Wacky Wednesday, October 30th

Posting from the very busy lobby of the West Van aquatic center ... Please don't be upset with me if I say that I actually welcomed the raindrops that we drove through to get here and the scenery on the highway is beautifully  'fall' - we are so lucky to live here.
I just heard a CBC report with the Lonely Planet writer who said we made the top ten or fourteen places to visit.

A great big thank- you goes to Eric and his family, the T's for the donation of a classroom microwave. We are grateful for the hot lunches that it will provide in the coming months (our former microwave died after an 'accidental' mishap)

Reminders
Well, I don't think I need to remind anyone it is Halloween - come in costume if you would like to and we will have some Halloween themed activities
we still have band tomorrow and the spelling units (unit 5 for some and #1 for the challenge list)
Math support groups will begin tomorrow

Our day
Started with spelling practice and time to complete the activities for the week

Novel reading today brought us to Chapter 10 of Touching Spirit Bear
Before reading we recapped the nasty bear attack and injuries that the character sustained. After reading through chapters 9 and 10 and having a bit of a group to group discussion about where we were in the story plot (crisis), the students wrote a personal response in their journals.

I am making an effort to have the students think about the job that the author does in directing the
story and the reader. We have now reached the crisis of the plot in chapter 8, seen the character's thoughts and ideas change in chapter 9 and realize that he is willing to do some extreme things to keep himself alive and conscious.
I saw some personal reactions in the faces and body language of the students today that showed me they were moved or in some cases shocked that the character would eat bugs and worms to stay alive.
I think they are enjoying the story - it is sometimes difficult to tell. They definitely lose themselves in the story when I am reading (well most! ) and a few have asked if they can read on.
Now that we have reached chapter 10 together and they have some idea of both the story and the expectations for response activities, they can and will be able to move at their own pace with the rest of the novel and activity choices will be introduced next week.

Math 7
Redo of quiz #5

Most students took advantage of the whole class to do it and only a handful went to the computer lab today.
I'm not sure what to make of the struggle that some students had during the redo - I relented and let them use calculators because a few of the multiplication examples (taken from the work we did together in class) were long and complex.
I am almost scared to assess them! Curious but afraid that the extra practice hasn't helped.

Read to self
Record one more day before the end of month draw.
This is a time that (like when you see your children sleep) they are so 'cute' ( sorry not the right adjective for my manly boys but you know what I mean- they are quiet and totally absorbed in the book of the moment) I love that.

Mrs. Fanzega needed a few students to help her grade fours with carving pumpkins. Thank you to Eric, Gabe, Simrin, Kiarrah, Autumn and the two Maria's for being big buddies with the carving 'tools'. If you didn't get a thank-you treat from Mrs. F. See her tomorrow :)

Phys Ed
Did a split gym today - floor hockey and badminton or a choice of equipment.
Again it was refreshing to see some students bounce around the gym on those bouncy ball with handles on top - so funny but safe and fun
That was until the dog pile that a few sillies got involved in at the very end of class when I blew the final whistle!
Another safety discussion - safe and fun

Back in class I asked (might have been the wrong time of the day) for the students to take a few minutes to express their ideas of the positive and negatives for them in attending DRSS for their grade seven year. Got some interesting responses.

Just managed to get a directive art activity underway near the end of the day. We will continue it tomorrow - it is one of those listen and follow the spoken direction and the end result should be a Halloween scene. The excitement for tomorrow is high.

Anyway times seems to disappear but maybe not for the students!!!
Have a nice Wed. evening.
Mrs. J.