What We Learned Today...September 9th

ELA: We started out the morning today by continuing the RAD tests from yesterday.  Most students have completed, or are close to completing the assessment so we will be moving on to the Persuasive Writing Diagnostic early next week.

Health: The students spent the entire period working on their "Tips for Studying" infographic assignment.  While the students will have one to two more class periods to work on it, we have set a formal due date of September 16th.

Genius Hour: After lunch the students were introduced to 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 two years ago and I am extremely excited to do it again as it allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. The students have been tasked with brainstorming something they are passionate about and formulating an essential question. On Monday we will start to go through these questions and formally begin the project!

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math: 
Pg. 51-54 is due on Monday, September 12th

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

Health:

Tips for Studying Infographic is due on Friday, September 16th

Reminders:

-Please return signed immunization forms next week! 

-Girls Football Practice is on Monday at 8:00.  Our first game will be on Tuesday, September 13th at Kinsmen Park.

What We Learned Today...September 8th

Working hard on their infographic assignments

ELA: This morning students began writing their RAD (Reading Assessment Diagnostic) tests.  We started the exam by going through each test question together before the students were able to begin writing.  Due to the length of this exam, the students will receive another class 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: Now that we've finished up with the mini lesson on studying, students were tasked with applying what they learned through the creation of an Effective Studying Infographic.  I'm very impressed with how awesome these projects are coming along and can't wait to see everyone's finished products next week!

Math: The students picked up where they left off yesterday and continued working on the textbook assignment from Pg. 51.  Some students finished up their textbook assignments early and began working on the 2.1 handout.

Social: During the last hour of the day

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math: 
Pg. 51-54 is due on Monday, September 12th

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
Reminders:

-Please return signed student packages by tomorrow.

-Girls Football Practice is on Monday at 8:00.  Our first game will be on Tuesday, September 13th at Kinsmen Park.

What We Learned Today...September 7th

He really loves Science!

ELA: This morning the students logged onto their AR accounts and participated in a STAR test that assessed their current reading level.  Tomorrow I will be going through the results individually with each student so they can see their level and will be able to select books the appropriate books next week.

Science: We officially began our unit on "Optics, Vision and Light" with six mini experiments. Over the course of the hour the students rotated through different stations and made observations and inferences about light and how it travels.

Math: After we wrapped up our Science experiments the students were each assigned their textbooks and began working on the first assignment of the year.  (Full assignment is listed below in the Homework and Reminders section)

Other pictures from Science today:




Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math: 
Pg. 51-54 is due on Monday, September 12th

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
Reminders:

-Please return signed student packages by Friday, September 9th

-Girls Football Practice is tomorrow and Thursday at 8:00 am. Please bring your signed permission form.

What We Learned Today...September 6th

Assembly: This morning we started out our week with a special liturgy in the gym to honour Mother Teresa, who was canonized as a saint on Sunday.

ELA: Once we got back to the class we officially began our Harry Potter thematic unit by talking about the structure of the unit as well as exploring the various parts of the Plot Diagram.  Tomorrow we will kick off our class by reading the first and second chapters of the novel.

Health: Before we get into the nitty gritty details of Health this year, I'll be spending a few classes teaching some essential  skills during this time that I believe will benefit the students for the rest of the year (and in High School too!).  Today we focused on how to study effectively, and students learned nine tips to keep in mind when they are studying for their next exam.  Feel free to check out the presentation below that highlights today's lesson:

Religion: After lunch we kicked off our first unit of the year which is "Who am I".  For our introductory lesson, students learned about the Multiple Intelligences and were given a short assignment to work on to figure out which type of "Smart" they are.

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")

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is overdue

Math:
Be sure to watch the 2.1 video tonight
Reminders:

-Please return signed student packages by Friday, September 9th

-Girls Football Practice is tomorrow and Thursday at 8:00 am. Please bring your signed permission form.

-Bring your gym shoes and Phys, Ed clothes for tomorrow.

What We Learned Today...September 2nd

ELA: This morning we started out our morning 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!

Health: We used this period today to go through the Connected Educator project that our classroom was granted this year.  Essentially each student will have their very own assigned laptop for the entire year that they will be able to use at school.  More information about this project will be going home next week. If you would like a peak at the procedures we went through as a class feel free to check out our One to One Device Procedures.  

Quizizz Activities: After we got the hang of our new devices the students participated in two online quiz games to review the procedures from our class as well as a quiz that helped them get to know their classmates a little better.

Egg Drop:  During the last hour of the day we headed outside for a special egg drop competition with our fellow Grade 8 students from Mr. Rieger's room.  Students tested out their creations from earlier this afternoon to see if they could protect their egg from a drop off of the roof.

*As I mentioned yesterday, I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of young people to work with this year.  I'm positive we are going to have an amazing year together and look forward to all the fun to come.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone, I'm looking forward to Tuesday already!

A few more pictures from today:

   

Bonus: *As a bonus for checking my blog, the first student to send me an email telling me their favourite part of this week will get 20 points for their Hogwarts House.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is due on Tuesday, September 6th

Reminders:
-Please have the procedure form signed and returned by Tuesday, September 6th

-Girls Football Practice on Tuesday at 8:00 am. Please bring your signed permission form.

-Bring your gym shoes and Phys, Ed clothes for Wednesday

The First Day of School!

The Bresciani Bunch on their first day of Grade 8

Today came together for the first time as a Grade 8 classroom and I don't think it could have gone any better! We spent the first part of the morning learning all the basic procedures for Mr. Bresciani's room as well as the school. In addition to procedures we also spent some time organizing binders and seeing which group could create the tallest tower with their shoes. After recess we headed to the gym for the first school wide assembly of the year where Mrs. Norris introduced all the new staff members to Deshaye.

After lunch we spent an hour working on an ELA assignment that tasked the students with writing assignment that helped me get to know everyone better. Once we finished up ELA, we held an "I Can't" funeral because the words "I Can't" no longer exist in Mr. Bresciani's class. During the last hour of the day we headed outside for a half hour and participated in another activity that demonstrated the power of believing in yourself. At the end of the day the students took some time to work on a time capsule activity that highlighted everyone's thoughts from the first day of Grade 8.

Overall, we had such a amazing day and I can't say enough how excited I am for this upcoming school year! We have such an amazing group of students in our classroom and I couldn't have wished for a better group of people to work with this year. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow. Have a wonderful night.

-Mr. B

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework


ELA:
Tell Me About Yourself assignment is due on Tuesday, September 6th

Reminders:
-Please have the procedure form signed and returned by Tuesday, September 6th


-Bring your gym shoes and Phys, Ed clothes for Wednesday


Here are some more pictures from today:

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 Mr. Phelps! 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 tomorrow morning!