What We Learned Today...April 29th

Inquiry Learning during math class.

We started out our week with a school wide assembly in the gym this morning.  After prayer and announcements, Ms. Grad and Ms. Norris asked the senior students to stick around for a quick meeting.  A couple of reminders from this meeting: We need some Grade 7 helpers for Grade 8 Farewell, Ensure you are following the dress code we have here at Deshaye (No muscle shirts, spaghetti strap tops). 
Once we got back to the class it was time for ELA (we decided to postpone AR until the afternoon) and we continued our Environmental unit by looking at Wind Power.  Students were split up into groups of 4 and each group was responsible for reading a few pages from the book, Generating Wind Power.  While reading their assigned pages, students are also responsible for taking notes on the key ideas from their section because tomorrow students will teach the rest of the class about the section they read. 

In Grade 8 Math we continued our unit on Volume by looking at a few different kinds of Problem Solving questions involving finding the Volume of a Rectangular Prisms, Triangular Prisms and Cylinders.  During the last half of class we did some Inquiry Based Learning and the students were split up into groups of 4 or 5 and were each given a different type of problem to tackle together.  At the end of tomorrows class each group will get the chance to teach the rest of the class about their problem.  Here's a few more pictures from our Inquiry Learning today:

After lunch we made up our missed AR time from 12:45 - 1:15.  AR update: We are now up to 7.8 AR Points Per Student! With only 4.2 Points to go and with so many students nearing the end of their books, I have no doubt we will achieve our goal by Wednesday! At 1:15 the students had Career Guidance with Mr. McCulloch before moving on to Social Studies at 2:30.  In Social Studies students got back into their Colonization Simulation groups and spent the hour working on the Treaty Negotiations for next class.  I'm really impressed with how well the students are doing with this and how serious they are taking it.  There are definitely some really creative demands and I can't wait to see how it all comes together when we have the negotiations next class. 

*Unfortunately I will be away all day at training session so there will not be a blog post tomorrow.  (I know the students are really broken up about this...)

Due Dates & Homework:

Math:
Grade 8
7.3 is due on Tuesday

French
Food Picture Dictionary is overdue

Overdue Assignments:
1) Environmental Mural

2) French Picture Dictionary

3) Grade 8 7.2 handout

Reminders:

-Track Mini Meet on Friday (weather permitting)

What We Learned Today...April 26th

AR update: After our AR period first thing this morning the students are now up to 7.2 AR points per student.  That means we have less than 5 Points to go to reach our goal next week.  With so many students near the end of their books, I have no doubts that we will achieve it so we can have our movie afternoon! Instead of ELA today we had Social Studies from 9:30 - 10:30 and the students spent the hour preparing for the Treaty negotiations next week.  Each group was given a list of areas for negotiation and each had to assign a different member to be a "specialist" for that area when the negotiations begin.  Groups also had to examine their lists of minimal demands and work on creating a list of maximum demands for next week. 
In Grade 8 math the students were given the entire hour to work on their 7.3 assignment from yesterdays class.  * Remember: 7.2 is due on Monday and 7.3 is due on Tuesday. 

After lunch we had a quick French class from 12:45 - 1:10 and the students were given the period to work on completing their French Picture Dictionaries.  *Don't forget these assignments are due on Monday.  After French we boarded the bus and headed to the Imax to check out the movie, "Flying Monsters".  I've attached a link to the title if you would like to get an idea of what we saw today!


Due Dates & Homework:

Math:
Grade 8
7.2 is due on Monday
7.3 is due on Tuesday

 French
Food Picture Dictionary due Friday, April 26th. Now due Monday



Overdue Assignments:
1) Environmental Mural

Reminders:

-Track Mini Meet on Friday (weather permitting)

What We Learned Today...April 25th

The intense penny search!

This morning we began our day with our usual AR period and I made sure I calculated our class points first thing.  I am happy to say that we are over half way to our goal of 12 Points as we are now at 6.7 AR Points Per Student after two and a half weeks.  Those numbers are great and I am confident that we will reach our goal by the end of the month!
In ELA we looked a sample of coal and a spin wheel and discussed the engery implications of each when examing renewable and non-renewable resources.  Students then got into pairs and became "Coal Miners" and were tasked with searching the classroom for coal deposits in the form of 250 pennies.  Every 30 seconds students had to stop mining and head back to their desks to dump all the "coal" they found during that round.  Students did this four times and then headed back to their desks and were asked to count and document the amount of "coal" they found during each round.  Using this data they created graphs to help them answer their response questions.  At the end of class students made connections between their experience during this activity (finding it harder to find pennies after each round) and the reality of non-renewable resources today.  In Grade 8 math we moved on to the next concept of Unit 7, "Volume of a Cyinder".  *Handout 7.2 is due on Monday, April 29th.

After lunch the students had Arts. Ed with Ms. Norris and continued to work on their Radio Play assignments. From 1:15 - 1:50 we had French and the students continued to work on their Picture Dictionary Assignments. *Being the gracious teacher that I am, I have decided to give the students until Monday to hand their assignment in.  At 1:50 we had Religion and continued to look at the Post-Resurrection stories from The Bible highlighting the different encounters people had with Jesus after his Ressurection. We will continue this next class as begin to look the theme of Hope and the impact it has on our Faith as Catholics.  During the last hour of the day the students had Ms. Norris again for Phys. Ed and spent the period working on different track jumping events. 

Here's some more pictures from our Coal Mining today:





Due Dates & Homework:

Math:
Grade 8
7.2 is due on Monday

French
Food Picture Dictionary due Friday, April 26th. Now due Monday

ELA
Environmental Mural is due Wednesday, April 24th (end of day) Now due Friday!

Overdue Assignments:
1) Quinn's story reflection
2) Cinquain Poem

Reminders:

-We are going to the Imax on Friday at 1:15

What We Learned Today...April 23rd

The Plains asking the British if they will negotiate with them.

This morning we had our usual AR period from 9:00 to 9:30 before moving on to ELA.  AR update: We are now up to 5.8 AR Points Per Student with exactly one week left in the Month of April.  I think we can definitely meet our goal of 12 Points if all students continue to do their part and read!
In ELA the students continued to work on their Environmental Issue Murals.  Due to the fact that the students worked incredibly well today I have decided to extend the due date for this assignment to Friday.  So the Mural Assignment will no longer be due tomorrow (cue the applause!).

In Grade 8 Math we continued our Unit on Calculating Volume by learning how the find the Volume of a Right Triangular Prism.  Students seemed to catch on quite quickly to this concept so they began working on Handout 7.2 for the second half of class.

After lunch the students had Arts. Ed with Ms. Norris and continued to work in groups on the Radio Play they have been assigned. At 1:15 Mr. Csada came by to teach Science and the students continued to look cells and also got pumped up for our Imax trip on Friday.
During the last hour of the day we had Social Studies and before they split up into their Colonization Simulation Groups, we had another Buffalo hunt here in the classroom.  Unfortunately times are getting even tougher for the groups as the Buffalo are becoming harder and harder to come by (due to over hunting) and only the British and the Plains were able to find one today.  We have now moved on to the part of our Simulation where the groups have began learning about Treaties and negotiations and groups spent the rest of class focusing on specific Treaties they could sign with the other groups.  I'm really excited for the next class as both the European and First Nations groups will be negotiating Treaties for the duration of our next class.

Due Dates & Homework:

Math:
Grade 8
7.1 is due on Tomorrow

French
Food Picture Dictionary due Friday, April 26th.

ELA
Environmental Mural is due Wednesday, April 24th (end of day) Now due Friday!

Overdue Assignments:
1) Quinn's story reflection
2) Cinquain Poem

Reminders:

-We are going to the Imax on Friday at 1:15

What We Learned Today...April 22nd

RIP Smart Board! We will miss you...

This morning we headed straight down to the gym after the bell for a quick school wide assembly led by Mr. McCulloch.  (Ms. Grad and Ms. Norris were away today)  Once we got back to class the students grabbed their Ecological Murals and went straight to work in the Multipurpose Room to work because there was a bit of work being done to our class.  *Reminder: these projects will be due at the end of the day on Wednesday!
Due to the work going on in the senior classes, our Math class needed to move spaces for the hour which meant we were unable to do the planned lesson for today.  Instead students were given the option to write a re-test for the Unit 6 Exam or work on their 7.1 handouts from last week. 

After lunch we had French and the students continued to work on their Food Picture Dictionary assignments.  As we are nearing the final classes for this project, I'm starting to see some really incredible assignments come together.  I can't wait to see all of the finished products at the end of the week.  (Don't forget these assignments are due on Friday).  At 1:15 the students had Career Guidance and continued to work on thier Pink Slip assignments from last class.  Finally, during the last hour of the day we had an extra Math class and students were given their new usernames and passwords for IXL.  (We recently purchased over 150 student accounts so our class will have access to the website for the rest of the year, and grade 7's will have access to theirs next year as well)

Due Dates & Homework:Math:
Grade 8
 7.1 is due on Wednesday

 French
Food Picture Dictionary due Friday, April 26th.

ELA
Environmental Mural is due Wednesday, April 24th (end of day)

Overdue Assignments:
1) Quinn's story reflection
2) Cinquain Poem

Reminders:

-If you have not returned your Track and Field permission forms, please get them signed and handed in by Monday.

What We Learned Today...April 19th

Getting the gym ready for the Family Dance tonight!

AR Update: Our class is now up to 4.5 AR Points Per Student after 2 weeks!  With so many students deep into the books they are presently reading, I have no doubts we will reach our goal of 12 Points by April 30th!
At 9:30 the students had ELA and they continued to work in their groups on their Environmental Issues Murals.  Rememinder: These assignments will be due next Wednesday, April 24th.  In Grade 8 Math we went over the Unit Tests from last week as a class before moving on to the assignment for 7.1.  We also discussed today that if students would like a chance to re-write their Unit 6 test, they can do so during the Lunch hour on Monday. 

After Lunch the students had French and continued to work on their Food Picture Dictionary Assignments.  As a mentioned yesterday, these assignments will be due next Friday, April 26th. 
At 1:15 the students had Science with Mr. Csada and wrote their quiz on the Parts of the Microscope. 
During the last hour of the day the students had Arts. Ed with Ms. Norris and were split up into groups to begin practicing a radio play.  I believe for this assignment, each group has been assigned a different script and each group will get the opportunity to record them on the iPads and create an actual Radio Play. 

*Remember if you are performing a dance tonight, meet at the school at 6:30.

Due Dates & Homework:
Math:
Grade 8
Remember if you would like to re-write your Unit 6 Exam, it will be on Monday, April 22nd.
French
Food Picture Dictionary due Friday, April 26th.

ELA
Environmental Mural is due Wednesday, April 24th

Overdue Assignments:
1) Lenten Booklet Plan & Service****

2) Cinquain Poems

3) Written Rant

Reminders:

-If you have not returned your Track and Field permission forms, please get them signed and handed in by Monday.

 

What We Learned Today...April 18th

We started out our morning with a brief AR period before moving on ELA.  Due to our Easter Mass beginning at 10:30, students boarded the buses at 10:00 in order to make it to the Church on time.  This meant that instead of our usual hour long ELA class, the students had a half hour period instead. With this in mind, I have decided to give the students a little more time to work on their Environmental Mural Assignment and will set a tentative due date for next Wednesday, April 24th. 

From 10:30 to 11:30 we went to Christ the King for a wonderful mass that was planned by Ms. Kondzielewski and the Student Liturgy Team.  A special thank you to everyone who was involved in the Mass as it was absolutely wonderful!

After lunch the students had Arts. Ed with Ms. Norris and they quickly rehearsed their Tableau's before they presented them to the rest of the class.  At 1:15 we had French and continued to work on the Food Picture Dictionary Assignment.  Note: This assignment will be due next Friday, April 26th.
During the last hour of the day the students had Phys. Ed with Ms. Norris and spent some time learning about the skeletal system in the classroom before heading to the gym to play a game of the students choosing. 

Grade 8's: Please remember to email me the picture you would like on your Farewell star tonight

Due Dates & Homework:

Math:

Grade 8

 Remember if you would like to re-write your Unit 6 Exam, it will be on Monday, April 22nd.

 

Science:
Quiz is tomorrow

Overdue Assignments:

1) Lenten Booklet Plan & Service****

2) Cinquain Poems

3) Written Rant

 

Reminders:

-Please get the Track and Field permission forms signed and handed back in by tomorrow.

 

-Grade 8's don't forget to email me the picture you would like on your star for Farewell tonight!