Concert still a GO!

It may be a snow day but it is still a SHOW day! We realize that the buses are cancelled and this can cause problems for some people but the decision as made to go ahead with the concert. Our class is performing in the second show (which starts at 10:05am). The show will last until about 11:00 or so. A reminder that students who are leaving with their parents after the show need to sign out at the main office. For all those who can make it, please remember that our costume is PJs and a santa hat (boys are to wear a shirt and tie on top). For those who can't make it, I will post a video of our dress rehearsal performance in the upcoming days.

Students are also asked to take all of their things home over the holidays - including indoor shoes - so that the coatroom and classroom can get cleaned well (and that those with shoes that are too small can get replaced).

Also, items from the lost and found are displayed on tables near the gym. Parents who are coming to watch the show are encouraged to peruse the items with their child in a a search for lost articles. Items not claimed will be donated to those in need.

Finally, if I do not get to see you before the break I want to wish you all a happy and safe Christmas holiday. I have thoroughly enjoyed this first part of the year and am looking forward to the remaining months working with our amazing students!

Christmas Concert - Friday (am)

Dress rehearsal tomorrow during period 1 and 2..... but, more importantly, the big performance is Friday during period two (starting around 10:00). Students are asked to wear the following "costumes" for the performance (Friday), they do not need to wear them tomorrow for the school rehearsal.

BOYS

• shirt and tie
• pajama bottoms
• Santa hat (optional)

GIRLS

• pajamas
• Santa hat (optional)

The students were excellent in rehearsal today and I am hoping that many of the parents will be able to attend the concert. As for academics, if students have completed their Census at Schools project, their podcast, and their literature circle package (and reading the novel) then they are "free" to enjoy their Christmas break with no additional work - other than Math Reflex and reading of course. :)

Final Literature Circle Meeting tomorrow (am)

Tomorrow (Wednesday), is our final literature circle. Students should be done their novel and have completed the literature circle package in preparation for their meeting.

Graphs DUE tomorrow - Wednesday (am)

Each student (even those working in pairs) must hand in their own copy of a pictograph, bar graph, and line graph for their chosen data. Today in class we were working towards designing criteria for these graphs.

As a reminder to students:

• the pictograph is for the class data only
• the bar graph is to compare the class and Canadian (and South African) data
• the line graph is to show the Canadian data over the years

For the bar and line graph, students should be including a legend to indicate which set of data (e.g. class, Canadian) is represented.

click HERE for the success criteria for pictographs

1. click HERE for the success criteria for bar and line graphs

Snow Day - things to work on at home (am)

Due to the freezing rain, all buses are cancelled. The schools will remain open. If students are staying in their homes today, here are three things that they could be working on (in addition to cleaning the house and making supper):

1) Prep for Wednesday's final literature circle meeting

Our final meeting for our December book clubs is this Wednesday. Students should have completed their book by this time. Students are required to complete the literature circle meeting package before each meeting. Some students have not completed this is past and have showed up to their meeting empty handed. This is not to be happening - all students are to be prepared for their discussion. Today would be a good day for students to curl up and complete this reading as due to the snow day and advent liturgy, no class time will be made available for them to do this.

2) Work on graphs for Census at Schools project

On Friday, we discussed pictographs and would have been starting on bar and line graphs today. I plan to print out the introduction and data table this morning (students were aware that this would be happening). At home, students should be making, a very least, a pictograph for the class data (e.g. frequencies). If they have additional time they can start on the bar and line graphs. A reminder that the pictograph is for the CLASS data (i.e. frequency of each choice), the bar graph should be a double (or triple if including South African data) that compares the CLASS and CANADIAN data, and the line graph should be of the CANADIAN data over time. 

Here are some helpful resources for making the graphs:

- find a checklist of things to include in a quality pictograph HERE

- find a checklist of things to include in a quality bar and line graph HERE

3) Play Math Reflex

It's a great day to become more fluent in math facts. Students are encouraged to play Math Reflex at some point today to continue working towards 100% fluency.

Drive safe.

Math Tests sent home (am)

Today, the math test on data terms and collection was sent home in the math assessment duotang. We did not complete the analysis for this test, but I am asking students who would like clarification on any of the questions to speak to me on Monday.

Christmas Song (am)

In preparation for the upcoming Christmas concert (Friday, December 21), our morning class is prepping the the song "12 and a half days of Christmas". Some students requested some resources that they could use at home to help them practice.

Students can download/access the following below:
1) Copy of the lyrics
2) Link to YouTube video
3) Listen to the Africa part (I used Audacity to make a Karaoke version - we will use this on Monday)

We will be practicing the whole song next week so a little weekend practice would be very helpful.

Forms of Energy Poster (pm)

After a great dodgeball game versus Mme. Helbecque's grade 6 immersion class, we began our electricity unit. As the grade 5s just finished a unit on energy, they are also included in this activity.

In order to explore several different forms of energy and how those forms can be converted to or from electrical energy, students are creating a poster for one of the forms of energy.

The poster should include:
- the name of the form of energy prominently located on the poster
- a brief definition (one or two sentences) maximum of the energy form (this is to be written in the student's own words)
- a picture which shows the chosen energy form and how it can be converted to or from electrical energy (for example, if doing solar energy, do not just draw the Sun... the students needs to draw the Sun with its solar rays hitting a solar panel and being converted to electrical energy)

I will also be looking to see if the students' posters:
- are neat and organized
- contain no spelling or grammatical errors
- include colour
- have the information organized in a way that it is easy to read

Today, we started the rough copies and I am asking that students arrive to class tomorrow with their rough copies completed so that we can work on the good copies in class. These posters will be displayed in the classroom so that students can refer to them throughout the unit.

Math Test - tomorrow! (am)

Tomorrow, the grade sixes will be writing a math quiz on data terminology and collecting data. Concepts the students should be proficient in include:

• primary versus secondary data (know definitions and examples)
• qualitative versus quantitative data (know definitions and examples)
• discrete versus continuous data (know definitions and examples)
• collecting data in tally charts and frequency tables
• converting from a fraction to percent

Today, students were given a practice test today (download a new copy HERE).... students are encouraged to check their answers to this practice test HERE.

Busy Day! (am)

Wow - what a busy day! Trying to get caught up on things from the snow day and trying to finish up some units before Christmas break. The grade six students (am) should be working on three things at home tonight:
- continue their reading and logging any vocabulary and questions they may need clarified in the literature circle package (our next meeting is Thursday and several students were NOT prepared last time - I am expecting all to be ready to share their thoughts).
- finish their data tables (e.g. class, Canadian) that we started in class today. We will be using this data to construct pictographs, bar graphs, and line graphs starting tomorrow
- continue with Math Reflex... we are going for 100% fluency! So far Sam, Louis, and Jared have reached this target! Congrats boys!

Snow Day - buses cancelled (am)

Due to the freezing rain, the buses have been cancelled for all schools in Ottawa. The schools will remain open; however, if students are staying home today, here are three things that they could work on.

1) Get their readings completed for their literature circle. Most groups have assigned themselves around 100 pages which are to be read for Thursday's book club meeting. Students could use the day to complete some (or all) of this reading. Once done, they are to start filling out the literature circle package in preparation for their Thursday meeting.

2) Compile data for the Census at School project. See previous post about this.

3) Play Math Reflex. Several students are reaching 100% fluency with this program. Others are not even 50% as of yet. Students are encouraged to continue playing this 3 times per week to ensure math fluency.

Take care on the roads today.

Call for Alice pictures (pm)

I don't know how I could have been more proud of the students in the Alice in Wonderland production. In total, the cast performed the show three times for over 400 people! I am hoping that parents were able to get some good pictures! I am also hoping that those parental photographers would be able to send me some pictures so that I can create a gallery of the show (having to deal with the audio and visual aspects of the play, I couldn't take pictures myself!).

Pictures from the play can be sent via email to ian.fischer@ocsb.ca

Thanks in advance!

Data, Data, Data! (am)

On Friday, students were introduced to using a spreadsheet to organize data. Each student received a copy of the class data (via google docs) and were asked to play around with the functions (e.g. taking an average, sorting) of the application. As part of our math project, students are to organize the data for their specific question into a frequency table.

We will also be looking at the Canadian data over the past several years. Students will be asked to organize the historical data (results) from their specific survey question. Some questions go back all the way to 2003 and others are relatively new. The date written beside the question (on the project outline) refers to the first year the question was asked.

Finally, some of the students have been asked to look at data from South Africa. They will have to create a frequency table for the South African data.

We will be using the netbooks on Monday to collect all of the above data but students are encouraged to get a jump on this by working over the weekend to collect some of the data (e.g. class data) into a table.

Here are some links to the data and to some helpful templates:
- find a helpful template (word doc) to help organize the data HERE
- access the class data (spreadsheet) HERE
- access the Canadian data through the links HERE
- access the South African data (spreadsheet) HERE

Please note that the Google documents in the links above must be saved "as a copy" before students can edit the data. To do this, the student must be logged into their google account, and then go to "File" and "Make a copy".

Literature Circle Meeting #1 - tomorrow! (am)

Our first circle meeting for our book clubs will be tomorrow. Students were to have read the assigned chapters and to complete the literature circle package for this first portion of the book. We will be having the meeting during period one.

Survey Introduction DUE tomorrow! (am)

The first part of our survey project is due tomorrow (Friday). Students are to have written (or typed) an introduction to their survey question. The introduction should include:
- the question that they will be investigating in the project
- the possible choices (if any) that were offered on the survey
- a prediction and supporting explanation of the most popular and least popular choice from the class data
- a prediction and supporting explanation of the most popular and least popular choice from the Canadian data
- a prediction and supporting explanation of the most popular and least popular choice from the South African data (only for those questions which have SA data)

We will be hanging our introduction up in the hallway so students are advised to write neatly or to type out their responses.

Alice - dress rehearsal tomorrow! (pm)

Today's final "no audience" performance went very well. Some students are still a little shaky on their lines and should be reviewing these on a daily basis. Tomorrow, during period four (as soon as the Lacrosse team returns) we will be performing the play for three junior classes. This will serve as our dress rehearsal. A reminder to parents wanting to come watch the play that we will be having two performances on Friday, December 7.

Performance #1 will begin at 12:20pm.

Performance #2 will begin at 1:50pm.

Parents are encouraged to get their 15 minutes before show time so that they can get a seat before the classes come. Check out the picture from today's rehearsal!

Complete Online Survey! (am)

Students that did not complete the Census at Schools survey in class today due to iPOD issues are to complete the survey before math class tomorrow (period 2). Click HERE to access the survey. The class code is 550 and the password is holyred.

Students who do not complete the survey tonight are to complete it during first recess tomorrow.

Census at Schools Analysis Project (am)

Over the final weeks before Christmas, the grade six students will be choosing ONE question from the Census at School questionnaire. They will be looking at the class results as well as comparing this to Canadian and in some cases, South African results. By the end of the this project, students will have the follow SIX items in their analysis:
1) An introduction outlining the question and their predictions
2) A frequency table of the class results and a table showing Canadian results over the past several years
3) A pictograph of the class results
4) A double bar graph which shows how our class results compare to Canadian results
5) A line graph which shows the Canadian results over time
6) A conclusion which comments on the results and on the validity of their initial predictions

As students progress through this project, criteria for each of the items will be developed and posted. While in the school, look at our data wall which will show the project in action!

Deadlines for each of the components of the project are as follows:
- December 7 = Introduction and predictions
- December 11 = Data tables
- December 14 = Pictograph of class results
- December 17 = Double bar graph of Class versus Canadian results
- December 18 = Line graph of Canadian results over time
- December 19 = Conclusion and reflections on the data

To view possible topics and download the project outline, click HERE.

December Book Club (am)

For the next three weeks, the grade 6 students will be involved in one of seven book clubs. Each club has 3-4 members who will be reading the same book and who will be meeting up three times to discuss the book, questions they may have, and vocabulary that challenged them.

The book list for the December book club is:

1) City of Ember

2) Hana's Suitcase

3) The Breadwinner

4) Wonder

5) Chomp

6) Holes

7) The Westing Game

Students will have time in class to complete a portion of their assigned reading but will have to ensure that their reading (and the completion of the lesson package) is completed before each of the circle meetings. There will be three circle meetings in which the students will join up with their book club members:

1) Friday, December 7

2) Thursday, December 13

3) Wednesday, December 19

At each of the meetings, students will take on one of four roles: director, vocabulary, questioner, or summarizer. To download a copy of the lesson package, click HERE (this package is adapted from Laura Candler's resources for literature circles).

Great Ways to Start the Christmas Season

Are you looking for some great ways to ring in the Christmas season? Here three suggestions to get you singing "Joy to the World" (theoretically)....

1. Volunteer at the Kanata Food Cupboard - an open session for anyone who can help sort and pack the non-perishable items at the Kanata Food Cupboard. A number of Holy Redeemer staff members will also be there with their families. 
2. Ottawa Tree Farm (Fallowfield Road) - Free hot chocolate, horse drawn sleigh rides, bonfires and marshmallow roasting, and a huge selection of both cut-your-own and pre-cut trees (I went with my family on Saturday and had a great time!)
3. Bethel Church "The Gift of Christmas" (Fisher Ave) - Eight shows (two matinees) available to attend. The admission is by donation only and you will not be disappointed. Several excellent musical numbers and the show topped off with a huge "singing" Christmas tree of lights. 

Some Upcoming Events

With the Advent season upon us, there are a ton of events happening at Holy Redeemer. Here is a list of some upcoming news items:

1. December News and Calendar have been posted on the school website (under News & Links)
2. The Advent Food Train begins on Monday, December 3 - please help us fill the train with non-perishable items (have students place the items in their class' box in the front hall)
3. Water Bottle orders are due by Friday, December 7 for those wishing to purchase one
4. The Grade 5/6 (pm) will be performing Alice in Wonderland on Friday, December 7 (Performance #1: 12:20 pm - 1:15 pm; Performance #2: 1:50 pm - 2:45 pm)
5. On December 20, we will be having a bake sale to help support the Grade 6 trip to St. Brigid
6. The School Christmas Concert will be on Friday, December 21 (Grades 1-3 @8:40; Grades 4-6 @10:05)

Math Tests - sent home (am)

The unit test for place value and decimals were handed back today. WOW - the class did fantastic! In class, we completed an analysis of the questions and set goals for how to improve on future tests of this nature. Students should have completed all of the corrections in class and are asked to review the test with their parents. Parents are asked to sign on the front index sheet in their math assessment duotangs.

Alice in Wonderland - next FRIDAY! (pm)

Coming to the Rocket Theatre - ALICE IN WONDERLAND! The grade 5/6 (pm) class has been working  ard on the play, Alice in Wonderland. The play is a full length (45 minute) play that involves special effects, character and set changes, and a ton of fun! All of the sets and background images have been created by the students. As for costumes, I am asking students to keep it simple. Wearing all black with a mask is great. We will be doing two presentations of the play next Friday, December 7.

Performance #1: 12:20 pm - 1:15 pm

Performance #2: 1:50 pm - 2:45 pm  

Parents are invited to attend either performance. Thanks for your support!

Math Test - tomorrow! (am)

As noted on the calendar, tomorrow (Thursday) the grade six students will be writing a math test on place value and decimals. They have been given a review package of questions which we will be taking up tomorrow. Students are encouraged to check over their answers and to identify any questions that require further clarification. We will be discussion those "flagged" questions tomorrow during period one. The test will be during period two.

To download a copy of the review package, click HERE.

To see the answers to the review questions, click HERE.

Water Bottles for Sale

The Earth Care team will be selling metal water bottles for the low cost of $12. The bottles can be ordered in either red or blue. Both colours will also include the "Go Rockets" logo. We are encouraging all students to start using reusable water bottles instead of disposable plastic bottles. Order forms have been sent home today and are due by December 7, 2012.

Advent Food Train

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and our homes for the birth of our Saviour Jesus.  It is an opportunity for us to look for ways to make “little miracles” happen to celebrate the blessed, real miracles of Jesus’ birth. 

Each year we discuss how fortunate we are as a community.  Most of us have safe, warm homes, enough to eat and warm clothes.  However, we know there are some families in our community who are not as fortunate.  These families can use our prayers and support.

Once again, as part of our school Advent project we are asking each class to donate  non-perishable items to help support families in our neighbourhood.

Starting December 3^rd through until December 20^th students are asked to bring in a needed item. A letter was sent home today which outlines the project. Thanks in advance for your support.

Laurence Wall! (am)

Today, we were blessed to have Laurence Wall come speak to our class about developing a news story, planning a podcast, and interview techniques. Mr. Wall is the news producer at CBC radio in Ottawa. He prepares and reads the newscast every weekday afternoon on CBC radio. We learned about some news stories from the past (such as the first news cast and the Moose River Mine Collapse). Mr. Wall also explained how the CBC switches from local to regional to national broadcasts and how important the timing (and the atomic clock) is for coordinating these switches. The students will be putting these skills to work as they continue working on their news story podcasts for the remainder of the week.

Does this voice sound familiar to CBC radio listeners?

listen to ‘CBC’ on Audioboo

Buddy Day - Our Hope for a Bully-free World (am)

For today's buddy day, the grade three students from Mrs. Trent and Mrs. Berryhill's classes joined our grade 6s to complete our "I have a dream..." activity. After watching and discussing Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and how this is a model of hope and optimism, we brainstormed our hope for the perfect school. Student responses to the prompt "I have a dream" included:

• where everyone is included
• where everyone is optimistic
• where there is no gossiping
• where everyone tries their best

Student groups had 30 minutes to design a poster and to write a script explaining their "dream". I recorded the students explaining their dream using the Audioboo app and we created QR codes to include on their poster. By scanning this code, one can hear the students explain their poster! To view the indiviual posters and hear the audioboos, click HERE.

Spirit Week! (Nov 26-30)

All right Rockets! Next week is spirit week and it is time for all to add some wackiness to their lives. Here is the breakdown of the spirit days:

Monday - Pyjama Day

Tuesday - Tacky Tourist Day

Wednesday - Crazy Hair Day

Thursday - Rocket Spirit Day (red & blue)

Friday - Crazy Hat Day

Math Prep for Tuesday (am)

During math on Tuesday, we will be completing activities and applications on the topics of rounding decimals and plotting decimal numbers on a number line. In order to prepare for this class, I am asking all students to view the corresponding videos from Khan Academy and to complete the practice questions. Students should aim for completing 10 consecutive questions correctly. A reminder that our math test on place value and decimals is this coming Thursday and the concepts discussed in these videos will be included on the test.

Concept #1: Decimals on the Number Line (view video, complete practice questions)

Concept #2: Rounding Decimal Numbers (view video, complete practice questions)

A reminder to students that they are encouraged to watch at their own speed and may pause, rewind, or fast forward where needed. The goal is for students to have an understanding of these concepts so that they can apply them during the class time. 

Bump, Set, Smash - FUN!

The boys of the volleyball team did Holy Redeemer proud today at the board tournament.

After a strong start, the boys came up against some strong teams in their third and fourth games. They ended up finishing the day with a 4 and 2 record. The boys were excellent ambassadors for our school and really perpetuated the Rocket pride! Way to go boys!

Energy LEGO Video (pm)

The grade 5 students in our afternoon science class have been working hard on building contraptions which incorporate sources of renewable energy. Students designed solar-powered cars, windmills and waterwheels as part of the project. The students were also responsible for researching one of the sources and developing (and recording) a paragraph describing their chosen renewable energy source. Videos of their LEGO contraptions and the accompanying audio tracks were then merged into the video shown below:

Math Riddles (am)

Today in math class, we expanded our discussion about place value to include decimal numbers. We talked about how each column in the place value chart is separated by one power of ten. By looking at these concepts in terms of money, the tenths column would represent dimes (since one dime makes up one tenth of a dollar) and the hundredths column would represent pennies (since one penny makes up one hundredth of a dollar).

We also complete a math riddle in which the students had to use four clues to determine a mystery number.

The clues given included:
- The digit in the hundredths place is double the digit in the tenths place
- The digit in the tenths place is odd
- The digit in the thousandths place is the sum of the digits in the tenths place and the hundredths place
- The digit in the ones place is four times the digit in the hundredths place.

Students worked in class to develop their own riddles. I am asking that each student submit their own riddle for tomorrow's class. Many students have completed this but those that haven't must complete this at home.

First Draft (news story) - DUE!!! (am)

Students are busy working on their news stories. Today, they began to type up their first draft of their story. We are asking all students to ensure that they complete this first draft this evening so that they will be able to participate in our editing session tomorrow (Wednesday). Please check the success criteria for this assignment by clicking HERE.

Parents, please sign (am)

The students received their place value of whole numbers quiz today. The class (as a whole) did FANTASTIC! We will be continuing our exploration of place value by extending our learning to include decimal numbers. I am hoping that parents have a chance to review and sign the assessment summary tonight.

Math Quiz - tomorrow (am)

The grade sixes will be writing a quick quiz tomorrow on place value of whole numbers. This quiz will be knowledge based (no word problems) and will include the following concepts:
- identifying the place value of digits in numbers up to one million
- determining the value of digits in a large number
- writing a number in words
- writing a number in standard and expanded form
- ordering whole numbers from least to greatest
- using rounding and estimation techniques to determine a reasonable estimate to a problem

Students are encouraged to complete the practice quiz that was sent home today. We will be taking up the practice test first thing tomorrow morning.

QUIZ Wholenumber Placevalue PRACTICE

News Story - assignment clarification (am)

On Thursday in Language Arts, the students were asked to complete an organizer and then begin to complete a draft of their newspaper article. This was to be completed by Monday; however, since some students did not get a chance to finalize their story idea until the end of class, we are now asking that students ensure that just the organizer (found embedded below) be completed by Monday. Students are welcome to begin their draft but this is not required. Students should concentrate on filling in the article organizer handout and will be using this organizer to develop their first draft in class on Monday using the Netbooks. We have adjusted the deadlines to reflect this change. Have a great weekend!

Newspaper Article Framework

Khan Academy - flipping the lesson (am)

Today, the students were introduced to an online resource called Khan Academy. This resource has instructional videos and exercises for math, science, finance, and history. We will be using it this year for math. The students are also encouraged to use this resource as they move into high school as it contains excellent tutorials of higher math such as vectors and calculus. We will also be using these videos to "flip the lesson". This concept takes the normal format of teacher-led lessons in the school and the work b being completed at home and flips it.... therefore, having the students learn the lesson at home and complete the work in the classroom.

Over the weekend, I am asking students to view the following three videos on rounding. They are to watch at their own pace and may pause, rewind, or fast-forward where necessary. Once they finish watching all three videos, they are to complete the practice exercise. I am hoping that by completing this "lesson" at home, we will have more time to apply the concepts and work towards solving problems during class time.

Video Lessons:

• Rounding Whole Numbers - 1
• Rounding Whole Numbers - 2
• Rounding Whole Numbers - 3

Practice Exercises

• Rounding Whole Numbers (practice)

For more information, I invite parents and students to view the video of Salman Khan (founder of the Khan Academy) speaking at a TED conference in 2011.

Agamographs - Visual Art (pm)

Under the guidance and expertise of student teacher Miss Evans, the grade 5/6 class created agamographs. An agamograph is a piece of art work composed of two separate images. Since the images are folded in an accordion style, as the viewer passes by the piece, the images morph from the first image to the second image. Check out a video of our agamograph display.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! (am)

Our grade six class (am) are starting a three week project to develop a podcast on a news story. Today, students joined one of eight news departments (e.g. sports, entertainment, culture, science and technology etc....) for our class newspaper. Each department will be responsible for researching stories at the school, city, and national level. Students will then write a news story and obtain primary (e.g. through Skype, phone calls, interviews) and secondary sources (e.g. through research) to support their writing. Finally, they will put their news story, their interviews, and class comments on their article into a podcast. We will be focusing the majority of our mornings on this project but some of the work will have to be completed at home. Students will receive a project organizer this week which will outline the tasks to be completed over the project's timeline. Please encourage your child to look through newspapers and other news media to become familiar with the structure and components of a news story. As the project progress, I will post more information on the blog.

Place Value Practice (am)

We have begun our unit on place value and decimals. Today in class, we reviewed the patterns in the place value chart for whole numbers (up to one million). The students are working on some practice questions and although some students finished these in class, the work has been assigned for homework tonight. For students to practice these fundamental concepts I am posting four good practice sites that students are encouraged to play for practice. As an aside, at parent-teacher night, some parents expressed their desire to have a math resource (e.g. textbook) at home. If this is something that would be helpful, families are welcome to sign out a grade 6 textbook which can be kept at home until the end of the year. Please send in a written request with your child.

Good place value games include:
1) ThatQuiz (set to level 9)
2) Mystery Numbers
3) Jumble Digits
4) Fun Brain Puzzler

Redesigned Website

For those who have not seen the changes to our class blog - check it out! In order to make the website more user friendly and (hopefully) more helpful as a learning tool, the format has been changed. New features include:
1) a calendar which will include assignment due dates, test dates, and school events
2) a gallery which will archive our adventures on field trips and school events
3) a twitter feed which will include smaller daily events that are happening in our school

For those that have subscribed to the blog, you should be receiving email updates around 4-5pm (whenever an update is made). For those that haven't subscribed, you can by filling in your email address in the "Follow by email" section at the bottom of the right side bar.

I would appreciate feedback if there are elements that you like or if there are parts that you find confusing or difficult to access. Please do not hesitate to contact me (see the link in the menu bar at the top) to offer your comments and suggestions on how I can improve the site.

Meaning of Home - writing (am)

This week, the students are putting their creative minds to work in order to raise money for a charitable cause. Each student is working on a piece for "The Meaning of Home" writing contest. They will be writing either a poem or composition on what "Home" means to them. It must be between 50 and 300 words. For each individual entry that we submit online by Friday, five dollars will be donated to a Habitat for Humanity project located closest to us.

In class we spent some time learning about Habitat for Humanity and also generating personal word webs about what the word home brings to mind. To remind them that homes don't always mean a comfy couch and an xbox, we completed as activity on homelessness (ask your child about this activity). We remembered our Shepherds of Good Hope presentation from last month also which taught us that homelessness, need, and poverty certainly exist here in Ottawa. It's often just not as obvious or easy to see.

We will be working on this tomorrow in class but students are welcome to continue their writing at home.

To find more information about the contest, Click Here

Math Tests - sent home (am)

Today we took up our patterning test and students were asked to make all corrections and fill out the accompanying analysis of their work. Students are encouraged to get their assessment duotang signed as soon as possible. Those students who wrote the test today will bring their tests home on Thursday. Also, a reminder for those who have not returned their interview form, bottom section of the progress report, and the  report envelope to do so. I would like to post available interview slots for those students/parents who were not assigned interviews. Thanks!

Math Test - tomorrow (am)

Today in class, we completed our review of our patterning unit. We took up all of the multiple choice questions from our bell ringer as well as the practice test that was sent home over the weekend. Students are encouraged to review the lessons from class today and try some additional patterning questions.

Check out the answers to the practice test...

Practice Test Answers

November School News and Calendar

The school newsletter and calendar of events for November are now available online. To see what's happening in November, download the newsletter and calendar. All news and calendars will be archived under the News & Links tab on the Holy Redeemer website (red.ocsb.ca). Please remember the environment while viewing and only print if you have to. Thanks!

Mrs. Campbell is on Twitter!

Mrs. Campbell, our school principal, is now on twitter. She will "tweet" school announcements and info about events as well as pictures of school activities. If you have a twitter account, you can follow her tweets. If you don't, you can check out what she is posting at https://twitter.com/OCSB_HolyRed.

Patterning Test - TUESDAY! (am)

We have been working on our patterning unit for the past month and it is time to test our knowledge! On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, the grade sixes (am) will be writing their unit test on patterning. We have been completing some review of multiple choice questions pertaining to patterns and will be taking these up during Monday's class. Today, students were given a practice test to complete over the weekend. This test is almost identical in scope, length, format, and difficulty to the actual test. We will be taking this practice test up during Monday's class.

Concept Check Practice

Bill Mason - A Rainy and Fun Halloween

Did it rain? Yes. Did it stop us from exploring the forest, catching salamanders and frogs, feeding chickadees from our hands, classifying trees, or having a great time? NO! Check out the gallery in the right side bar!

Also, several students were obsessed with feeding chickadees but may not have had a chance. I was talking to a few of them about Stony Swamp trails and how there are hundreds of chickadees there that will eat from one's hand. The best trail (Trail 26) I have found is at parking lot 11, right off of West Hunt Club road. Some information as well as a map to this trail can be found HERE.

Progress Reports and Interviews

Today, all students received their progress report. Along with this report was a yellow paper with information about interviews. The interviews are being held next Thursday (November 8). A schedule has already been drafted which pairs the English and French teacher together for the interview. Please note that some students in the pm class have not been assigned interview times due to lack of space available; however, please contact me for a phone interview if you are so inclined. If you received an interview time and either a) can't make the time or b) choose not to attend the interviews, please indicate this on the form so that I can make your time slot available to others. Thanks very much!

Bill Mason - Tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Wednesday), the grade 6 students are headed to Bill Mason Centre to investigate biodiversity in the forest. It looks like it is going to be a rainy day tomorrow so students are strongly encouraged to dress appropriately. We will be putting our belongings in a covered area but will be trekking into the woods to complete our activities. Boots and rain gear should be worn (maybe a dry pair of socks too!). We will not let  Super Storm Sandy get in the way of our learning. :) A reminder to those who have not brought their permission form to bring a note stating parental permission that they can attend the trip. Thanks.

Mystery Morning (am)

This morning, the am students participated in the mystery "The Alien Attack of the Quarterback". Possum Valley's star quarterback was supposedly abducted by aliens. He was found wandering down the county road seemingly hypnotized. Students had to take on one of the characters and record clues that were revealed throughout the activity in order to solve the crime. The students did a fantastic job asking questions and trying to use their deductive reasoning skills to solve the crime. The solution will be revealed tomorrow in class.

Job Applications - DUE Wednesday

The second round of job contracts are coming up and students are asked to apply for jobs for the period of November and December. The job list and salaries have changed slightly since the beginning of the year. Check out the updated list HERE. Students are asked to fill in their job applications electronically in order to save paper. They are encouraged to type out their response in a word document first and ensure there are no grammatical or spelling errors and then paste it into the form. Job applications are due on Wednesday and the new jobs will be posted on Thursday, November 1.
Math Economics Information INFO 2012 UpdatedOnline Job Application

Chatting with Kansas (am)

Today, as part of our Global Read Aloud (GRA), we hooked up (via Skype) with a class from Kansas to discuss the book and differences between Canadians and Americans. We taught them all about poutine, maple syrup, and hockey.... oh, and snow! They talked about experiences with tornadoes, what Kansas City was like, and all about baseball. The student moderators, who were responsible for facilitating the questions and answers, were amazing! We will continue our connections next week through Edmodo, our KidBlogs, and through Skype chats with our friends in North Carolina. Ain't technology great?!

LEGO Scientists (pm)

Today, the grade 5s continued their exploration of energy by building solar-power cars. Students were to follow instructions to construct one of two car models. Then, they were to test their cars and make improvements (e.g. adding a second solar panel, changing the wheels or gears, reducing the weight, etc...) to make their car go faster. We will be continuing with testing variables on our cars next week.

Gourmet Lollipop Fundraiser!

Are you ready for a real treat? Gourmet Lollipops are on their way!

The Grade 6 class will be selling Gourmet Lollipops on Friday, October 26th as one of their fundraisers for the St. Brigid's trip in June.  
The lollipops are nut-free, gluten free, and delicious! 

Students may purchase a gourmet lollipop for $1.00. Money will be collected all week in homeroom.  Thank you very much for your support!

PS: I am aware of the irony of this post and the previous "healthy eating" post being sent on the same day :)