Wednesday 30 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 30th

Posing after the Terry Fox Walk

ELA: After our usual AR period the students spent the remainder of the period working on their Pandora's Box assignment.  These projects are coming along nicely and I can't wait to see all the finished products in a few weeks!

Health: Since we were missing quite a few of our classmates to full band today we decided not to launch our new Health unit without them.  During this period the remaining students had a bonus period to work on any homework they had.

Religion: Students continued working on their Creation Story Assignments before we headed to the gym for our pictures!

Terry Fox Walk: During the last hour of the day we met up with our little buddies in the Kindergarten room and walked around the Deshaye area in honour of Terry Fox.  Once we got back to the school our class spent the rest of the hour reading with their little buddies. I was so impressed with how kind and caring the Grade 8 students were with their little buddies today.  They were so patient with their little buddies and did such a wonderful job making them feel special and I know for a fact that the kindergarten students can't wait to hang out with their Big Buddies again! Great job Grade 8's!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

3.2 Handout is due on Thursday, October 1st

Watch the 3.3 for Thursday, October 1st

ELA:
Defying the Gods questions are overdue

Pandora's Box assignment is due on Tuesday, October 13th

Religion:
Creation Story Assignment is due on Wednesday, October 14th

Reminders:

-No School on Friday (Staff Retreat)

-Boys and Girls Volleyball Try-Outs on Monday and Tuesday.  (Girls 8:00 - 9:00 and Boys 3:45 - 5:00)

-No School on October 8th and 9th (TPD and Institute)


Tuesday 29 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 29th

Working hard on the "Evils" for Pandora's Box!
ELA: This morning we started out our day with the usual AR period before getting to work on the Pandora's box assignment.  Students spent the hour working on the different stages of the project from the actual construction of the box to the detailed paragraph on their worst evil.  *We decided that this entire project will be due on Tuesday, October 13th.

Genius Hour: Usually we would have had Genius Hour on day 4, but due to a few last minute Health Presentations we had to bump it to today.  Students were given the entire period to research and learn about their Genius Hour topics.

Religion: We picked up right where we left off yesterday and students continued to work on their creation story assignment.

Math: Students had the entire period to finish up their textbook assignment and start the 3.2 handout.

Science: During the last hour of the day the students wrote their ecosystem science quiz and then had the remainder of the class to work on any other homework they had.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

3.2 Handout is due on Thursday, October 1st

Watch the 3.3 for Thursday, October 1st

ELA:
Defying the Gods questions are due Tomorrow, September 20th

Pandora's Box assignment is due on Tuesday, October 13th

Religion:
Creation Story Assignment is due on Wednesday, October 14th

Reminders:

-Picture day is tomorrow!

-No School on Friday (Staff Retreat)

-Boys and Girls Volleyball Try-Outs on Monday and Tuesday.  (Girls 8:00 - 9:00 and Boys 3:45 - 5:00)

-No School on October 8th and 9th (TPD and Institute)


Friday 25 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 25th

We learned about the creation story today!

ELA: This morning we started our class out with a brief period of AR before learning more about the Greek characters who learned their lesson after they they defied the gods.  The students were treated to another installment of cheesy cartoons that depicted these Myths and were tasked with answering some response questions from the video.

Religion: After lunch we read a short reading about the Creation Story and students were tasked with completing a short fill in the blank listening assignment.  We also had a chance to look at the major Creation Story assignment the students will begin working on next week.  (A copy of the assignment can be found on the Religion  page)

Math: Students were given the entire period to finish up their textbook assignments from yesterday and work on the new 3.1 Handout.

Science/Health: During the first half of the last hour of the day we discussed the purpose of the Predator/Prey game we played last class and also learned about Photosynthesis and the vital role it plays in our lives.  After Science we ended our day with a few more of the wonderful "All About Me" presentations.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
Pg. 85 - Due on Monday, September 28th

a) 4,5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 23, 24
c) 6, 19, 21, 22, 24 -27

3.1 Handout is due on Tuesday, September 29th

Watch 3.2 Video for Monday

ELA:
Defying the Gods questions are due on Wednesday, September 20th

Science:
Quiz on Tuesday, September 29th

Religion:
Creation Listening Assignment due on Monday

Reminders:

-Boys Football game at St. Marguerite on Monday @ 4:00.

-Picture day is on September 30th

Thursday 24 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 24th

Working hard on their Bible Scavenger Hunt!

ELA: We started out the day with our usual AR period from 9:00 - 9:30.  Our class is currently up to 6.2 AR points per student, which is only 3.8 points shy of our September goal of 10 points per student.  If the students are able to reach our goal by next Friday we will have an AR movie party to celebrate.  After AR we got back to our Greek Mythology unit by investigating the Myths of Arachne and Athene as well as Pandora's box.  Both these Myths were interesting to read because of their common theme of "defying the gods" and the lessons we can learn from them.

Health:  We continued viewing to the amazing "All About Me" presentations that the students created.  As I said before, this has been such a fun experience for me as the students have done such a great job with it and it's been awesome getting to learn so much more about the different members of classroom.

Religion: After lunch we picked up where we left off yesterday and quickly went through the small Bible verse assignment from yesterday before completing another small Bible scavenger hunt.

Math: Students spent the entire period working on their textbook assignments from Pg. 85.  The students who finished early were also able to get a head start on tomorrows 3.1 handout!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
Pg. 85 - Due on Monday, September 28th

a) 4,5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 23, 24
c) 6, 19, 21, 22, 24 -27


Reminders:

-Boys Football game against St. Marguerite TBA

-Picture day is on September 30th

Wednesday 23 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 23rd


ELA: Today we started out our day by finishing up the good copies of the Persuasive Writing Assessment.  Once students finished, they had the remainder of the class to silently read their AR books.

Health: Over the period students continued to present their "All About Me" presentations to the class.

Religion: After lunch we grabbed the class set of Bibles and briefly went over the structure of the Bible and how to find difference verses.  Students were then tasked with a small assignment that asked them to find the first five words of ten different verses throughout the Bible. This review of the Bible will come in handy when we begin our Creation Story assignment on Monday.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
Pg. 85 - Due on Monday, September 28th

a) 4,5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17
b) 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 23, 24
c) 6, 19, 21, 22, 24 -27

Arts. Ed:
Optical Illusions overdue

Reminders:

-Picture day is on September 30th

Tuesday 22 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 22nd

Mr. Meyers giving his presentation this morning!
Religion: This morning we were very fortunate to have Mr. Miles Meyers (The Catholic Education Services Coordinator) join our class this morning to give one of his amazing presentations.  Over the hour he taught us some more about mythology and some the similarities and differences between the Greek Myths and our Christian Myths.  He also took a little bit of time to compare the creation stories between Christians, Greeks and the First Nations People of Canada.

Health: Students continued to present their amazing "All About Me" presentations today and we continued with them right after lunch instead of Religion as we already had an hour long class this morning.  I have to say that I've been absolutely blown away with how well the students have done with this assignment!  Each presentation has been incredibly engaging and I feel like we've got to know each person in our class a little better these past few days.  I can't wait to see the remainder of them tomorrow!

Math: We started out the class by going through the Unit 2 Exams that the students wrote yesterday before officially beginning Unit 3 by learning about Squares and Square Roots.  *Unfortunately we were interrupted by a fire drill during the 3.1 lesson so I have asked students to finish up the lesson online so we can begin the first assignment tomorrow.

ELA: During the last hour of the day the students were given the hour to work on the good copy of their Persuasive Writing Assessment.  *Due to the fact that we didn't get a complete hour this afternoon to finish assessment up, students will receive a half hour tomorrow to complete their good copies.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
Watch the 3.1 Video tonight

Arts. Ed:
Optical Illusions overdue

Reminders:

-Boys Football playoff game at St. Augustine tomorrow at 4:00

-Picture day is on September 30th

Monday 21 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 21st

Assembly: We started the week out by heading to the gym for our usual Monday morning assembly. Today's assembly took a little longer than usual because we officially kicked off our SWPBS and AR competitions during the half hour.  Now when students earn tickets for AR or SWBPS they can enter their tickets for the chance to win a prize.

ELA: Once we got back from the assembly students were given the entire period to use their research from Friday to begin the drafting stage of their Persuasive Writing Assessments. *Since the assembly cut our period short, the students were given the half hour period after lunch to finish up their rough drafts. Tomorrow students will begin to work on their Good Copies and formally end the beginning of the year testing!!! 

Genius Hour: Today we had our first official Genius Hour Class as all students have now had their essential questions approved.  Over the period students began researching and learning about their projects/passions.  In two weeks time they will be tasked with writing a blog post updating the class on what they have learned so we also discussed the importance of recording research either digitally or in a Genius Hour duotang.

If you would like more information about how Genius Hour will run this year please see my Power Point below:



Math: Students spent the entire class writing their Unit 2 exam on Rates, Ratio's and Proportions.  Tomorrow we will officially begin Unit 3 on Squares and Square Roots so students will have to watch the 3.1 video tonight!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

Watch the 3.1 Video tonight

Arts. Ed:
Optical Illusions due tomorrow.

Reminders:

-Boys Football playoff game at St. Augustine on Wednesday at 4:00

-Picture day is on September 30th

Thursday 17 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 17th

"Stargazing" during ELA - Photo credit to Sam

ELA:
This morning we kicked off our day with an AR period from 9:00 to 9:30 before gathering together in the middle of our classroom to learn about how different constellations received their names from Greek Myths.  In order to get into the proper frame for this, we projected stars on our ceiling while we listened to the Myth of Orion.  We also read the Myth of Prometheus which explained the creation of humans as well as fire which we read while sitting around a "campfire".

Genius Hour: We continued right where we left off yesterday and students worked on their essential questions for their projects.  Once they felt they had a good question they needed to discuss it with me before they could formally begin their research.  Most students have been cleared and can begin working, however those who have not finished their question will need to do this for homework tonight.

Health: After lunch a few brave souls volunteered to go first and present their "All About Me" power points.  These student's did an amazing job and I can't wait to listen to the rest of our presentations next week!

Math: We started the class out by going through the Unit 2 quiz before students continued working on the review and practice test from their textbooks.  *Don't forget that our Unit 2 Exam is on Monday so be sure to study a little bit each night!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

2.3 Handout is overdue

Unit Exam is on Monday, September 21st

Health:
All About Me presentations are overdue

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Monday at Deshaye against St. Pius.

-Picture day is on September 30th

Wednesday 16 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 16th



ELA: We started out our day silent reading in AR from 9:00  - 9:30 and any students who needed to complete their RAD test were also able to work on them during this time.  At 9:30 we switched gears and each student grabbed a laptop and took their beginning of the year STAR test to see how much their reading level has grown since last year.

Genius Hour: Once the students arrived back from Phys. Ed I introduced the amazing project that we will be doing in our classroom over the next couple of months.....Genius Hour!  This is a project that I started last year and I am extremely excited to do it again as it allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom.  Tonight the students have been tasked with brainstorming something they are passionate about and formulating an essential question.  Tomorrow we will start to go through these questions and formally begin the project!

Health: After lunch the students received one final period to work on their "All About Me" power points.  We will begin the in class presentations during tomorrow's class and will continue into next week.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

2.3 Handout is due tomorrow

Unit Exam is on Monday, September 21st


ELA:
God's of Olympus is overdue

Health:
All About Me presentations are due tomorrow

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Monday at Deshaye.  *There is no practice tomorrow morning!

Tuesday 15 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 15th

ELA: This morning we started our day off with the RAD Tests that we started yesterday.  Students received the entire period to work on their exams and we will spend one more period tomorrow finishing them up.

Health: Students spent the entire period working on their "All About Me" Presentations.  Seeing as the majority of the class has completed this assignment, we will have one final period to put the finishing touches on the power points before beginning the actual presentations on Thursday.

Digital Citizenship: After lunch we continued where we left off last week in our lesson on Digital Footprints and how to be a good Digital Citizen.

Math: We started the class off by writing the quiz on Ratio's, Rates and Proportions before getting started on the Unit Review and Practice Test in our textbooks.  At the end of class we also took a little time to go through the 2.2 assignments and talked about the importance of taking your time on assignments and ensuring that units are used in final answers.

Science: During the last hour of the day we learned about the three different types of Consumers: Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores.  Then at the end of  class went through the rules for the Predator/Prey game we will be playing next period.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:

2.3 Handout is due on Thursday

Quiz Tomorrow

Unit Exam is on Monday, September 21st

French:
Vocab Quiz is Tomorrow, September 16th

ELA:
God's of Olympus is overdue

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Tomorrow at Holy Rosary

Monday 14 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 14th

The look I received when I informed the students about the RAD's

* I apologize for the delay in my post today, it took me a little longer than anticipated after the boys football game!

ELA: Well we know the year is officially underway when we have to start the beginning of the year assessments.  Today we started out the class by going through each test question on the RAD (Reading Assessment Diagnostic) together before students began to work on the assessment.  Due to length of this exam, students will receive another day or two to complete it.
*It is important to remember that these assessments are not included as part of a students grade, but rather serve as a benchmark so we can see their growth over the course of the year.

Health: After lunch the students had the half hour period to continue to work on their "All About Me" presentation. We decided today that these presentations will be due on Thursday as students have already received close to three hours class time to complete them.

Math: The students received the entire period to work on their 2.3 handouts on Proportions as well as study for their quiz tomorrow by beginning their Unit Review from Pg. 70 in their textbook.


Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Altruistic Heroes Assignment is overdue

Math:
-Pg. 67 - Due on Tuesday, September 15th
a) 4, 6, 8, 9, 19
b) 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 19
c) 6, 8, 9, 14, 19, 20

2.2 Handout is overdue

2.3 Handout is due on Thursday

Quiz Tomorrow

French:
Vocab Quiz on Wednesday, September 16th

ELA:
God's of Olympus is overdue

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Wednesday at Holy Rosary



Friday 11 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 11th



Religion: This morning we started out our day by discussing the September 11th attacks and how it has impacted our lives today. To get a better understanding of the impact this event had, we first watched the video "How the Day Unfolded" which showed the timeline of the terrorist attacks through various newscasts.  Then we read a story about the  altruistic people aboard United Flight 93 as well as many others who made enormous sacrifices to save the lives of others. Once we finished up the story, students were then asked to complete a reflection that about the attacks, altruism and the need for peace in our world. (We also continued working on this assignment during the half hour period following lunch)
If you would like to view the assignment it can be found  here

Grade 8 Math: We started class by taking a quick quiz on Socrative about Proportional Reasoning before the students got to work on the assignment from Pg. 67.  (Full assignment details can be viewed below)

Science: During the last hour of the day the students each received a number of items on their desk (rubber band, tacs, paper clip, sticky note, candy) and were tasked with sorting them into different categories.  We then shared the different ideas students had for sorting and then talked about how everyone has a different way of looking at the world we live.  This activity tied into the bigger picture which revolved around the way the Traditional First Nations Worldview and and how the Scientific way of categorizing things as "Living" and "Non-Living" doesn't work effectively.  We then discussed the terms "Totemic" and "Non-Totemic" as well as "Edible" and "Non-Edible" and their relationship to this worldview.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Altruistic Heroes Assignment due on Monday, September 14th

Math:
-Pg. 67 - Due on Tuesday, September 15th
a) 4, 6, 8, 9, 19
b) 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 19
c) 6, 8, 9, 14, 19, 20

2.2 Handout is due on Monday, September 14th

Quiz on Tuesday 

French:
Vocab Quiz on Wednesday, September 16th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Monday at St. Matthew and Wednesday at Holy Rosary

Thursday 10 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September



ELA: We started the day out with our first official AR period of the year! The students have now been tasked with working together to achieve an average of 10 AR points per student for the month of September.  If we are able to reach our goal we will have an AR Movie Party at the beginning of October!  After AR, we learned more about each of the original Gods and Goddesses through a small activity that tasked the students with matching an image of a God with the correct description.  We also spent a little time exploring the connection between the Greek and Roman Gods.

Health: Students picked up where they left off yesterday and continued to work on their "All About Me"  presentations.

Math: At the beginning of class we spent a little time setting everyone up on "Remind", which is an app that will allow me to send reminders out to the students (and parents) about upcoming due dates and important information. After we finished up with "Remind", the students used the rest of the period to work on their 2.2 handout.

Just in case you missed it, here is the subscription code for text messages and emails:

Text: Send the message "@bresciani8" to (306) 992-6996

Email: Send a blank email to bresciani8@mail.remind.com


*I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in a few hours at Meet the Teacher Night!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Coat of Arms due Tomorrow, September 11th

Math:
-Pg. 60 - Due Tomorrow
a) 5-11, 13
b) 6, 7, 8, 10-15, 16
c) 6, 7, 8, 10, 14-19

-Watch 2.3 video and take notes for Tomorrow

-2.1 Handout is overdue

ELA:
Creation Story Sequence Assignment is due on Tomorrow, September 11th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Monday at St. Matthew

Wednesday 9 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 9th

Listening to the new procedures for the Library!

Health: This morning we started things out a little differently than usual and the students began their day by working on the "All About Me" presentation.  I was very impressed with how hard everyone worked during this period a lot was accomplished and I'm pretty confident we will be able to start the presentations next week.

ELA: At 10:00 we switched gears and had a brief ELA period and watched a very cheesy cartoon about the Greek God's and Goddess'.  After viewing, the students were tasked with completing a short writing assignment about the video, which they were able to complete in the afternoon during an bonus ELA period.

AR/Library Exchange: Ms. Folk invited the students to the Library after Phys. Ed and gave a quick review of all the procedures for signing out books.  Once she was done the students had the remainder of the period to find an AR book for September.

Religion: Students were given the period to work on their Coat of Arms assignment.  Originally this assignment was supposed to be due tomorrow, but due to the amount of hard work I witnessed this afternoon as well, I have decided to give them an extra day to complete it.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Coat of Arms due on Thursday, September 10th  Friday, September 11th

Math:
-Pg. 60 - Initially due Tomorrow, but I have changed it to Friday
a) 5-11, 13
b) 6, 7, 8, 10-15, 16
c) 6, 7, 8, 10, 14-19

-Watch 2.3 video and take notes for Friday, September 11th

-2.1 Handout is overdue

ELA:
Creation Story Sequence Assignment is due on Friday, September 11th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game Monday at St. Matthew



Tuesday 8 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 8th

Working hard on their Jungle Investigation Assignment!

ELA: After arriving back from our Monday morning assembly, students spent the remainder of the period working on their Creation Myth Sequence Assignment and listening to Percy Jackson's version of the myth.  Note: This assignment will be due on Friday.

Health: Now that students learned a few different tips on how to give an effective presentation, they began to apply this knowledge by working on a presentation that focuses entirely on them.  These presentations will not take very long as they are only required to complete eight slides about themselves.  The entire assignment can be viewed online here.

Math: We started out the class by taking a brief quiz on Socrative, which assessed the students understanding of the concepts from the 2.2 lesson on Rates. After they finished up with the quiz they were given the remainder of the period to work on their textbook assignment from pg. 60.  (Full assignment listed below)

Science: During the last hour of the day we continued where we left off last week and quickly reviewed and assigned the seven Characteristics of Living Things. We also spent a little bit of time going through the key words: Biotic, Abiotic and Ecosystem before students were tasked with a small assignment called "The Jungle Investigation".

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Coat of Arms due on Thursday, September 10th

Math:
-Pg. 60
a) 5-11, 13
b) 6, 7, 8, 10-15, 16
c) 6, 7, 8, 10, 14-19

-Watch 2.3 video and take notes for Friday, September 11th

-2.1 Handout due Tomorrow, September 9th

ELA:
Creation Story Sequence Assignment is due on Friday, September 11th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game tomorrow @ Deshaye at 4:00.

Friday 4 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 4th


ELA: This morning we officially started our unit on Greek Mythology by first learning about what Mythology is and how ancient civilizations used it to explain some of the phenomenons they didn't understand.  We then dove right into Greek Mythology by reading the myth about the creation of the world and it's first inhabitants...Titans!

Health: Before we get into the nitty gritty details of Health this year, I'll spending some time during this class to teach a few essential skills that I believe will benefit the students for the rest of the year as well as High School.   Today we focused on how to give an effective presentation in front of an audience.  Students learned about everything from what information should be on slides, to font size/colour and how to successfully keep your audience engaged.  Students will work at applying these skills next week when they will be tasked with preparing their own small presentation about themselves.

Religion: After lunch students were given the half hour period to work on the Coat of Arms assignment they started yesterday.

Math: Students spent the entire period finishing up the textbook assignment from yesterday and working on the new 2.1 handout.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Coat of Arms due on Thursday, September 10th

Math:
Pg. 51-15 - Due on Tuesday, September 8th
a) 1-6,9,11,12,19
b) 3-6,9, 11-18
c) 6, 9,11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22

Watch 2.2 video and take notes for Tuesday, September 8th

2.1 Handout due on Wednesday, September 9th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game at St. Pius on Tuesday, September 8th at 4:00

Thursday 3 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 3rd

Working on their lists of Living and Non-Living Things!
ELA: This morning we headed to the Library right after announcements for a special presentation from Ms. Folk.  Over the hour she taught us how to effectively search for information on the various databases that we have access to at Deshaye.  This newly discovered knowledge will really come in handy for Genius hour as well as the Persuasive Writing Assessments at the end of the Month.

Religion: Our first theme of the year is "Who am I" and we kicked off the unit by beginning an assignment that tasked the students with creating a personal Coat of Arms.  Since we only had a short amount of time to work on this assignment today, students will have more time over the next few classes to complete it.

Math: Now that the students officially have the first Flipped Classroom lesson under their belt, they spent the entire class today working on the textbook assignment from Pg. 51.  (Due Dates are listed below)

Science: During the last hour of the day we headed outside and launched our unit on Biodiversity by searching for as many living and non-living things as we could find.  Once we had a sufficient amount of things written down we came inside to compare lists and determine what characteristics we thought differentiated between the two.  To conclude the class students compared their own list of living things characteristics with the official one from their textbooks and they scored an impressive 6/7! Well done!!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is due on Friday, September 4th

Math:
Pg. 51-15 - Due on Tuesday, September 8th
a) 1-6,9,11,12,19
b) 3-6,9, 11-18
c) 6, 9,11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22

Watch 2.2 video and take notes for Tuesday, September 8th

Reminders:

-Boys Football game at St. Pius on Tuesday, September 8th at 4:00

Wednesday 2 September 2015

What We Learned Today...September 2nd

The scene during our Sorting Ceremony!

ELA: Now that we got the formal procedures and guidelines out of the way yesterday, we were able to focus most of our morning today on team building and getting to know each other.  Over the hour we learned more about each other through playing "People Bingo" as well as "Two Truths and a Lie". We also learned more about the importance of team work and working together through a small activity involving popsicle sticks.

Health: Since we will be utilizing a classroom Twitter account this year we spent the duration of the period working on a classroom twitter policy that we will follow over the year.  Tomorrow everyone will sign the document to make it official and you will be able to follow key events in our class using the Twitter Handle :@brescianibunch.

Sorting Ceremony: After lunch we held a special Sorting Ceremony where students were sorted into their proper Hogwarts Houses.  These teams will now work together to earn points for their houses through displaying positive behaviour in our classroom and school.  Points can also be deducted from their houses for displaying inappropriate behaviour , but I don't believe that will be a problem with our class!

Math: The students were introduced to a relatively new approach to teaching that we will be participating in this year.  This new approach is called a "Flipped Classroom" and it involves teaching in a way that sees the students learn new content online through the use of educational videos prepared by their teacher. This approach allows for more personalized interactions with the students during class time instead of lecturing.  More information about this can be found on our Flipped Math Blog.  (If the link isn't working see the link to it at the top of this blog under "Quick Links")


*Due to the large number of students in our class and the small number of Grade 8 students in Mr. Rieger's Math class, it was decided that some of our students would join Mr. Rieger's class for Math. While it is sad to see some of our class leave for Math, the reason behind this decision makes a lot of sense in regards to student success.  By lowering the number of students in our Math class, students in both rooms are now able to receive more individualized attention than they would have received in a larger class setting.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is due on Friday, September 4th

Reminders:

-Bring your gym clothes and indoor shoes for Tomorrow

-Boys Football Try-outs Tomorrow at 3:35 - 4:35 (bring your notes back as well!)

Tuesday 1 September 2015

The First Day of School!

The Bresciani Bunch on the First Day of School!


Today we kicked off the first day of school with a bang! (Quite literally it turns out, but we'll get to that later) We spent the first portion of our morning learning about the basic procedures for Mr. B's classroom and played a fun "Quizizz" game testing the the students knowledge of these procedures. In addition to learning about procedures this morning, students also spent some time organizing their desks and new school supplies.  Shortly before lunch we headed to the gym for our first school wide assembly of the year and Ms. Norris introduced all staff members and highlighted a few of the key school wide procedures as well.

After lunch we spent an hour working on an ELA assignment that tasked the students with writing about themselves to help me to get to know everyone better. Once we finished up with ELA we held an "I Can't" farewell to say goodbye to all the "I Can'ts" in our lives because the words "I Can't" no longer exist in Mr. B's class!  We got rid of these words by writing down a bunch of things we couldn't do, then we stuffed them into a rocket and launched them up to the sky!  (Check out the video below!) During the last hour of the day we took some time to work on a time capsule that highlighted everyone's thoughts from the first day of Grade 8.  We will open up the time capsule again on the last day of school so the Grade 8 students can see how much they changed over the year.

Overall we had an fantastic day and I am so excited for the great times we are going to have this year.  From the moment they walked in the door this morning, it was obvious that we have an absolutely amazing group of young people in our class this year and I feel so blessed to have the opportunity teach them during their final year of elementary school!

Have a great night!

Here's a video of our "I Can't" Rocket Launch:


Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is due on Friday, September 4th

Reminders:

-Bring your gym clothes and indoor shoes for Thursday.

-Boys Football Try-outs Thursday at 3:35 - 4:35

Welcome Back to School!




I know many of you may be sad and even downright upset that summer is now officially over and it's time to start a new school year.  Maybe even feeling a little like Grumpy Cat! Well, yes the weather is starting to get cooler day by day and the leaves will be changing shortly, but look on the bright side, you get to spend the next ten months in school learning! ........What? That hasn't changed your mood? Well it should! We've got so many awesome things happening this year in grade 8 that will make you forget all about the nice, hot, relaxing summer.  (Well maybe not forget, but at least make you think about it less)

On a serious note, I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing summer! I am very excited to be back at Deshaye again this year and can't wait to begin the year.  On my blog you will find information regarding anything that goes on in my class throughout the year.  It will be updated daily so if you miss anything in class you can check on here to find what you missed!  I'm looking forward to meeting and working with each and everyone of you this year and will see you all this morning!