Thank you to all of you who were able to drop-in to the "Meet the Teacher" event on Thursday evening. It was very nice to meet everyone.
This week at Willows:
Thursday Sept. 28 - Dictée
Friday Sept. 29 - Library book exchange, Terry Fox run after lunch (weather permitting)
Terry Fox - mid August 1980, somewhere in Quebec/Ontario. Taken on my small Kodak camera when I was moving with my family to Victoria.
We will spend a bit of time early this week getting notebooks and duotangs organized for the year. I expect to officially start a Home-reading program this week. Watch for a plastic bag with a small red notebook and a French book. Further info about the program will be inside the notebook.
This week's audio dictée - Continents and Oceans:
Finally, these past few weeks I have had a bit of time on my hands as my sprained ankle was healing. I am a big fan of podcasts and various education (and knitting) blogs and came across the following, which you may also find following interesting:
This first one is about encouraging children to develop self-efficacy. It gets interesting around the 7:13 mark. Here's the transcript. YouTube video also on this page.
On raising children to include others. While a little girl-centric, these principles could apply to both girls and boys.
Being a big fan of nature walks, this article was also interesting.
Welcome to the first blog post of the 2016/2017 school year. As you have likely heard, my ankle is still recovering from an unfortunate hiking accident on Labour Day. This past Friday I was excited to drop in the class and my new crop of Grade 3 students. I tried to learn everyone's name, although it may take me a few more attempts to remember them all perfectly. It was also nice to meet Mme Lucie Livernoche, who will be replacing me until my return, hopefully in the next week or so. We are very lucky to have Mme Lucie's French Immersion expertise in our classroom. She is very dedicated to her students and is also a native French speaker herself.
Upcoming events this week:
Monday Sept. 19 - Professional Development for teachers. School is not in session.
Wednesday Sept. 21 - Photo Day
Thursday Sept. 22 - Meet the teacher from 6:30 to 8pm. I plan on attending this event and hope to see you there!
Dictées/Spelling
You have no doubt been acquainted with dictées in past years. In recent years the value of dictée and spelling quizzes has come into question as research seems to indicate that they do not necessarily lead to more accurate spelling when writing. I have chosen to keep these two exercises because I believe they contribute to the learning in our classroom, beyond just knowing how to spell. In a French Immersion classroom we are learning and using new words, often on a daily basis. Most weeks our dictée words will reflect words which we are currently using as part of our Social Studies and Science units. Studying them in a dictée helps students remember what they mean and enhances our class discussions with proper terms. The dictée give us a chance to practice these words at school, and hopefully at home too.
As a general rule, new dictée words will be written in the agenda on Fridays, with the dictée quiz taking place the following Thursday. Students absent on the Thursday will take the quiz upon returning to class. Please encourage your child to practice writing the words out a few times during the week.
We will start spelling quizzes after the first report card, and at that point will alternate between a dictée one week, and a spelling quiz the following week.
This past Friday, Mme Livernoche and the students worked in groups to choose words often used in the classroom. This Thursday, the students will be quizzed on these words. The written words for the dictée were included in the email sent home. Below is an audio version. I will do my best to send this information home each week (fingers crossed!). You can also find the printed words in your child's agenda.
Welcome back to school everyone! I hope everyone had a restful summer full of fresh air and adventures.
I enjoyed a few camping trips and many great wilderness hikes this past summer. Unfortunately, it seems that my year of living dangerously continued. Monday morning, while hiking East Sooke Park, my right foot got caught in some rocks and in what seemed like slow-motion, my foot stayed put while my body tumbled over the ankle.
I am very sad to be missing this first week. The first day back not only serves as a warmup day for everyone, but also as a transition to the new year, reconnecting with old friends.
I always look forward to the first day of school because I get to see how much my students have grown over the summer and to hear about their adventures. Before sending students to their new classrooms, I like to remind them that our classroom is a safe place, and that if they are ever feeling sad or in need of someone to talk to, they can drop by. I also encourage them to drop by and say hi once in a while, and to remember to get involved in school activities like sports teams, choir, lunch monitoring (in grade 5). I hope you will be able to pass this message along. I hope to be back at Willows real soon!
The following are 2 recipes from last June: one for silly-putty and the other for bread:
Silly Putty
Over the summer, Health Canada recommended to avoid using boric acid in arts & crafts. David Suzuki also addresses it here. Unfortunately the recipe used in class last June, which came from a visiting scientist from Science World, contained Borax. The following is a YouTube link to a Borax-free recipe.
Bread
12 ml of active dry, or rapid rise yeast (1 package?)
500 ml of warm water
1025 ml of all-purpose flour
10 ml of salt
1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast and water.
2. Add the flour and salt. Mix until the dough is lumpy, but without dry flour.
3. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm spot until it has doubled in size (about 2 hrs).
4. Cover hands with flour. Pickup the dough and place it on a baking sheet, cast iron Dutch oven, shaping it to the desired shape.
5. Let the dough rise again for up to 60 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375 F.
7. If making bread, slash the dough with a bread knife a few times.
8. Bake for up to 60 minutes. Your bread will be ready when it is golden on top and your kitchen smells like bread!
9. Move the baked bread to a cooling surface. If possible, avoid the temptation of slicing into it right away as it is still cooking.
Can you believe it? Tomorrow is the last day of this school year, already! We had our year-end assembly this morning, so it must be true.
It's been such a joy to work with this class this year. They were all very interested in learning and making progress. Case in point, they crammed a mini-project about a Canadian region in this last week. Do take a look at these projects as they are pretty cute. It's a pamphlet with information & images. Some groups also wrote and performed an anthem for their region. Again, pretty cute and dedicated.
This past week was not just work, we had time for some fun too. On Friday we had a lovely nature walk through Uplands Park. Overheard were many comments such as: "Wow! This is the most beautiful walk I have ever been on!" We ate our snacks on some rocks in the park, and had an activity where each student had a piece of paper taped to his or her back, and had to write a compliment on other students' paper. I used to do this activity with middle schoolers because it really seems to build confidence, and was glad to see it worked quite well with Grade 3s too.
For this week, I thought about doing a few more tactile activities which didn't fall into a curricular area this year. On Monday we made bread (pioneers), and this afternoon we made silly putty (matter). Tomorrow afternoon, if I get brave enough, we may try to make ice cream (just because). I'll have to try to make it at home first to make sure it works!
Speaking of tomorrow afternoon, we would like to have a snack-potluck after lunch, and play board games or do some art. If possible, please send along a small sharing snack (carrot sticks, celery, cherries, chips, cupcakes, cookies, ...). Uneaten snacks will be returned home at the end of the day. We also invite parents to come to our class around 2pm. The students have put together a scrapbook of their artwork this year, and this would be a nice time for them to present their work to you, if you have the time.
Please have some contact with the French language over the summer, especially reading, to keep up hard-earned skills. In the "Links" section of this blog, there is a link to my colleague Josee Malo's website which has many sites with French texts, written or spoken.
If anyone is interested in the recipe for bread or silly putty please let me know and I will post them on this blog.
Thank you all for supporting your children's education. I will miss each and every one of these little people. Wishing everyone a happy summer!
I hope everyone had a relaxing long weekend and that we're all recharged and ready for the last bit of learning in this school year.
Our last swimming lessons will take place this Thursday. Thank you to all chaperones these past weeks as we couldn't do it without you! Chaperone names for this week are in the email.
For many students in our class, tomorrow is our Zone track meet. Students will be running against other runners from Campus View, Margaret Jenkins, Frank Hobbs, Sir James Douglas, and Hillcrest Elementary Schools. We will be boarding school busses from Willows to UVic around 9:30, and returning to Willows around 2:15. These times are very approximate. The meet will start with 800m races, then individual 100m races, and finish with the always exciting 4 x 100m races. Non-runners will spend the day in Mme McMillan's classroom next door.
If your child is running tomorrow, please dress him/her in layers as students will be outside all day and must be prepared for Victoria's wacky weather. The following will help your child to have a successful day:
- water bottle (labeled)
- sweater
- track/yoga pants
- runners & shorts
- lunch
- many snacks
- hat
- sunscreen
If you will be joining us at the UVic track tomorrow and taking your child with you, please sign your child out with his/her coach prior to leaving.
Week 33 is well under way but here's a quick update anyway. Please remember that September 20th is a Professional Day for teachers so school is not in session that day. Personally, I will continue to work through the interesting "Google for education" learning modules for teachers.
Track
If your child is in Track, our next practice will be tomorrow (Wednesday) after school at Oak Bay High School. This practice replaces Thursday practice. The last practice will then be on Tuesday after school. The actual track meet takes place next Wednesday the 25th at the UVic track. The meet generally runs between 10:30am and 1:30pm.
Here's what we're working on this week:
Français - We are practicing the verb "faire" in the present tense. Reading Chapter 4 & 5 of "Togo". Last week the students wrote short journal entries about how to be a good friend. On Monday they wrote a good copy of their work, which are now circulating around the class in a duotang. Students really enjoy reading each others' ideas.
Anglais - Spelling #14, as time permits in this shortened week.
Math - We are completing our unit on money. The last concept we are covering is how to count up, for example, how to count up from 27 to 100 (i.e. how to give change from $1 back from 27cents), otherwise known as "giving change". This can be difficult for some students. We will have a quiz Wednesday or Thursday, then move onto measurement.
Science - We are still trying to grow beans from seeds. The problem is that the classroom window ledge is so hot that the poor little seedlings just seem to fry over the course of the weekend. About a handful have made it through the classroom droughts & floods of 2016. These will make their way home tomorrow. As for the others, it's back to the drawing board. We will start sprouting more seedlings in better soil, and hope for the best.
We also just finished our Plant unit. The students' invented plant pictures are displayed on our classroom bulletin board. Feel free to drop in to check them out if you get the chance.
Social Studies - We have started to explore Canada's different regions and which provinces are in each region. (ex: Prairies = Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba)
Swimming
Only 2 sessions left, this Thursday and next. See email for chaperone names.
Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all Moms out there!
Welcome to week 32 out of 38. It's so cliché to say this but it's especially true this year - I can't believe we only have 6 weeks of school left! There's still lots of learning left to do so we will be plugging away again this week.
On Monday morning we will be having our monthly assembly. It's a time to meet together in the gym as a large group and focus on a common goal for the month. In the afternoon, we will have a visit from Hugh Greenwood, a retired geologist from UBC who volunteers to give presentations to students through the Science Centre program. His presentation will focus on waves (sounds, ocean, earthquakes). He will also be showing us a few experiments in class.
Thursday will mark week 6 of our 8 week swimming program at Oak Bay Recreation. In the afternoon we will continue our 3rd rotation of the Club d'Amitié (Friendship Group) with the students in Mmes Henry and McMillan.
Don't forget Pizza/Sushi day on Friday.
In Math we completed our multiplication classwork last week. Please continue to send the red multiplication flashcards to school as I will quiz the students ad hoc throughout the week. Continue to practice them at home too. Our new topic is money, the various denominations, adding it up, using the least amount of coins, and we will end with "giving change" or counting up from one number to another.
In French we started to read a new-to-me novel and I am finding that a bit of the vocabulary and expressions in "Togo" require explaining. As such, we will be reading it together slowly. It's an interesting story though. You can read about it here: Togo husky .
We will be continuing to study verbs in the present tense this week. Students have also been working hard on their cursive writing. We are now up to the letter "o".
In Science we will be wrapping up our unit on Plants. Bean update: a few of our plants have taken off, while a few a still struggling to "take root". Is it too hot in our classroom to grow beans?
Please keep reading in French at home, the end is near! Year-end reading assessment will start the week after Victoria Day.
