What We Learned Today...November 26th

The day that every students looks forward to has finally come! No, no, it's not the last day of school. It's Report Card Day! What....You're not excited about it??? Hmm...well maybe it's just me because it means they're finally done. My Bad!!

Here's a snapshot of our day today:

ELA: We spent the first half of our class reading Chapter 16 of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone together before the band students had to leave. For the remainder of the class, students worked on their Guiding Questions for Chapter 15 and 16.

Genius Hour/Health: Due to it being a band day, the remaining students used this period to meet with me about their progress so far this year and their goal setting for term two. When students weren't meeting with me, they were working on their Genius Hour Progress Blog Posts.

Health Continued: In order to ensure I had a chance to meet with each and every student, we took a little more time to go through the Goal Setting Documents. Once we finished up with the meetings, the students each filled out an anonymous term one reflection about our classroom. These reflections asked the students to write about what they've enjoyed so far this year, what they would change to help them learn better and what they would like to see more of next term. 

 I believe these reflections are incredibly important to help me grow in my teaching as well as our classroom environment moving forward. Even though I'm a teacher, I'm still a learner too. I continually learn how to do my job better each and every day and these reflections will help me to do just that!

Social Studies: During the last hour of the day we looked at the terms, "Import", "Export" and "Fair Trade" as well as how Imports and Exports affect Canada's Economy.  

Note about Report Cards: I have attempted to pack them with as much detail as I could. Besides the report card you will also receive an emailed spread-sheet of all of the assignments and tests that I gave to your daughter / son for every class that I taught to them.It is a useful method to start a discussion about what is working well and / or what improvements need to be under-taken in order to maximize their learning potential in each and every class. Please send me an email at m.j.bresciani@rcsd.ca if you have not received a copy of them electronically. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss each student’s progress and to help ensure that the academic plan that we have for each and every student is the right one for them. Please remember too that if you cannot meet with me on the scheduled dates or if you feel that you need more time I am always willing to make myself available before or after school on any given day.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

4.2 due Tomorrow

Pg. 142

a) 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

b) 5, 8-13

c) 5, 8-16

Reminders:

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning) Please remember to sign up for an interview tonight or send me an email if you would like to meet another day.

What We Learned Today...November 25th

ELA: Today we did a lot of reading over our ELA period! To begin, the students were given their usual half hour of AR before we got right back into Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone and read Chapter 15.

Health: Over the period, students took turns meeting with me to discuss their progress so far this year as well as their goals for the next term.  Unfortunately we didn't get through everyone today, so we will finish up tomorrow in Health.

Religion:  Students continued to present on their Human Rights Activist. Today we learned about the lives of Jose Rizal and Desmond Tutu and how they have made a difference in the world.

Grade 8 Math: To start the class, students took a brief Socrative quiz (Finally!) on the lesson from last night and then began to work on their 4.3 assignment.  (Full assignment posted below)

Science: During the last hour of the day we continued our Mirror Challenge from yesterday and students used their knowledge of the Law of Reflection to bounce a laser off of five mirrors in order to hit their target.  Check out some of the pictures from this activity below!
























Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions are overdue

Math:

4.2 due Tomorrow

Pg. 142

a) 5, 7, 8, 10, 12

b) 5, 8-13

c) 5, 8-16

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation are overdue

Reminders:

-Report Cards go home tomorrow!

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning) Please remember to sign up for an interview online.

What We Learned Today...November 24th

Checking out the angle of reflection!

Health: For the first hour of the day today, students were given one final period to finish up their Goal Setting documents that we started last week.  Tomorrow I will be meeting with each student to go through their goals and then we will be sharing them with parents at interviews on Thursday and Friday.

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and the students continued to work on their travel drawings from last week and were also treated to view one final skit as well.

ELA: Due to it being a shortened period today, students were given the period to silently read their AR books as our cut off date for this month is on Thursday.

Religion: Today we officially began our Human Rights Activist presentations.  Over the period we learned all about Jackie Robinson as well as Alice Paul and how they stood up for what they believed in.  We will be continuing these awesome presentations tomorrow!

Grade 8 Math: Students had the entire hour to finish up their 2.2 handouts and either work on IXL or watch the math lesson for tomorrow.

Science: During the last hour of the day the students were split into two teams and were tasked with using their knowledge of the Law of Reflection to bounce a laser beam off mirrors onto a target.

Here are some more pictures from today:





Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions are overdue

Math:

Pg. 135 - Due Tomorrow, November 25th

a) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 13

b) 2, 4, 6, 8, 13-18

c) 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 21

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation are overdue

Reminders:

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning) Please remember to sign up for an interview online.

What We Learned Today...November 20th

(Sorry due to a technical error, this didn't post on Thursday!)

ELA: To start out the day, the students continued working on their Goal Setting documents as well as their Harry Potter Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions.  *Don't forget, the Chapter Questions will be due on Monday, November 24th.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs took the students to the gym and they had the opportunity to participate in everyone's favourite activity....The Beep Test (For Push Ups!)

Arts. Ed: The students headed to the Arts. Ed room and worked on different drawings on the topic of "Travelling".

AR: Immediately after lunch the students took out their AR books and silently read for the half hour period.  *We are currently at 7.7 AR Points per student and need to reach 10 Points by next Thursday in order to host a AR Movie party.

Grade 8 Math: Students finished up their textbook assignments from Pg. 135 and began working on the 4.2 handout.

Genius Hour:  During the last hour of our day, the students had the entire hour to work on their Genius Hour Projects.  We fortunate to have Ms. Stewart-Mitchell, who is a Technology Coach for Regina Catholic Schools,  join us during this hour to check out Genius Hour in.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter "Mirror of Erised" blog overdue

Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions due on Monday, November 24th

Math:

Pg. 135 - Due Tuesday, November 25th

a) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 13

b) 2, 4, 6, 8, 13-18

c) 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 21

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation due  Monday, November 24th.

Reminders:

-No School Tomorrow (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning) Please remember to sign up for an interview online.

What We Learned Today...November 19th

Health: This morning we kicked off our day by talking about the term "Self-Regulation" and how different people need to self regulate in order to focus.  We then went through the different types of classroom digit fidgets we have as well as our new wiggle cushion and how to use them responsibly.

ELA: After the mini Health lesson, students got right to work on their Chapter 13 and 14 guiding questions for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.  These questions will be due on Monday, November 24th.

Arts. Ed: As per usual, the students headed down to the Arts. Ed room and worked on a few different sketchbook assignments.

Health: Students continued right where they left off yesterday and worked on their personal Goal Setting for our next term.  The four areas they are setting goals in are: 1. ELA, 2. Math, 3. Quality Work Habits and 4. Christ Like Behaviour.

Math: During this period, the students began working on their first assignment for 4.2, "Converting Fractions, Decimals and Percents" from their textbook.  (Full assignment posted below)

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter "Mirror of Erised" blog overdue

Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions due on Monday, November 24th

Math:

Pg. 135 - Due Tuesday, November 25th

a) 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 13

b) 2, 4, 6, 8, 13-18

c) 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 21

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation due on Thursday, November 20th (For Bonus Marks) - Official due date now Monday, November 24th.

Reminders:

-No School on November 21st (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning)

What We Learned Today...November 18th

ELA: To start out the day the students learned about different characteristics that most heroes display.  After going through the list together, the students then began working on their Chapter 13 and 14 Guiding Questions.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs took the students to the gym and the students participated in the "Beep Test" before working on different volleyball skills.

Homework Period/Genius Hour:  Since we had a lot of students away at band during this time, students were given the period to work on any homework they have or their Genius Hour Project.

AR: Immediately after lunch, the students were given a half hour period to silently read their AR books.

French: Ms. Bachiu stopped by the students wrote an exam on the different rooms in the school.

Health: During the last hour of the day the students continued working on their Goal Setting documents for term two.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter "Mirror of Erised" blog due on Wednesday, November 19th

Math:

4.1 Due Thursday

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation due on Thursday, November 20th

Reminders:

-No School on November 21st (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning)

What We Learned Today...November 14th

Investigating the characteristics of Convex and Concave Mirrors

Here's a snapshot of our day today:

ELA: For the first half of class today, we read Chapters 13 and 14 of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone together.  At 9:45 we put our books away and students were given the rest of the period to finish up their "Mirror of Erised" Blog Post.

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and lead the students to the Arts. Ed room where they continued to learn about contour drawing and had the opportunity to try out a "blind contour drawing".

Religion: Students got back into their groups and they spent the entire class finishing up their Human Rights Activist Presentations using the Surface Pro's.

Science: Over the half hour period, we picked up right where we left off by investigating the characteristics of concave and convex mirrors and lens' through two small experiments.

Grade 8 Math: Students finished up their textbook assignment from yesterday and began working on the 4.1 handout.

Genius Hour: Now that most students have their essential question formed and ready to go, they finally began researching and collecting information on their topic.

Here's some pictures from Genius Hour today:

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter "Mirror of Erised" blog due on Wednesday, November 19th

Math:

Pg. 128 - Due on Monday, November 17th

a) 4,6,8,9,12

b) 4,6,8,9,12

c) 4,6,9,12,14,15

Religion: 

Human Rights Activist Presentation due on Thursday, November 20th

Reminders:

-No School on November 21st (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning)

What We Learned Today...November 13th

Getting set to play Quidditch!

ELA: We started out the day with the usual AR period from 9:00 to 9:30 before moving on to the "Mirror of Erised" Blog Post.  Students will get one more class period tomorrow to work on this post and then it will become homework.

Phys. Ed: Since we just finished Chapter 11, "Quidditch" in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, we decided it would be kind of cool to actually play it ourselves.  Last week we spent some time creating our own version of the game (without flying broomsticks of course!) and today we headed to the gym to test it out.  I was so impressed with how well it went, and that really shows you how great of a class we have.  It took a bit of time to tweak some of our rules but by the end we had our version of "Quidditch" down to a science! Be sure to check out the pictures and video below of our game today!

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma took the students to the Arts. Ed room and they worked on a contour line drawing activity.

Grade 8 Math: Over the hour students worked on their first Unit Four assignment from their textbook that dealt with representing percents.

Science: To start our class we quickly reviewed the Law of Reflection before students work on an assignment that tasked them with identifying the normal and mirror on a diagram as well as measuring the angle of incidence and reflection.

Here's some more pictures and video from Quidditch today:

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter Chapter 11 and 12 Questions are due on Thursday, November 13th Friday, November 14th


Genius Hour:

Work on formulating your Essential Question

Reminders:

-No School on November 21st (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning)

What We Learned Today...November 12th

Working on the Religion assignment!

ELA: Today we started out the class with the usual half hour period of AR.  We are offically up to 3.8 points per student, which means we have a little bit of work to do in order to reach our goal.  After AR we spent the rest of the class working on the Harry Potter Chapter 11 and 12 Guiding Questions as well as the third blog post assignment.

Religion: Students were given the entire period to work on their Human Rights Activist Assignments.  We will only have one more class to work on the this assignment before it will become homework. *The tentative due date is Nov. 20th

Extra Work Period: With report cards coming up, students were given a half hour period after lunch to catch up on any homework or late assignments they had.

Grade 8 Math: We took some time at the beginning of class to go over the Unit 3 Exams from last week before officially beginning Unit 4 by learning about "Representing Percents".

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter Chapter 11 and 12 Questions are due on Thursday, November 13th Friday, November 14th


Genius Hour:

Work on formulating your Essential Question

Reminders:

-No School on November 21st (TPD)

-Report Cards go home on November 26th

-Parent Teacher Interviews  - November 27th (Evening) and November 28th (Morning)

What We Learned Today...November 7th

Remembrance Day Liturgy!

ELA: We started out the class today by fine tuning our rules to "Quidditch" that we developed yesterday.  Hopefully we'll be able to have our own Quidditch Cup in Phys. Ed next week!  During the second half of class students were given time to work on their guiding questions for Chapter 11 and 12.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs took the students to the gym and they worked on serving before playing a mini volleyball game at the end of class.

Extra Work Period: Students were given the period before lunch to work on any homework they have or to work on any assignments they wanted to get a head start on.  Some students also spent some time practicing Math skills on IXL.

Remembrance Day Liturgy: After lunch we headed straight to the gym for a special liturgy where we took time to reflect and pray for all those people who have sacrificed so much in order for our freedom.  A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Weafer, Ms. Fluter and Mrs. Wiley's classes for preparing such a wonderful liturgy.

Social Studies: We finally got back to our Resource and Wealth unit today by reviewing the terms "Public and Private Sector" as well as looking how those terms apply in a "Mixed Market Economy".


Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA: 

Harry Potter Chapter 11 and 12 Questions are due on Thursday, November 13th


Genius Hour:Work on formulating your Essential Question

Reminders:

-No School on November 10th and 11th.

What We Learned Today...November 6th

Here's a snap shot of our day at school:

ELA: Today we started out the day by reading the rest of Chapter Twelve of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone.  After reading, we took a little time to decipher J.K.Rowling's hidden message about the "Mirror of Erised" before moving on to the chapter questions.  Near the end of class we all worked together to make some rules for our own version of "Quidditch" that we will play next week.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs took the students to gym and they worked on bumping and setting the volleyball over the period.

Religion: Students were given the entire period to work on their Human Rights Activist Presentations.

AR & Grade 8 Math: Since we got right into Harry Potter this morning, the students were given a half hour period of AR after lunch.  In Grade 8 Math the students wrote their Unit 3 Exams over the hour.

Religion: Students were given an extra Religion class today to help finish up their presentations.  I will most likely be giving 1-2 more classes for this assignment and then it will become homework.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

3.5 Handout is overdue


Genius Hour:
Work on formulating your Essential Question

Reminders:

-No School on November 10th and 11th.

What We Learned Today...November 5th

Working hard during Genius Hour

ELA: The students started out the class with a brief AR period before we got right back into our Harry Potter books and read through Chapter 11 and part of Chapter 12.  Since Chapter 11 was about Harry's first Quidditch game, we will be spending tomorrow constructing our own version of Quidditch so we can play an official game on Friday!

Arts. Ed: Students continued to work on the skits that they started yesterday with Ms. Postma.

Genius Hour: Unfortunately we weren't able to have our usual Genius Hour over the past two weeks so we finally got back to it today.  Over the period students used their topics and began formulating essential questions for their projects.  We were very fortunate to have Mrs. Folk join us today to help students in creating questions "with legs".

Afternoon: This afternoon we headed to LeBoldus to watch the drama production, "High School Stereotypes".  A special shout out to LeBoldus for the invite as well as the former Deshaye students who did an awesome job performing today!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework
Math:

3.5 Handout is due on Tomorrow, November 6th

Unit 3 Exam is on Tomorrow, November 6th

ELA:
Harry Potter Chapter 9 and 10 Questions due Tomorrow, November 6th

Health:
Anorexia Questions are overdue

Social:
What in the World Assignment is overdue

Genius Hour:
Work on formulating your Essential Question

Reminders:

-No School on November 10th and 11th.

What We Learned Today...November 4th

Here is a snap shot of our day today:

ELA: The students had the first half hour of class today to silently read their AR books.  With only one week into our new session, we are already up to 2.3 AR points per student, which is right on track for our goal at the end of November! After AR the students had the rest of class to finish up their Harry Potter Chapter 9 and 10 questions.

Phys. Ed: At 10:35 Mr. Fuchs took the students to the gym and the participated in some serious circuit training!

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and had began their Drama unit by playing a few different Improv games.

Health: We continued right where we left off yesterday by looking at Anabolic Steroids and serious side effects they can have on your health.

Grade 8 Math: Students had the entire period to work on the chapter review and practice test from their textbooks. *Don't forget we have the Unit Exam on Thursday so be sure to study!

Social/Science: Today we used the last hour of the day for Social Studies and Science.  Over the first half hour students were given the opportunity to finish up their  "What in the World" assignments. While during the second half hour we had Science and reviewed the key light terms and concepts from October.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework
Math:

3.5 Handout is due on Thursday, November 6th

Unit 3 Exam is on Thursday, November 6th

ELA:
Harry Potter Chapter 9 and 10 Questions due Thursday, November 6th

Health:
Anorexia Questions are overdue

Social:
What in the World Assignment is due Tomorrow, November 5th

Genius Hour:
Work on driving question if not yet approved.

Reminders:
-We will be at Leboldus Wednesday afternoon to view the play "High School Stereotypes"

-No School on November 10th and 11th.

What We Learned Today...November 3rd

ELA: To start our ELA this week, students were given the entire hour to work on the Harry Potter Chapter 9 and 10 response questions that were handed out at the end of Friday's class.  *These questions will be due on Thursday, November 6th

Health: Last week, we looked at a lot of different self-harming issues that are associated with Body Image such as Anorexia, Bulimia  and Binge Eating Disorder. To continue on with this, today we began looking at PED's (Performance Enhancing Drugs) with a emphasis on Anabolic Steroids and what they are.  We will be continuing to look at this in our next Health class as well as the harmful side effects that may occur from it's use.

Religion: Students finally got back to working on their Human Rights Activist assignments and spent the entire period preparing their presentations.  The due date we've selected for this assignment is November 17th.

Grade 8 Math: To start the class, we went through an overview of the Unit 3 Exam so students know exactly what to study.  For the remainder of the class students worked on their 3.5 handouts as well as the Unit Review and Practice Test.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework
Math:
3.5 Handout is due on Thursday, November 6th

Unit 3 Exam is on Thursday, November 6th

ELA:
Harry Potter Chapter 9 and 10 Questions due Thursday, November 6th

Health:
Anorexia Questions due Tomorrow, November 4th

Social:
What in the World Assignment due on Wednesday, November 5th

Genius Hour:
Work on driving question if not yet approved.

Reminders:
-We will be at Leboldus Wednesday afternoon to view the play "High School Stereotypes"

-No School on November 10th and 11th.