Building the Canadian Pacific Railway

In History we have been learning about the building of the CPR, a railway which was built across the country and helped to secure and open up the Canadian West for settlement. We have learned about the many challenges in building the railway, including blasting through solid rock and spanning dangerous river valleys. Chinese workers were hired to work do some of the most dangerous jobs in building the British Columbia stretch of the line. They were lowered down cliff faces in baskets to set dynamite charges and many died. Many others survived the dangerous work and poor living conditions in the camps, to eventually settle in Canada and start businesses.

Our November Adventure!

Earlier this month students from 8-2, 8-4 and 8-5 spent two days and one night at the Macskimming Outdoor Education Centre. We had a great time cooking and preparing for the trip. The weather was lovely on the first day and we participated in lots of group building and cooperation activities designed to challenge us to come up with creative problem solving ideas. We had a yummy pasta dinner, apple crumble and a bonfire complete with ghost stories before the rain hit. The second day we did our best to find our way around using a compass and learned to start a fire in the rain. We arrived back at school damp but with lots of stories to share.

The Development of the West

We have recently started a new History unit on the Development of the Canadian West. Last week we discussed the Gold Rushes in British Columbia which led to the creation of that province. This week we are learning about the events which led to the formation of the North West Mounted Police. The Cypress Hills Massacre was one critical incident. American wolf hunters who believed an Assiniboine man had stolen one of their horses, burst into an Assiniboine Camp and killed 36 men, women and children. It turned out that the horse had just wandered away. The government believed that the new police force would help to bring law and order to the west and bring a stop to the illegal whiskey trade. The force started as a small group of 300 recruits and they established their presence during The Great March, a long and difficult trek from Manitoba to Alberta. They were paid $1.00 a day and eventually would receive a small plot of land to settle once they had completed three years of service.

The Canadian War Museum

On November 11th, Remembrance Day, we went on a field trip to the Canadian War Museum. We watched the ceremony to honour our veterans and observed a minute of silence. We were able to explore some of the exhibits, especially in the World War One gallery. Before we went, Miss D. had read the book, A Bear in War, so students were anxious to find Teddy, who is the narrator in the story. Teddy is a genuine artifact from the First World War. He is a ragged, little stuffed bear who accompanied a Canadian medical officer overseas during the war. His daughter gave the bear to her father to keep him safe. Sadly, the officer died at Passchendaele and the bear was sent home. Students were given an assignment to choose two pieces of art and write a response to these while they were at the museum. If students had difficulty completing the assignment, they can finish it using some of the art which is available to view online at http://www.warmuseum.ca/ This assignment will be collected in Art class this week.

Parent Teacher Conferences

I hope that I will get to meet a lot of parents this Thursday evening at parent teacher conferences. The meetings will take place between 5 and 7:30 in the large gym at the school. All of the teachers will be in there, so you can plan to meet more than one of us on the same evening. Please drop by if you have any concerns you would like to discuss or just want to meet and put a face to the name. On the same evening there will be a silent auction to support students going on the grade 7 Quebec City trip, so you can drop by and check out some great gift ideas. If Thursday evening doesn't work for a meeting, please let me know and we can arrange another time.

Welcome to our student teacher

Our student teacher, Miss D. started last week in Room 202 and will be with us until the end of November. She has a background in Fine Arts and has already started teaching lessons in Art, Drama and Language Arts. This week we are starting pencil shading stations in Visual Arts. Students are putting some of the new techniques they have learned over the past two weeks into practice and will be producing a still life pencil sketch. Make sure you drop by to see some of our Mandalas. A lot of them are complete and have been posted on the bulletin boards both inside and outside the room.

Analysing Editorial Cartoons

As part of our study of Media Literacy we worked in groups last week to read and analyse editorial cartoons. Only a couple of students in each class had ever read an editorial cartoon before. Editorial cartoons were posted around the classroom and students rotated through stations where they discussed the cartoons in small groups under four different headings: background knowledge, pictures , text and theme or message. Students have one cartoon to analyse for homework which is on the long gun registry. We have read an article and discussed this issue in class, so hopefully, it won't be too difficult. Here is another editorial cartoon on the same topic -any comments?

Halloween Dance

Here are a few pictures from our Halloween Dance. There were a lot of great costumes and we had a lot of fun!

Oral Novel Reports

This week students in 8-4 and 8-5 have started giving oral reports on the novel they read most recently in class. Each student created a powerpoint slide show to accompany their oral report. They are encouraged to print off an outline and practice their presentation ahead of time. They should also remember to look at the audience when speaking, use a clear voice and not read from the slide show, but rather use it as a tool to enhance their presentation. So far the presentations have been very well done. We are getting a lot of ideas for great books to read. Students should remember that they are expected to read for a minimum of twenty minutes each evening and bring your novel to class every day.

Debating Confederation

Today in class we re-enacted the Charlottetown Conference, with the students playing the roles of the Father's of Confederation. We debated issues such as defence, building a railway, provision of a subsidy for the Maritime colonies and Confederation. I was so proud of the effort so many students went through - dressing in shirts and ties, making top hats out of construction paper and reading eloquent speeches about the threat of Fenian invasion and the need for increased trade between the colonies. Many students in both of my History classes come to English as a second language, but that did deter them from participating. As the chair of the meeting, I could barely keep up with the demands to get their names on the speaker's list. We will continue the debates tomorrow. Will we decide to come together to create a new nation from six diverse British colonies? I can't wait to hear the results...

Chilean Miners Rescued Safely

Today, as part of our study of Media Literacy, we discussed yesterday's successful rescue of the miners in Chile who were trapped in a deep mine below ground for 69 days. Many students had followed the story in the news and already knew a great deal about the issue. We are reading an article on the trapped miners to follow up this discussion. As part of our discussion please comment in the blog on the following question: What do you think would be the biggest challenge of being trapped underground for 69 days?

Class Relays

Today we had class relays at Central Park. The relays are a school spirit event that were started by an amazing former teacher at the school, Mr. D, and have been a tradition for many years. My homeroom, 8-4, dressed all in white and black and sporting black shading under their eyes, gave it their best. We had perfect fall weather but got a few soakers from the wet trail conditions. Our class participated in both the recreational and competitive categories and showed great team spirit, running their hardest and cheering on their friends. I ran in the competitive relays on the teacher team and we actually won our heat and made it to the finals, thanks to a great group of colleagues. 8-4 rules and 8-5 is pretty amazing too!!

Reader Responses

Most students have finished their first novel and have started writing a reader response. A reader response is different from a book report. When they are writing their responses, I have asked students to imagine that they are having a conversation with me about the book that they are reading. They have a number of paragraph starters to choose from and we have modelled a number of these paragraphs with the class. Some paragraphs could discuss their favourite part of the novel, compare the novel with something else they have read, discuss one of the characters from the novel or what a particular part reminds them of, just to name a few choices. Students need to remember to support their ideas with examples from the text, when they write their response.

The Causes of Confederation

Last week in History we learned the causes or factors which led to confederation of the British North American colonies, to form the country of Canada. One of the greatest factors was the fear of American takeover. Americans had recently purchased Alaska from the Russians, American settlers were moving into the Red River Colony in search of land and into British Columbia in search of gold. In addition there was a fear of Fenian invasion of the colonies. Fenians were Irish Americans, who had attacked the colonies to get back at Britian. United, the colonies would be better able to defend themselves. Trade was a third factor. The loss of trade deals with both Britian and the United States led the colonies to consider a union in order to promote trade between the colonies. A union would also help the colonies to build railways, which were needed for trade and defence. Finally, the British were happy to be rid of the colonies, which were becoming a burden.

Revising our Memoirs

We have been busy drafting, revising and editing our memoirs all week in the computer lab. The revision process in writing is different from editing. Revision involves adding more description and detail to our writing and making sure that the piece makes sense. When we edit our writing we are checking for grammar, sentence structure and spelling. Final copies of memoirs will be collected on Friday in class.

The Mandala

Our first art project of the year is a mandala. The mandala has spiritual importance in Hinduism and Buddism and is supposed to represents the universe in symbols. In the Buddist tradition, monks create mandalas. When I was travelling in India 10 years ago, I stayed in a village in Ladakh where I saw a group of monks creating a mandala out of sand. I couldn't help but wonder why anyone would work so hard on a piece of art that would blow away overnight or be washed away in the rain. My understanding is that sand mandalas are created to promote the idea that we should not become too attached to things of beauty, as they will not last.
Students in Room 202 will be creating mandalas which include symbols that they feel represent things which are important to them. These symbols could represent interests or values.

Our first Prime Minister

In History we are learning about our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. We read a short biography on Macdonald and took jot notes on his early life, before he became Prime Minister. He was born in Scotland and immigrated to the colony of Upper Canada when he was 5 years old. His family was poor and could not afford to send him to university. He worked in a law office during the day and studied law on his own at night. Macdonald had a very difficult personal life. His first wife was very ill and died young. He lost his first child as well. Macdonald became an alcoholic which often caused a scandal for the government.

Writing a Memoir

In writing this week, we are working on memoirs. A memoir is a story from your life. Students have been brainstorming ideas for their memoirs and today I read an exerpt of a memoir in class. We will use a graphic organizer to plan an outline before we go to the computer lab to start our drafts.

History This Week....

We have started our first History unit of the year on Canadian Confederation. Confederation was the joining together of a group of colonies to create the country of Canada. We have been learning about what life was like in the years before confederation in 1867. We have examined pictures and maps and compared life before 1867 to life in Canada today. Families were larger and the majority of Canadians lived in rural areas. Child labour was common and work in the new factories was often dangerous. Some students were surprised to find that most homes did not indoor toilets and sewage was put directly onto city streets. Roads were not paved and could become a sea of mud after the rain. Travel was usually by train or horse and carraige and lots of new railways and canals were being built. Next we will be examining some of the events which led to Confederation, or the creation of the country of Canada.

Why have a class blog?

You may be wondering why I have started a class blog? I hope that this will be a fun way for me to communicate with you - the parents and students of Room 202. Research has shown that student achievement improves when parents clearly understand the expectations and learning activities of their child's classroom. I hope to publish posts 3-4 times each week. These posts may be about a school wide event, something we have been learning in class, a field trip or an upcoming project.

The format I have chosen will allow you to post comments in response to my postings. Please bookmark this site and check it often for updates. The address is: www.room202newsandviews.blogspot.com. My hope for this blog is that it will help you feel a part of our classroom community as well as help your child achieve his or her learning goals. Finally, instead of asking your child, "What did you do at school today?" and getting the dreaded answer, "nothing", you will have have something specific to ask about.

I would like to thank two people in particular who have inspired me to learn something new and give this a try. One is my son, Kieran's teacher, Natalie, who faithfully sends an email to all of her parents every day entitled "Ask About". This is the first teacher Kieran has had who did this and it has been great to feel "in the loop". Secondly, a new teacher at our school, Wayne, has been very kind to get me started and help me set up this blog.

Meet the Teacher Night

This coming Wednesday, September 15th at 5:30 pm is Meet the Teacher night and you and your family are invited to a barbeque at the school. This will be an opportunity to meet some of your child's teachers, our principal and vice-principal.

There will be hamburgers, hotdogs, drinks and desserts for sale at the barbeque. Orders can also be placed ahead of time by filling out the form that was sent home this week. After eating you will be invited inside to tour the school to see your child's classrooms. I am looking forward to meeting you all this week.

Olympic Medalist Visits Our School

Sue Holloway, a former Olympic medal winner, visited the school and spoke to the students on Friday afternoon. Sue was the first Canadian and the first woman in the world to compete in both the summer and winter Olympic games in the same year. She competed in both x-country skiing and canoe sprint. Sue won silver and bronze medasl at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, both in canoeing. Sue gave an inspirational speech about the importance of having a passion, setting goals to achieve your dreams and persevering, even when it gets tough. Students spent time following the assembly writing down some academic and personal goals for the year.

The Reading Process

In Integrated Studies, we have introduced The Reading Process and practiced using stickie notes to jot down and remember information from the text. This process outlines the steps that good readers go through when reading a new text. Being aware of these steps can make us better readers.

1. Set a purpose: why are you reading this text?

2. Preview the text: do you have prior knowledge about the topic?

3. Plan: what strategies will help you remember what you read?

4. Read with a Purpose: be clear about why you are reading.

5. Connect: making connections to your own experiences helps you to remember.

6. Reflect: ask yourself if you have met your purpose?
7. Re-read: be patient - you may have to read the text more than once.

8. Remember: use a graphic organizer or stickie notes to remember important information

Our New Balanced School Day Schedule

Well, we all made it through the first day of the new school year. We spent some class time going over expectations and handing out permission forms and letters to go home. Everyone was assigned a locker and given an agenda and a new timetable.

We attended an assembly this morning with Mr. M., our Principal and Ms. B., our Vice-Principal. The main focus of the assembly was the new balanced school day schedule, which will be an adjustment for us all of us this year. This year we will have two 45 minute nutrition breaks. Students who have signed permission will be allowed to go off property during the second nutrition break only at 12:50 pm. Classes are in two period blocks with the breaks after period 2 and period 4, so students have a chance to have regular snacks and exercise. Ms. B. reminded students not to eat all of their snacks/lunch during the first break, because 3:15pm is a long time to last without food. Mr. O. will still be selling nutritious snacks during both breaks, with proceeds going to our school library and the Grade 7 Quebec City trip.

Welcome to Room 202

Welcome to all the parents and students of room 202. I look forward to getting to know you this year. I will be teaching 8-4 and 8-5 Language Arts, History, Geography, Visual Arts and Drama as well as Visual Arts to most of the other grade 8 classes. Please don't hesitate to call or email me at the school or arrange a meeting if you have any questions or concerns. Following are few guidelines to help your child get off to a great start in grade eight:
1. Regular attendance and being on time are two of the strongest indicators of success in school.
2. If your child does not understand a concept or the expectations of an assignment, encourage them to come in for extra help. During nutrition breaks or after school are the best times to come.
3. Encourage your child to use their agenda to record homework and other important information.
4. Daily reading is an essential part of the Language Arts program. Ensure that your child is reading every day at home.
5. Keep a consistent homework schedule and an area free from distractions for completing homework.