Tuesday 31 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 31st

Ms. Stewart-Mitchell teaching about Office 365


ELA: This morning we hit the ground running as soon as announcements ended.  The students immediately got their devices and began recording their rants.  I'm so impressed with how well everyone has done with their rants and I can't wait until tomorrow to watch all of them!

Office 365: Today we were very fortunate to have Ms. Stewart-Mitchell, who is the Digital Fluency Consultant for our division, join us.  She spent the period teaching the students about the different features and techniques for Office 365 that will not only help them this year, but in High School as well.

Science: After lunch we continued where we left off yesterday by learning about Osmosis and why it is so important to cellular life.  We also began look at "Specialized Cells" and the four main types of tissue in our bodies.

Grade 8 Math: Students were given the entire period to work on the 6.5 handout.  Any students who finished early had the opportunity to watch the 6.6 video for tomorrow's class.
*Remember to watch the 6.6 video if you haven't had a chance yet!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Rants need to be filmed and shared with Mr. Bresciani by Tomorrow
All copies of written rant are overdue.

Career Ed: 
Resumes are overdue, please share with Mr. Bresciani

Grade 8 Math: 
6.6 Video needs to be watched for tomorrow
6.5 Handout is due on Thursday
Pg.  227-228 - overdue
a) 5-7, 9, 11, 12
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19
c) 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23


Reminders:

-We are currently taking donations for our Lenten Charity group, Chalice.  As a school system, we are sponsoring children in Haiti as well as the Philippines.  If you would like to donate please feel free to send any dollar amount with your child to school over the next two weeks.

Monday 30 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 30th

Negotiating with the British for Guns and Dogs.
ELA: Today we started out the day with a quick school wide assembly before heading back to the class for ELA.  Students continued to film their rants over the remainder of the class.  We have about half of the rants filmed and we will continue to film the rest in class tomorrow.  All rants need to be filmed and sent to Mr. Bresciani by Wednesday, April 1st (no this isn't a joke!) so we can watch all the rants together.

Little Buddies: Instead of Career Education, we headed down to Mrs. Sutherland's classroom and worked with our little buddies in Kindergarten on their Easter Craft.  As always, the Grade 7/8's did a wonderful job working with the kindergarten.  They are such amazing role models and leaders in our school!

Science: Due to the Liturgy on Thursday, we will miss Science so we decided to have an extra class today.  We continued to explore cells by learning how molecules enter and leave a cell through Diffusion and Osmosis.  

"Hunting for Furs"
Social Studies: We officially entered stage two of our Colonization unit by holding our first Fur Trade between the First Nations Tribes and the European groups. The First Nations groups were tasked with "hunting" for furs which was simulated through a game of rock, paper scissors.  They then needed to negotiate trades for various goods from the British and the French groups.   

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Rants need to be filmed and shared with Mr. Bresciani by Wednesday, April 1st
All copies of written rant are overdue.

Career Ed: 
Resumes are overdue, please share with Mr. Bresciani

Grade 8 Math: 
6.6 Video needs to be watched for Wednesday April 1st
6.4 Handout is due tomorrow
Pg.  227-228 - Due Tomorrow
a) 5-7, 9, 11, 12
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19
c) 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23


Reminders:

-We are currently taking donations for our Lenten Charity group, Chalice.  As a school system, we are sponsoring children in Haiti as well as the Philippines.  If you would like to donate please feel free to send any dollar amount with your child to school over the next two weeks.

Friday 27 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 27th

Filming their Rants!



ELA: Now that we have completely finished the written component of the rant assignment, all students were working on the video aspect.  Over the hour, they could be found all around the school planning and practicing their rants in front of a camera. We will begin filming the good copies on Monday so students will need to do a little practicing over the weekend if they don't have their entire rant memorized.

Career Education: The students received their username and passwords for The Real Game, and spent the period filling out a wish list of things they would want to have in the future.  This included the type of house they wanted to live in, type of vehicle, leisure activities and leisure items.  Next week we will compare the students wish lists with the career they were assigned to see if their wish list is practical to the amount of money they make.

Religion: Students were given the half hour period to work on their Lenten Reflection Booklets.  This was the final class period allotted for this assignment.  It is due on Thursday, April 2nd; students who are not finished will have to spend a little time working on it at home.

Grade 8 Math: Today we started out the class with a brief Socrative quiz on Dividing Fractions and Mixed Numbers before students began working on their textbook assignment from Pg. 227.  *Students remember that the 6.4 handout is due on Monday, March 30th.

Assembly: During the last hour of the day the entire school gathered together in the gym for our Month End Assembly.  A special shout out to all Battle of the Books members for their special acknowledgement today as well as our winners for the AR assembly.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Written Copy of Rant are overdue. 
Practice memorizing and speaking rants over the weekend

Career Ed: 
Resumes are overdue, please share with Mr. Bresciani

Grade 8 Math: 
6.4 Handout is due on Monday
Pg.  227-228 - Due on Tuesday
a) 5-7, 9, 11, 12
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19
c) 5, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23


Reminders:

-We are currently taking donations for our Lenten Charity group, Chalice.  As a school system, we are sponsoring children in Haiti as well as the Philippines.  If you would like to donate please feel free to send any dollar amount with your child to school over the next two weeks.

Thursday 26 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 26th



ELA: We started out the day with our usual AR period from 9:00 - 9:30.  Following AR, the students continued to work on memorizing their rants before actually rehearsing them in different locations around the school.

Genius Hour: Students continued to research for their projects or practice the skill they are learning. Next week they will be tasked with writing their first blog post update on this Genius Hour and I can't wait to read about all the amazing things our class has learned so far!

Religion: The students continued to work on their Lenten Reflection Booklet over the half hour period.  We are nearing the end of this project as it is due on Thursday, April 2nd.  So students who may be a little behind might need to do a little bit at home to ensure they finish on time.

Grade 8 Math: We continued where we left off yesterday as students finished up their assignments from pg. 221 before working on the 6.4 handout. *Don't forget to watch the 6.5 video tonight as we are starting that concept tomorrow.

Career Education: During the last hour of the day we started our mini-unit on careers by looking at the "High Five" guiding principles.  We also took some time to take a fun interactive quiz on various skills and careers using the website quizizz.com.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Science:
Unknown Cell Lab is overdue

ELA:
Written Copy of Rant are overdue.  Please ensure they are shared with Mr. Bresciani or printed off for tomorrows class.

Career Ed: 
Resumes are overdue, please share with Mr. Bresciani

Grade 8 Math: 
6.4 Handout is due on Monday
Pg. 220 -221 - Due on Monday
a) 4-10
b) 4 (a,c), 5 (a,c), 6, 7, 8a, 9a, 10-14
c) 4b, 5b, 6,7, 8b, 9b, 10-12, 15, 17, 19

Reminders:

-We are currently taking donations for our Lenten Charity group, Chalice.  As a school system, we are sponsoring children in Haiti as well as the Philippines.  If you would like to donate please feel free to send any dollar amount with your child to school over the next two weeks.


Wednesday 25 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 25th


We learned about Buffalo's today!


ELA: This morning we started out our day with a brief AR period before getting back to work on our rants. Students spent the hour putting the finishing touches on the written copy of their rants and then began memorizing and planning for their video rants.  Hopefully on Friday we can begin filming some of the rants and have a "Rant Party" next week!

Religion: The students were given the half hour period to work on their Lenten Reflection Booklet.  *Students don't forget that part one of this assignment is due on April 2nd. That means you will need to have typed up your reflection for Praying, Fasting and Giving.

Grade 8 Math: We kicked off our class with a quick online Socrative quiz on the 6.4 video from last night and then the students got straight to work on the textbook assignment from page 221.  I'm very impressed with how hard the Grade 8's have been working during Unit 6.  Almost everyone has been watching the videos on time if not early and their assignments have been top notch so far.  Keep up the great work!

Social Studies: Today we stayed as a whole class and learned about how the First Nations people hunted Buffalo before the time of colonization.  We also spent some time looking at what different parts of the Buffalo were used for as well it's importance to the First Nations people. This lesson has acted as a major turning point in our unit and has foreshadowed important events that will occur very soon.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Science:
Unknown Cell Lab is overdue

ELA:
Written Copy of Rant are overdue.  Please ensure they are shared with Mr. Bresciani or printed off for tomorrows class.

Career Ed: 
Please try to finish the Resumes tonight and share with Mr. Bresciani

Grade 8 Math: 
6.3 Handout is overdue
Pg. 220 -221 - Due on Monday
a) 4-10
b) 4 (a,c), 5 (a,c), 6, 7, 8a, 9a, 10-14
c) 4b, 5b, 6,7, 8b, 9b, 10-12, 15, 17, 19

Reminders:

-We are currently taking donations for our Lenten Charity group, Chalice.  As a school system, we are sponsoring children in Haiti as well as the Philippines.  If you would like to donate please feel free to send any dollar amount with your child to school over the next two weeks.





Tuesday 24 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 24th

A picture with Saskatchewan Roughrider Dan Clark

Another blog post...Finally! I want to apologize for the lack of posts this past week.  Unfortunately I I was away at a conference and was unable to send my regular updates.  However I'm back now so everyone can stop worrying....what no one was??....Anyways, without further delay here is the post on our day today:

ELA: This morning the students spent the first hour of the day finishing up their final copies of their rants.  Most students finished this up quickly so they began to practice memorizing them so we can record rant videos later this week.



Special Presentation: We were very fortunate this morning to be joined by Saskatchewan Roughriders Offensive Linemen Dan Clark who gave a wonderful presentation on Anti-Bullying.

Career Ed: Due to some technical errors last week, the students were unable to finish their resumes so we spent today's class working on them.  We will hopefully be finishing them up tomorrow so we can begin our unit on Careers later this week.

AR: After lunch the students spent a half hour silently reading their AR books.  We will be having our AR movie party next Wednesday! In order to attend students need to reach their AR point goals by Wednesday at 9:00.  Anyone who is unsure of their goal can see me tomorrow morning and we can go through it together!

Grade 8 Math: Over the hour the students worked on their 6.3 textbook assignment as well as their 6.4 handout.

Note about
Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Science:
Unknown Cell Lab is overdue

ELA:
Written Copy of Rant is due tomorrow, March 25th.  They need to be printed and ready to work with for tomorrow's class.

Grade 8 Math: 
6.2 Handout is due tomorrow
6.3 Handout is due on Thursday

Reminders:

Wednesday 11 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 11th

Unfortunately I was away this morning, but the students were very fortunate to have the fantastic Mr. Fense in as their guest teacher.

ELA: The students spent the first half hour of class silently reading in AR before working on the brainstorming stage of their rants.

Genius Hour: Students continued to work on their driving questions for this round of Genius Hour.  Students need to have these questions completed and approved by me for next week so we can officially begin.

Grade 8 Math: We quickly reviewed the concepts that were learned yesterday before students had a chance to work on their 6.1 textbook assignment.  (Full assignment details are posted below)

Social Studies: During the last hour of the day the students got into their Colonization Simulation groups and worked on a quick assignment before completing their group tasks.

****Grade 8 Farewell Parent Meeting****
In accordance with Regina Catholic School’s policy, the staff of Deshaye will be responsible for planning the mass and the ceremonial portion of the evening.   Deshaye has a tradition of parents and guardians coming together to plan a social event for Grade 8 students.  If you’re interested in helping with this, please join us for a parent meeting on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 pm.  We’ll meet in the staffroom.

We look forward to a wonderful send-off for our Grade 8 students.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Genius Hour:
Need to have a driving questions need to be approved by next week.

Grade 8 Math: - Due on Monday, March 16th
Pg. 202-203
a) 1-4, 5, 6, 7
b) 1-4, 6, 8-12
c) 4, 6, 8, 9-16


Any Redo assignments need to be handed in by tomorrow, March 12th

Reminders:

-Downhill Skiing this Tomorrow, March 12th

-No School on Friday (TPD day)

-Report Cards go home on Friday, March 20th

Tuesday 10 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 10th


Science: This morning we kicked off our day with an extended Science period and the students continued to work through our unknown cell lab.  Over the hour they were tasked with identifying the names of five unknown cells in addition to recording observational notes and drawing their cell.  We made it through five stations, which means we will wrap up the lab during our next class.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs led the students to the gym for their favourite time of the year...Beep Testing!

Religion: Unfortunately today was another day without technology so students had to continue to work on their Lenten Reflection booklets on paper.  Hopefully the problem will be resolved soon so we can continue to work on these digital booklets.

Grade 8 Math: We spent the first half of class going through the Unit 7 Exam that the students wrote yesterday.  For the second half of the class, we officially began our Unit on Fractions by learning reviewing the different types of fractions

ELA: During the last hour of the day we viewed a few more rants by Rick Mercer, before the students began to brainstorm rants of their own.  I'm really looking forward to reading (and hearing) these rants in a week or two, there are some pretty great topics so far!

Some more pictures from this morning:



Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Arts. Ed:
Quiz tomorrow 

Genius Hour:
Need to have a driving question for tomorrow


Any Redo assignments need to be handed in by Thursday, March 12th

Reminders:

-Downhill Skiing this Thursday, March 12th

-Senior Badminton Try-Outs at 7:45 tomorrow morning

-No School on Friday (TPD day)

-Report Cards go home on Friday, March 20th

Monday 9 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 9th


Religion: This morning we started out our day a little differently than usual and had an extended Religion class due to the amount of classes we missed last week.  Over the hour the students continued working on their Lenten Reflection Booklet.  Unfortunately the technology gods were not smiling on us and we had to work the old fashioned way with pencil and paper.

Career Ed: Students handed in their Resume assignments from last week and then we discussed the Function, Form and Effectiveness of the two sample resumes.  Once we finished examining these resumes, we looked at an additional three resumes and students were tasked with identifying the type of resume being used and critiquing it's effectiveness.

ELA: With the shortened period today, we read a brief rant by Anada Fulton about the amazing female TV detective, Veronica Mars.  After reading, we discussed what exactly a rant is and the elements involved in preparing an efficient one.  To end the class we watched a few rants, by the hilarious Canadian comedian, Rick Mercer. Tomorrow we will continue to look at rants and the students will get the opportunity to write a rant of their own.

Grade 8 Math:  The day finally came! Today the students wrote their Unit 7 exam on Calculating Volume.

French: During the last hour of the day Ms. Bachiu stopped by and.began working on a friendship cube using vocabulary of personality traits and talents.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Arts. Ed:
Quiz on Wednesday


Any Redo assignments need to be handed in by Wednesday, March 11th

Reminders:

-Downhill Skiing this Thursday, March 12th

-No School on Friday (TPD day)

-Report Cards go home on Friday, March 20th

Tuesday 3 March 2015

What We Learned Today...March 3rd

Meeting our Mystery Skype opponents for the first time.

Mystery Skype!  This morning we had our first real Mystery Skype with another classroom.  Over the hour we battled back and forth asking "yes" or "no" questions in order to find out where they were. They were great competitors and ended up guess our province first but in the end we still figured out that they were in the United States and in the State of Delaware. We learned a lot from our first Mystery Skype and a ton from the students in Ms. Corey's class as well.  They were pro's and we want to thank them for taking the time to Skype with us today!

Genius Hour: We have officially started a new Genius Hour session and today students began working on their new essential driving questions for their next projects.  I can't wait to see where these questions take them!

Religion: Students had the half hour period to work on their Lenten Reflection Booklets.

Grade 8 Math: Over the hour the Grade 8 students worked on their 7.4 handouts as well as the Unit Review and Practice Test.  After some convincing, I have decided to bump the Unit 7 Exam to next Monday and give the students a few extra days to study.  So the test will now be on Monday, March 9th.

Social Studies: During the last hour of the day the students got into their Colonization Simulation groups and we had our first post First Encounters/Small Pox Outbreak group meeting.  The newly formed British group got settled and learned about their group identity while also observing the Plains Tribe's funeral ceremony.  The French also observed the Algonquian funeral ceremony before beginning to plan their camp.

Some more pictures from today:






Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Social Studies:
Colonization Journals are due Tomorrow.

Science:
Plant and Animal Cell drawings are overdue

Genius Hour:
New essential questions are due on Monday, March 9th

Grade 8 Math:
7.4 handout is overdue
Unit 7 Exam has been postponed until Monday, March 9th.

Reminders:

-No School this Thursday or Friday.

-Downhill Skiing on March 12th.  Please bring forms back by Monday, March 2nd