Beautiful Trees

Today we did some really cool art that focused on positive and negative space. We also talked about symmetry, asymmetry, organic and geometric shapes. I am so amazed by how gorgeous they are looking and I can't wait to see all the final products!


Today's awesome thing

A surprise visit

My baby sister (well I guess she's not really a baby since she's 19) called to let me know she was in town for the night. So we got some take out, rented a movie and came home to spend some time together. Unexpectedly seeing someone you haven't seen in a while? Awesome!

Recount for the win!

Wow! We have been very busy looking at recount writing. Recount writing retells past events and aims to inform or entertain the reader. Today we looked at three different examples of a recount text: My Little Sister Ate One Hare, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Chester (in French). We completed our Shape Go Map for two of these stories to help us understand the various elements of the text. I had a great time with these books! We have a few more interesting ones to come next week! Stay tuned!

Awesome thing of the day

Patterns

They are all around us. They can be found in nature, math, language, art, etc. They allow us to predict what's coming and solve problems quickly and effectively.

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

PS Since I forgot to write a post yesterday, here was my awesome thing:

Clearing up a misconception

A false idea or belief. Everyone has them at some point in their life. Perhaps you thought that an odd number was made up of only odd numbers or that it had to start with an odd number. Perhaps you thought that cricket and croquet were the same thing (who does that anyway?!). Having that ah-ha moment, realizing you were wrong and saving yourself a ton of embarrassment in the future... Awesome!

We Day

Today we watched a few minutes of the live coverage of the We day in Toronto. We day is a youth movement that shows that we can all bring on change no matter how old we are. In fact, one of the founders of the we day, Craig Kielburger, co-founded his organization, Free the Children when he was only 12 years old! Talk about being a light to others! For more information on this amazing initiative you can click on the link below:

We Day

Free the Children

We will be learning more about Craig's incredible story this year!

Awesome thing of the day

Lemon zest

Okay, you probably have heard the saying " When life gives you lemons, make some lemonade". Well I say, not only should you make lemonade, but you should use all of that fantastic zest to create something magical! Add lemon zest to your potatoes, your salads, your chicken, etc. The sky is the limit! Lemon zest makes everything taste fresh, citrusy, delicious and not to mention... Awesome!

Does air have mass?

Well, does it? And if it does, why is this important? How can it affect flight? So many questions... Stay tuned in class as we figure out the answers together :)
Awesome thing of the day

When someone holds the door open for you

Now I'm not talking about when someone holds it open and you manage to sneak through (seriously have never, ever, had this happen to me). I'm not even talking about when someone walks out the door and keeps it open for you. I am talking about a delibarate attempt that someone makes to open the door up for you. They are not going anywhere, there is no need for them to open up the door, yet they do it anyways. Finding out that chivalry is not dead - Awesome!

Dear Me

We are almost finished writing our Dear Me letters. I am excited to read all about your goals and see how I can help you achieve them. Your ability to set achievable and authentic (great word Ryan!) goals is a life skill that will help you succeed throughout your life. You are all already on the path to success! Woohoo!

Speaking of letters, here is my awesome thing:
Getting a homemade card in the mail

The fact that someone took the time to make you a card says they must really care about you. The fact that they took the time to mail it to you says they are a friend for life. Receiving a handwritten, handmade card in your mailbox - Awesome!

PS (Post-script!) Have a great weekend!

Retreat!

Today we were fortunate to spend an entire day away from school at Holy Redeemer Parish. We had such a great time exploring our faith and learning how we can be a light to others. There were games, skits, reflections, pizza, etc! Don't forget that tomorrow the Church has the Rock youth program that runs on Friday nights from 6:30pm. Tomorrow's is a pirate party - sounds like a lot of fun!
Awesome thing of the day

Reusable Water Bottles

I think we all know how I feel about single-use plastic water bottles. Seriously not a fan. So when I see people using reusable bottles it just makes me smile. Saving the earth one reusable bottle at a time....Awesome!

Program night!

Well, I had a great time meeting your parents! I could tell they were really impressed by the work you've been doing (I think they especially loved our six words video). I made sure to tell them what a fantastic group you were!

Tomorrow is retreat day - I am sure we are going to have a blast!

Today's awesome thing:

Finding something you thought you lost

For days now I have been searching for the elusive Global Challenge poster. I looked high and low and just when I thought it was a lost cause, it mysteriously appeared on Mrs. Leblanc's desk. What once was lost now is found.... Awesome!

100% Awesome!

Woohoo! We finished our 100% me poems and they turned out...well you know... pretty fantastic! I love the the way the graphs compliment the words - a true marriage of math and literature! I am so proud of you all! Can't wait for your parents to see them during program night tomorrow! I know they are going to be impressed!

Awesome thing of the day:

Decimals

Probably saw that one coming! I know they sometimes seem like unnecessary numbers that follow a whole, but really where would we be without them??? They are so useful - we use them when we buy things, when we pump gas in our car, when measuring, etc. In fact, without them, I couldn't say that decimals are .1 cool and 99.9%....Awesome!

One step forward....

Well, we are moving along in our challenge! Today we visited the Great Barrier Reef and Cambodia! We learned lots of neat facts about these places - where are we off to tomorrow? Let's hope we walked enough to make it to a new destination!

Awesome thing of the day:

Having your baby girl sing "Bonne fête" to you.

Seriously think it may be the cutest think I've ever heard. Even though she sometimes said Papa instead of Maman (actually, she also sometimes said Timothé, not sure who he is, but I didn't like that he was taking some of my spotlight!), it still was super cute and sounded just plain... Awesome!

Soaring high

Today we tested the paper airplanes that you made in homework - there were two planes that kept flying the furthest. In the end, we found our winner! Great job to all of you for your designs! Next week we will continue to learn about the properties or air and we will talk about the forces of flight.

Awesome thing of the day - The ability to say so much with few words

Today I challenged you to think of 6 words that would express a belief that you hold dear to your heart. I was AMAZED by the results! By reading your 6 words, I learned a lot about each of you and what is important to you. Here are my 6 words:
Awesome things happen every single day .

Saying so much with so little - AWESOME!

A very "challenging" year

Well, here we are day 8 of school and we are on to our 2nd challenge! The Global Fit Challenge started today, so we are now keeping track of the steps we take each and every day. We will be taking a virtual walk around the world. Our first stop was Palm Island, Australia. Where will be off to tomorrow? You will have to come to school to find out! See you there!

Awesome thing of the day
Pedometres

OK. So isn't it pretty cool that you have a little machine strapped to your waist that is monitoring your every step? Makes you want to get up, be active and cry out... Awesome!

PS Great seeing so many of you at the BBQ tonight. Autumn had a great time meeting you all!

PPS Don't forget to record the number of steps you take each day in your booklet and then reset your pedometre for the next day!

To be or not to be....

I had an amazing day today working with actors from Shakespeare's Stratford Festival! I can't wait to do some of the activities we did in our very own class. I know you are going to love them! Judging by the note I got, you all had an amazing day and I am excited to see and hear about the work you did. I missed reading your awesome things today and am looking forward to catching up tomorrow!

Awesome thing: Shakespeare's written works

How is it possible that something that was written over 400 years ago can still be so magical today? It may not always be easy to understand the language but believe me when I say it is worth the effort. If to be or not to be is the question, then my answer must simply be....Awesome!

PS The pedometres are in!!! Woohoo! The fun begins tomorrow!

Uncle Henry's Gorilla

Today the students worked collaboratively to solve a place value problem about Uncle Henry's gorilla - I am pleased to say that every group got the right answer! What was interesting was to see all the different strategies used by different students. I was very impressed!

Today's awesome thing:

Driving through rain puddles

There is just something fun about driving through a huge rain puddle and watching the water explode unto the sidewalk.... I just can't help smiling. Awesome!

Happy Blogging!

Today we learned that you each have your very own blog! We will be using these blogs in both English and French as part of homework. You will be able to comment on the posts of other classmates and ask them questions. As we get used to them, you will be able to add images, video, etc. I am very excited to read all of your blogs!

Awesome thing of the day:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Can you think of a better example of taking something that has gone bad and turning it into something that is delicious? It is one of the greatest ways to be eco-friendly :)

Better go, it smells like it's done....AWESOME!

Nos roues de couleurs!

Today we made some really neat colour wheels. We started with the 3 primary colours, then created the secondary colours and then moved on to the tertiary colours! They definitely looked beautiful and were pretty tasty (and healthy too!).
Hope you had a great first week! Lots more excitement to come next week!

PS Can I say how thrilled I am to have already received 4 book reviews (1 with an AWESOME rating too! Think I'll put that one on my must read list!).

Hope you have a fantastic, restful weekend! I'm off to read!
Almost forgot.... Awesome thing:

Fridays
Need I say more? AWESOME!

Awesomeness

Today we talked about how you can use the wordle program to create word clouds. It is a really neat program that we will be using at different times this year and guess what? It is today's awesome thing.

Wordle: using words to create a work of art. AWESOME!

The Great 30 Book Challenge!

Today the students were challenged to read 30 books between now and the end of May. Not just any books, but books from a variety of genres. I will be doing the challenge along with them - I can't wait to hear about all the amazing books everyone is reading!!!

Don't forget Student Ambassadors photos are tomorrow. I am so proud of all of you for signing up! I can already tell that you will be bright lights in our school community!

Awesome thing of the day:

Mr. Sketch markers

They are colourful and smell fantastic. You can't help but smile when you use them! AWESOME!

Can't wait to read your awesome things tomorrow!

Bonne soirée! Mme

Bienvenue!

What an exciting first day of school we had! We started by discussing our big question of the year: How can I be a light to others? After lots of brainstorming, we came up with some really great ideas. Here are a few:

- Helping others during troubled times

- Encouraging those who have dreams

- Complimenting others

I can't wait to see all the amazing ways that you will "shine" this year!

Next, I put a math curse on all of the students! It is amazing to think of how many times we use Math throughout the day and it was great to see you working together to come up with solutions to the problems.
We reviewed lots of rules, learned a "life lesson" (fair does not always mean treating everyone equally), had Phys Ed and lots more!

My favourite part of today was when we looked at the Book of AWESOME and discussed how fantastic things happen everyday. Every student was given their own Book of Awesome where they will record 1 new awesome thing a day. Here's mine:

Realizing you get to spend the entire year with an amazing group of students. Awesome!

Mme Charles