Welcome back!

Welcome back! I hope all of you had a wonderful and refreshing summer. I'm glad all of you found your way to our class blog. This blog will be used to update students and parents about important events and to keep you up-to-date on the happenings in our class. Homework will be posted on our blog on a daily basis. It is an expectation that students check the blog everyday. Parents and students are able to receive instant emails when a post is made by clicking on “follow by Email. Submit your address and verify your email. This will ensure that on evenings when a post is made, you will receive instant notification. While we will post homework and due dates, the Blog is not meant to take the place of our in-class homework board or student agendas. Every student will be expected to have an agenda with them at school at all times. It is my expectation that students use the agenda and our homework board to make sure they keep track of tasks they have to complete, due dates and to ensure they bring home what they need to in order to complete their homework. 

Rotary Schedule- Great News!

Grade 7 math and science will be taught by Mr. Kaiman. Grade 8 math and science will be taught by Ms. Beckles. Students will move to the appropriate classroom during their scheduled times. 

The End is Here!

It is hard to believe a full school year has passed. Where did the time go? It has truly been an amazing year! We built a real classroom community where everyone looked out for one another and worked together to achieve common goals. I am really proud of the growth mindset everyone showed and I hope you carry forward your positive attitudes toward your education moving forward.

I wanted to say a special thank you to the parents and guardians of the students in our class. Thank you for accepting me into the Westminster community and in trusting me with educating your children. It is a job I take very seriously and I hope my passion for education was apparent to both you and your children.

Report cards will be coming home tonight. Please read through them and if you have any questions at all, please give me a phone call by Thursday afternoon. Otherwise, I wish all of you nothing but success next year. It has been a terrific and rewarding year and you have been a special group! Be proud of your achievements and keep striving to do your best.


Until next year,
Mr. Kaiman

Grade 6 Field Trip Reminder

On Friday, our grade 6 students (accompanied by me) will be going to Willowgrove Outdoor Education Centre. It should be a very fun day. In going through permission forms I have noticed that 4 students in grade 6 have yet to send their forms in. If you wish to still attend the trip, please bring the form in signed as well as $11.00 dollars tomorrow. If you are not attending you will be with a supply teacher at school completing work that will be left for you and you will be the only grade 6 students who are at school so bring in those permission forms if you haven't already.

Please bring a litter-less lunch, sunscreen, a snack, a hat and plenty of water. Dress for the weather and come prepare rain or shine!

Thank you very much and I am looking forward to a fun and educational day!

End of May Update

Hi Parents/Guardians/Students,

Our year is starting to come to an end, but as you know, the end of the year signifies what is always a very busy time. Here are a few of the major things we will be doing as we conclude our year:

1) Concluding our Geometry unit and moving into Algebra- We are concluding our geometry unit this week with a series of mini quizzes/activities that will assess student knowledge of triangular concurrency, triangle classification, plotting points on the Cartesian Plane and transformations. We will be moving from this unit straight into our last unit which is algebra. Algebra will be assessed hand-in-hand with integers as student have now been exposed to the meaning of and adding/subtracting of negative numbers.

2) Grade 6- Solar System Activity- Next week, grade 6's will get plenty of time to start and finish the building of a model planetary solar system. They will also be creating a "Come to my Planet" tourism brochure.

3) Grade 7 Science- Students will be writing a test on Thursday of this week on heat and will be completing a brief demonstration and explanation about an alternative energy form of their choice.

4) Literacy- Book clubs will come to a wrap and students will be writing a news article on an event that happened in their novel

5) Geography/Social Studies- Students will be completing an inquiry based assignment for Mr Tamblyn.


Reminder about Fun Fair and Talent Show

A reminder that Fun Fair is this upcoming Thursday June 2nd. It will run from 4:30-7:30. As our class will be helping to sell yogurt and will be running 4 games as well throughout the evening I would ask that those students who are working the "early shift" arrive a little early to help set up the games areas.

The Talent Show will be on June the 9th at 6:30. Doors open at 6 and performances start at 6:30. As you know, our entire class is performing a piece. It has really come together and I am proud to present it to you. The kids should feel very proud of the hard work they have put in as well. Tickets to the event are free so show up early if you would like to be guaranteed a seat. A handful of classes are presenting in addition to individuals who came out for the show this year so we expect a big crowd with an increase in participation. 

Numbers for our Fundraiser

$646.15!!!! This is the amount of money we raised for the Red Cross and the victims of the Fort McMurray wildfires! As the government is matching our totals dollar-for-dollar, that number doubles to $1292.30. Seriously amazing job girls and boys!

EQAO and Great News!!

Hi everyone! It is hard to believe EQAO is here. The year is truly flying by! For all grade 6 students who are starting tomorrow I wanted to wish you all success! I truly believe our intense and almost weekly focus on reading comprehension though your packages as well as our focus on using the problem solving model should set all of you up for success.

Remember:
1) You can only use the space given to you to write any written responses. answers that go past the last line (unless you are completing a sentence) will not count.

2) Bring a water bottle and an extra snack! It is a long couple of days and you will want to have plenty to drink.

3) Bring a pencil, pen, highlighter, ruler, compass and calculator.


Fundraising so far

Our Yogurt and Popcorn fundraiser has been a huge success! Over 3 days of sales, we have raised more than $450 dollars for the Red Cross. This money will go towards the victims of Fort McMurray and the Alberta Fires Appeal. As the government is matching all donations, we have helped raise $900 dollars for the Red Cross. The class has been passionate and has done a terrific job. Everyone should feel extremely proud of the work they have done! With 2 more days of popcorn/yogurt sales on the way and our games initiative at fun fair, we our well on our way to achieving our goal of raising $1000 ($2000 if matched by the government).




Questions: Global Warming:


1) What are 3 things you can do to help reduce greenhouse gases and emissions?





2) What can governments do to stop greenhouse gases from being released into our atmosphere (give me 2 examples of what can be done)?

Link:

http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/doingyourbit.html

Science Links and Homework

Science Quiz Links-

As promised, here are the links we used in class that may help you prepare for tomorrow's quiz.

Remember to take a peak at key terms and concepts such as:

- The difference between rotation and revolution
- Why we have day and night
- 2 factors that contribute to season changes
-Phases of the moon
- Waxing/Waning (moon)
- Perigee Vs Apogee (moon)
- Amount of days it takes for the moon to orbit around the earth
- Lunar/Solar Eclipse
-Equinox/Solstice
- The importance of March 21st and December 21st
- Earth and its axis
- Earth's natural satelitte

Sun Link- http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.eiu.sunbasics/characteristics-of-the-sun/

A day on Earth-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-dtBfkzyl0&feature=related

Reasons for Seasons- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHTA7S_JGk

Understanding the Moon- http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml

Phases of the Moon- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXseTWTZlks&feature=related

Solar and Lunar Eclipse Links-

http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/SEprimer.html

http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.eiu.totaleclipse/total-solar-eclipse-animation/

Other Homework

Math- Translation and Ordered Pair Worksheets

Geography- Begin to research topic for Natural Disaster Response Plan

Link to News Paper Writing article

Newspaper Feature Task
The link below will take you to the latest Toronto Star article on the Wildfire tragedy still taking place in fort McMurray. Please ensure you complete the graphic organizer for tomorrow.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/05/09/ocean-of-fire-gives-way-to-reveal-a-fort-mcmuray-still-largely-intact.html


What are class is doing to help victims of Fort McMurray

I am extremely proud to announce that our class has decided to head an initiative that will be run at our school to raise money to assist victims of the Fort McMurray tragedy. Over the next 2 weeks and on the night of our school fun fair, our class will be selling frozen yogurt and popcorn. All profits will be donated to the Red Cross who are assisting victims of the Fort McMurray wildfires. All money being donated to the Red Cross is being matched by the federal government. As we are in the middle of a news report writing unit with a focus on fairness/equity and how we can create a fair equitable world, I am so thrilled to see the enthusiasm that all students are showing in turning our words and discussions into real, positive action. I sincerely hope that getting out their and truly making a difference opens up your eyes to the many opportunities that exist to make a truly positive change in our world.

There will be more information about our efforts sent out later this week via announcements and the school blog. Please stay tuned.

Chapters for Week 2

George Clooney- 5-7
Enders Game- 6 and 7
Hugo- 5-8
We all Fall Down- 4-6
Giver-4-7

Reminder to Grade 6 Students

There is a quiz coming up in Science on Thursday! Please refer back to your Kahoots and study guide questions/packages for studying!

Weekend Update with Mr. Kaiman

Hi everyone,

It is hard to believe that we are well into May. The year has truly gone by so fast! I wanted to wish everyone a great 3 day weekend. Please do not forget to:

1) Complete your subtracting integers homework.
2) Complete your grade 6 science Kahoot or grade 7 Gizmo on heat transfer
3) Continue with reading your week 1 book club reading and work on your section summary.
4) Start to conduct research on your geography emergency plans.

The assignment for grade 7 geography can be located on the class website.


EQAO Suggestion

In preparation of EQAO I would highly recommend students review the following math concepts. While I will do my best to provide some review of these concepts prior to the date, we also must still go ahead with new curriculum, so additional study at home will be helpful. Please review

- Volume and surface area of Triangular and Rectangular Prisms
- Perimeter and area of various polygons (parallelograms, rectangles, triangles)

Information and questions can be found at IXL.ca under the grade 6 curriculum

May 4th, 2016

Language Question

As we examining newspaper writing through the lens of "fairness and equity in our world", I thought it would be an amazing opportunity for our class to actually put the conversations we have had about creating a fair and equitable world into action. As a class, we will choose a campaign that we can help build from the ground up, that:

1) Raises awareness about an "unfair" issue in our world (child labour, food shortage, dirty water, poverty, homelessness etc).

2) Raises money or awareness for a charity of our choice

3) Collects goods such as food, clothing or other necessities that can be donated to people who are in need,

For tomorrow, I would like each person in our class to brainstorm an idea for an event we can organize as a class in order to create a more fair world.

Tell me:
1) What is your idea?

2) How will this idea create more fairness in our world?

3) What do we need to plan/organize to be able to do what you want to do?


Geography/Social Studies

A reminder that "Pear Island" assignments are due to Mr. Tamblyn during tomorrow's first period. There is also a mapping quiz/test so study hard! Here is a link to the Kahoot study guide and please use the Powerpoint on our classroom site to help you study.

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/e7e31021-6a02-45c2-a0be-7e83c649fbd0

Math
Adding integers- Questions 1-6 for grade 6 students and 1-9 for grade 7 students.

EQAO/Comprehension Work

GRADE 6 and 7 EQAO/Reading Comprehension Practice

As you all know, EQAO is coming up fast! On May 25th, 2016 students in grade 6 will begin writing their assessment. Grade 6 students will be writing for a 3 day period and will have extra time/days to write the test if they happen to be away on one of the writing days. Thank you to those parents who have already informed the office/me about any scheduling conflicts that you might have with EQAO.

In order to make grade 6 students comfortable with what the test will be like, I will be assigning homework over the next 3 weeks that is EQAO specific. Tonight I am assigning 1 reading package including 5 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions. We will be taking up the answers to the package tomorrow using EQAO approved exemplars to help guide student learning.

http://www.eqao.com/en/assessments/junior-division/assessment-docs/6e-Lang2-2013.pdf

The link above will take students to the comprehension/EQAO practice I would like them to complete. I only want them to complete reading package part C for tonight. It is entitled "Iceberg Wranglers".

The link below is a link where you (as a student) or parents/guardians can access previous EQAO packages to practice. I would highly recommend that students use these exemplars to help prepare themselves for the upcoming test.

http://www.eqao.com/en/assessments/junior-division

Grade 7 students are expected to complete the reading comprehension package tonight as well. As I explained, this is good practice and great exposure to EQAO formatting that they will have to all deal with in grade 9.

Other Work

Geography/Social Studies/Mapping Test- Grade 6 and 7- Thursday
Begin reading week 1 portion of new book club book
Math- Integers questions from in class. Due tomorrow.

Language of Probability

Thought I would post some helpful information in regards to the language of probability. Please remember to complete questions 1-5 of your homework!

Also, do not forget that you should be continuing to work on both your book talks and "Pear Island" assignment.

Language of Probability

In day to day life there are also many other places where the language of probability is also used.

• The chance of rain today is 75%. 
• A medication has an effectiveness of 90%
• 4 in 5 people agree that a particular brand of toothpaste is more effective than another.
• Most likely the supermarket would have the brand of milk I want to purchase.

A probability continuum is one way to visualise the scale of likelihoods.  

• CERTAIN is when something will definitely occur.  We assign a value of 1, or 100% to the probability of certain.  For example, if I were to roll a standard dice, it is certain that I will roll a number less than 10.   
• IMPOSSIBLE is when something can not occur.  We assign a value of 0, or 0% to the probability of impossible.  For example, if I were draw a card from a standard pack of playing cards, it is impossible that I would pull out a card with a 27 on it!
• Exactly half way along this continuum, we find the value of 1/2, or 50%.  We call this EVEN CHANCE, or EQUALLY LIKELY. For example, if I were toss a fair coin I could get a head or a tail.  Both of these have an even chance of occuring.  
• Anywhere between impossible and even chance (values between 0 and 50%) we call not likely, or unlikely.
• Anywhere between even chance and certain (values between 50% and 100%) we call likely.
• Between impossible or unlikely (0-25%) would be considered very unlikely
• Between 75-99.99% would be probable/very/highly likely

Experimental probability

Example: Travel Survey

92 people were asked how they got to work:

• 35 used a car
• 42 took public transport
• 8 rode a bicycle
• 7 walked

The Relative Frequencies (to 2 decimal places) are:

• Car: 35/92 = 0.38=38% of people responded they got to work by car.
• Public Transport: 42/92 = 0.46=46%
• Bicycle: 8/92 = 0.09=9%
• Walking: 7/92 = 0.08=8%

0.38+0.46+0.09+0.08 = 1.01

(It would be exactly 1 if we had used perfect accuracy),

Earth Day and Reminders

Earth Day

Our school will be participating in Earth Day celebrations and activities tomorrow afternoon. Activities will begin at 1:30 and include an assembly followed by a school cleanup. Please remember to wear green in support of our environmental protection goals.

Other Reminders

Math

Tree diagram worksheet, all odd questions (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)


Science

Grade 7 science questions on energy transfer, 1-3- due on Monday


Language

Book talk presentations begin on Monday for grade 7's and Wednesday for grade 6's. Students are being given a minimum of 50 minutes each day in class to work on their assignments and are also expected to work on their assignments at home. In order to accommodate for the time students are putting into this, I am attempting to minimize homework in other subject areas when possible so that students can focus on the completion of this fun yet challenging task.

Weekend Update

Happy weekend everybody! It was another week full of work and fun. I wanted to remind you all to make sure you complete your math homework (questions 1, 4-7, 11 and 12 of your rate worksheet) and to continue to work on your book talk presentations. You should all be at the point where you are working through your first graphic organizer. This will give you the time you need next week to plan and complete the presentation/creative component of your assignment. As I mentioned, please complete at least one full section of your graphic organizer for Monday.

Next week, we will be working hard to complete our health PSA's and will be working full throttle to complete our assembly skits and presentation. Thank you all for your thoughtfulness and enthusiasm in getting ready to host the character assembly. What we have come up with is meaningful and we should be excited to present our ideas on what fairness is with the school. 

Important Announcements

Cadence- Four Men, Four Microphones

On Wednesday,April 13th, 2016, the musical group Cadence will be coming to our school as part of our school arts' program. Cadence is an  Acapella music group meaning that all sounds they produce are created through voice. They will be here from about 9:00 am to 10:00 am. Here is brief video of what you might see and hear.

Music for Class

As promised, please listen to "Royal Crown March" located at this link. Use it to practice line 3 of the song prior to coming to class on Thursday

http://www.brucepearsonmusic.com/repertoire/collections/firstperf.shtml


Our Biography Book Talk Presentations

At this point in our project students should be close to finishing their biographies. Reading should be getting done both during class time and at home. As I stated prior, all students will get 5 full literacy blocks to work on reading their book and putting together their assignments.

Specifically for their summary, I have explained to students that it is very difficult to summarize a large amount of text at a time (for example, 100 pages) but easier if summarizing is done on a chapter to chapter basis. All students should track important information they find in their books as they read; not after they read. That will help them create a summary (not a recount) of their biography and the person they read about. Chunking their summary will allow for students to not have to re-read as much to identify important points.

Grade 6 students will have Wednesday to next Tuesday to get their assignment completed, while grade 7's will have the rest of this week. The reason for the difference in due date is because grade 6 students are working on EQAO related tasks today (Monday) and tomorrow which will take up most of their literacy time.


Math

There is math homework tonight on ratios for both grade 6 and 7 students. Complete question 2-6


There will be a quiz on Thursday of this week. Grade 6's will be quizzed on:

1) multiplying decimals
2) dividing decimals
3) Converting between decimals, fractions and percentages

Grade 7s will be quizzed on:
 1) Converting between decimals, fractions and percentages
2) Multiplying Fractions
3) BEDMAS/Order of Operations with fractions

Vaughn Library Visit

Tomorrow, I will be taking our class to the Vaughn Library just around the corner from our school (A few minutes to walk there). We will be leaving the school at 1:00 pm and will be returning by 2:20 pm at the latest. Our visit to the library coincides with the start of our biography presentation unit. As most of you know, each student was asked to select a person they wish to read a biography on. They will have to explain how the person they are reading about helped to unify people or a helped divide people.

Most students have already informed me of their first choices, but they must keep in mind that there may not be a biography on that person in the library. If there is not a copy of the biography in stock at this specific Vaughn library but there is a copy at a different library location, you can sign out the book and it will be delivered to the library within a few business days.

If you (or your child) is not a library member and they find a library book that is suitable, they have 2 options:

1) You can send your child with a piece of ID including their address and they can sign up for a card tomorrow; or

2) You can have your child write down the biography information and you can go back on the weekend ti sign up for a library card and get the book.


In regards to permission to leave the premise; as long as you gave in the large book of forms with all forms signed, you have given your child permission to go to the library. If you have not signed the forms, please bring in a hand written note (written by and signed by a guardian) saying that you have permission to attend the walk to the library.

If you have an allergy that requires an Epipen, please bring 1 with you and I will bring the one that you have already given to the school.

Thanks parents and thank you for your incredible patience and understanding over the last 2 weeks. I truthfully would have normally sent home a subsequent letter to parents about this, but in dealing with my illness, my wife getting sick and my 6 month old getting sick its been a rough two weeks!

I look forward to the start of this unit and to seeing who everyone decides to read and present about!

Sincerely,
Mr. Kaiman

Update for Easter Weekend

Hi everyone and for those of you who are celebrating, Happy Easter! I am sorry about my lack of postings post break. Unfortunately I was very ill over the break and for the first couple days back, but as my health has returned (or is slowly returning) I will be back to regular posts on here!

As I promised to grade 6 students, here is the link the biography/documentary on the Wright Brothers trials and tribulations that lead to the creation of the first airplane. Please watch the final 20 minutes prior to the next class (Wednesday)

As many of you know, we will be completing a Book Talk/Biography assignment in literacy. Students will be choosing to read a biography of a person of their choice who they feel has either unified people or divided people. Choices for people who have unified are extremely varied so far which is tremendous. Choices range from Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) to John Lennon (member of The Beatles and political activist) to Martin Luther King Jr.

The easy thing is choosing the person you wish to read about. The difficult thing is finding a biography on your person on interest. Over the weekend, go onto the Vaughn library site and begin to look for biographies that would work for you. Remember that they must be 100 pages on length at a minimum.

There will be a math quiz on fractions (ordering and comparing fractions, adding and subtracting, converting from improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa and simplifying for grade 6's and all of these things as well as repeated addition and multiplication for grade 7's.) on Wednesday of next week. Ixl.ca is a great place to find curriculum based practice questions for both grade 6 and grade 7 students. Here are the links for grade 6 and 7 students ( https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-6   https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-7).

As today was a inclement weather day there is no new homework. Grade 7 students can continue to organize their science reports/presentations. Continue to look for your biographies and prepare for you math quiz. Most importantly, have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all on Tuesday.

Blog for March 2nd, 2016

Snow Day

As many people were away today, today served as a day to review math concepts and get a head start on working on editorials.

As you hopefully know, we have started our new math unit on fractions, decimals and percentages. We have gone over how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and vice versa. There is some homework to be completed tonight which should be brought into school tomorrow for review. Below are two separate videos that demonstrate how to go from mixed numbers to improper fractions and from improper fractions to mixed numbers.

Editorials

I am very proud of our students for choosing editorial topics that really challenge them to learn more about the world around us. Students have chosen topics that range from "Should GMO's be legal?" to "Do pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to provide drugs to people in developing countries?" to "Should all people have the right to a free university education?" While these are certainly difficult topics to comprehend and argue in a persuasive editorial, the research you do will hopefully open your mind to some of the important things that are going on in our world and make you take an interest in learning more about important current events.


Math Night/Book Fair Reminder

Tomorrow night is our "Math Mania" night and the beginning of our Book Fair. Students will be able to purchase books tomorrow night and on Friday during the school day. If you wish to purchase anything, please bring money with you either tomorrow evening or Friday. I look forward to seeing many of you at our math night!

Update for February 29th

Homework

Literacy- Go to globalissues.org and begin to think about a global issue/topic you wish to choose for your editorial writing.

Math- Grade 7- complete work that you started on fractions and shapes

History- Complete your War of 1812 video and information. Please find the assignment instructions on our Classroom site. 


VIP

Grade 6 students have started their VIP program for this year. VIP, run by the York Region Police Department, focuses on discussing topics such as ,values and rules, peer pressure, authority figures, alcohol and tobacco and other drugs, internet safety and youth and the law.

There will be 4 more sessions that will take place over the next 2 weeks. 


Math Mania

In case you did not receive the letter that went home, Thursday night is our first annual "Math Mania" night. The night is for parents and students alike. It is an information night mean't to help parents understand how they can help their children succeed in today's modern math program. The night will take parents and students through our problem solving model and hopefully allow you to better understand what is expected in math class and why we expect the type of work that we do. 

RSVP's have already been returned but if you give your form in tomorrow, I am sure that we can still accommodate. 

Homework and Update for February 23rd, 2016

Literacy- Finish Year round school debate arguments. We will be having our first round of debates tomorrow so be sure you come prepared!

Math- Complete your study package. Grade 6's and 7's.... please place a particular emphasis on studying volume and surface area. THERE WILL BE A MATH QUIZ ON THURSDAY!

History- Please go to google classroom and complete the video and activities given on the War of 1812.


A Special Thanks! 

As most of you know, our class had a unique opportunity to participate in a full week dance work shop last week. This culminated in a dance recital that junior and intermediate students had the pleasure of putting on. I wanted to say how impressed I was with many of the dance presentations. A special thanks goes out to the students who put in hard work to make their dances the best they could be. A special thanks also goes out to the wonderful instructors who delivered meaningful dance curriculum to every single class in our school (K-8). Both instructors are set to graduate this year from teachers college and put in a great deal of effort to bringing the wonderful art of dance to our school. We look forward to having them back in the future.

Arts Package Event Update

Westminster will be welcoming Fana Soro and his Yamo! Yamo! production on tomorrow @ 9:00am (K-8).  The event is part of the arts/athletics enrichment program this year.

 

Following is a brief description:

 

IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT/TEST UPDATE

Hi everyone,

After reviewing how disrupted our week has been due to the dance schedule we have had, I have determined that more time is needed to review science and math concepts taught. Therefore I am postponing our science and math tests until next week.

Our math test will be Wednesday of next week while our science test will be on Monday. This will give all students a chance to study over the weekend. I will be giving students a review session for science tomorrow. I will also be giving them a study guide. All materials students need to study for both tests should be available either on the "Google Class" site or in their notes.

I am sorry for the delay in testing but I honestly did not realize how much schedule juggling would be required this week. The delay is so that I can best prepare each student for success. Thank you for your understanding!



In regards to tonight's homework, it is:

Literacy- Make 3 connections to your novel using the connection making graphic organizer provided. Please have this prepared for your group discussions tomorrow.

Math- Converting units of measurement worksheet- All questions!


Report Reminder

A reminder that report cards should have gone home today. If possible, please return your report card slips as soon as possible. I would love to have all reports returned Monday if possible.

For grade 7 parents/guardians and students who may be seeing percentages for the first time, this is how they correlate with letter grades

0-49%- An E (an F for those who are more familiar with our traditional letter system)
50-59%-  D- to a D+
60-69%-  C- to a C+
70-79%-  B- to a B+
80-83%- A-
84-90%- A
90% and above- A+

If you fall into the B range, you are considered to be progressing as expected. Any mark in the high C range means you are getting there, but certain important curriculum expectations are not quite being met.

Family Day Weekend Update

First of all, I wanted to take the time to wish those celebrating in our class a belated Happy Chinese New Year! I hope your New Year is one filled with happiness and successes!

I also wanted to wish you all a wonderful Family Day long weekend! It is hard to believe how quickly time is flying by! I guess time truly fly when you are having fun (and learning a lot)!

This weekend, the is still some work to get done:

Literacy- In literacy, students should complete their week 3 reading packages.

Science- Grade 6 students have not all completed their flight analysis worksheet. Please have them complete for Tuesday

Math- There is Triangular Prism review work to complete. Questions 1,2,10,11


Music- Bars 9-17 of Royal Crown March


Have a great long weekend and I will see all of you on Tuesday.

Reminders for February 10th, 2016

Math-

Volume of a rectangular prism worksheet. Due tomorrow. A reminder the length x width x height will give you the response in cubic units.

Literacy

Complete a well written body paragraph to the persuasive essay on cell phones in schools.

Music

 Practice Royal Crown March bars 9-17. A reminder that Friday is the day to come in at lunch recess for your assessment on bars 1-8 if you haven't come in already.

Science

Please see yesterday's post

Example of a well written introduction to an editorial/persuasive essay

Here is an example of a well written introduction. Every introduction must include:

1) An engaging opening sentence or paragraph that allows readers to become engaged in your editorial. Rhetorical questions (questions that are leading with an obvious answer) can be used to really allow people to understand what your argument is and begin to believe it.

2) A thesis statement/a statement that states your opinion or stance on an issue. 

3) The 3 arguments you intend to use in your body paragraphs to support your opinion

You are sitting in class when your teacher asks you find a calculator in order to complete the answer to an equation. Unfortunately the classroom does not have enough calculators and you do not have your own. Does this situation sound familiar to you? Often, students do not have the tools they need to do the work that must be completed.  Yet, if students were allowed to have cellphones in class then they would have the tools to complete many tasks that are made difficult by a lack of resources in schools. I believe cellphones should unequivocally be allowed in schools because they are an excellent educational tool, can be used in emergency situations and can be used in a safe environment where adults are there to supervise and guide students in ensuring they are using their phones in a positive way

Update for Tuesday February 9th, 2016

Science

Both grade 6 and 7 students will be having a quiz/test on Friday February 19th.

Grade 6's will be quizzed specifically on:

1) The properties of fluids
2) Bernoulli's Principle (Low/High air pressure)
3) Lift, Drag, Thrust and Pull (gravity)
4) Lighter-than air aircraft (what allows a hot air balloon to fly/stay in the air)
5) States of matter (liquid, solid and gas) and how they relate to flight.


Grade 7's will be quizzed on:

1) Pure substances
2) Mixtures (Both mechanical mixtures and solutions)
3) Dissolving
4) Separating Mechanical Mixtures
5) Particle Theory of Matter (What is Particle Theory and how does it help explain what happens to particles in different solutions and mixtures?)

In addition to the quiz both grade 6 and 7 students are working on two other evaluated tasks this week. Grade 6 students are building their own paper airplanes and are expected to explain why flew well or ineffectively.  They are to use scientific terms such as air pressure, drag, pull, thrust and gravity and aerodynamic to explain their results. They should also be using Bernoulli's principle to build their wings so that air pressure is lower on top of the wing than it is on the bottom on the wing.

Grade 7 students will be completing a flow chart in which they are given a mechanical mixture consisting of 6 different substances. The idea is to use methods of separating mixtures we have reviewed in class such as magnetism, sifting and evaporation, in order to totally separate each substance from each other.

Just a note for parents: A few grade 7 students did not complete their homework on separating mechanical mixtures for today despite a previous blog post and the assignment being accessible on the class site. If your child did not come prepared today they missed a potentially valuable discussion that would have greatly assisted them in completing their upcoming task more successfully.  

Other homework

Music- Practice Royal Crown March at 100 beats per minute. Please use your online metronome to play/practice at this tempo.

Literacy- Complete the missing elements of the editorial you were given today in class. If there is an element missing you are expected to complete that part of the editorial. For example, if there is no introduction, try to create a proper introduction using the success criteria to do so.

History- Work on Loyalist Poster- Push and Pull factors. Due Friday!

Work Reminder for Friday February 5th, 2016

Music
 A reminder that on Tuesday of next week, there will be an assessment on the first 8 bars of Royal crown march. Students are expected to practice ahead of time

Science- Grade 6- Complete Wing test analysis

Grade 7- Complete mechanical mixture worksheet based on the slideshow posted (Please find the worksheet on Google Classroom.

Math

Grade 6- Complete your net and surface area review pages
Grade 7- Complete the surface area of a trapezoid worksheet

History/Social Studies

Grade 6- Please have your "Identity Art" presentations prepared for Mr Tamblyn by the next day 4
Grade 7- Please have your Loyalist posters completed for the next day 4

Literacy

Start your week 3 reading

Hugo- Chapters 8-12
We All Fall Down- 7-8
The Giver- 8-11
Enders Game- 8,9
Dear George Clooney- 8-12

Today's Homework, February 3rd, 2016

Math
Surface area of a Rectangular Prism worksheet- All questions

Language
 Complete your summary of 1 chapter of your "Book Club" novel.

Science
Grade 6- Complete your "Why Airplanes Fly" questions
Grade 7- Complete questions on dissolving.

Music
Practice bars 1-8 of "Royal Crown March". Assessment will take place on day 5.

February Update

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

I am very excited to see so many people have been visiting the class log. I am hoping that his form of communication is allowing for both parents/guardians and students to feel connected to the classroom. While I do my absolute best to post as frequently as possible, I do want to give a reminder to students and parents/guardians that our homework board is still the first tool for recording what needs to be completed for homework. There may be days when I am unable to post, but I would be extremely happy to have a student (who is available at to write at the end of the day) post work reminders on the blog when I am unable to.

I wanted to give you a general update on what you can expect to see in terms of work from subject to subject. I will do my best to send you a similar update every month from here on in.

Language

 In Language, students will be completing a persuasive paper in the form of an editorial. We are in the process of reading various editorials and developing an understanding of not just what to include in an editorial, but how we can also use reading strategies to build an understanding of what we are reading. For example, students recently learned how to ask questions before, during and after reading in order to develop a more thorough understanding what they read.

Students are also participating in "Book Clubs". Students are currently in their second week of their first Book Club rotation and have already completed one reading comprehension package. They will be receiving their second package tomorrow (Feb 4th) and are expected to have finished their week 2 readings. Blended into their reading is a second component. This week, students were taken through a lesson/strategy that should help them to be able to summarize their readings (Very different than a recount!!). They are expected to complete a summary of 1 chapter they have read and bring it with them to school on Friday. They will then share this summary with their book club groups and provide each other with peer feedback. A similar "Discussion group" activity will take place every week for the next 5 weeks. Students will focus on various reading skills such as making connections, inferring and understanding difficult vocabulary. I will model a strategy or tactic each week that will  provide a frame work for students to be able to improve in these areas of reading. The "Discussion Group" activity is simply a way for students to practice using these tactics to improve their reading ability. These activities also give students the chance to get together with other students who are reading the same book and discuss their readings together.

Mathematics

Grade 6s and 7s are both focusing on learning about area and surface area of various polygons. There will be a quiz next Tuesday on both area and surface area. There will be a unit test on perimeter, area and surface area the following week. grade 6 students should be able to find the area of a Parallelogram, and Triangle. Grade 7's need to know how to find these as well, but are also expected to know how to find the area of a Trapezoid.

For surface area, both grades need to understand how to find the surface area of Rectangular Prisms and Triangular Prisms. Grade 7 students must also know how to calculate the surface area of Trapezoidal Prisms.

Science

Students in grade 6 are continuing their unit on flight. On Friday, students will be building their own wings. The wings will be built with sustained flight in mind. They will apply their knowledge of the forces of flight and Bernoulli's principle to the building of their wings (which eventually will be attached to their own flying device) and will have to explain why they designed the wings the way they did.

Students in grade 7 will be learning about how to separate mechanical mixtures and solutions.

Both grade 6 and 7 students will be having a mid unit quiz in two weeks time. The quiz will be on the following things:

Grade 6- Characteristics of Fluids, Principles of Flight, Bernoulli's Principle, Light-than-air flying devices (such as hot air balloons and blimps).

Grade 7: Pure Substances, Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures, Mass, Volume, Matter Dissolving, Particle Theory of Matter, Separating Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures


History

We will be learning about the War of 1812. Following this learning and the completion of a War of 1812 commemorative coin, we will be moving out of history and into Geography (Should be by the 18th of February).


Health

We will continue our unit on healthy eating. Students have been working on a project in which they must complete a "healthy" grocery shopping run, but must do so on a budget of only 100 dollars for the week. The idea is to show students that there are barriers to healthy eating, but that if we are smart about the way we shop, they can be overcome. Grade 7 students will be extending their learning during this unit as we will begin to talk about body image and how peer pressure and negative body image can lead to people making unhealthy eating decisions.


Music

Students have been hard at work learning a piece of music entitled "Royal Crown March". The goal is to have our class play this at a concert we will be holding this spring (at the end of April). As we learn this piece, we are also going to be beginning a unit that asks students to compare the elements of music to the elements of design in art. They will explain how the music they listen to and the artwork they analyze express similar emotions (for example, jagged lines in a painting may represent the feeling of chaos, just as a crescendo may make you feel more on edge or unsettled).

Homework for the long weekend.... January29th, 2016

Science- Bill Nye video and handout for grade 6's. The video is posted in my blog post from 2 days ago entitled " Bill Nye- Still the Science Guy".

Math- Area of parallelogram and trapezoids- all questions- Due Tuesday

Literacy- Reading editorials- Interpreting data and Synthesizing information work. Due Tuesday

Literacy- Read week 2 chapters

Social Studies/History/Art- Please have First Nations Identity art plan complete for Wednesday so that you can start working on the art component of your assignment.

Update for January 27th, 2016

Homework

Science

Grade 6 

Finish the drawing and explanation of one of our experiments using Bernoulli's Principle

Grade 7
Complete Reading on Particle Theory. Watch the video and answer the question on the assignment page


Math

Complete the Math Journal that was given to you today on Area. Please have both questions finished for tomorrow and follow the problem solving model.

Bill Nye Flight Video for Thursday January28th, 2016

Bill Nye- Still "The Science Guy"

Here is the link to a great video from the one and only Bill Nye on flight. Sure his video's are a bit older, but the content covered in this unit is very much covered and well demonstrated in this video!

https://vimeo.com/83625163

Please click or copy and paste the link to watch.

Update for Monday January 25th, 2016

BORC 

A reminder to all grade 7 students that we are going to be attending BORC tomorrow. We leave at 8:45 and should be back 10 minutes prior to the end of the day. Please bring a literless lunch. Check the weather forecast and please come dressed accordingly. Rain or shine, we will be outside for a large portion of the day so come prepared with both winter and rain attire as the forecast is calling for rain.

Literacy Day- January 27th, 2016

During periods 4-6 on Wednesday, our students will be given a leadership opportunity during literacy. Grade 6 and 7's will be working with Mr. Clark's grade 2/3 class to complete a literacy based activity in which students (in small groups) will be asked to read a picture book and identify what elements of the book involve using problem solving and/or growth mindset. Grade 6 and 7 students have been asked to bring a favourite picture book with them to school that they can use to read in their small groups. Most students have already selected a book from our library, but if you haven't, please be sure to bring them in that day.

Homework

Math
Area- All Area of a Rectangle questions and questions 1-3 of the Area of a Parallelogram worksheet.

Science 

Grade 6- Complete your explanation of one of today's experiments using Bernoulli's Principle to explain what happens.

Grade 7- Please see the class website (The one we share with Mr. Tamblyn) to find a very important reading and video on "The particle theory of Matter". Please come to class on Thursday having pre-read this material.

Literacy
 A reminder to all students to stay up-to-date on your reading centre work. We are almost finished our second cycle which means you should be working on or completing your 2nd Blog, 2nd Word Work, and 2nd Guided Reading activity and rotation. For grade 6's, you should be completing your EQAO questions (repairing questions 5 and 6 in reading one as well as coming to class on Thursday having read the second package and having all multiple choice questions completed).

Blog for Thursday January 21st, 2016

Homework-

Math- Study for tomorrow's perimeter quiz. The quiz is on linear measurement and also includes converting units of measurement. Students have been given thorough study packages to go over tonight.

Literacy- A reminder to all students that word work and blogs are to be handed in on the day where you restart your cycle. In other words. If you have word work on day 2 one week, you will give me your word week the following day 2 and begin a new package.




EQAO- Using the problem solving model to help help organize your reading responses. 

In order to understand math problems we often use the problem solving model to determine what we need to know and to make a plan to solve our problems. In literacy, we often don't think of using this model as way to think through what is being asked of us. The problem solving model can be used to assist you in creating a plan to answer reading comprehension questions in a concise and effective way.


Example question:

Explain why fly-fishing can be a fun and affordable activity. use details from the text to support your answer.


1) Understand the plan-

a) I need to say why fishing is both fun AND affordable
b) I need to refer back to the text to support my answer
c) I need to explain how I know that the text I refer to  helps prove that fly-fishing is both fun and affordable


2) Make a Plan

a) I will explain how I know that fly-fishing is both fun and affordable. If I don't remember what affordable means, I will look up the word in a dictionary.
b) Because I only have 5 lines to explain myself, I will try and find a maximum of 2 pieces of evidence that help me best explain why fly-fishing is both fun and affordable.
c) I will refer back to the text that supports my answer.
d) I will explain why this text helps support my answer.


3) Carry out the Plan

I know that fly fishing can be both fun and affordable because you can catch fish and spend time with your family, without having to buy expensive equipment such as a fancy boat. In paragraph 5, the narrator says that there is ...."plenty of fishing to be found for anglers who don't own a boat", and that simply "wading along the river bank is the most efficient and effective way to catch a fish. It would be fun to catch a lot of fish and cheaper to not need to pay thousands of dollars for a boat making fly fishing both fun and affordable. 

4) Look back at the solution

You can use this section make sure that you actually carried out your entire plan and answered all parts of the question.

Homework for Jan 19th, 2016

Math 

4.1 questions 6-10 and 13-18
page 2- 7a, 7c, 8 (all) and 11.

Science
Grade 6 Helium experiment- Due Thursday
Grade 7 Pure substances and mixtures handout- Due Thursday


Literature Circles are beginning!

The books have finally arrived and Book Club is ready to start! Starting this Friday, students will be receiving their novel that they chose prior to the break for their book club. Students will be given weekly comprehension packages to accompany their novels. These packages are set up in a very similar fashion to those of "Watson's go to Birmingham". The format of responses will be familiar to all students. Each package will include a connections, inferring, literal comprehension and reflection/reasoning section. These book clubs will be offered in addition to the guided reading we have been doing in class. This means there will be lots of reading going on (very exciting!)!

In addition to comprehension packages, students will complete a discussion component every week (except week one). Students will get together to discuss their novels and the amazing things they read and discovered that week.

The book club is expected to take at least 6 weeks to complete and will help me guide large group lessons and future guided reading focuses.

The schedule for book clubs will typically look like this-

Friday- Assign Chapters, begin to read
Monday- Mini lesson of the week. The lesson focus will be the focus of work students do for group discussions.
Tuesday- Read and complete work for group discussion
Wednesday- Comprehension packages are started
Thursday- Packages are completed and work for discussion group is completed
Friday- Group discussion and start next block of chapters.

Weeks for Book Club are being started on Friday's to maximize the amount of days you have to read your chapters. It is expected that students read their books, both at school and at home.

Homework for Jan 18th, 2016

Math 
Perimeter word problem

Science
Grade 6- 2 questions about the results of the helium experiment
Grade 7- finish pure substances and mixtures handout

Literacy

"Voices in the Head" template. Due tomorrow. Please see the previous blog post for more specific instructions.

Literacy/Drama Cyberbullying Activity Instructions

The Impact of Bullying- Drama/Literacy assignment


Today we continued to explore bullying and its impact on bullies, victims and bystanders.

In our previous lesson we watched a deeply moving video that dramatizes a realistic situation involving a student (Trey) being cyberbullied. The video asked students to critically think about what happened to Trey and about what people  (including the victim himself) could have done to not let the situation get to the dire points that it did.

Students created tableau's that represented who had the most amount of power (the bully, victim or bystanders) when certain steps were and weren't taken. For example, if the bystanders acted and told a responsible adult about the situation earlier, then the bystander is taking the power away from the bully and putting the power into the victim and bystander's hands.

Today I asked students to complete the following statements, with the way Trey felt in the video. For example, the words "I am" were written on a handout and students may have responded with the emotion that Trey felt the most. One student responded with "I am alone".

Tonight I am asking for students to complete one- half of the "Voice in the Head" Script template.

Students will decide to either represent the inner voice or public voice of either: a) Trey; b) the bully, c) a bystander.

The public voice represents what a person would say and how they would act when faced with bullying in public.

The inner voice represents what they are really thinking and how they really feel.

For example, Trey may say:

"I don't care that people are laughing at me" and act like bystanders laughing at him on the bus doesn't hurt him. This is his public voice.

Yet, on the inside, his inner voice may say, "Why are people being so mean? Why aren't people standing up for me?"

Students are to choose a role and complete either the inner or outer voice for that role. We will be turning these lines into a drama monologue tomorrow.

Science Update- January 18th, 2016

Helium Balloon Experiment- Grade 6

In class, we conducted a brief experiment in regards to lighter-than-air flying machines. The experiment involved an inflated helium balloon with a piece of string attached to the bottom.
I asked students why they thought a helium balloon was able to float in the air. They provided me with their best educated guesses.

Following this I added paper clips, 1 at a time, and attached them to the string on the end of the balloon. Eventually the balloon began to gradually get lower and lower as I added more paper clips.
I asked, "Why does the balloon get lower when I add the paper clips?".

The results of this experiment are to be explained for homework using scientific concepts that have been learned and taught.

Words that can be used in describing these results can be:

Density (more dense or less dense)
Air Pressure
Particles
Expansion
Contraction
Mass
States of Matter (solid, liquid, gas). A hint, the particles in a gas look very different and act very differently than the particles of a solid.

Student responses are due on Day 4 (Thursday).


Science- Pure Substances and Mixtures, Grade 7

Today we started to move beyond volume and matter and began to discuss one of the most important subjects in this unit. Today we learned about the difference between pure substances, mechanical mixtures and solutions.

Students were given a hand out which is expected to be completed for day 4 (Thursday)

Attached are links to 2 great videos that help children understand what pure substances and mixtures are. They also provide excellent examples of things that are classified as pure substances, solutions or mechanical mixtures.

Homework for the weekend of Jan 15th-17th, 2016

Hello everyone and sorry for the delayed posting. I had to run out of school to deal with my son who has not been feeling well for a few days. On the bright side, he seems to be much better today!

Homework

Math
 All perimeter questions

Literacy

Please answer the following questions. Answer the questions on google docs and please print out a copy to bring to class on Monday.

1) Have you ever volunteered anywhere (school, in the community, etc)? If so, where?


2) If you have volunteered, what compelled you to do so?


3) How did volunteering make you feel?


4) Have you ever not volunteered for any of the reasons that can be found in the graph on the 2nd page of the "Tuning out Global Issues" editorial?

Science

Grade 7- Volume Mass Mix-up worksheet- To be complete for Monday.

Wednesday Janurary 12th, 2016- Update and Homework

Update on BORC 

An update to students and parents that BORC permission forms are due tomorrow. Please have them signed and returned to me to ensure participation.

Homework

French- Study for remainder of test
Literacy- EQAO packages (2 questions using text to support answer)
Math- Length- Converting Units of Measure

Here is a video to help everyone remember the acronym that will help you remember how to convert all metric units!

Grade 6 Science- Properties of Fluids

As an introduction to our unit on flight, one of the most important concepts is understanding the properties of fluids. Today, we learned that air is an example of a fluid because it flows and takes on the shape of its container.

We can completed an experiment to demonstrate how the adding of heat to a substance expands the particles that make up our air and how removing heat brings air/particles closer together.

We first placed a balloon over the top of an empty Erlenmeyer flask. The balloon appeared to be mostly deflated, but I had blown some air into the balloon prior to placing it over the opening of the flask.

I placed the flask into a beaker full of hot water and the balloon grew and appeared to inflate. When placed back into cold water, the balloon appeared to deflate once again.

Students had to explain why they thought the balloon expanded (grew) and contracted (shrunk) when hot water and cold water were added to it.

1st photo- Flask with balloon attached and 2 beakers. The beaker on the left is filled with  hot water. The beaker on the right is filled with ice water.

2nd photo- After just 5 seconds in 60 degree water, the balloon has risen and appears to have inflated.

3rd photo- After placing the balloon into 6 degree water, it took just a couple of seconds for the balloon to deflate. As more time went on and the flask cooled down, the balloon appeared more deflated than at the start of our experiment.

So what happened. The balloon was never taken off the flask so no air escaped? How is it possible for the balloon to expand and contract based on temperature?

To learn more and to understand how this happened, please visit the "Classroom" page on your Google Drive to view the Powerpoint.

Homework for the weekend of January 8th-10th, 2016

Class Work

Science- grade 7- Volume questions 1-2, Due Wednesday

Art- Magical Rainforest/Owl Art. Due Monday

French Quiz on Monday. Please Study!

Literacy sentence structure worksheet- Due Monday

Social Studies/History- First Nations Art Questions. Due Wednesday

Update and Homework for Thursday January 7th, 2016

Homework

Math- Complete Mock Quiz (gr 7) and Mock Math Journal (gr 6) to prepare for tomorrow. The mock quiz can be found on our "classroom" page.

Science- Grade 7- Finish questions 1 and 2  on mass worksheet

French- Quiz Monday

Art- Colouring assignment

 History- Complete Loyalist questions for the next history class.

Upcoming field trip- Current Issue with our Printer/Paper Supply

On January 25th, all grade 7 students will be going to BORC outdoor education centre. The field trip is at no additional cost. Permission forms will be coming home tomorrow. Please have them signed as soon as possible. 

Students will be away all day. We will leave the school at 8:45 and return by 2:45. As it is winter and most of our activities will be outside, it is requested that you ensure you/your child is dressed for the weather.

Grade 7's will be participating in a Geography and science related activity called "The Amazing Race", where they get to learn about and practice orienteering. 

Update and Homework for Wednesday January 5th, 2015

Jungle Sports

 As you know, students have been participating in Jungle Sports/ropes and rock climbing the last 2 days. Students have been well behaved and have had a terrific time! Jungle Sports will take place during the second half of our literacy block tomorrow (11:25-12:15) and from 9:25-10:15 on Friday.

The Launch of a new Unit

Students in both grade 6 and 7 started a brand new science unit. Grade 6's began their unit on flight by learning about how specific types of living things adapt to their environments by using flight as a tool to help them to survive.

Grade 7's had a chance to begin their unit on pure substances by conducting an experiment on the mass of various objects. The objective was to have them develop an understanding of how to use the triple-beam balance scales that they will be using to conduct other experiments throughout this unit.

EQAO Update- As most parent are aware of, EQAO testing will be taking place in May. While we have been completing tasks throughout the year that will help students be successful during EQAO all year, starting today all grade 6 students will be given time every week during our literacy block to complete EQAO sample questions under my guidance. Students will be required to complete at least 1 EQAO section or question per week. All sample questions I am using can be obtained straight from the EQAO website. If you wish to practice at home with your child, booklets and answer guides can be found at: http://www.eqao.com/en/assessments/junior-division/Pages/example-assessment-materials-2015.aspx

Homework for tonight:

Science- Grade 7, Complete Questions 1 and 2 of mass experiment- Due Friday
French- Test on Monday...Study!
History- Complete Loyalist/American Revolution Worksheet
Art- Colouring assignment

Math on Friday- A mock quiz and mock math journal will be given to each student tomorrow. This will be in preparation of Friday's real math quiz and math journal. The mock journal and quiz can be found on the Google Classroom site.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful, restful holiday and Happy New Year to all.

As we restart our school year there is much work to be done but also a lot to be excited about.

Tomorrow we will be beginning our week of "Jungle Sports". Just a reminder to all to wear/bring appropriate footwear and clothing for tomorrow. Also, be sure to bring in your form signed by a parent if you wish to participate.

Grade 7's will be having a math quiz on Friday of this week. The quiz will be an algebra quiz on the things we have learned since quiz 1. This includes:

1) Like terms
2) Simplifying expressions
3) Distributive Property

Grade 6's will be given their quiz in the form of a math journal that asks them to answer 2 word problems using the PROBLEM SOLVING model.

On Wednesday we will be starting a brand new science unit! Both units are exciting and hands on. Grade 6's will be learning about air and flight. Grade 7's will learning about pure substances and mixtures.

Homework for January 4th, 2016

Math- Complete review package
Literacy- Complete blog
Literacy- Complete grammar activity, modifiers.