Weekly Update - September 27, 2019

What a busy couple of weeks it has been!

This past week we have:
- Written, practiced, performed, and recorded Terry Fox Spoken Word poetry
- Explored measurement through building lines, rectangles, and solving a number of challenges.
- Studied and discussed the election
- Built airplanes or circuits
- Set up a Rosetta Stone account through the Calgary Public Library in order to practice French and another language of their choosing
- Discussed and (hopefully practiced) "maturity" in more depth

In the upcoming week there is lots to be excited about, and our focus will be on taking responsibility for ourselves and on taking chances!

In Mathematics, the students will have their first "unit test" in measurement. If you would like additional practice I encourage you to create a Khan Academy account, so that students can practice at home. If not, you might have students estimate how long/short things are. All of the students are prepared with this unit test, and it will be sent home on Tuesday to be reviewed, signed, and sent back.

In Science, the 5s have been discussing safety in electricity and have constructed a number of circuits. After discussing conductors and insulators, the students have begun constructing a game of their own in the style of "Operation". This game is being documented through a sketch and a circuit diagram that demonstrates the flow of electrons.

In our literacy/social studies integration, all students will begin their next iteration (second try) at Spoken Word Poetry. We are also going to begin improving our writing 'stamina'. This means that students will be given a prompt on a daily basis, and they will be asked to write about the prompt for a given time each day. The writing time will increase as their stamina increases. The expectation is that their pencil does not stop moving. I have noticed that many students are tired after only a short time of writing. If you are concerned about this, have them complete a journal at home. Nobody needs to read what they write, but they need to write!

In Physical Education next week we will begin Soccer. For this, it is hoped that students come prepared to work on their kicking, throwing, passing, and running skills. As a reminder, they require indoor shoes that are suitable for these skills!