Special Guest

Today we welcomed a very special guest into our classroom! Mrs. Hertner, a Language Arts teacher from Holy Trinity came to visit our Language block to see what a grade 6 class looks like.  She was very impressed with all of you (as was I!).  We planned a lesson together that you will get to see on Thursday.  I am very excited and I think you will be too!

Today's awesome

When something works out better than you had ever imagined 

Isn't that just the best?  AWESOME!

Youth Summit

Today was a very exciting day!  We got to participate in a Youth Summit put on by Free the Children.  Facilitators came from Montreal to run sessions on residential schools and Haiti.  We also got to see a special presentation on where and how all the funds we raised will be spent.  Along with Mrs. Lewis' class, we chose to have the money go to Kenya for the purpose of giving them access to clean water.  We chose water because:
"The clean water component of the Adopt a Village model provides communities with localized clean water sources and sanitation facilities, reducing the spread of waterborne diseases and ridding children of their daily treks to collect water, freeing them to attend school".

We chose Kenya because: " In the Narok South District where Free The Children focuses its efforts, one in 10 Kenyan children still die before reaching their fifth birthday. One third of children under five years of age are stunted, reflecting chronic under-nutrition".

The best part of our day was that we got to spend the day mingling and making new friends with St. Anne's students.  Now you will know more faces at Trinity next year!  We also got to partake in a lovely lunch (thanks to all the parent volunteers who helped!).

Friday's awesome 
Tax refunds
Woot woot!  Unexpected money!  AWESOME! 

Today's awesome 
When the tables turn
So for years, when I would meet any teachers who worked for our board, they would always say "Oh, your Teddy Charles' wife.  He's an amazing teacher!".  Finally for the first time yesterday, he got "Oh, you're Kristen's Charles' husband".  We had a good laugh :)  AWESOME! 

Way to go!

We found out today that our class raised the most money for our coin drive for Free the Children!  A very exciting moment that I am sure the whole neighbourhood heard :)  Thanks to everyone's generosity, our class raised approximately $320 and the school raised about $1700!  I am sure the representatives from Free the Children will be very impressed when we see them at our Youth Summit on Monday.  Now all that's left is to decide where the money should go and how it should be spent! 


Yesterday's awesome

Google Docs

So much fun!  Being able to work on a document on more than one computer while never having to save it?  AWESOME!

Today's awesome

Finding out Neil Pasricha's #1 Awesome

For four years, Neil has been counting down his 1000 awesome things and today, he finally revealed his #1 awesome thing.  While it may seem to many that his journey has ended, I would argue that it is just the beginning.  Once you start looking for awesome things, you realize just how many there are all around you and how lucky you are to get to be a witness to them.  Finding out his #1 awesome thing?  Pretty cool.  Reading the explanation behind it?  AWESOME!

To check it out yourself go to:
1000 Awesome Things #1

We had lots of fun today talking about algebra.  We explored variables and expressions and learned that algebra is not really all that scary after all :)  I was really impressed with how quickly everyone understood!  You guys are awesome! 


Yesterday's awesome

Lemonade

So fresh and cool. Makes you think summer is just around the corner.  AWESOME!



Today's awesome

Read-alouds with expression


I love, love, love listening to stories.  Especially when the reader uses a sing-song voice or reads with great emotion.  Today's reading of the Lorax was especially phenomenal and totally AWESOME!

Titanic Tribute

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the fatal sinking of the Titanic, we spent all day immersed in learning about this historical tragedy.  We looked at a Titanic timeline with an interactive Smart board lesson, we had a read aloud of one of the survivor's tales, we watched a video on how the Titanic sank, we read a French book and summarized the important points, and last but not least, we did lots and lots of Titanic math (my favourite)!  I hoped you enjoyed learning as much about the Titanic as I did!!!

Thursday's Awesome

Facing your fears

Well, you all know how I feel about public speaking...  So when I was offered the chance to present in front of other teachers at a conference, I wasn't exactly thrilled.  However, everyday day, I encourage you to take risks in our classroom (which you all do so well!), so I felt that I should lead by example and face my fears.  While it did not go exactly as planned, I was able to get through it and feel confident that I would do a much better job the next time (especially if my husband isn't around ;).  Facing your fears may seem scary, but in the end, it is nothing short of AWESOME!

Friday's Awesome

Glitter

Makes everything look just a little bit more festive and special!  AWESOME!

Fighting like cats & dogs

Over the past couple of days, we have been discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both cats and dogs.  Having asked students which one they preferred, I then asked them to form groups, switch sides and write a persuasive piece on why either cats or dogs make a better pet.  Since we previously looked at the main three types of arguments, students were well prepared to create their persuasion map with a strong thesis, 3 main arguments and supporting points.  As you all have to argue the opposite of what you believe, I am looking forward to seeing how you use pathos to help convince your reader.  Talk about higher-order thinking!

Yesterday's awesome

Paper Recycling

Getting rid of all those boxes and clearing up some much needed space in your garage.  Yeah!  You can walk around again!  AWESOME!

Today's awesome

Updating the look of your blog

So imagine my surprise when I saw that KidBlogs had new background templates!  I was so excited when I saw the combo of my favourite colour, funky font and cool graphics!  I smile every time I open the link!  AWESOME!

Stations of the Cross

Wow! What a beautiful presentation you did of the Stations of the Cross. You did a great job with your readings and the lighting of each station was perfect! Your artistic representations for each station were beautiful and I couldn't resist putting them up on the blog. I hope everyone had a lovely and restful Easter with their families and I can't wait to hear all about it tomorrow!

And now for some awesomes...

Thursday's Awesome

Knowing you have a four-day weekend ahead of you

Awesome!

Friday's Awesome

Taking a nap in the middle of the day

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... AWESOME!
Monday's Awesome

Getting much anticipated bedroom furniture

Finally! After 3 years of just sleeping on a mattress in an empty room, our furniture has arrived and it looks fabulous! So excited to have a nightstand to put my books in! AWESOME!

BEDMAS Hopscoth

We took our math outside today so that we could learn about order of operations while playing BEDMAS hopscotch. It was great to see you hopping around while yelling out: Brackets, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction. I especially loved the sing-song quality of your voices :) However, my favourite part had to be the equations you created and solved in chalk to show your understanding! What a great math block!

Oops! Time for some awesome!

Yesterday's awesome

White chocolate brownies

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... AWESOME!

Today's awesome

The Lorax (or really anything by Dr. Seuss)

Grickle-grass, Truffala Trees, Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans, Humming-Fish... A cleverly written story that teaches us how we must treasure our planet and be weary of deforestation and pollution. It also shows how each person must care for the environment, because, as the Lorax says: "UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not". AWESOME!

Holy Week

This week is Holy week, the most important week in the liturgical year. This is a perfect time to reflect on our Lenten promises and spend time with loved ones. There will not be any homework this week to ensure that everyone enjoys this special family time (plus you convinced me with your fabulous letter!)! Our class, along with Ms. Dougan's, is responsible for the Station's of the Cross liturgy on Thursday, parents are welcome to join as at 1:00 pm in the Gym. The students have been working very hard to interpret and recreate the stations through art. The paintings are almost finished and are turning out beautifully! I can't wait to see the final products!

Monday's awesome

Learning about persuasive techniques

What could be better than learning about various strategies to get others to agree with your point of view? Pathos, ethos, logos, claims, research... So many ways to help you strengthen your argument! Still don't agree that persuasive techniques are awesome? Perhaps you will agree with the one of the most famous Greek philosophers of all time, Aristotle " In making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech".
Name dropping to help make your point? AWESOME!

Powers of Persuasion

Last week, we worked on creating a collaborative piece of persuasive writing that would convince me to not give any homework out next week. We started by brainstorming our arguments (there were many!) and then went on to create a persuasive map to help us organize our ideas. It really helped the students see how a persuasive piece should be organized. Then we got to work on our persuasive letter. What can I say, but I was blown away by your powers of persuasion. As such, there will be no homework for this short week :)

Click on the letter below to see why I was persuaded!

No homework

Here are my late awesomes, accompanied by my sincerest apologies for my tardiness:

Wednesday's Awesome

Art

What a boring and uninspired life we would lead without it! A great chance to express your creativity and let your imagination run free! AWESOME!

Thursday's Awesome

Pinterest

My favourite website and a great digital scrapbook of all things that inspire me. Looks like it's time to pin some AWESOME!

Friday's Awesome

Earth Hour

Pretty cool to think that over 135 countries now participate in Earth Hour! It shows how great things can be achieved when people come together to work towards a common goal. Lights off for a great cause? AWESOME!