Week In Review/Upcoming

This past week we had guest speakers, outings, play practice, hour of code, drumming workshops, Christmas Social and Gift Card Tree drawing :)

Homework this week continues to be prepareing for Class Christmas play, and Algebra practice on Workspace titled Algebra Practice.

Mr. Fresque was in on Tuesday and shared with the students about what exactly the Entrepreneurial Adventure is (see his presentation on the sidebar to the right of the Blog). He has tasked them over the holidays to think of an idea for a project that would meet the SMART goals ( specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time related) and when we meet again in the New Year we will, as a class, come to a consensus on one of the ideas shared. Permission forms to participate in this Adventure will be going home on Monday- please review and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to let me know.

On Wednesday we went to the food bank and helped sort foods and prepare hampers for families in need. The class worked as a team and developed a very efficient assembly line to get the foods from the donation boxes, to the sorting tables to the collection boxes! It was a chilly walk there but it warmed everyone to know they were doing something to help others.

Mz. Duncker was in on Friday and students had the opportunity to learn about her occupation and the types of jobs available in the Animation Industry. She shared with us the process of building an animation-from the initial ideas to the development of a final piece- which was very similar to the writing process students noticed. She shared the connections of Math to animation as well, sharing that it involves shapes/geometry and proportional reasoning. Students were shown how to create a background and develop characters. They were then challenged to create a scene and a storyline, which they were to pitch to the class. There were some great unique story ideas shared!

We’d like to thank Ava’s Mom for partnering with our class and sharing with us about the world of Animation. As well as sharing some "swag", as each student received a sketch pad, pencil, and a chance to win a Tshirt from Mercury Filmworks!

We would like to invite any other parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles into the classroom who would like to share their occupations and passions with us. Just let me know!  

We also had a visit this week from Mr. Kelly. He shared with us the importance of traditions, Advent and the sharing of the Christmas Story. Please check out the link on the right sidebar of the Blog about 8 ways to make Advent meaningful.

On Friday many students went home with an Assessment Portfolio. If your student didn't it just means I haven't had a chance to conference with them yet and it should arrive on Monday. Please take a moment to review with your child and return the portfolio with all items by Friday the 22nd. As noted in the folder these assessments are some of the many that are offered to allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of concepts. Evidence of student achievement for evaluation is collected over time from a variety of sources such as observations, conversations and student products.

The Gift Card Tree draw has come to a closing and thanks to everyone's generous donations the Gr 6s raised over $ 2,000 to go towards their end of year activities!!!

This week in Math we continue with Algebra and will be moving towards Data Mgmt. With Literacy we are in the final stage of our persuasive pieces, working on our Christmas plays and reading daily.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mrs. B :)

This week:

Donations of new/gently used books are being collected by the Social Justice Team

Tuesday: Student Assembly 1:50

Wednesday: Christmas Sing A Long; our class Block 2/ Spirit Day: Wear PJs

Thursday: Class Secret Santa Exchange/Plays

Friday: Last Day before Christmas break

Christmas Play Practice

Here is a link to each group's scripts.
Hard copies were given to students as well.
Students will present to one another on Thursday, Dec 21st.
 PLAY PRACTICE

Week In Review & Upcoming

Lots of things have been and will be happening in our Learning space!

Homework:

This week students will review/rehearse their parts in their class Christmas play. Students are in small groups of 4 or 5 and copies will come home this week of the play they selected and adapted. If there are items around the house to help support as props/costumes they are welcome, but please don't go out and purchase anything :)

Math:

We had a celebration of Learning on decimals and those assessments will be coming home this week. We had the opportunity to put our skills into action in authentic ways as we collected money and prepared deposits from our Gr 6 Gift Card fundraiser. We continue to investigate and practice solving Algebraic equations and are relating them to the concept of the balance scale ( both sides are the same value to be balanced but can have different items or look different on each side ex. 8 + 14 = 11 x 2 ).

Students were to participate in the Hour of Code but due to tech difficulties, not all had the full opportunity so this will continue through the course of the week to ensure all have had the full experience.

Literacy:

We did a mini-inquiry into Print Media; its purpose and the different strategies companies use to target different audiences. Students were tasked then with creating a form of print media to advertise and "persuade" our school community to purchase tickets for our upcoming Gift Card fundraiser. Students had to determine their target audience ( K, Pr, Jr, Adults), what information to share and how to share it in order to capture their target audiences. They also had to think about where they were going to place their ad in the school. Students had a choice of which medium they wanted to use (digital/poster paper etc).

Authentic math and literacy skills being put into practice with our preparation for the fundraiser

Write On has been introduced to the students giving them an opportunity to experience the purpose and enjoyment of writing.  Write On is a free writing portfolio where students can write about whatever they chose, using any writing form they wish ( narrative, informative, persuasive etc). Students can share pieces from their free writing time if they wish and it has become so engaging that we now have a signup sheet in order to make sure all have an opportunity to share their writing. After the completion of our persuasive pieces through the writing process, students will choose a piece they are very proud of from their Write On portfolio and bring that peice through the writing process.

Religion:

We have been celebrating Advent with our school Mass/Liturgies and our own class made Advent Calendar- as we unveil each day kind words and actions we can partake in as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child.

Upcoming this week in the classroom:

BUSY!

We have 2 special guests coming in this week and a mini excursion!

• PLEASE sign and return the 2 permission forms to allow your Gr 6 student to walk to the Food Bank on Wednesday, Dec 13th. (BOARD FORM, SCHOOL FORM). We will be helping to prepare Christmas Hampers for our local community. You can print these forms from here and return them, or return the hard copies that will be sent home Monday. My apologies for the quick turnaround on these :) All are welcome to join us and/or send in a non- perishable food donation for us to deliver.

• Eric Fresque is an entrepreneur and business person whom our class has partnered with through the Learning Partnership Entrepreneurial Adventure program. "This program is all about sparking students’ natural curiosity, intelligence and passion to seize an opportunity to take their ideas to market – and discover just what they can do!"  Mr. Fresque will be in on Tuesday morning to introduce himself and discuss what a project is and talk about project management. He will task the students to think over the holidays about what type of project we want to partake in as a class and what charity/initiative we will direct the funds of our project towards.  
• Stephanie Duncker from  Mercury Filmworks is a 2D and 3D animation specialist (who also happens to be a parent of one of our students :) who works on television productions right here in Ottawa. Stephanie will be visiting our class on Friday, Dec 15th to share with us some insight into her occupation and guide us through the animation process and challenge us with a design “assignment”.

• Finally, the students have organized a Secret Santa and Christmas party event for the classroom which will take place on Thursday, Dec 21st. If you don't wish for your student to participate please let me know. The agreed upon amount is $10 or less for the Secret Santa exchange and students will be signing up to bring one nut free treat item to the class festivities :)

This Week In the School & Classroom:

Drumming Workshops throughout the week

Monday: Advent Liturgy 9:40

Tuesday: Mr. Fresque visit

Wednesday: Food Bank outing/ Spirit Day: Wear festive clothing/accessories

Thursday: Christmas Social 6pm

Friday:  Mz. Duncker visit