May 16

Poetry is All Around Us

Writing poetry is a state of free float. ― Margaret Atwood

In Writing Workshop, our study of poetry and exploring the writing of poetry has been quite liberating for some…we are learning to write Free Verse poems. There are NO rules when it comes to free verse. No punctuation? No problem. No capitals? No worries. No rhymes? Sounds like a plan.

We’ve learned that poetry is different from prose in many ways. One of the ways is that poetry has a wonderful rhythm to it–a flow, a beat…whatever you may call it. Musicians like Rhianna, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake…are all poets. Song lyrics are poems!

We’ve been learning about hearing the music in poetry, writing about issues or topics that matter to us, listening for line breaks, looking at ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

Poetry is all around us…if we’re willing to just slow down and listen.

We studied this poem by Valerie and began to understand the power of line breaks and how they can create visual interest in the poem and influence how the poem is read. Have a look yourself! Do you see a difference between the two? Which one do you think is the ‘proper’ poem and which one was changed?

IMG_0676 IMG_0677

May 11

Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

 Photo Credit: obaxterlovo via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: obaxterlovo via Compfight cc

In Social Studies, we’ve been learning about Canada’s involvement in world trade. We’ve studied imports, exports, goods and services, manufactured goods versus raw materials, and we’ve learned how Canada is involved in international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

The students have been asked to research an NGO--a not-for-profit organization, primarily a voluntary citizens’ group that operates at local, national, and international levels. Here are some helpful websites about the NGOs the students will be researching about:

  1.  Canadian Red Cross
  2. Habitat for Humanity
  3. Free the Children
  4. Goodwill Industries
  5. Doctors Without Borders
  6. Salvation Army
  7. Ryan’s Well Foundation
  8. World Wide Fund for Nature

 

May 4

Welcome Chris Bray

Overstay 1

Thibaud Saintin via Compfight

Today our school was fortunate enough to welcome a very special guest–Chris Bray. Chris is a Canadian songwriter, Christian leader, and speaker. Chris enlightened us and inspired us with his messages of faith and that we truly are God’s children.

He led us through some beautiful songs, taught us some actions to go along with the songs, and helped us celebrate Catholic Education Week.

Here’s a sample of one of his hit songs.

May 3

Decimals

Fractions, decimals, percents...they’re all related. Right now, our focus is on decimals. Where do we see decimals?

Our class has brainstormed lots of different places we see decimals such as:

  • racing at Track and Field
  • money
  • buying a new pair of shorts ( $19.99 )
  • measuring something like the height of a plant
  • traveling such as 45.7 km to Tokyo
  • radio stations
  • measuring mass such as a bag of potatoes is 3.75 kg
  • gas prices

Here are a few videos you may find helpful…


May 3

Dance Fest 2016

Blue Jays, Lions, Tigers, Pandas, Zebras, Parrots…unite! Welcome to the jungle everyone! Our class today participated in the annual Dance Fest and the students did a fantastic job! They should all be proud of their accomplishments and enjoy a relaxing break…until next year.

Our theme was Lion King and the song we used was Circle of Life-the remix. Have a look at our performance below. Way to go Grade 6s!


April 25

Picasso-Inspired Art

Using pastels, students designed a series of faces using inspiration from Pablo Picasso. Picasso is known for his geometric designs and abstract shapes. Have a look at the amazing work they have done! The colours are so vibrant, too.

Have you ever created artwork inspired by Picasso?

April 25

The Hunger Games Series- My thoughts

Hi everyone!

I know that by this point, I’ve just generally been posting about names. But I decided to switch it up a bit with my version of a review: As it says in the name of this post, I’ll be reviewing The Hunger Games series.

LoS JueGoS DeL HaMBRe Mario Elias via Compfight 

Hunger GamesCreative Commons License Mike Mozart via Compfight

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First off, let me just say; WOW. Suzanne Collins did a magnificent job writing this book. You can see every little detail inside your head, and she definitely goes deeper than,” She was so scared when she waited to hear a name.”

I’ll tell you a little about the first book (The Hunger Games) in a Summary of sorts: Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old, and lives in the nation of Panem, left in the ruins of what was once known as North America. It is seperated into 12 districts, and a glimmering Capitol that leads them all. She lives in district 12, in the part called ‘the seam’ with her mother, and younger sister.

Every 1/2 to 1 year, there is held a fight to the death among the districts, held by the Capitol to remind them that they completely annihilated the once living 13th district at the hint of a rebellion. For this event, known as the Hunger Games, 2 tributes will be chosen at random from the age range of 12 to 18, one boy, and one girl, to be sent into the arena, where 22 other people waiting to kill everyone else and death traps set up to kill you, too. While everything you do will be happily watched by the Capitol, and not so happily watched by the districts.

Katniss is horrified when her little sister, Prim, is chosen out of the thousands to get sent into the dreaded, deathly arena. She knew she had to do something, but what? She does the only thing she could possibly think of when she was in a blaze of tensity, stress, and horror.

To find out what happens, read the book! Also, keep in mind, there are two other books in the series; Catching Fire, and MockingJay! 

Hunger Games cake 2Creative Commons License

Linda Marklund via Compfight

Have you read them?

What were your thoughts?

If you have not read these books, I strongly recommend that you do!

 

 

 

 

 

April 20

Let’s Take it Outside

Our class loves to read! We also love really nice weather. So, why not combine the two and read outdoors, right?

In Canada, we love to complain about the weather. Even though this Winter wasn’t as frigid as it may have been the year before, we always look forward to the snow disappearing, the flowers emerging, and opportunities to soak up some sun.

What do you like to do on a sunny day?

April 20

Smoothies and Wraps and Parfaits, Oh My!

Each Friday morning, students in our class have been rolling up their sleeves to chop, roll, or flip through a recipe given to them by our leader, Sarah.

Let’s Get Cookin’ is a cooking program which trains volunteers from the school community to teach junior, intermediate and secondary school youth basic cooking skills.

In our first session we learned about food safety including how to cut fruits and veggies. Since then, we’ve made things such as fruit and yogurt parfaits, fruit smoothies, cheddar/apple wraps, veggie and cheese quesadillas. What will be next? Each recipe includes a vegetable or fruit and the recipes are based on Canada’s Food Guide. Blenders, skillets, cutting boards, and measuring cups have been some of our tools to help us get through a recipe.

When making parfaits, we learned about what a date is! Did you know that dates can be found growing in places such as Iraq, Egypt, and Morocco? They grow on palm trees. Have you tried a date before?

date

Dates-for-Maamoul

 

 

 

Have a look at us in action!