Math Practice

Here are some sites to help you prepare for your Math test:
Alien Angles
Measuring Angles

Join my class at Quizlet and create your own study set, then use it to review for the test!

The Sunny Side

Follow this link to learn about the sun.
Use the following log-in and password for National Geographic:
harmony.mcmillan@go.rbe.sk.ca
smarties301

The Green Zone

We've got that Rider Pride! And a bonus, we won a PIZZA PARTY in the school decorating showdown!  The Green Potluck was a huge success. What a great way to celebrate our favorite football team and share a delicious buffet with our friends!  A great community celebration!

Catching up: Halloween Fun in Grade 6!

Book Talks!

Riderville!

November 18, 2013 Dear Parents, It’s an exciting time to live in Riderville! We are going to share our Rider pride in our Grade 6 classrooms this week in a couple different ways:

• The school is having a Rider-inspired decorating contest. Feel free to send any green or Rider decorations to school to help us deck out our wing in green! We will be creating artwork this week to help decorate, as well. Students are encouraged to come decked out in green on Friday! 
• On Friday morning, both classrooms will share together in a GREEN POTLUCK. Students are encouraged to bring something GREEN to share with classmates for lunch. We will begin our GREEN POTLUCK at about 11am. The fridge and microwave will be available if needed. Please be careful to avoid nuts in anything you send to school. Thanks!

I am also sending students home with a paper note about two upcoming trips (Nov. 27 to the Wizard of Oz at Balfour Collegiate, and a day trip to Mission Ridge for skiing on Dec. 13), as well as a request for $4.50 for student agendas.  Thanks!

Because You've Always Wanted to Learn About...

Four outstanding glogs from our Grade 6 classrooms!  You can learn a lot by viewing these well-organized and very well-researched glogs! Well done!  To view more excellent demonstrations of student research, see our Student Glogs Page.

Mealworm Madness!

Yesterday we investigated mealworms!  Did you know that at the end of a mealworm's life cycle they turn into a beetle?! Whoa!

Fun Friday

A little time on the iPads to prep us for an Art project!

Fun Friday

And another welcome box to deliver! This time, to a pair of sisters who came to MacKenzie from Montreal, but they are originally from Belgium!  We were happy to officially welcome them to Jack Mack today!  

Update for Parents

Hi, everyone!  I hope you enjoyed an excellent Thanksgiving weekend!  Here’s a bit of an update on life in Grade 6 this week:

•  Math- Students are coming home with their Unit 1 Math test tonight.  Please take a look, sign and return the test.  Students were given time to work on corrections in class today, but some need to spend more time on this at home.  I have asked students to complete their corrections on a separate piece of looseleaf paper.  You will notice that there are 4 parts to the test.  Each one is an outcome we have studied and so they have received a mark for each section.  From this point on, I will be focusing on teaching and assessing one outcome at a time, so quizzes or tests will be smaller but more frequent.  We will be focusing on Multiplying and Dividing with Decimals next. 

• Language Arts- We are working on finishing our novel, The Breadwinner.  We are focusing on writing our responses in complete sentences with accurate punctuation and capitalization.  Last week, I also sent home a “Book Talk” assignment.  Students should aim to have their books done by the middle of next week so that they begin preparing their book talk.  Students will need to spend some time working on this assignment at home.

• Science- Students are busy researching invertebrates.  They are demonstrating this learning on a “glog” (interactive multii-media poster).  These glogs are due Friday!  Ask your son or daughter to show you what they have done so far!  This would be a good opportunity to help out with proofreading. 

• Swimming- I sent a note home about our swimming times.  Our first is TOMORROW from 2-3pm.  Please send $16.75 in cash. If you have already sent a cheque, don’t worry, but cheques make for a lot of work for Mrs. Stewart.  I have change, so don’t worry too much if you don’t have the exact amount (though that would be wonderful!). 

• Curling- Curling is a part of the Grade 6 PE curriculum.  We go to the Tartan four times.  We leave the school at about 10am and return by lunchtime.  Our dates are Oct. 29, Oct. 31, Nov. 5, and Nov. 7.  You are more than welcome to join us for any of those dates!  Helpers are especially appreciated on Nov. 7, as it is “game day”.  I apologize for another note and request for money coming home tomorrow.   I would much prefer that we could gather all the money at one time.

• Madame Cross would like to remind students to bring their French/English dictionaries to school.

Thank you for your support.  Please do let me know if you have any questions.  I am working at trying to get things more updated on the Parent Portal.  It is a work in progress!  Hopefully many of you have had success logging on.  If you are having any difficulties with the Portal, please let me know if I can be of help.  

Jack Mack at the Track

(click to enlarge)

Value of the Week: GRATITUDE

This week we are making a special effort to practice gratitude.  Our quote of the week is:

"Don't let what you don't have make you forget what you do have.  Gratitude turns what we have into enough".

This could make for some good discussion at home over the dinner table!  We are also practicing gratitude by writing daily "thank you" notes, inspired by author and blogger, Leah Dietrich. We are filling up your window with thankfulness. Here are some samples from yesterday that you might enjoy:

Happy 86th Birthday, Mr. MacKenzie!!

Look who had a birthday today! 

And guess who enjoyed some cupcakes today?! (All of us!)

Understanding Number Unit: Math Links

Prime Factorization

Factors

Factors and Multiples

Common Multiples

Multiples

Order of Operations (Learn Alberta Site)

Order of Operations


Integers

Devotion

This week, we are talking about devotion. Dick and Rick Hoyt, a father-son team, are an amazing example of this value.

Glogster Link

Glogster Edu is here!  Sign up by using the Teacher Code, 2AF93B.     Use your iGo id and password for your nickname.  For example, simonj7654.  

Building Character: COURAGE

Our value of the week is COURAGE.

"Courage doesn't always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow".
-Mary Anne Radmacher

We viewed and discussed the example of Bethany Hamilton, a young girl who lost her arm when she was attacked by a shark while surfing.  Bethany has "roaring" courage, but also courage that allows her to get up each day and "try again".  No doubt, she is rising above the challenges in her life.

Respond to the following by leaving a comment below.  Your response should be a minimum of 2 sentences.  Just sign in as "Anonymous" but make sure to leave your first name at the end of your comment.

Share about a time in your life when you showed courage, or when you saw courage in the life of someone else.  How did courage help you, or another person, overcome a challenge?

What is Fair?

Week One in Room 301

Hi, everyone! We are off to a great start!  Students are working hard and bringing lots of enthusiasm to the classroom each day!  Just a couple highlights for you from our first week in Room 301:

• Math: We started our first unit: Understanding Number.  We are working hard to establish understanding of place value up to trillions at the moment!  We are also spending time at the beginning of each class reviewing multiplication facts. Students are encouraged to devote time to practicing their facts at home, as well.  
• Language Arts: We launched the first and second chapters of the Daily 5: Read to Self and Listen to Reading!  We are working on developing independence in our reading habits and building stamina.  I am reading "The Breadwinner" by Canadian author Deborah Ellis to students.  It is one of my favorite books and tells the story of a young girl growing up in Afghanistan during the years of the Taliban's control.  You can read more about Deborah Ellis here. We also worked on couple "get to know each other" projects, including a paper "Facebook Profile" assignment and a neat word project using Tagxedo.
• We also had our first test of the year!  It was a "True/False" test that helped everyone get to know the teacher!  Here's a sneak peek:

Coming up this week:

• We will take a look at "Multiple Intelligences" to develop an understanding of how one another learns best and relates to others.  We will take a survey that will will help me learn each student's preferred learning style.
• We will begin our first Science unit: "The Diversity of Living Things".

Looking forward to meeting everyone on Thursday evening!  The BBQ begins at 5:30pm!

Tagxedo

Follow this link to go to Tagxedo.

Welcome to Grade 6! This is "The Chalkboard"!

You made it!  Welcome to your home online for the school year!  We will use The Chalkboard for updates, photos (learning in action!), homework reminders, special dates, links, and more!  Go ahead and bookmark this site now so that you don't need to worry about remembering the URL address.  

Forced Perspective and More

Crooked Valley

Here is a collection of pictures from our day at Crooked Valley!  Thanks very much to Mrs. Varre and Mr. Giroux who joined us for the day!

Seussical!

Wow! Seussical was SUCH a fantastic show!  We are very proud of the time and effort that our Grade 6 crew invested into this production!  Here a couple pics of some of the kids in action:

A Successful Walk!

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a walk!  Here's a photo of this year's Jack Mack Coyote Cruisers:

Our team was made up of Jared, Mrs. Power, Anvita, Navjata, Mr. and Mrs. Varre, Anvita's Grandpa, Thomas, Tanner, Mrs. Markusson, Zachary, Miss McMillan, and Miss McMillan's nephew, Andrew.  

We also raised a total of $670  for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Awesome!  Jared was the top earner with $350, and Amel was second with $110.  Both will take a trip to DQ with Miss McMillan for a treat!  Thank you also to the Turtas, Markussons, and Shooberts for your contributions!  I'm glad we could join together for this event!  Bravo!!

Seussical Week!

Next week is Seussical Week at Jack Mack!  The SLC has planned the following spirit days to celebrate all things SEUSS!

• Monday: Polka Dot/Stripe Day
• Tuesday: Who Hair Day/ Bake Sale (items are 50 cents each)
• Wednesday: Crazy Color Day
• Thursday: Favorite Seuss Character Day (Concert Day!)

Update!

Hi, everyone!  Just wanting to touch base with you about a few items and upcoming dates.  We are on the homestretch now!

•  Math: We are working on Unit 7, which focuses on Data Analysis and Probability.  I will attach the Extra Practice sheets to this email.
•  Reading: Poetry Projects are due this Friday.
•  Writing: We have finished our mini-unit on Figurative Language.  This week, we will continue to work on our blogs.  Our blogs are due on June 13^th. 
• Science: We are going on our field trip to Crooked Valley on Thursday.  As of now, it looks like rain is in the forecast.  If our trip is canceled, I will send you an email by 7:45am and make a post on the blog.  We are continuing to study Flight in our Science classes.  There will be a test on Flight in the second week of June.
•  Art: We are enjoying a unit on Digital Photography.  Students will be completing a “Photography Portfolio” to demonstrate their learning.  We will be focusing on basic composition skills.  I will also attach this assignment to the email.
•  Practical Applied Arts: From June 3-13, the Grades 6, 7, and 8 students will be taking part in daily PAA workshops.  The students have selected a workshop from a number made available, such as pottery, guitar, duct tape creating, multimedia technology, digital photography, and more.  All of the teachers from Grades 6, 7 and 8 are involved in this project.  PAA time will be from 9-10:15am.  Students are really looking forward to this hands-on learning experience! 
• JDRF Walk: I have only heard back from a couple students regarding the Walk on June 9^th.  Thanks for sending me a quick reply about your son or daughter’s availability.
• SCC Pancake Breakfast: This FRIDAY from 7:30-8:30am.  Come on by with your family and enjoy some pancakes!

Persuasion Map

Here is the link to the persuasion map.

Find Your Carbon Footprint

What kind of mark are you leaving on the Earth? How can you reduce your carbon footprint? Go here to calculate your carbon footprint. Click on the kids' version.

Ebenezer Bleezer's Ice Cream Store

Now, write your own version of this poem with your buddy!

The Chalkboard 2.0

In April, students are developing their own personal blogs using Edublogs.  Edublogs allows us to create private blogs only accessible by a password to the public. Students can view one another's blogs. Over the next 12 weeks, students will be posting one picture a week, and writing one paragraph to describe the picture.  For an example, you can see my first two posts for the 12 Week Challenge on The Chalkboard 2.0.  There is also a list of all of the student blogs here.

Quote of the Week

What do you think about this quote?  Agree, disagree?  Can you make a connection to your life?  Leave your thoughts in a 2-3 sentence response in the comments.  Leave your name at the end of your comment, please.

Circuit Quiz

We will have a circuit quiz in Science on Thursday.  You need to be familiar with the following terms:
-open, closed circuit
-series, parallel circuit
-insulators, conductors
-three parts of circuit: source, path, load
-charge
-electrons, protons, neutrons
You should also know how to label a schematic diagram with symbols.  

What we have been up to in Science...

Success!!!

Share your experience at The Global Eatery by adding a comment on this post.
PS: Our running total is currently $582.15.

Comparing Fractions

Go to this link to practice comparing fractions and equivalent fractions.
Go to this link to play a practice game.

Prairie Winters and Living Skies

Love how our mosaics turned out! Beautifully done, Grade 6!

Application Video

You can view our "video application" to Mr. MacKenzie's Acts of Kindness by going to this link.  You'll need to use the password "kindness" to view it.  Student created!  Thanks to Kale and Kyle for their work on this!

Bonus Buddies

Here are a couple pictures from a fun Grade 1 Bonus Buddies session!

Friday's Update!

Hi, everyone!  Happy Friday!  A few things to update you on today:

•          The students have done a nice job of pulling together their speeches this week.  Thank you for your support on this assignment.  We will have our classroom speak-off on Tuesday as I am away with the other class on a field trip on Wednesday. 
•          The Math tests look fantastic thus far!  I will send them on Monday with an updated mark sheet for Math.  We have started a new unit on Fractions, Ratios and Percent. 
•          The Winter Art Mosaics are beautiful!  You can view them when you come for conferences (March 22).
•         We started a new novel study today, based on the book “City of Ember”.  Students have a booklet that they will complete as we move through the unit.  This book aligns well with our current study on Electricity in Science.  Next week will be working with circuit boards in Science!
•          We have completed the student-created pieces of our Welcome Basket for newcomers to Canada and Jack MacKenzie School.  We are very excited about bringing our inquiry to a close with a fundraiser/celebration on Wednesday, March 13 from 9:45-11:45am in the Art/Science Room.  “The Global Eatery” (student-named!!) will be a multicultural food fair to raise funds for our welcome baskets.  Each student is asked to bring two dozen (but more if you like! The more, the merrier!) food items that represent their cultural background.  They should be easily served in individual pieces or servings.  We will be inviting classes, as well as special guests (like the many who visited our classroom during our inquiry) to come and sample our food from around the world.  Passports can be purchased for a toonie.  Each passport can be used to select three food items.  You are welcome to come and be a part of it!  Please let me know if you would like to be a part of this event.  Each student will also write a paragraph about the food they have brought and a bit on the their cultural background.  They are welcome to dress in their ethnic clothing (if possible) and decorate their station to their heart’s delight!  Please email me or send me a note to confirm what type of food your son or daughter will be bringing, as well as the number of items you are able to contribute.  This will help us to plan how many invitations we can make to other classes.
•          We are also doing our best to gather various items from businesses who might like to sponsor our welcome baskets.   Students have been emailing, making phone calls and visiting businesses to welcome their participation.  Thanks for your support in this project!  The kids (and their teacher) are very excited about it!

Typing Test

Take this typing test and show me your score!  You can try it more than once and take your best score.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Happy Chinese New Year!  We had an awesome celebration in the gym this week!

Winter Survival- The Slideshow!

Personalize your own picture slideshow

Winter Survival!

Click to see our winter adventures!

Webquest

Here is the link for the Science Webquest.

Possible links for inquiry

Immigration Canada
Regina Open Door Society
Regina Newcomer Center
Saskatchewan Immigration
Alberta Immigration
Manitoba Immigration
Ontario Immigration
Tourism Regina

It's a go!

Hi, everyone.  I just spoke with our Outdoor Ed. trip leader and we have decided to go ahead with our field trip this morning.  If we get too chilly, we can always make the trip back, and we will be in the trees for most of the day.  One note: could you have your son or daughter bring a shovel if possible?  That was one piece that I did not remind them of or put on the checklist.  If they can't bring one, no problem!  Thanks!

February is Typing Month!

We will be working on our typing skills for our Bellwork in February.  Go to this link to use your password to log-in to Typing Scout.

SaskPower Engineer Expert Links

It looks like a couple of the links on the webquest are broken, so here are the new links for the SaskPower Engineer Expert:
Power Education from SaskPower
Sask Power's 40-Year Plan
Clean Coal in Saskatchewan
Gas Turbine-Generated Plant in Swift Current

Our Karen Visitors

This morning we met Pepe, Habak and Erica.  We learned about life in a refugee camp, and we learned about Pepe and Habak have adapted to life in Canada.  Erica works with Pepe and Habak at the Regina Open Door Society.