Looking Ahead to 2012!

Hi, everyone!  Here are a couple things to look forward to in the New Year!  I would like to give you the dates for our Cross-Country Skiing sessions and our Winter Field Trip.  Parents are very welcome to join us for any of our outdoor adventures!!
Monday, January 23- Outdoor Field Trip to Boggy Creek! (Learning outdoor winter survival skills and studying winter ecology= super fun day!)
Monday, February 6 (PM) and Wednesday, February 15 (AM)- Cross-Country Skiing at Douglas Park

Christmas Around the World

Here's the link for the scavenger hunt!

Eco-Footprint Calculator

Go here to find your eco-footprint.

Time for an Update!

Hello, everyone! It's been awhile since I updated The Chalkboard!  Here are some tidbits from life in Room 301...

-We just finished Unit 2 in Math and we have started our new unit on decimals!  Here is a site that correlates well with our first lesson!  

-In Science, we are sharing our presentations with the class!  It is a lot of fun to learn from each other.  If you would like to see your son or daughter's presentation, just ask them to show you- it is online!

-We had an awesome discussion on the topic of sustainability yesterday!  We watched "The Story of Stuff". It brought up interesting thoughts on how we might help our school become more sustainable- stay posted for more news on how we might do that!

-In December, we will be learning how to curl!  It is lots of fun and parents are welcome to join us for any of our curling sessions, but especially the last date- Tuesday, Dec. 20.  We will need a couple helpers because it is "Game Day"!  Our sessions are at 9:30am on Thursday, Dec, 8, Tuesday, Dec. 13, Thursday, Dec. 15, and then Thursday, Dec. 20, at the Tartan Curling Club on Broadway Avenue.

I think that's all for today!  Have a great weekend!

Tchoukball, anyone?

It's the next sport we are going to discover during Phys. Ed.!  Watch this video, or watch the pros, to learn how to play this new and exciting game!

Prezi

Here's the link for your prezi!

Pictures from Remembrance Day...

The Grade 6 performed a wonderful dance at our Remembrance Day assembly. Here are a few pictures...

Pictures for your newspaper article

Order of Operations Game

Here's the link to the game we played today in Math!

Our Fair Trade Field Trip!

Our First Smartie Party!

 

Congratulations on your first SMARTIE PARTY, Grade 6!  We had lots of fun playing dodgeball, watching a movie, and eating popcorn and monster cupcakes!  Keep up the great work... 

Hershey and Halloween?

Here's a link for the "Raise the Bar, Hershey" Photo Contest at Global Exchange.

Our Upcoming Fair Trade Field Trip!

Next Tuesday, November 2, we will be walking to Ten Thousand Villages, a wonderful store located on University Park Drive and Quance Street.  We are going to explore the many beautiful fair trade products from all over the world and listen to a presentation from the store manager.  This venture ties in perfectly with our current study on “Fairness” in Language Arts.  We will leave right after lunch (12:45pm) and return between 3-3:30pm. 

A couple of things to note regarding this trip:

-Please ensure that your child is dressed warmly, as it is a fair distance to the store (our walk will be our fitness for the day!)

-Consider sending a bit of money along with your child.  It’s not necessary, but it would be nice for students to have $5 to shop with at the store!

-Consider coming along!  If fair trade is something you are unfamiliar with, this is a great chance to get out for a good long walk with a fun bunch of kids :), and learn something new.

Amazing Arthropods!

Use the following sites to help you discover the FIVE COMMON ADAPTATIONS of all arthropods!
All About Arthropods
Characteristics of Arthropods

The Latest

Hi, everyone!  I just wanted to write an update here to start off our week, as there are a number of assignments, as well as an important quiz, coming up soon!

Here's what is presently on our "Agenda" whiteboard in the classroom:
Forms: Return the iGo permission slip, as well as the pink homeroom parent contact form
Writing: Major Assignment- "My Difference-Maker"- (Biography)- final copy due Friday
Social Studies: Horn of Africa and Somalia Assignments- due Thursday
Science: Quiz on Lessons 1-5 on Thursday, Vocabulary should be complete in duotang, and Inspiring Invertebrates assignment is due Wednesday
Math: We are working on Unit 2, Lesson 2.  I will send extra-practice sheets in an email to parents if you would like to do extra review at home.
Reading: We are finishing up our novel, The Breadwinner.  We are also learning to put our best effort into all assignments!
Phys. Ed: Just a reminder that we are going swimming on Friday, from 1-2pm.

That's all for today!  Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns, as always!

Difference Makers This Week...

We have had some excellent discussions in Grade 6 this week!  Here are a couple of the videos and organizations that inspired the discussions...
Water:Charity - Water Changes Everything
TOMS Shoes- The One for One Movement
Ryan's Well Foundation

Choose Your "Difference-Maker"

Modern Day Heroes
Biography Online
Moral Heroes
Academy of Achievement
Canadian Heroes
Eco-Heroes

Our Elastic Band Experiment

To start our week, students have been challenged with an experiment...the "Elastic Band Experiment".  Each student was given an elastic band to wear on their wrist.  When they complain, they will move the band from one wrist to the other.  The goal is to keep the band on the same wrist, but even more than that, to gain awareness of the amount of complaining they may or may not be doing each day!  Parents and families are welcome to join the challenge!! We started this morning and we will continue for the rest of the week, perhaps a perfect lead up to....THANKSGIVING!!  At the end of the week, I will ask students to respond to this blog entry, sharing what they learned throughout the experiment.  Parents, should you try it, you are welcome to leave a response, too!
Here was our quote of the week:
"In daily life, we must that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."

Happy Birthday to Mr. Jack MacKenzie!

Today our school joined together to celebrate Mr. MacKenzie's 84th Birthday! He is such a special man and a great leader for our school. We are very grateful for him and we made sure he knew it today! :)  Every year, the Grade 6 classes head for the hill to help create Jack's birthday photo (you see it above!). 
Our class also helped to rewrite an old song in his honor; here is how it went:

(to the tune of "Do-Rey-Mi")
Jack, he's turning eighty-four
Jack, he's traveled all the world,
Jack, he's kind and thoughtful, too
Jack, a star in every sport
Jack, he chases caribou
Jack, he paddles a canoe
Jack, he's everybody's friend
Oh Jack, we wish you Happy Birthday ...birthday
Jack we hope you have the very best Birthday!!!

Awesome job, Grade 6!

Flying Creek Adventures!

We had an awesome day at Flying Creek! Here's a little glimpse of our adventure. Thanks to Mrs. Hallemann, Mr. Perkowitsch and Mrs. Kelly for joining us for the day!

Quote of the Week

We start each Monday morning with a "Quote of the Week". We think about and discuss what the quote is saying, and then we try to make connections to our lives. Here is this week's quote, and a couple questions to consider...

Is it easier to give a present, or give your time? Explain your answer.
How might a person "give of themselves"?

Update from Room 301!

Greetings from Room 301!! A new week is on its way!  Here is a little update on some of what is happening in Grade 6:

• We are diving into the topic of fairness in Language Arts.  We started by looking at fairness in our families ("HEY! His piece of cake is bigger than mine!"), and last week we read three different biographies that shared stories of people fighting for fairness.  We are also reading a moving story called The Breadwinner, by Deborah Ellis.  It is based on real events in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.
• We are working hard to build stamina as independent readers and writers every day!  So far, we have built our "Read to Self" stamina to 17 minutes, and just last week we got off to a good start on "Work on Writing".  
• In Math, we are almost finished our first unit on Patterns and Equations.  This week we will finish Lesson 8 and complete the Unit Review.  Next Tuesday, October 4, we will have our Unit 1 Test.
• Our first Science unit, The Diversity of Living Things, is off to a great start!  So far, we have discussed classification, kingdoms of living things, and classifying tress.  This week we will look at Invertebrates, and we will also have an awesome Science field trip to Flying Creek on Friday!! :)

 Have a great week!

A Great Day at the Track!

Just click to enlarge!  I tried to get as many students from our room as I could, but it was hard to catch everybody as I was leading a group.  Awesome job at the meet, Grade 6!  From what I can tell, the day seemed to be a great success and you lived up to our school motto- ``The Joy of Effort``!  Well done!  I smell a smartie...:)

The Joy of Effort

We have had a great start to our Grade 6 year! Here are some fun photos we took the other day. The "Joy of Effort" photo is a Grade 6 tradition!

Timetable

Here is our timetable, updated as of September 1, 2011.  Click to enlarge.

Welcome to Grade Six!

Welcome to a new school year, and welcome to your home online!  Bookmark our site and check back daily for homework updates, class events, photos, links and more!
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