Tuesday, September 13th

Another speeding bullet of a day. We added another student today to make 27 students in Gr. 6/7 and 30 for Math 7.
I am very grateful the clouds are protecting us from the heat of the sun today as the afternoons in class have been very hot and sticky! Today was bearable :)

Homework/Reminders
Math 6 complete new sheet on Pyramids and Prisms
Math 7 no homework for tomorrow
French (francais) complete the questionnaire for tomorrow (Eric you left yours in class!!!)
Only 6 students still to bring their communication forms from home and get in the draw for a free school supply (Ashley, Tesla, Rowan, Autumn, Ethan and Blue)
$10 for planner
Please bring your class supplies- just let me know if there is any problem with supplies as I can provide some basics
Book Fair starts Friday and runs next week

General Day
Thank you to the 20 parents and students who took the time to fill in the communication form and return it- this really helps me get a perspective on your children's learning needs.

We started the day by revealing the code word and doing the draw for supplies which 11 students took part in. Students chose between binders, dividers, highlighters, folders, calculators and gel pens. Everyone seemed to find something they liked.

Next I returned and explained the Spelling Diagnostic and how it is NOT a grade mark or formal assessment but a 'spot' check for me on weak and strong skills. In the same spirit, we completed a reading diagnostic today for me to get a chance to see if the spelling and reading results correlate. Again, it is NOT a formal assessment but a check on approximate reading ability.

I distributed Science texts, B.C Science 6 and B.C. Science 7, and we briefly reviewed the units of study for both grades. There is a parallel between Ecosystems (Gr7) and Diversity of Life (Gr.6) and between The Earth's Crust (7) and Extreme Environments (6) but the Chemistry unit (7) and the Electricity unit (6) are very different. I would like the Grade six students to take part in the chemistry activities and, along with the grade sevens who have already completed the Electricity unit, I will devise a way of covering the Electricity learning outcomes as well as providing an opportunity for the grade six students to take part in the Chemistry labs.

Before Math we started to narrow down our class motto- we will vote after reading this afternoon

Math 6 Prisms and Pyramids Mr. Parker

Math 7 Today we completed and reviewed the text 'scavenger hunt' which was meant to give the students a bit of a 'tour' of the components of the textbook. We did a basic skills review (no calculators) on add, subtract, multiply and divide skills.
I offered and the students agreed to a review of the steps of division before we started- that was left on the board as a visual to help as some said that they had forgotten all their math over the summer !! I understand.
There are a lot of bodies with 30 students; however, we managed the seating and I believe that everyone really did the best job they could.
It does look like I need to start with these skills- Chapter 2 Operations with decimal Numbers will be the first unit we undertake after whole number operations are reviewed. Many still seem to struggle with division so I may need to teach it using a different algorithm (method).

Silent reading- most are using the time wisely- these students are avid readers for the most part which is very encouraging to say the least.

OUR class motto 2011-2012 is a positive one which I like because it speaks to not taking anything for granted and having fun learning: ENJOY EVERY SECOND
I will put it up in class tonight.

French (FSL) - we completed a Success worksheet in class and the students took home a questionnaire for tomorrow- to be successful in French students need to have an open mind, a will to participate and an understanding that effort toward completing activities, trying on the language verbally and studying for tests will be helpful.

Phys Ed (I am still trying to recover!!) was fun. After warm up of our major muscles we participated in a game called 'Circle Dodge'. Gurpreet was my opponenet and he got me good when I lost my balance!! Most students seemed to enjoy it. We have a BIG challenge in using the half hour gym time as wisely as possible but it was a decent group effort for the most part- lots of room for improvement though :)

We stayed a bit later in the gym than 2:30pm and then I offered some oranges as a refreshment so we only had time to review the day and the homework, complete planners and pack up to go home when we returned to class!!

Code word tonight is "teletubbies" (I used to watch the teletubbies with my son when he was younger- I think I liked it more than he did. I thought it was funny that they called the vacuum cleaner the 'noo noo'- I'll stop now :))

Have a wonderful evening. I need to get busy on the review work. Tonight I have more homework than you do!! but that will change soon (evil laugh ....hahahahaha)
See you tomorrow.
Mrs. J.