Week of November 30, 2015.

The blessed season of Advent is upon us! Need a quick refresher on the beauty of this season? Check out the link above!

Students will be preparing themselves for this season of light daily with reflection and the design and construction of their own lanterns-a symbol of faith for Grade 6.  We are still in great need of tin cans for lanterns-go through your recycling bins! We will begin in a few weeks.

Christmas Hamper Project:

Each year, St. Gabriel students and their families generously support a number of families from our sister school, St. Elizabeth.  By providing these hampers, we bring light, love and hope to families in need.  

This year, our class is responsible for bringing in two cans of fish (tuna and/or salmon) as well as $2.00 to go toward the purchase of turkeys and fresh veggies and fruit.  Students are encouraged to complete a chore at home to truly understand the concept of giving.  New this year, we are also accepting Canadian Tire money to assist in the purchase of gift items for our families in need.  Your generosity at this time, and always, is greatly appreciated.    Donations will be accepted all week with a due date of Dec. 10th.


What's happening in Grade 6?

We have worked together through conflict resolution strategies following a few incidents during recess. Students are recognizing the importance of using bully prevention strategies and continue to apply their knowledge of empathy and Gospel values to their everyday lives.  Open communication is critical and with continued practice and discussion, students will be armed with appropriate strategies to help them cope during challenging times.

Math:  We will be having a SWYK (show what you know) on Tuesday for Patterning and Algebra. Students are well practiced and continued practice at home is always a great idea! Don't forget-mastery of math facts will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of problem solving!

Language:  We have turned our focus toward the concept of freedom and human rights. We will begin to read about the life of  Iqbal Massih and will be making connections to the UN Global Goals.  Students are using tools such as the Ladder of Inference and the Causal Model to assist them in looking at global issues through a different lens.  Perception and bias are important pieces during our inquiry.

Science:  We have constructed wind turbines and will consolidate our learning about electricity. The next inquiry (Space!) will begin this week.

What's happening this week?

Monday:  School Council Meeting at 7pm
Tuesday:  Pizza Day
Wednesday: Bully Awareness session with Matt Harding from WOCRC
Thursday: Another great day in Grade 6!
Friday:  News Show at 2 pm.

Week of November 23rd

It's hard to believe that we are nearing the end of November already!

Many thanks to parents and families who were able to schedule an interview with me on Wed/Thurs evenings this past week.  It's always wonderful learning more about your child.  I truly appreciate  the time that you take to keep the home-school communication lines open!  If you were not able to book an appointment with me on either of the two evenings, I'll be touching base with you via email or phone this week. 

In both morning and afternoon classes, students will be wrapping up inquiries-from Electricity to digital citizenship and Remembrance and patterning.  Asking your child daily about specific concepts and new learning will help to consolidate thoughts and ideas. Thank you for your support!

Science:  we have turned our thoughts toward renewable sources of energy and will create models to demonstrate our knowledge of sources of energy

Phys Ed./Health:  We continue to practice and hone our volleyball skills and will continue our discussion of bullying prevention with Matt Harding from WORC

Math:  Patterns in number will quickly lead to algebraic equations using a functions table.  Students are struggling with this--extra practice at home is highly encouraged as we will be moving on this week to 2D Geometry.

Language:  We will begin to explore the concept of freedom using the story of Iqbal Massih to guide our inquiry.  Students have explored integrative thinking tools such as the ladder of inference and will soon begin to use their  critical thinking skills while working through the causal model.  Mrs. King and Mme T. have been working with the Rotman Institute and will share their learning with you!

Religion:  The lantern is the symbol for Grade 6.  We will be making our own lanterns but will require tin cans.  Please keep your recyclable tin cans and bring them into school.



What's happening this week?

Monday-WE are SILENT (well, during nutrition breaks!) Students are asked to bring in a loonie or 2 to support our Free the Children campaign.

Picture Retake Day-no forms to sign, simply let your child know that you would like retakes.

Tuesday-Pizza Day and Office Duty 


Wednesday-All Saints Leadership class to visit in the am, Mystery Skype in pm

Thursday-Another great day in Grade 6

Friday-Genius Hour/Learning Lab begins-am/pm


Looking ahead?

November 30-School Council Meeting at 7 pm
December 3-News Show

Week of Novemer 16, 2015

What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been!

What have we been up to in Grade 6?

WE Day was a phenomenal event! This is the first year that ALL grade 6 students have been able to attend the event.  We are blessed to have Mme Tibshirani who represented St. Gabriel as a special speaker on the stage during the event. We will be drawing upon the We Day speakers and have three more campaigns to tackle this year. We can make a difference! Ask your child what issues we are exploring in class.

Science:  students persevered through their Frankenbot creations using a motor, AA battery and a few other odds and ends. The criteria included movement, colouring, and direction. Four very unique bots were created and collaboration and communication skills were honed. Well done teams!

Phys. Ed:  We have moved indoors for the most part now (as we await beautiful snowy days!) and our focus turns to volleyball and intramural sports activities.  Our Health focus of personal safety (in the gym, and online) will soon turn to healthy living (our food choices) and active living (how do we keep our bodies moving).

Math:  We will soon end our study of number patterns. Students will be reflect on their learning goals based on curriculum expectations. 

Continued practice of math facts and other challenging concepts (long division!!) are encouraged.  Don't forget! Weekly math is posted on our classroom website and is due each Friday. Solving each question on paper is encouraged.


Language:   We have completed our Museum of Remembrance exhibits and worked on provided effective feedback to peers as well as on self reflection.  We will soon turn our thoughts to global issues which will include reading the story of Iqbal Masih.  Writer's workshop focus has moved from generating ideas to crafting clear, concise topic sentences and grammar/conventions.

Students have a little under two weeks left to complete their Literature report based on a great mystery novel of their choice. All information can be found on our website. (Check under the HOMEWORK tab on the top!)  I'm looking forward to hearing more!

What's happening in the THINK TANK this week?

Monday:  Bully Prevention week begins

Tuesday:  Lockdown practice in the am; Pizza Day 

Wednesday:  Wear PINK against bullying; Interviews after school (PM class please use the following link.

Thursday:  DOUBLE LUNCH DAY! Click here for more information!

                   Interviews (AM class please book using the link provided by                    the school)

Friday:  PD DAY-no school for students; Math homework due

Looking ahead?

November 26-Mystery Report due for PM language class

Have a great week-as always, please don't hesitate to contact me should you have questions or concerns!

Week of November 2, 2015

Welcome to November!

We are off to a busy start in Grade 6!  The October News Show was a success with students doing a fantastic job as hosts.  Did you know that Grade 6 students also volunteer to deliver pizza, milk and Lunch Lady lunches and help out in the office?  We are making our school community a great place to be by practicing demonstrating leadership skills.

Science:  students completed their cardboard challenges using their knowledge of circuits to make the games more challenging and engaging.  On Friday, we collaborated together to tackle the Frankenbot challenge-check out Twitter to see our progress!

Phys. Ed:  This week begins our link to All Saints. Ms. Black will be bringing her students to visit during first block on Monday.  They will lead us in outdoor cooperative games and challenges.  We are so thankful for their dedication to making the transition to All Saints even better!  

Math:  We have begun our study of number patterns. Students will be establishing learning goals based on curriculum expectations. Continued practice of math facts and other challenging concepts (long division!!) are encouraged.  Don't forget! Weekly math is posted on our classroom website.

Language:  Many students experienced a "thrill" as we investigated "Bone Deep"-a chilling mystery that required great critical thinking to solve the problem! Discussions were rich and everyone was involved in this great mystery!  To continue-students have one month to complete their Literature report based on a great mystery novel of their choice. All information can be found on our website. (Check under the HOMEWORK tab on the top!)  I'm looking forward to hearing more!

What's happening in the THINK TANK this week?

Monday:  All Souls Day
                Ms. Black's class from All Saints visits (first block)

Tuesday:  Pizza Day 

Wednesday:  Bus evacuation drill

Thursday:  Progress Reports go home

Friday:  Math homework due

Looking ahead?

November 10-WE DAY

November 11-Remembrance Day service (still looking for military men and women to join us!)

Have a great week-as always, please don't hesitate to contact me should you have questions or concerns!

Week of October 26th

Welcome to another great week in Grade 6! It's a busy one...are you ready?

If anyone has a family member in the armed forces, we would love to have you participate in our Remembrance Day service on November 11th in the gym.  Please email Mrs. King or send a note in with your child.  We are also looking for more photos of family members or friends in the military for our slide show.  If you sent photos last year, no need to resend!

Our final math assessment was completed on Friday, assessments will be sent home along with self assessments that have been completed by your child.  Students use Google Drive to store their work for the most part, please have your child share their Site with you.  While we are just beginning, students are populating their Sites regularly with phenomenal work. 

If you are looking for further practice at home, why not consider the following:

1.  Blog post-this can be a free write about a topic of your child's choice
2.  Math facts practice-all operations! Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division!
3.  Coding-why not check out the coding applications and sites available on our class website.
4.  Read, read, read!




What's happening this week?

Monday-Math homework is posted on the class website-it's due on Friday. Check it out here.

               -Language homework is still being completed in class this month.  Stay tuned for monthly book report tasks to be sent home next week.

School Council meeting tonight at 7 pm.

Tuesday-Picture Day-big smiles!  Pizza Day too!

Wednesday-Another great day in Grade 6

Thursday-Grade 2 bake sale (please bring $ to help support our friends at St. Elizabeth)

Friday-Orange and Black Day! 
            -Math homework due 
            -News Show at 2 pm.  
            -Halloween Dance  from 6-8 pm.

Sunday-All Saints Day

Looking ahead:

Nov. 2-All Souls Day
           -All Saints high school students to visit with us

Nov. 5-Progress Reports go home

What's happening in Grade 6?

Thank you for your patience! As things have begun to settle and everyone is more familiar with the Grade 6 schedule, the blog has made it's welcome!

What's happening?

Science:  we are still in the midst of our electricity inquiry and have applied our knowledge of simple circuits to our Cardboard Challenge games.  You can learn more about the Challenge here:

  

We established success criteria and have worked through an integrative thinking design process.  Students created a draft of their idea and were then asked to join a partner (or two) and to merge their ideas together.  In doing so, students learned and practiced many critical communication strategies such as:  how to provide effective feedback to peers, how to market one's own idea in a positive and open manner and how to accept that not every idea will "work".  Once the next draft was complete, students were responsible for ensuring that materials, measurements and other components to assist them in crafting their game were prepared and available. We discussed success criteria, constructed our criteria together and learned more about collaboration and creativity.  Students were extremely excited to share their games with other classes and were excellent hosts.  Despite a few malfunctions and some frustrations with wiring, light bulbs and batteries, students managed disappointment extremely well.  Pictures were posted on Twitter...sign up to enjoy!

For the next day or two, our focus will be on an independent reflection piece which will have students reflecting on the entire process (recounting the beginning stages to establishing next steps for future events).  I'm extremely proud of their resilience, creativity and collaborative skills. Way to go Griffins!  I hope many families will join us tomorrow (Oct. 22nd)  between 5 and 7 pm to enjoy the games!

Math:  We are finishing up our current focus on Number Sense and Numeration--whole numbers, place value, factors, multiples, prime and composite numbers, and multiplication and division.  It may seem like a great number of concepts, however all are connected in a wonderfully, mathematical way!  Students brought home grey duotangs with practice for each of these concepts.  While I do not have a "homework plan", my expectation is that students practice basic math facts, explore websites, etc. each evening (along with a minimum of 20 minutes of reading).  We have a busy year ahead, and in order to improve in terms of efficiency and accuracy, students must practice outside of school hours. Thank you for your support!

Language:  We are participating in the Global Read Aloud project this year.  Students have been listening to and discussing Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mulally Hunt.  This is a fantastic book which has most students making connections to the experience of our main character, Ally Nickerson.  We have begun our Writer's Workshop sessions as well.  A Book Report type of monthly homework will be sent home in November.  Students are currently working on one now in order to practice in class prior to working independently.

Please continue to check the website, in particular the Agenda/Calendar page for updates and classroom news. Working without a paper agenda can be challenging, so do not hesitate to reach out should you be confused or have questions.

I will continue to update the blog, calendar, Twitter and Remind.

Have a great week!