Week 2 - Sept 14 - 18

Welcome the blog. Thanks for visiting. We are settling in and getting to know each other. I've learned your names. Have you learned everyone's names? (If you haven't, please set this as a goal for the week. It is super important to know who you'll be sharing the classroom with for the year ahead!) 

We are getting organized, and will be kicking off a few things that look like schoolwork this week. Most of you have arrived with close to a full complement of school supplies. If you haven't yet, please bring  what you need as soon as you can. It is really helpful to start off the year organized and prepared. I've included a tab here on the blog with a list of items we will use this year.

While you're exploring the tabs at the top of the page, check out our class timetable. This is a work in progress and will become more detailed as September progresses. 

Tuesday is Monterey's Meet the Teacher event. Our PAC runs a social outside from 6:00 - 6:30. Parents, I'll meet you in the classroom from 6:30 - 7:00. And our school's new music teacher will run a presentation 7:00 - 7:30. See you then!

About Music... an informal poll with the students showed some limited interest in our school's music program. Band 6 gets underway soon - it is not too late to join. But it will be important to make the decision to join the band or strings or choir this week if that's the direction you would like to go. Taking advantage of the (free) music lessons now could set you up for a lifetime of music-making! Send your parents to the info session Tuesday night after Meet the Teacher...

Here are a few of the things we're going to try to accomplish this week:

Writing: I love writing. I love teaching writing. And I love to see student-writers develop their confidence and skillsets. We'll play around with language a bit this week, and begin building an inventory of ideas for future writing tasks. 

Math: We'll ease into some basic ideas in math this week, including subitizing, estimation, and graphing. You each now should have a math binder, divided into four sections ("notes", "sheets", "data" and "results"). Please do your best to keep this binder organized throughout the year. 

Social Studies: We will begin to explore human rights this week. We'll build our understanding of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Language Arts: Let's work toward beginning a novel straight out of the gate! Perhaps as early as the beginning of this week we will begin a novel study. More to come about this.

STEM: The Help Harry engineering challenge will get us thinking in different and collaborative ways. It will also lead us into a quick writing task. 

That's it for this week, folks!

Week 1 - Sept 8 - 11

Hi Everyone! This is the official blog of Division 13 at Monterey Middle School for 2026 - 2027. Y

It is really great to see that you have found my blog! Much more to come next week.

For now, please bookmark this site. I'll be asking you to check in weekly on this space. Typically, my weekly update will be published on Monday afternoons. This is the post for week 1, so your job is done for now. 

Parents, I hope to meet you all on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for our Meet the Teacher evening. See you then.

Week 39 - June 22 - 25

Hi All,

It's a fun-packed week to wrap up your year. Here's the plan:

Monday - Willows Beach Day

Tuesday - Victoria Film Festival presentation and Windsor Park (and Parachute Ice Cream!)

Wednesday - Classroom clean up. Movie time in the MPR. Odds and ends. Walkies, Yearbooks and more.

Thursday - Last day activities. Year-in-review. Report cards and good-byes.

Okay team. Here is your opportunity to contribute to the blog. Here are your last words:

TB - Don't eat rat poo. I learned that the hard way.

GB - Trallelelo tralala.

LB - John Pork

BD - I don't know what to do!

CF - Uh. I don't know.

AF - Hockey is not better.

JH - W Miles.

BH - 

WH - Hockey is better.

SL - Let life unfold.

JM - Nah. That was my only idea. Please Mr. Pite, I need extending. I'm cooked. 

LM - The saxophones kept getting louder.

CM - My name is Theo Moore.

EM - Do you remember when "6 - 7" was cool?

ON - W Miles.

NP - I'm a potato.

RR - W Tom

SS - Ballerina cappochina

SS - This has to be generational rage bait.

NV - Have fun.

LV - Tung tung tung sahur.

TW - Ronaldo is better than Messi.

GW - 

AZ - My name is Miles.

MZ - My name is Allen.

Week 38 - June 15 - 19

This is the penultimate week of school for your grade 6 year. You're almost there! We'll put in a good solid effort on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. Then, we're all off to the baseball game on Thursday (Go, HarbourCats!), before Storm Fest on Friday.

Math - We'll wrap up our look at solving single-step equations this week. Then, we'll extend our exploration of coordinate geometry.

PHE - Your Health Goal Graphics are looking great! I wonder, what steps have you already taken toward your goal? What obstacles have reared up to get in your way?

L.A. - The podcast project continues this week. Try to wrap things up on Friday, okay? We will also begin working on a little note for next year's grade 6's.

HarbourCats Baseball - We will walk to Royal Athletic Park, so please remember to wear your best walking shoes. Don't forget to wear a hat and sunscreen. We should arrive with enough time to hit the concession (bring some cash if you'd like to buy something). I will communicate the plan for returning to the school to your parents closer to the day of the game.

Friday - Storm Fest! Our leadership students, along with Ms. Grigor, have been hard at work to put on an awesome afternoon for the entire school. Remember to purchase tickets in advance through SchoolCash Online. For reference: 

• 1 ticket: Obstacle course, Plinko (with prizes), popcorn, dunk tank (3 throws), raffle (for prizes)
• 1-2 tickets: Food - cold treats, snacks, possibly leftover pizza by the slice  Enjoy!

It looks like 5 - 10 (or 11) tickets should be plenty to keep you snacked up and entertained!

Have a great week, everyone!

Week 37 - June 8 - 12

Hiya! We're into the home stretch, gang. Keep your mind focused; we have a few things left to do:

Recognition forms: These were distributed last week. Be sure collect teacher/adult signatures for those extra curricular activities that you participated in this year. 

June Events Newsletter and Field Trip slip: Parents, please sign the field trips form on the second sheet of the packet I sent home on Friday last week. I've asked for $10, too. Send both the permission form and the cash in this week please. 

Music Concert: best of luck to those of you participating in Tuesday's show! 

Thursday - Sports Day! Wear your sports jerseys, or any other sporting kit you have, to school on Thursday this week.

Friday - Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina kicks off at noon. There will be watch parties in a number of spots in the school. Be sure to earn your ticket to one of the watch parties. Stay focused, stay respectful, and work hard!

What else to expect this week:

Math: Let's see how much you know about the algebra we've explored so far. We'll run a little quizzy on Monday, and follow up with some simple one-step equations to solve as the week goes on.

WCNMPP: please aim to finish your mini-poster by the time the World Cup gets underway on Thursday this week. We'll track the group stage game results and post your posters in the hall for all to learn from. 

Podcasting: make it a goal to collect all of the audio tracks you'll need for your podcast in one place (your Drive is best). Then, begin constructing your piece using the online audio mixer. I'll run through how to do this again if you aren't sure...

PHE: let's turn the goal you set for yourself into an action plan. Build the steps you'll need to take to accomplish your goal. Then, create a graphic (a comic, a vision board, a goal-setting journey map) to illustrate your goal. Be sure to include the reason for your goal, the steps you'll take to achieve it, the pitfalls you face in your journey, and a visual of what success will look/feel like.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

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!