodie and students picked up their letters to take home and filled in their preference for size.
I went over the TOC schedule for Wednesday.

Packed up 3pm Dismissal
See everyone Thursday- remember the last spelling test
Mrs. J.