Second Week of Advent

Today we held another class liturgy for the second week of Advent. The liturgy focused on Mary and Joseph's humanity and their belief and trust in God. The students read and sang beautifully, my personal favourite being Children of the Light. I am looking forward to next week's liturgy!

PS  Tomorrow's Math test has been switched to Thursday due to Book Clubs and other scheduling conflicts.  I know you guys are going to do great!

Yesterday's Awesome

Going to bed when you are sick

There's only one thing to do when you are feeling sick.  Go to bed and stay in bed.  Tomorrow will come, and if you are lucky, you will wake up feeling refreshed and just plain... AWESOME! 

Tonight's awesome 

Date night

On a Tuesday?  So. much. fun.  AWESOME!

Upcoming Data Management Test

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Hard to believe there are less than 2 weeks left of school before Christmas break!  They are gonna be jam-packed with lots of hard-work and exciting events!  On Wednesday, we will be having our end of unit test for Data Management.  You should not need to study as we have been reviewing in class.  However, here are some things you will need to know:
- the definitions for mean, median, mode and range (you can watch the videos, sing the song, and practice with the math link)
- you will need to know when to use various types of graphs
- you will need to know how to improve survey questions

I have a good feeling about this test :)

Given how busy we will be this week with Book Clubs and Math, there will be no online homework this week.


P.S. Don't forget to bring your items in for the food hamper tomorrow (I think most of you have already brought them in!  Awesome!) and any items you might have for the white elephant sale.

Wednesday'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!

Thursday's awesome 

Enthusiastic Hellos

One of my favourite moments of the day is always Cooper running up to me with open arms and yelling Maman, as though we haven't seen each other in ages. AWESOME!
 
Friday's Awesome

Cookie Exchanges

What could be better than getting together with friends and swapping a whole bunch of cookies?!  Me love cookies!  Awesome!   

Trading Partners

We are finishing up our first Social Studies unit, Canada and its' trading partners.  We will be having a unit test next Tuesday.  Here are the things you will need to know:
- A definition of commerce, imports and exports
- Main products that Canada imports and exports
- Canada's main trading partners
- You will need to know who Canada's biggest trading partner is and why
- You will need to know what NAFTA is (ALÉNA)
- Countries that are part of the European Union
- Why is tourism important?

Keep in mind that you do not need to memorize this information, however you must only write in French on the test itself.  Please take your Social Studies book home to study for this test.

In addition, you will have 2 weeks to prepare for your final project "Un pays dans une boîte".  All written work will be done at school, but the box is to be done at home and is due December 16, 2013.  Students must decorate the outside of the box so that it represents their chosen country.  On the inside, they can include important items (imports, exports, etc.) and they must create a scene that is representative of their country (can include tourist attractions, famous people, etc).  Click below for a link to the project description:

Les partenaires commerciaux

All regular French homework projects will resume in January.

Today's awesome

Christmas Carols

I admit it.... I absolutely love Christmas Carols! The old classics as well as new songs made to celebrate the season (my current favourite is Snow Globe by Matt Wertz). Nothing brings a smile to my face like I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (really, who even thought of that song, it's fantastic!). Songs like these that make you laugh, others like War is Over make you reflect, songs like Joy to the World allow us to rejoice and songs like Christmas Shoes make you cry (every single time!). What a great way to celebrate all of the blessings in our lives and be thankful for the time we get to spend with our loved ones. Evoking some of the best memories ever through the power of song? AWESOME!

Special Advent Liturgy

Today we had a very special Advent liturgy in our classroom. Despite only seeing their readings this morning, the students read their parts eloquently and together we sang a beautiful advent song (one of my favourites!). We also talked about how important it is to be a light to others as we prepare our hearts for Jesus' arrival.   On that note, don't forget to bring in your items for the Christmas hampers, preferably by Friday!

Today's awesome

Watching the Christmas tree lights dance

Have you ever just stared at Christmas tree lights? There is something so hypnotic about the way way they appear to be dancing. Every time I see them, I watch in amazement. They truly brighten my day. AWESOME!

Book Clubs!

What an exciting day we had! Today students were introduced to book clubs!  We watched book trailers, discussed responsibilities and handed out books.  Each group had a chance to get together and decide on their first roles.  Our first meeting is Tuesday!  I think you will all really enjoy the experience of sharing your ideas and opinions about the books you're reading,. I can't wait to hear what you think of your books!

PS Here are all 10 books we are reading:

The Lion, the With, and the Wardeobe by C.S. Lewis (So, so, so good and a must read for anyone who loves fantasy!  I remember studying it in Children's Literature in University.  It is quite the deep book!  Some of you have probably already seen the movie)

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick (Loved it! Quite the tear jerker for me!)

The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop ( Rated 3.94 on Goodreads, sounds like a winner to me!  Might try to read this one with you.) 

Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop  (Same author as the last one.  Great for those of you interested in Social Justice, especially child labour.  I think I may read this one after you so I can have it count for my historicla fiction!).   

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Such a fabulous author!  An awesome sci-fi mystery!  It is a series, so get ready to get hooked!)

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 know, this too is very emotional)

Doorway to Danger by Vicki Blum (A passage into another world with ogre and elves - gotta love fantasy!) 

Loser by Jerry Spinelli (A great author!  I just loved this book trailer!  Looks like it will be a great tale about rising above bullying)

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse (You'll have to pay attention to the font and decide why the author has chosen to change it throughout the book.)

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!
PPS Yes, I know I am backlogged on awesome things...  I am working out a list :)

Smartie Pants Math

We sure had fun during math on Friday!  We reviewed the measures of central tendency by working with a small sample of smarties.  After finding the mean, median, mode and range, students created a circle graph or a bar graph with their data.  You guys did an awesome job!  I sure am lucky to have a class full of Smartie Pants!

     

Mean, Median, Mode Math

We are all about data management lately!  We completed a "databet" and I was amazed at how much vocabulary you already know (we have a a minimum of one word for each letter!).  Today we started talking about measures of central tendency.  To help us remember which is which (who decided they should all start with the letter m?!), we watched a video and listened to a song about it.  Check them out below to help you at home!  Just remember:

"MO"de: is the "MO"st popular (or think of the French expression "à la mode" which means to be in fashion.  Keep in mind that data does not always have a mode.

Median: is the middle(sing it with me now!).  Don't forget to order those numbers first! When the totals of the list are odd, the median is the middle entry.  When the totals of the list are even, the median is equal to the sum of the two middle numbers divided by two. Be sure to remember the odd and even rule.

Mean: is the average.  Add together all of the data and then divide it by the sum of the total number of data there are.  Mme Charles sure is mean to make us calculate the mean of all this data!

 

Range: is the difference between the largest and smallest values.

Wait til you see tomorrow's activity for measures of central tendency!  You're gonna love it!

PS  Don't forget to go under Math links - Mean, median and mode and test your skills!

Helping others around the globe

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!  We have been keeping very busy at school!  This week we are helping raising funds and awareness for Typhoon Haiyan.  We started by wearing green ribbons to represent hope, then we wore red, white and blue, the colours of the Philippines flag and today we dropped everything to read for a block.  Tomorrow there is a games block and Friday is Pyjama day.  Don't forget to bring in a loonie or a toonie to participate in these activities and help raise funds for victims of this natural disaster.  So far we have raised over $1000, but we are still quite shy of our $2000 goal.  Since the Government of Canada is matching funds, our donations will be going twice as far.  Thank you to everyone for your generous contributions for all of our local and global campaigns.  You truly are a light to others!


I know I am behind on my awesomes, promise to catch up tomorrow!

Lest We Forget

Today, 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.

A special thank you to Lieutenant Colonel George Boyuk who came in to speak with all the students in the school.  He was very inspiring and reminded us how we aught to strive to make a difference in the world.   I couldn't agree more.

Remembrance day awesome

Living in a free country.
Awesome!

Friday's Awesome

High Tea
Mini cucumber sandwiches, perfectly-steeped tea, scones and crème fraiche.  How utterly civilized.  Awesome! 

PS  Don't forget to do your  math review!  It is under Math links - Patterning (Lessons 1,2 & 4).

 

One Grain of Rice

Over the past couple of days, we have been reading a mathematical folktale entitled One Grain of Rice. This is a great story that shows how important Math is in the real world! It also became a great patterning problem for us to solve! At the end of the 30 days, thanks to doubling, 1 grain of rice became over a billion! WOW!!!

Today's awesome

Rocking a baby

Gentle swaying back and forth, listening to the sounds of their quiet breaths.  Moments to cherish forever. Awesome!  

Sadako & the 1000 Paper Cranes

As it is Remembrance day next 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.

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! 

Being a light to others!

Wow!  Can I just say how proud of you guys I am?  Together our class raised 221 cans for our We Scare Hunger drive, we were also the number one grade 6 class in the school (Woot! Woot!), so that means we won the competition.  This means we will be getting a pizza lunch sometime soon.  A huge thank you to Mr. Armstrong for arranging this prize and a big shout out to Toppers for donating the pizza!  It truly is great to see how much our class and school came together to support the needs in our community.  We will be sorting and packing all the food up for the Barrhaven Food cupboard tomorrow.  I'm excited to see how many cans we raised as a school.  One thing is for sure though - I am teaching a class of superheros ;)

PS  Don't forget there is no blog homework this week (short week!).  I will be handing out postcards for you to write to a Soldier tomorrow instead, these will be due Thursday.  You do still have to so the math question - be careful, it's not hard but it is a little tricky! 

Friday's awesome

When someone makes your day

When someone gives you a compliment that touches your heart and makes you want to cry.   Awesome!

Today's awesome

Win-wins

Winning s definitely not everything but winning when it's for a great cause sure feels great!  A win-win situation?  Awesome!

Pumpkin Day

What an exciting day we had! To start, everyone became a pumpkin in my patch and each person had to convince me not to pick them. There were so many persuasive techniques applied I almost didn't know how to choose (or who not to choose!). In the end, I was most persuaded by Sagni's letter. Just wait until you hear it tomorrow! Next, we did lots of math with our donated pumpkins (estimation, measurement, etc!). The students all dove right into those pumpkins to get those seeds! Awesome! Between this, our haunted house house story and indoor recess - we had quite a day! Hope you had a great Halloween night! Remember not to eat too much candy and to brush your teeth!

PS DON'T FORGET IT'S PICTURE DAY TOMORROW!  RETAKES & CLASS PHOTO

Halloween Awesome

Trick or treating with young children

Not sure what I loved the most. The anticipation to get the candy, the running from one house to the next or having them go to the door, say Trick or Treat and leave without their candy prompting the homeowners to run after them. Trick or Treat? Awesome!

Propeller Dance!

Today the grade 5s and 6s were treated to a  special performance by a very special dance troop. Propeller Dance is an Ottawa based integrated dance-company that helps break down the myths and stereotypes about disabilities and the arts and explores issues of social diversity and collaboration.   For more info about the company, you can check out their website:    Propeller Dance 

Yesterday's awesome

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

Today's awesome 

Dance
Fun to do -  Fun to watch.  AWESOME!

PS  Don't forget to wear your costumes tomorrow and bring in a can (or 10!) to support our We Scare Hunger campaign!

Busy, busy week!

Wow!  This week is going to fly by with all of the activities we have planned.  Here is a little rundown of what's going on:

Tuesday:  Kindergarten special helpers & Catholic Graduate Expectations Awards
Wednesday: Propeller dance presentation
Thursday:  Happy Halloween!  Don't forget to wear your costumes (safe and appropriate for school).  We will be having a fun-filled pumpkin day. Friday: Photo retakes and class picture.

All week:  We Scare Hunger campaign!  Don't forget to bring in lots of food to help those in our community who are less fortunate than we are.

Here are my (somewhat late) awesomes:

Friday's 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 ofAWESOME!

Today's awesome

Hot chocolate from an arena
Mmmm...  Hot chocolate from the arena.  Not sure why it tastes so good, just happy it does. Awesome!

We Scare Hunger

Our morning started out with many of the grade 6 teachers wearing capes.  Why you ask?  Because we are super heros and you can be one too!

It takes a real hero to stand up to hunger.  Everyday, millions around the world go hungry, even in our own backyard.  This Halloween, our St. Emily’s community, led by our heroic grade 6 students, will help stop hunger before it strikes.

We Scare Hunger, is “Free the Children’s” annual campaign to mobilize youth around local hunger issues. This initiative helps remind us that we can all play a part in helping the more than 900,000 Canadians who rely on their local food banks every month.

From October 28th to November 4th, we will be collecting canned food items and non-perishable food items that will be donated to the Barrhaven food cupboard.  

Sometimes changing the world needs to start at home.

Today's awesome

Superheros

Who wouldn't want to wear a cape and a mask?  Awesome!

French Presentations

I have been so impressed with your French presentations over the past few weeks.  We have seen everything from Science experiments, to magic tricks, to sports, to historical events, etc.  We have even been able to answer some of the questions about biodiversity that we had through your presentations!

After each presentation, we take the time to do some peer feedback as we look for the positives (shine on!), and room for improvement (green to grow).  This helps each student create goals for their future presentations.  Before the next presentation begins, the students are reminded of these goals.  So far, I must say I was wowed by how you have applied the feedback (some have slowed down their speaking, others have made more eye contact, etc.). Keep up the super work!

As a class, we decided that a presentation every two weeks was excessive, so we have changed the presentation to every month instead.  Quality over quantity :)  Everyone has been assigned a week (this week is week 3). To see the schedule, look at the French Presentation schedule tab.

It is so great that you are working independently at home on a topic of your choice, I am learning so many new things!  I just can't wait to see the next round of presentations!      

Mme Charles

PS  Here are my awesomes

Monday's awesome
Finishing a load of laundry

Laundry.  My arch nemesis.  We have not, nor will we ever be friends.  It is a job that is both thankless and never, ever, ever complete.  Yet, I cannot ignore the feeling of self-satisfaction that arises when I finish a load and put it away.  I may grumble, but in the end, there truly is nothing better than putting on some warm PJs or smelling those fresh towels.  Awesome!

Tuesday's awesome
Finding something you were missing

Debit card, thou debit card, wherefore art thou debit card?  How is it possible that one small card can cause such a commotion when it goes missing?  No matter, as the missing item has been located (thanks to the best husband ever!).  What once was lost, now is found?  Awesome!      

Today's awesome
Laughing so hard you get tears in your eyes

So maybe you cracked a joke that only you think was funny.  Who cares?  At least you appreciate your own sense of humour!  Awesome!

Autumn's Wedding

On Friday, the students tried to figure out how much money Autumn will have in her wedding fund depending on how old she is when she gets married (did I mention she's not getting married until she is at least 23?!). Since I was away, I am anxious to see how you solved this patterning problem. 

Hope everyone had a restful weekend!  Mme

Here are the rest of last week's awesomes:

Thursday's awesome:

Sharing a laugh with a friend
They say laughter is the best medicine and I must say I wholeheartedly agree. I love when things are not only funny in the moment, but when you can think about it days later and still have a it bring a smile upon your face. Can't help but think that's AWESOME!

Friday's awesome: 

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!

Patterning Rules!

For the past couple of days, we have been looking at patterns and trying to determine the recursive and explicit pattern rules.  I know it may not always be easy, but believe me when I say that being able to do this will help you out a lot next year!  Don't worry if you are still confused, we are going to keep working on it!

Tuesday's awesome

Being told you're a pretty good momma

I know I will never win the prize for World's Best Mother (let's face it, I couldn't even crack the top 1 000 000), in fact some days it feels as though I may even be a candidate for the worst.  That's why being told by my three year old (and I quote) that I am "a pretty good momma" comes as high praise indeed.  Who needs an award anyway?  Awesome!

Today's awesome

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!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoyed some special time with your family over this long weekend.  We are all truly blessed and have much to be thankful for.  As such, this week's blog homework asks you to reflect on your life and name the top three things that you are thankful for.  I look forward to reading your posts and I am anxious to see you all again tomorrow!

Mme

Here are some overdue awesomes (thank goodness there are no late fees!);

Tuesday's Awesome

Quotes

I just love quotes! They can be funny, sad, inspirational, thought-provoking, etc. One of my favourites:

Sing like nobody is listening,

Live like's it's Heaven on Earth,

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one is watching.

My other favourite quote: Awesome!

Wednesday's Awesome:
Random Act of Kindness day

How cool is it that there is a day that celebrates random acts of kindness?  In honour of this day, I paid for the person behind me at Tim Horton's.  Making a stranger's day just because you can?  Awesome!    
 
Thursday's Awesome:
Public Libraries

A library is truly a magical place. You can get lost in the bookshelves, find that novel you've been wanting to read, escape into another world by cracking open a book right there and then.
And all this for free... Awesome!

Friday's Awesome:

Pizza & movies

Peanut butter and jelly.  Cookies and milk.  Pizza & movies.  If ever two things were destined to be together, surely it is these.  Regardless of the pizza, and regardless of the movie (in this case Barbie Mariposa and the Fairy Princess) nothing else quite compares.  Awesome!    

Today's Awesome: 

Baby Giggles

Best.  Sound.  Ever.
AWESOME!

A mink, a fink, a skating rink

This morning we started discussing parts of speech and today was all about nouns.  Proper, common, plural, singular, concrete and abstract; they truly are all around us!  Without them, sentences just wouldn't be the same! 

Today's awesome 

Garlic cheese bread

Okay, so garlic bread in and of itself is pretty fantastic.  Add some cheese and your taste buds will be on cloud nine!  Awesome!

Busy weeks!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!  It was a crazy week for me.  We are gearing up for two short weeks, but they will be jam packed!  This week we start our patterning unit, and we will also be talking about parts of speech and recount writing.  In French, we will continue to discuss biodiversity and Canada's trading partners.  I am looking forward to seeing more of your presentations (which are fabulous by the way!) and we will hopefully get a chance to finish our op art.  Hope you had a chance to relax over the weekend!  Looking forward to seeing you all!

I am so behind on my awesomes! Here they are:

Monday's awesome: 

DecimalsI 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!

Tuesday's awesome:

Saying I love you

It is incredible to me that 3 little words can hold so much power. Often times, we forget to tell those who mean the most to us just how much we love them. Take every opportunity you can to let people know how much they mean to you, whether it be your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, your grandparents, your friends, etc. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Never missing a chance to say I love you? Awesome!
Wednesday's awesome:

Getting new books
Two big huge boxes filled with 50 new adventures.  Our class library just got a lot bigger! Awesome!

Thursday's awesome:

Mr. Sketch markers

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

Friday's awesome:

Fridays
Need I say more? 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 goals is a life skill that will help you succeed throughout your life. You are all already on the path to success! Woohoo!

Today's awesome thing:

Math Centres

What a great way to review for a test!  Awesome! 

PS  Don't forget to give Mom and Dad those 2 important letters.  first one is from the with important information regarding confirmation.  Second one is about the "fun"raiser that is going on until October 15th!