Sunday June 3rd

Oops- remembered that I was supposed to be getting myself  "more balanced" to complete Friday's post!!

Here goes...Friday all over again...
Homework
none- good thing, huh?

Reminders
Newsletter to go home Monday (tomorrow)
Mrs. Cardiff has asked if the grade sevens are interested in BFF (Best Friends forever) year end photos (we have done this for the last couple of years and found it more reasonable cost than the traditional 'grad' pictures
I have also offered the possibility of a Playland trip at the end of June for our class but need to get a minimum commitment from students and parents as it will be approx $30. More soon!

General Day Friday
Completed the virtual tour to Greece. Our last temple was the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

We did a stations type activity in which maps, museum catalogues, tourist guide books, more photographs and postcards were made available for students to pick their Brochure activity destination and spend a bit more time becoming familiar with the area of the tour  for which they will be creating a brochure.

Our next stop was the computer lab to get the brochures started and any further research of their choice of area begun. We will be following this up first thing Monday morning.

Math 7
I provided resources and assistance for the spend a million projects. Most students used the time wisely and some partners are almost completed. However, there are a few others who seem unable to make any progress despite the time offered or the advice given- I am at a loss on how to encourage them any further without becoming a NAG. I'm afraid that with so little time left it will either get completed or not! As a guide and assistant I can only do so much to encourage some kind of progress including asking them to work alone instead of with a partner who is not productive. Most are doing a great job but the few that are not are a conundrum.

I heard a  news story from Edmonton this weekend about a teacher who was fired for assessing students who did no work with zero marks. Apparently Edmonton teachers can't assess a zero! Reality sucks- where else in the world can you get something for nothing?
Maybe we can assess for the time that was wasted procrastinating and doing nothing in class but bothering other peers who are actually trying to get something done. That would give them a great mark but the learning activity would still be incomplete. Seriously, what is a teacher to do?

Silent reading

Art
Posters and collages. Allowed even more time for the students who needed more time for their spend a million activity work.

Personal Planning had to be abandoned due to the fact that although I was trying to complete the lesson started yesterday (Thursday) it was not the optimal time or atmosphere on a Friday afternoon to try to follow up an incomplete lesson. Instead I took to answering some of the anonymous student questions that were relevant to the Thursday lesson (reproductive processes leading to birth).

We completed the day with a quick You Tube video meant to be a bit of lightheartedness about the frantic nature of the end of a school year.
A couple of former students (now in Grade 9) came back to class to answer and allay any grade seven fears about high school.They did a great job and the students asked quite a few questions that I wasn't expecting like being late to class and the prevalence of skipping and drugs. The high school students (Surinder and Rajan) did a great job. Thanks boys

Dismissal
Have safe trip to London, Gurpreet :)

Where did the weekend go?
Mrs. J.