Monday April 28th

Great start to the week...
New seating plan - see how long this one holds up :)
However, for today it certainly helped with the social interaction which had been becoming difficult to control. A couple of students actually said they thought it was a good change ... if it was only for a couple of weeks!! Faint praise but I will take it :)
I asked any unhappy student to let me know and we can make another arrangement- no one so far but sometimes when they have a bit of time to think about things that can change. Open to anything that helps students learn effectively.

Reminders
Students had their hot lunch orders delivered to them today
Monthly newsletter online (or sent home with your children) today
Thank you for the dietary information needed for the camp kitchen
Band class tomorrow morning

Our day

Physical Ed
We played team games class wide today
Tried a couple of different versions of bench ball
The first is an accuracy throwing game where the object is to clear the bench by throwing from the ball from the other side of the gym and ensuring your team mates on the bench catch it while the other team organizes defense. As team members join the floor more game balls come into play
The first team to clear their bench wins the round. First round took 4 minutes. The second just over 3 minutes.

The second version is like a dodgeball game  -  if you are hit you join the other team's bench but can be rescued individually by catching the ball or as a whole team if you catch the 'snitch' (a smaller more difficult to catch rubber ball)
Everyone seemed to be included and having some fun. They even asked for a game of tag :) no problem - they ran around like crazy people for ten minutes - gotta love that!

Back in class we found the socials topic we were getting ready to do on Friday when we had the fire drill - topic: the ugly history of apartheid
It was a two for one lesson incorporating history (socials), reading, comprehension and writing complete sentence answers to show understanding.
We managed to get it completed by 10:30 am and I was impressed with the progress we made. Commendable.
7 comprehension questions answered in complete sentences after reading the article which was full of information about the history of apartheid in South Africa.
One question we need a chance to go over is the opinion question #8 about whether or not the fight against apartheid was successful. A loaded question indeed.

In math 7 today we followed up with addition of mixed number fractions with unlike denominators.
Practice was definitely important as I had requested a step by step procedure for finding the answer
1. Add the whole numbers first
2. Find a common denominator for the fractions
3. Make equivalent fractions using the common denominator
4. Add together both mixed numbers (solving any improper fractions that may add more whole numbers to the final solution)
5. Circle or underline your final answer
Prognosis = good progress for the most part some struggling with the procedure for finding equivalent fractions

Tomorrow subtraction of mixed number fractions and the concept of 'borrowing" whole numbers by using the denominator to create a whole

Read to self
Record

Personal Planning
the human reproductive system - endocrine to reproduction - looking at the process of reproduction in humans and the 'sum' of the parts. Students did very well with this today and were able to complete a written activity using the terminology of human anatomy instead of getting all giddy about the slang terms. It is really encouraging when the students feel comfortable enough to ask questions although some I need to plan another lesson for sharing answers as I need to be mindful of a variety of cultures and sensibilities.

To finish the day - we need something lighter and less intense so we followed up on the 'squiggle art' started on Friday with some coloring and allowing a bit of that most important social interaction

Like I said it was a really great Monday and a good start to the week.
Thanks everyone - let's have a productive and fun week together
Have a good night
Mrs. J.