Book Clubs

What an exciting day we had! Today was the first meeting of our book clubs and I was so impressed with how well prepared you all were. The discussion directors had a a really hard task, and they all had thought-provoking questions that led to big discussions. I think everyone really enjoyed the experience of sharing their ideas and opinions about the books they were reading,. I can't wait to do it it again tomorrow!!!

PS Here are all 5 books we are reading:

Rules by Cynthia Lord ( I read this one a few years ago and really enjoyed it!)

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie (by Jordan Sonnenblick just finished this one tonight, quite the tear jerker!)

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (I am hoping to start this one tonight - look like an awesome sci-fi mystery!)

Alexandria of Africa by Eric Walters (The one I would have chosen if I got to pick a book for book club, can't wait to read it when you are finished!)

Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby (I was sad that I didn't get to read this one right away either since all 6 copies were taken - from what I gather, this too is very emotional)

Today's awesomeness.... Drum roll please....

Book Clubs!

What could be better than getting together with friends to discuss a great book you have read? It is a great opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the text, appreciate other peoples points of view and maybe even learn something about yourself along the way. AWESOME!

PS Bet you saw that one coming!

Do they know it's Christmas?

As we begin this very special time of year, Advent, we should reflect on what Christmas really means. As our prayer this morning, we listened to the song, "Do they know it's Christmas?". We talked about the importance of giving versus receiving and also taking the time to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives as we are all truly fortunate. During the Advent season, I challenge you to think about others and how you can make this a special time of year for them. Perhaps you will decide to purchase a toy for Toy Mountain, maybe you will decide to participate in our Share the Wartmth campaign or maybe you will just go out of your way to be nice to someone. Whatever you do, it should be a concious action that celebrates the joy of the season.

Today's awesome

Visiting Santa Claus

Autumn has been excited for weeks. She has been practicing her line. "Père Noël, je veux un bébé svp". As we waited in line to see the jolly man, her excitement grew. When she caught a glimpse of him, her smile expanded and she giggled Père Noël! When it was our turn, she started walking towards him and then changed her mind. Even after being given candy and a gift by Santa, she had a hard time posing for a picture. Then came the option of pictures; option number 1: Santa looking down, Autumn clearly trying to get away. Option 2: Santa smiling, Autumn looking traumatized. It was a tough choice. As we walked away, asked her if she was excited she got to see Santa. She responded with a big YES. Awesome!

A World of Stories

On Thursday, our school was fortunate to see a performance by Salamander Theatre entitled A World of Stories. This interactive performance featured one of the largest puppets in Ottawa. The show explored various cultures and through stories, the students got to travel to Africa and India, Europe and Asia to discover a world of traditions.

And now for some much delayed awesome:

Thursday's awesomeness

Appreciating all of life's little blessings

It is amazing how many times a day you could stop and thing wow, I am truly blessed. Perhaps someone brought you a freshly baked muffin, still warm from the oven (your favourite flavour none the less), perhaps you ran into an old friend and realized that they were living their dream, or perhaps you just stopped and realized how great it is that all of these small things can have such a positive impact on your outlook towards life. After all, isn't that what celebrating awesome is all about?
AWESOME!

Friday's bit of awesome

Movie Theatre Popcorn

Freshly popped with real butter, truly a taste sensation in your mouth. Eating this could even make the dullest movie enjoyable. So take a seat, watch those previews and enjoy every bite of AWESOME!

Survey says...

For the past few days, the students have been conducting surveys of their choice. They created the questions, checked for bias, studied the data, drew conclusions and even assessed the work of others. This was a great experience that allowed them to see how much planning must go into survey if they are to get effective results. I'm sure it also helped prepare them for the test tomorrow :)

Today's bit of awesome

Falling asleep in the bathtub after you turned the bubbles on

I know what you're thinking... How could someone fall asleep in the bathtub after they turn those jets on? Well, when you are really tired I guess you could fall asleep anywhere! Just close your eyes and imagine waking up being surrounded by mounds and mounds of bubbles - it is a pretty funny sight and you can't help but laugh out loud. Waking up in a sea of bubbles? AWESOME!

Teacher Appreciation Day

Well, as if I hadn't missed you enough already, today I came back to find myself right in the middle of teacher appreciation day! Wow! I was so impressed with all the hard work you all put in to make today a success! I know the other teachers were all as amazed as I was by your dedication and commitment to the activities of the day! The assembly, the poem, the rap (sooo cool!), the slideshow, the MCs, the golden apple, the posters, flowers, cranes, etc. I feel like a superstar! Thanks you for making me feel so special!

So, I actually had all these amazing things happen today I don't think I could choose just one! Well, I guess I could try, here it is:

Today's awesomeness

When you hear a baby justifying their thoughts

Alright, she is now 2, maybe she's no longer considered a baby, but still... Today, my little angel said and I quote "Le soleil est couché parce que c'est la nuit". I don't want to say she's brilliant, but she is already justifying her thoughts, which is a pretty hard thing to do at any age. My husband then went on to explain to her that it's night because the Earth is turning. So now her sentence is something like this " C'est la nuit parce que la Terre tourne".
Awesome!

Miss you!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it's been almost one week since I've seen you all! It is crazy how time flies! I am very excited to see you tomorrow and learn about all the exciting you did while I was away! I just know you were super productive! I am really excited to see how your scale models are coming along and I can't wait to read your adverb stories about the most boring party in history! I hope you had a great time collecting the data for your graphs, I can't wait to see what topics you chose!

Can't wait to see you tomorrow! Mme

Sorry I've been MIA (missing in action) for awesomeness lately. Here is an update on all the awesome things that have happened in my life:)

Thursday's awesome

Finishing a great book

I'm sure you know the feeling. You have been swept away by the author's words and transported into a new and exciting world. You have made new acquaintances and wonder how everything will turn out for them. When you get to that last page, you are satisfied knowing how the adventure ends. Even better? Now you get to start a new book and let the magic begin all over again. Awesome!


Friday's awesome

Walking in to a clean classroom after you have been away

I wasn't sure what I was going to walk into on Friday morning, but as I unlocked that door and walked inside, a large smile spread across my face. Not only was it clean, it was cleaner than I had left it :) Awesome!

Monday's awesome
Sitting in a booth at a restaurant

You walk into a restaurant and quickly scan the seats to see if there are any booths free. Sometimes they are all taken so you have to sit in that hard chair and pretend to be comfortable while you watch the booth-goers happily enjoy their meal. So, when you do get a booth, you are that much better prepared to fully appreciate the experience. Next time you get seated at a booth, sit down in that comfy seat, smile and order up some awesome!

Jingle Bells Walkathon

Woohoo! Today was our school Walk-a-thon! We walked 6 laps (1 lap for each year) and raised tons of money in our Santa hats! We finished the day day off will some well earned hot chocolate and a granola bar. Thank you so much to Parent Council and all the parent volunteers (many were parents from our own class!) who made the day a success! Congratulations to Brendan who won a prize and really, to all students, as no one went home empty handed. Who would have thought the winner of Principal for a day would be an SK student? Pretty neat! What a great day!

Today's awesome

Realizing you have 1 lap instead of 2 to be finished your Walk-a-thon

The moment of realization is upon you - pure joy! Awesome!

Paper Cranes

Here is an update on our paper crane challenge. So far, we have about 550cranes. We are more than halfway to meeting our goal of 1000 cranes! Even though Sadako was never able to finish her 1000 paper cranes, I am sure she would be honoured to know how she is an inspiration for so many people around the globe. The cranes symbolize our commitment to peace and will hopefully bring us luck as we progress through the year! Fantastic work everyone!!!

Today's awesome

Seeing the moon and the sun at the same time

What's that in the sky? The Moon? The Sun? Both? Awesome!

M&M Math

Today we used M&Ms to help us understand mode, median, mean (all m words!) and range in a set of data. We had a blast and discovered that not only can Math be fun, but it can be tasty too! Also, median, mean, mode and range are not actually all that complicated - in fact, they are kinda fun to calculate!

Today's awesome thing

Dancing in the car
Admit it, everyone does it. Your favourite song of the moment comes on and you can't help it. The beat takes over and next thing you know people driving by are staring at you strangely. Who cares?! I say, turn up that dial and crank up the awesome!

Lest we forget

On Friday, we had a beautiful remembrance day ceremony to honour all of the brave Canadian soldiers that have fought and continue to fight in the wars. May we never forget the sacrifices they have made.

Remembrance day awesome

Living in a free country

Awesome!

Haiku Poems for Peace

Today the students wrote beautiful Haiku poems about the hope for peace and the devastation of war. To go with these poems, the students were introduced to the art of kanji, an ancient Japanese writing. To complete their kanji, students used India ink. I am very impressed buy the final products!
Here are a few examples of these amazing haikus:

Fight to the End

His last breath taken

A country served in honour

Tears no longer flow.

~Ryan~

Sorrow

Destruction surrounds

Tears and screams are shouted out

No one understands.

~Katarina~

The End of the Battle

Flags sway in the wind

Trumpets are playing their song

Peace is in the air.

~Caitlin~

Imagine

Imagine a world

With no sorrow and death

and no more crying.

~Sana~

Today's awesomeness

Learning about another culture
It is so easy to stick to what you know, but there are so many amazing cultures out there to explore! As we have been learning about Japan this week, we have been introduced to many exciting things such as Japanese legends, origami, kanji and haikus. Learning how other people in different parts of the world live? Awesome!

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

As it is remembrance day this week, we have been discussing war and peace. Today, after a very emotional reading, we finished the novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. It is the true story of a 12 year old Japanese girl who develops Leukemia due to radiation from the atom bomb dropped in Hiroshima. Inspired by a Japanese legend, she begins to fold paper cranes in the hopes that she will get better. According to this legend, if she folds 1000 paper cranes her health will return. Unfortunately, she only managed to fold 644 cranes before she died. This story is a powerful reminder of the consequences of war and the need for peace.

In honour of Sadako and all victims of war, we will be folding 1000 paper cranes (yes, 1000!) to be displayed in our school as a symbol of hope and peace.

Little bit of awesome

Origami

The Japanese art of folding paper. So many options for what to fold; a crane, a frog, an elephant, a flower. The possibilities are as endless as they are beautiful. So grab a piece of square paper and fold up some awesome!

3...2...1...Blast Off!

We had a very exciting day today! Yesterday, as part of our flight unit, we built rockets that we launched today. With our security goggles on, we watched as they flew high into the sky (well, some malfunctioned but still!). Soooo coool!

Today's awesome

Zebra Print

Did you ever stop and think about how many places you can find zebra print? Clothing, balloons, lanterns, streamers, jewellery, toys, etc. Zebra print is taking over the world! Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, my house would be more accurate. Everywhere I look, I am hit with those black and white wavy lines. In fact, just tonight, I received two pairs of zebra print shoes in the mail. Black with white stripes or white with black stripes? Who cares! Either way, it is just plain awesome!

Special Visitor

Well, we started our day with with a special guest. Granted she was only there for about 3 minutes but she did cause quite a stir. Just wanted to let you know that Autumn is feeling much better. There have been no "incidents" since this morning :)

Monday's awesome

When someone helps you out

We could all use a little help from time to time and when someone offers to help without you having to ask? Awesome!

PS Sorry for the late posting of this week's homework assignment, although I think you'll all agree it was worth the wait!

PPS Tomorrow is going to be a fun day :)

2D & 3D Art

What else can I say but WOW! Looks like almost everyone has completed their totem drawings and sculpture. They are amazing! The gallery in our classroom looks fantastic! I am also amazed by the legends that go hand in hand with them! They are fantastic!

Today's little bit of awesome

Ordering take out on a Friday

Long week? Too tired to cook? Still feeling sick? Have no fear, take out is here. You are just one phone call away from a tasty meal. Just dial 1-800-AWE-SOME!

Awesome Animal Totems

For the past little while, we have been talking totems. We have discovered all about their history; who made them, why they were made, where they were made, etc. We looked at various animals that are often found on a totem and each student chose 5 animals to put on their own totem based on characteristics that they shared with those animals. Students then drew their totem (with an emphasis on shading and dimension) and then sculpted them into 3D sculptures. They are so impressive!!! And today, students wrote their very own legend about their totem! I can't wait to read them as I know they are just going to be fantastic! I am so proud of all the hard work you have put into your totems!

I am on bad roll with my awesomeness; perhaps you can forgive me since I have been so sick!

Tuesday's Awesome

Shopping at the $ Store

Shopping at the Dollar Store is right up there with having a day off or going on vacation. I love, love, love the $ store! It seems incredible that so many things can be $1 (or $1.25 in some cases). Every time I visit, I find something new and magical. My favourite is the hair accessories, I don't think I ever go in without buying something for Autumn's hair. 8 pairs of barrettes for $1? Awesome!

Wednesday's Awesome

Getting a Hope you feel better soon card when you are sick

You feel miserable. You are coughing, sneezing, your head hurts. You are pretty much ready to succumb to the pain when all of a sudden you are handed a card that says "Hope you feel better soon". For a moment, all is right, you may still be coughing and sneezing, but you know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A.....A.....Awesome!

Thursday's Awesome

Sleeping when you are sick

21 hours in bed, you're bound to feel better when you get up. Awesome!