Week 36 - June 1 - 5

Hi folks! We are officially into our 10th month together. That's right, it's June - a very exciting and wild time of year. June can be exhausting, too. Long, long days can take us out of our sleep routine. End-of-year events disrupt schedules. And looking forward to the summer months can make us lose sight of the here-and-now demands of schoolwork. So, let's to do the best we can to stay healthy and keep our heads in the game. Stay respectful, work hard, and be happy.

On this week:

Math: we're looking at some fundamental algebra concepts this week. Some new vocab for you to learn includes: variable, constant, coefficient, term, expression, equation, substitution, and more. 

Science: we will put the finishing touches on the Friction Forces of Surface Materials lab that we conducted last week. Then, we'll start reviewing all that you've covered in this physics unit.

Social Studies: thank you for presenting your group's Climate Action slideshow. Well done! You'll get a chance to self-assess your presentation this week. As well, we have begun the World Cup Nations Mini Poster Project. What soccer-crazy nation will you research and present on a poster?

Writing: let's finish up your sandwich recipes this week. You have a few peer revision jobs to do, too. Remember to carefully read your peer revisors' suggestions. You may be surprised at the depth and clarity of your peers' advice! Turn the good stuff to your advantage; be willing to make significant changes to your recipe writing!

Podcasting: We'll finish writing our Intro scripts early this week. And I will show you how I like to produce a simple podcast using a basic online mixer. Pay close attention to the technical steps; building your soundscape can be a little tricky. Is your podcast introduction something you'd be willing to share with classmates? With our parents? Have fun with this one!

Enjoy the week, everyone!

Week 35 - May 25 - 29

Hi All,

It's the final week of May already, and it feels like we've still got tonnes of learning to do. But it is important to realize just how much learning we've accomplished so far this year. As we set forth into the final five weeks of the year, know the following:

- you are competent, intelligent, and wonderful

- you have learned a great deal of stuff this year; you've grown as a student

- we aren't done yet; commit to finishing with strength and resilience 

Here's the plan for the week ahead:

Math - we will continue our look at finding volume of some 3D objects, and (related), the capacity of containers. Let's also examine Surface Area of regular 3D shapes, and develop a formula or two to help us calculate this.

Social Studies - you've been building a digital slideshow about a pretty interesting climate action or invention. Be sure to develop a thorough script for your presentation. These will hopefully begin on Friday this week.

Science - expect a new lab about friction forces to come your way this week. I'd also like to collect and assess your science work this week.

Writing - we've been building a sandwich recipe. How is yours coming along? If it were a person, what character traits would they possess? This task has some pretty specific peer revision elements to it. Tune in carefully to the in-class instructions about how to use your peers as effective revisors for your piece. 

L.A. - this week we will begin to build a podcast introduction. These are fun, but there's a lot that goes into creating an effective soundscape. How will you hook your audience? What will be your topic? 

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 34 - May 19 - 22

Hello Div 13! It is the third week of May already. Six glorious weeks of classes remain in your grade six year. We have a whole bunch of learning ahead of us - this can be an incredible, fulfilling time of year. Bringing your best to school each day is your key to enjoying this time. 

This is Ms. Miller's final week with us. It's been really cool to have another adult in the room, and she has done a great job by bringing new learning ideas and topics to our class. Well done, Ms. Miller!

Here's what to expect over this short week:

L.A.: The Skeleton Tree wraps up this week. It's been quite a story, hasn't it? Who was your favourite character? For you, what was the most surprising thing about the story? If you haven't already finished reading the story, make the time to complete the book by Wednesday. Be sure to have all novel study activities completed and turned in early this week.

Math: We have been exploring triangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids. You now know how to calculate the area of each of these. You also know how to measure angles. You understand how to measure angles using a protractor. And you know how to find the missing angle, given all other interior angles, of each of these shapes. Finally, you know how to classify triangles by their side lengths, and by their angles. Expect a quizzy this week.

Social Studies: This week is all about climate action. Somewhere in the world, a group of young people have invented a device, or initiated an action, that is designed to combat climate change. You've been tasked with a little presentation project. Make the most out of your class time for this project. It's a quick one: we'll begin presenting these by the end of next week.

Science: Newton's 3rd Law will be featured over the coming days. Expect a hands-on activity and lab report.

Brainstorm picks up again this week. There will be only two more sessions over the next two Thursdays. 

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 33 - May 11 - 14

Hi gang, 

We have a couple of short weeks ahead of us. These next two are also the last ones for Ms. Miller. There's plenty to accomplish either side of your extra-long weekend. Here's the plan:

Math - This week, we’re continuing with geometry! We’ll learn about angles and different types of triangles, and will learn how to use a fun new tool… the protractor! 

Social Studies - Let’s continue with climate change! On Monday we talked about how we can connect with the land around us, and why we should want to take care of our environment. Stay tuned for a new project later this week! 

Science - It’s time to wrap up Newton’s second law. Later this week we’ll be moving on to Newton’s third law. Be prepared to learn about actions and reactions… We have some fun demonstrations planned for you!

L.A. - WOW, we are almost at the end of The Skeleton Tree. This week’s topic: Conflict. You’ll also have some time to finish up your black-out poems that we started last week. Make sure you’re on top of your reading. (By Wednesday this week you should have read to the end of Chapter 13). Take a moment to share with your folks about an intense and exciting moment you have encountered from the story.

District Transition Day events will happen Thursday afternoon this week. This is your opportunity to be a tour guide for incoming grade 5 students. You get to be a kind and wonderful and caring host. You'll remember your own tour from last year - and you might remember how you were feeling. Scared, anxious, nervous, excited, confused... do what you can to be a calm and reassuring leader and make this experience the best it can be for your newbies.

Friday is a Pro-D day. Next Monday is a holiday. 

Week 32 - May 4 - 8

Hi Team! Wow. It is May already (although the weather suggests it is June - beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures!). We've got a few things on the go for the week ahead:

Student-Led Conferences - You get to go home a little early tomorrow. Then, come on back to the school sometime between 4:00 and 6:00. Our "Student-Led Conference Cafe" closes at 6:30... please leave at least 20 minutes free for your visit. See you then!

Also on this week:

Math - Let's take a side road down to Geometry Town. With Ms. Miller you will learn about shapes - how to identify classify them, find their areas and perimeters, and more. You'll use some algebra (*gasp!*) concepts along the way. Fun!

Social Studies - we'll pick up where we left off last week. You are now an "expert" in at least one area of climate concern. What have you learned about? You'll share your expertise with a group, and each of them will share with you. We are working toward a little project centered on how people are responding to global climate change.

Science - Our look at Newton's Second Law involves some demonstrations and hands-on lab work. Yes, it's the "mathy" Law (F = ma), but there's some pretty cool science in here that you can do to prove the law.

L.A. - The Skeleton Tree continues. This week's topic: Connections. Be sure to stay current with your reading. (By Wednesday this week you should have read to the end of Chapter 10.)

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Week 31 - Apr 27 - May 1

Hi Team! Welcome to our 31st week together. Wow. That's a lot of weeks. Time is flying. 

A few key events are upcoming...

1) Monday, 27th: Oak Bay Police bike safety presentation.

2) Wednesday, 29th: School-wide assembly

3) Friday, May 1: Swimming at OBRec

4) Tuesday, May 5: Student-Led Conferences

For this week:

L.A. - The Skeleton Tree continues this week. Do you have a favourite moment of the book so far? A number of you have missed some time over the past week or two. It is your responsibility to get caught up! If you've been away, expect homework. Be sure to have your copy of the novel here every day. Chances are high that you'll need it!

Science - Our exploration of Newton's 3 laws of motion continues this week. The 2nd law is a tricky one because Newton got out his pencil and his slide rule for this one. He crunched some numbers and discovered a pretty interesting relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. 

Social Studies - This week we will begin to explore how people (and especially young people) are responding to, and finding answers for, global climate change. 

Math - Let's extend our understanding of division. This week we'll explore how to deal with dividends that have decimal values. The partial quotients strategy remains our go-to technique. But we'll need another tool, another strategy, to deal with numbers that don't divide evenly. 

Being Organized - guess who's coming next week? Yep, that's right. Your parents! What will you do to help show them how organized, thorough, and on-task you've been? Your hanging file should be loaded with all kinds of top-notch work. It should be reasonably tidy. Is it?

Enjoy your week!

Week 30 - Apr 20 - 24

Hi Team. Time is marching on - we are well into 3rd term. The school's Student-Led Conferences event is just a couple of weeks away (May 5th). Are you organized? Doing neat and tidy and readable work? Staying up to date?

Here is the plan for the week ahead:

Math - we will spend some time practicing multiplication of decimal values by whole numbers this week. Remember the array model strategy for multipling whole numbers? That's what we'll continue to use for decimal values.

L.A. - Your Skeleton Tree novel study is underway. Be sure to stay current with the reading. This might mean you'll need to do a little reading at home. Just be sure to put your copy of the novel into your backpack when you're done reading for the night. Your book must be here each day! What do you think of the book so far? (For me, it's a dark, atmospheric read with hair-raising moments of tension and crisis. Fun!)

Science - Ms. Miller will launch a new unit about Newton's 3 Laws this week.

French - Your "Smash Doodle" is due on Thursday.

Writing - This week, let's begin to explore "writer's voice" as a worthy trait of writing. You may recognize my writer's voice here on the blog. There are ways that I word things that seem distinctive - not everyone would say things the same way that I do. One of the keys to Voice is to seek those little things that make your writing you. How you build your sentences, the word choices you make, and the way you organize your ideas help you "speak" to your audience. We'll chat this week about writing with strong Voice.

For your Calendar: Looking ahead, we will head to the Rec Center one more time next Friday, May 1, for a swim. As mentioned, Student-Led Conferences will happen Tuesday, May 5. And There is a Pro-D day on Friday, May 15, followed by Victoria Day on May 18.

Enjoy your week, all!

Week 29 - Apr 13 - 17

Hi All! Time is marching on. We'll hit the middle of April this week. Spring has sprung. A myriad of opportunities have opened up for students. Here's a list of extra-curricular stuff currently on the go:

- Rugby

- Track and Field

- Field Hockey

- Badminton

- Futsal

- Dance club

- Cheer

- Rubik's Cube

- Magic the Gathering

- Warhammer

- Board Games and Card Games club

- Self-Directed Art/Quiet Time

- Book Battle 

- And, as well as all of the usual Band and Strings and Choir options, Gr. 6's have been invited to join Jazz Band this term.

Wow. No wonder this feels like a busy place! Which of these opportunities have you tried?

This week is the first of a six week practicum for Ms. Miller, our wonderful new student-teacher. Welcome to Div 13, Ms. Miller. Over the next few weeks, she will have new stuff for you in Social Studies, Language Arts, Science and Math.

Here's the plan for the week ahead:

Math: let's see what you know about decimals. We've been working with these "part-wholes" for a while now, and I hope you're starting to feel more comfortable with them. We will work toward a short quizzy on Wednesday. After that, we will explore multiplying and dividing decimal values. 

 

Podcasting: We'll launch a new unit on podcasting this week. We'll explore what makes for a podcast, and the wide variety of podcast styles and formatst. We'll look at how podcasters tell stories through sound. And, eventually, we'll try our hand at writing and producing our own short podcast.

L.A.: Ms. Miller will get us all started on a novel study this week.

Writing: Finishing up with the Compare and Contrast piece will take up the first part of this week. If there's time, we'll begin exploring the next writing trait: Voice.

Remember that Tuesday is Class Photo Day!

Enjoy your week, everyone!

Week 28 - Apr 7 - 10

Hi Div 13. It's another short week! Here's the plan:

Math - Let's explore writing fractions and percents at decimals. If you keep you eye on place value, this is a less mysterious task than it first appears. We'll also revisit the adding and subtracting strategies we developed earlier in the school year, and apply those strategies to decimal values. 

Writing - Our look at sentence fluency continues. We will look at a few more writing pieces that have less-than-ideal fluency and look for ways to revise those sentences so they show better flow. Keep you eyes on the "keys to sentence fluency" as your guide.

Science - we will continue to follow the progress of Artemis II this week. The Orion capsule should return to Earth early Friday evening. Cool!

L.A. - expect a partner reading task this week. 

Skating - Oh yes, team! We're going skating on Friday afternoon! Make sure you are prepared for it.

Enjoy your week, everyone.

Week 27 - Mar 30 - Apr 2

Welcome back, gang! This is a short week, and so will next week be. Term 3 is upon us: it is time for a fresh start. Are you ready? Do you have all the supplies you need? Please restock pencils, liner pen, ruler, pencil crayons, scissors, glue stick, lined paper, Sharpie, etc.

Are you feeling prepared to take on new challenges, and to take advantage of new opportunities in our school community? There's lots to get involved with... grab onto these opportunities while you have the chance! Let's go!

Math - this week we'll quickly revisit ratio and unit rate before moving into a look at decimal values. We'll explore what they represent. We'll learn how to read decimal numbers. We'll touch on adding and subtraction of these part-wholes.

Writing - this is another one we will pick up where we left off. Before the break we were exploring sentence fluency. This week, we'll begin to write longer, detailed sentences while we practice using clauses. 

Science - After wrapping up our look at the Solar System, we will learn about the Artemis II launch, which is scheduled to happen on Thursday this week. 

Enjoy your week, all.