Wednesday, November 9th

Some days are for the birds....

Homework
Spell Test #6 tomorrow morning
Math 7 No new homework - Order of Operations puzzle and (as our assembly falls during Math Thursday) please remember to take home your division practice and study the last quiz for Monday's redo
Math 6 class will be interrupted tomorrow- practice multiplication facts
Reader's response #3 (some time at computers tomorrow to word process- so at very least have rough ready to go)

Reminders
Assembly tomorrow at 11am Remembrance Day
stat on Friday no school
Photo packages payment due tomorrow

General Day
I forgot to cover the Daily French today!! but it was on the board!! I hope the students read it!! I live in hope that things we do every day become second nature BUT I am a realist and I wouldn't count on it!

Spelling practice time in class (or hall)

discussed the different scenarios for the upcoming seating change- students were given their chance to vote and tomorrow we will reconfigure seating for next week

Remembrance Day literature and writing
I shared some past winning entries from former students and some poems written this year in class and provided time for students to either write a reflection on the importance of the memorial of Remembrance Day or take the time to create a poem or written piece of their own that they might like to enter for competition (so much to do so little time it seems)

Band

Math 7
corrected page two Order of Operations booklet and worked on some practice examples from page 3 on the board
the challenge page is not mandatory but is open to all who would like to challenge their skills
Puzzle for Order of operations
Some students started on next week's lesson skill- converting decimals to fractions
there will be no class tomorrow- reminded students to take the division practice and quiz #3 to study for Monday's redo

Silent Reading
a couple of students asked if they could work on a poem for Remembrance Day- absolutely :) I am all for the wise use of time and while I do want to encourage reading, I also like to encourage participation in opportunities that fall out of the classroom range like writing and art competitions.

Personal Planning: Peer Pressure
Are you assertive, passive or aggressive?
We discussed the difference of aggressive and passive behaviour and language and had the students consider what it meant to be assertive.
We started today to look at different reactions to different scenarios (role play) and how we deal with things that happen every day. What I found interesting is that the students had a very difficult time with the role plays and very few had language of assertiveness- they did not know what to say to show that they could be calm and rational! I had to ask them not to use bad language and no physical contact because that is the first thing they 'reached' for in their bag of coping skills!!!
I guess that is a no brainer given their age and experience but I guess I was shocked at how difficult it was for them to respond without 'drama'. We have our work cut out for us in this area. I need to look at how to teach assertive language.
I found the need for the students to make each other laugh rather tiring not that laughter is a bad thing (and some may have been using it to cover their embarrassment) but just that it took much longer for the whole intetntionn of the lesson to come across. Actually, I'm not sure it did yet.
Back to the drawing board on that lesson!!

Phys Ed.
Today was Community day at Quest U. so we had about 20 varsity athletes here working with our classes.
Everyone had fun and the students were dripping sweat by the end of the class. They were completely engrossed in a game of Dr. Dodge and then the students split the gym and half played with a basketball and the others half played floor hockey- rather aggressively if I say so myself but they were playing with the big boys and our students held their own!!!
Observation: aggression of competition especially in floor hockey- it is ingrained in sports which makes me appreciate the difficulties we experienced in the previous lesson

back in class I tried to follow up the Personal Planning lesson but it was not successful..again- 'flogging a dead horse' as they say. Like I said back to the drawing board ... I do know that it will be worthwhile having the students learn some assertive language and behaviours.

Clean up. homework review, dimissal

would the studnents involved in the assembly tomorrow please practice their speech parts Thanks.
 See you all tomorrow.
Mrs. J.