Thursday 29 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 29th

Working on Genius Hour with the spare time we had before assembly!

ELA: This morning we started the day off with our usual AR period before getting some serious work done on the Oak Island persuasive paragraphs. Students will get one more work period to finish these up on Monday before they become homework.

Career Education: After going through the list of valuable work skills yesterday, students then had the opportunity to select five skills they felt they already possessed.  Then they were tasked with writing down examples from their daily lives that demonstrate that they possess each skill.

Religion: We spent the period reviewing the four parts to creating your own prayer (You, Who, Do, Through) as well as the four common types of prayers that Mr. Meyers taught us last week.  Next week we will be starting to write our own prayers that will be compiled into a class prayer book.

Grade 8 Math: Students received their Math quizzes back and we spent some time going through the quiz before working on the Unit Review and Practice Test from the textbooks.  *Don't forget to study for the Unit Exam over the weekend!

Month End Assembly: Shortly after the afternoon recess we headed down to the gym and celebrated  different students accomplishments such as new AR Point Club members and AR prize winners.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
5.4 is overdue

Unit 5 Exam on Tuesday, February 3rd

Science:
Science Centre Blog post is due on February 5th

Reminders:

-No School tomorrow! Enjoy your long weekend.

-Grade 7's, please return your cross country skiing permission slip.

Wednesday 28 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 28th


A picture from our field trip yesterday!

ELA: Students spent the first half hour of class silently reading during AR before moving on to our persuasive writing.  For the remainder of the period, we reviewed how to write an engaging paragraph before the students began working on a persuasive paragraph on the mystery of Oak Island.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs led the class to the gym and the students had the opportunity to participate in a full basketball scrimmage.

Genius Hour: Due to band students being away, the remaining students had the period to work on their Genius Hour presentations or any other homework they had.

Career Ed: After lunch we spent sometime exploring key school skills that are easily transferable into the workplace and students were tasked with writing about five skills they feel they already have.

Science: During the last hour of the day the students worked on a blog post assignment that tasked them with reflecting on their trip to the Science Centre yesterday.  They had to write two paragraphs, one on something new they learned yesterday and the second on their favourite part of our trip.  If you would like to read these blog posts please visit our blog at:
 http://kidblog.org/TheBrescianiBunch-3/

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Math:
5.4 is due tomorrow, Thursday, January 29th

Pg. 186 - is overdue
a) 1-4, 5, 6, 8
b) 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10
c) 3, 4, 6a, 9, 11-13

Science:
Science Centre Blog post is due on February 5th

Reminders:


-Grade 7's, please return your cross country skiing permission slip.




Monday 26 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 26th

Performing a hilarious "Bus Stop" skit in Arts. Ed!


ELA: Due to the assembly this morning we had a slightly shorter AR period.  *Students don't forget you need to meet your point club totals by Friday, February 13th in order to attend the Valentines Day dance.  After AR we moved on and read more about the history of Oak Island and the different attempts that have been made to uncover the mystery of the "Money Pit".  Tomorrow we will begin working on a persuasive paragraph on the theories of Oak Island.

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and the students officially finished their mini Improv unit by playing the hilarious games, "Bus Stop" and "Party Guests"!

Genius Hour: Students are now nearing the end of their first Genius Hour projects and spent the entire period today working and putting the final touches on their presentations.  We will be starting the presentations next Tuesday and I can't wait to see everyone's final products!

Grade 8 Math: We started out the class by writing the Surface Area quiz before students finished up their 5.4 handouts and began working on their Unit Review from their textbook.

Science: The first part of class was spent going through the Cell Labs that were handed in last week before we moved on and began looking more in depth at the different parts of both an animal and a plant cell.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:

The Hermits Secret questions are overdue

Math:
5.3 is overdue.


Pg. 186 - Due on Tuesday, January 27th
a) 1-4, 5, 6, 8
b) 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10
c) 3, 4, 6a, 9, 11-13

Science:
Animal Cell drawings are now overdue

Career Ed:
Six school skills assignment overdue
Reminders:

-Science Centre Field Trip tomorrow. Please remember to bring $4 to school for tomorrow.

-Grade 7's, please return your cross country skiing permission slip.

-Girls Basketball practice tomorrow at 3:30.

-Girls Basketball game at St. Timothy on Wednesday, January 28th

Friday 23 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 23rd

Working hard during Math class!

ELA: This morning we continued to explore the mystery of Oak Island the elaborate "Money Pit" that has stumped people for the past three hundred years.  After reading the short story last class, we delved a little deeper into this mystery by watching the documentary titled, Encounters with the unexplained: The Mystery of Oak Island.  After watching, students have been tasked with writing a persuasive paragraph about which theory they believe is responsible for the "Money Pit".

Here's the video:


Phys. Ed: The students headed to the gym and they continued to work on their Basketball skills by participating in a full scrimmage.

Arts. Ed: Over the period, the students worked on some impressive and incredibly hhumorous Improv skits based off of common phrases

AR: After lunch the students were given a half hour period of AR because they missed it this morning so we could watch the full documentary about Oak Island.

Grade 8 Math: Students were given the entire period to finish up their textbook assignment from yesterday and work on their 5.4 handouts.  *Don't forget we will have our quiz on Monday, January 26th.

Drug Presentation: This afternoon we were joined by Bob who gave a presentation to our class about the effects of drugs and substance abuse.  Bob works in many Regina Catholic Schools with the goal of promoting drug awareness among young adults.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:

The Hermits Secret questions are overdue

Math:
5.3 is overdue.

Surface Area quiz is on Monday, January 26th

Pg. 186 - Due on Tuesday, January 27th
a) 1-4, 5, 6, 8
b) 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10
c) 3, 4, 6a, 9, 11-13

Science:
Animal Cell drawings are now overdue

Career Ed:
Six school skills assignment due on Monday, January 26th

Reminders:

-Science Centre Field Trip on January 27th. Please remember to bring $4 to school by Friday.

-Grade 7's, please return your cross country skiing permission slip

Thursday 22 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 22nd



Religion: Today we were so excited to have Mr. Meyers join our class to give another one of his amazing presentations.  Over the hour we learned about different types of prayers, (Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication etc.) and also how to write an informal prayer.  This was an excellent presentation as it will tie in perfectly with our Religion class as we will be focusing on prayer writing.

Arts. Ed:  Ms. Postma stopped by and the students continued to practice their drama skills through great activities such as Party Guests and

Career Ed: Students continued to explore different skills they will need to be successful in school and then we began to look at various skills that employers look for in future employees.

ELA: We continued where we left off yesterday by finishing our handout on idioms then continuing to explore the Oak Island mystery.

Grade 8 Math: We started out our class by quickly reviewing how to find the surface area of a cylinder before the students began working on their textbook assignment.


Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Killers Tall Tale Questions are overdue

The Hermits Secret questions are due tomorrow, January 23rd

Math:
5.3 is overdue.

Surface Area quiz is on Monday, January 26th

Pg. 186
a) 1-4, 5, 6, 8
b) 1-3, 5, 6, 8-10
c) 3, 4, 6a, 9, 11-13

Science:
Animal Cell drawings are due on Friday, January 23rd

Reminders:

-Science Centre Field Trip on January 27th. Please remember to bring $4 to school by Friday.

-Grade 7's, please return your cross country skiing permission slip

Wednesday 21 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 21st

Nice picture from Monday!

I apologize for the lack of posts over the past two days! I got a little overloaded with coaching basketball and was unable to post updates. However, no basketball today, which means a full blog post!

ELA: After the usual AR period, we continued to work our way through our Mystery Unit by exploring important mystery words that we will be using over the next month. Once we finished reviewing our list, students then were tasked with solving mini-mysteries and applying the words they learned.

Phys. Ed:  The students headed to the gym with Mr. Fuchs and continued to work on basketball skills.  They also had the opportunity to play a really interesting game called "Basketball Golf"!

Homework Period/Genius Hour:  Students were given the shortened period to complete their ELA assignments from last class or work on their Genius Hour final presentations.

ELA: Today we had an extra ELA period because we will be having an extended Religion period when Mr. Meyers visits tomorrow.  During this period, we quickly reviewed our mystery words from this morning before reading a short story about the "Mystery of Oak Island".  We will continue exploring this mystery on Friday!

Star Testing:  During the last hour of the day students logged onto their AR accounts and participated in a STAR test that will assess their current reading level.  I will be going through the results individually with the students tomorrow so they can see their growth from the beginning of the year.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

ELA:
Killers Tall Tale Questions are overdue

The Hermits Secret questions are due on Friday, January 23rd

The Hermits Secret questions are due on Friday, January 23rd

Math:
5.3 is due tomorrow.

Surface Area quiz is on Monday, January 26th

Science:
Animal Cell drawings are due on Friday, January 23rd

Reminders:

-Girls basketball practice tomorrow at 8:00 am

-Girls basketball game at Holy Rosary tomorrow, January 22nd

-Science Centre Field Trip on January 27th. Please remember to bring $4 to school by Friday.

Friday 16 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 16th

Trust Fall in Arts. Ed!


Solving the Mystery!
ELA: Today we started out the class with our usual AR period where the students silently read their AR books. Then, the students had the opportunity to become detectives as they were tasked with solving a fictitious murder when given all the clues and events out of order.


Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and the students continued their Improv unit by participating in fun activities that ranged from group story telling to trust falls as you can see from the picture above.

Religion: After some begging yesterday, I cracked and the students were given one final period to finish up their Epiphany post card assignments.  These are now due on Monday, January 19th.

Grade 8 Math: We quickly reviewed how to calculate Surface Area of 3-D prisms before the students got to work on their 5.3 handout.

Social Studies: During the last hour of the day we quickly practiced the inferencing and questioning skills learned last week by splitting the class into two and having each side try to figure out the mystery location the other picked.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Epiphany postcard will be due on Friday, January 16th Monday, January 19th

ELA:
Killers Tall Tale Questions due on Monday, January 19th


Math:
5.2 is overdue

Science:
Microscope Quiz on Tuesday January 20th

Pg. 180
a)1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9
b) 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 12
c) 3, 5, 10-16

Reminders:

-Girls basketball practice Tuesday, January 20th at 8:00 am

-Girls basketball game at Deshaye January 20th and at Holy Rosary on January 22nd

Tuesday 13 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 13th



ELA: Following our usual AR period this morning students began to work on their questions from the "Killers Tall Tale", a short story we read yesterday.  We will continue working on these questions in class tomorrow,

Career Ed: Today we finally began our first of a few Career Ed units by by beginning to look at skills.  Students began looking at skills that are necessary to be successful at school and examining whether or not they currently possess them.

Religion: Students continued to work on their Epiphany post card assignments.  We will have one more class period for this assignment and then it will become homework.

Grade 8 Math:  We spent the hour reviewing how our "Flipped Classroom" works and then students who finished their 5.2 assignments from yesterday began watching the new video.

Science: After learning about the different parts of the Microscope last week, the students got a chance to apply their new found knowledge through our cell lab today.  Students spent the hour observing and documenting what animal cells look like under low, medium and high powers.  We will continue this lab tomorrow and begin to explore plant cells.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Epiphany postcard will be due on Friday, January 16th


Math:
5.2 is due on Thursday

Science:
Microscope Quiz on Tuesday January 20th

Pg. 180
a)1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9
b) 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 12
c) 3, 5, 10-16

Reminders:

-Girls Basketball game 3:30 on Thursday at Deshaye.

Monday 12 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 9th

Having a few technical difficulties with our Blog this week.  Here's the post that was supposed to have been published on Friday!

ELA: This morning we officially kicked off our newest unit, which will focus on mysteries.  Today the we talked about key skills necessary to solving mysteries (Inferencing, Inductive and Deductive Reasoning) before working on an activity that tasked the students with making inferences based off of the picture book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg.  

Phys. Ed: The students headed to the gym with Mr. Fuchs and they worked on different basketball passes as well as dribbling.

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and they officially started their new Improv unit by learning some of the rules and participated in a fun activity.

Religion:  Over the period, students continued to work on their Epiphany postcard assignments.

Grade 8 Math:  We quickly reviewed the key concepts about nets from yesterday before the students began working on an assignment in their textbook.  (Full assignment posted below)

Science: During the last hour of the day we learned about the different parts of a compound microscope as well as guidelines to follow when using a microscope.  We also began to learn about cells by looking at the Cell Theory and some of the different parts of a cell.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Josh's Story Questions are overdue

Math:
5.1 Due on Monday
Pg. 173
a) 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10
b) 1, 3, 4, 6-8, 10
c) 1, 3, 7, 9-13

Reminders:

-Girls Basketball practice January 13th after school.

Thursday 8 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 8th

Our first and second place winners from our tournament today!

ELA: Today we began our day with the usual AR period until 9:35 before moving on to the "Last Writer Standing" game that we learned about last class.  Students competed in an epic tournament that test their knowledge of the writing process.  This was an intense tournament and in the end it came down to the wire in the end! Congratulations to everyone on a well played tournament!

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and led the students to the Arts. Ed room where they got the opportunity to present their interview skits for the rest of the class.

Genius Hour: With the end date approaching fast for our first Genius Hour projects, we had a bonus class today and discussed what final products could look like for this project.

Religion: We discussed the recent Feast of Epiphany (January 6th) and what exactly Epiphany is.  Students were then tasked with creating a post card from the perspective of one of the three wise men on their encounter with the baby Jesus.

Grade 8 Math: Students finished up their 5.1 handouts and we spent some time looking at the 5.2 lesson which deals with nets of 3-D objects.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Josh's Story Questions are overdue


Math:
Pg. 168 Due on Friday
a) 1, 2, 3ab, 4, 5, 7a, 8
b) 1,2, 3ac, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9a
c) 1, 2, 3ac, 8-11

Reminders:

-Boys Basketball try-outs tomorrow morning at 8:00 am

-Girls Basketball try-outs tomorrow at 3:30-5:00

Wednesday 7 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 7th

Getting some physical activity during indoor recess!

ELA: We started out the day with our usual AR period before we officially closed down the 2014 House Cup.  Congratulations to Slytherin, who squeaked out the House Cup victory over Gryffindor!

Genius Hour: Due it being the first full band day of 2015, the students who remained behind were given an additional period to work on their Genius Hour projects.

Religion: Today we started out the period by watching the video "Opening Doors and Hearts" by WestJet and talked about how this relates to the message of "following in Jesus' footsteps". Students were then tasked with writing a brief three question reflection on the video.


French: The students spent their first French class of the new year reviewing key terms and concepts from last year before they move on tomorrow.

Science: We officially kicked off our new unit, "Cells, Tissues and Organ Systems".  Over the hour we learned about what exactly cells as well as the differences between the Holistic worldview and the Reductionist worldview in regards to living things.

Upcoming Due Dates & Homework

Religion:
Josh's Story Questions are due tomorrow

Genius Hour:
Blog Post #1 is overdue and needs to be submitted ASAP

Math:
Pg. 168 Due on Friday
a) 1, 2, 3ab, 4, 5, 7a, 8
b) 1,2, 3ac, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9a
c) 1, 2, 3ac, 8-11

Reminders:

-Boys Basketball try-outs Friday morning at 8:00 am

-Girls Basketball try-outs 3:30 - 5:00 on Thursday and Friday 3:30 to 5:30

Tuesday 6 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 6th


ELA: Students started out the day with their first half hour AR period of the new year.  At 9:30 we switched gears and continued on from yesterday with important tips to help improve the quality of writing.  To end the class we breifly reviewed the writing process before learning the rules to the game, "Last Writer Standing" which will test the students knowledge of the writing process.

Phys. Ed: Mr. Fuchs took the students to the gym and the students got to participate in their favourite activity...Circuit Training!!!

Genius Hour: It was our first Genius Hour period since the break and the students picked up right where they left off! We are looking at a beginning of February end date for this project, which will come rather quickly.  As a result, students may have a little bit of homework if they have not completed their weekly blog posts in class.

Grade 8 Math: After lunch we finished up our 5.1 lesson from yesterday and the students began working on their textbook assignment that deals with identifying the faces of three-dimensional objects.

Social Studies: We continued using our inferencing skills today while also gaining Geography skills in preparation for our first Mystery Skype.  Today the students competed against me to see who could figure out the others location first.  I have to say I was quite impressed not only with how much progress I've seen in regards to asking good "thick" questions, but also the amount of class participation in this activity.  Well done everyone!


Upcoming Due Dates & Homework


Genius Hour:
Blog Post #1 is overdue and needs to be submitted ASAP

Health:
Remember to email Mr. B the links to your Health e-poster.

Reminders:

-Boys Basketball try-outs after school tomorrow and Friday morning at 8:00 am

-Girls Basketball try-outs 3:30 - 5:00 on Thursday and possibly Friday after school.

Monday 5 January 2015

What We Learned Today...January 5th

Working out a location during Social Studies!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the new year! It's scary to think that we only have another 6 months of Grade 7/8 left, but we are definitely going to make the most of it as we have so many fun things planned for the rest of the year!

Assembly: To start out the day we had our first school wide assembly of the year in the gym where we welcomed numerous new students to the school (and our classroom!)

ELA: Over the shortened period, students were given back all assignments that were turned in before the break and we spent some time talking about key things that will help to improve future writing assignments.  (Use of transition words, run-on sentences, word choice, etc.)

Arts. Ed: Ms. Postma stopped by and the students reviewed and practiced their interview skits that will be performed in their next class.

Movie: After Arts. Ed we took some time to finish the AR party movie we started before Christmas break.

Math: We spent the first part of class going through the Unit Four tests that were written before the break before starting our new unit on Surface Area.

Social Studies: During the last hour of the day we learned more about Mystery Skyping and what "Thick" and "Thin" questions are.  Students then combined their knowledge of this along with their inferencing skills to try and figure out different "Mystery" locations on the world map. 

Not sure what Mystery Skyping is?  Below I've posted a brief handout explaining the awesome activity as well as a video:



Here's a few more pictures from today:





Upcoming Due Dates & Homework


Genius Hour:
Blog Post #1 needs to be submitted for class tomorrow.

Health:
Remember to email Mr. B the links to your Health e-poster.