September 30th

(I hope NOT)

Terry Fox Run Today. We raised a lot of money for a great cause. Well done to all of you who were instrumental in organizing the week's events. Next week, we will continue our drive for funds.

English: We read to Chapter 5 and took notes/selected quotes that are evidence of rules and order falling apart. I asked you if you felt that kids could sink to these lows without adult supervision. You answered that you felt that they could. Really? That is frightening.

Social Studies Div 3: We continued taking Cornell notes on the evidence that was left behind to construct our understanding of Viking history. I returned your first test to you. Many of you did well, some of you need to engage in lessons to do better.

Have a good weekend, but not partaaaaays.

September 29th

(Your Irish Canadian teacher finds this amusing and very IRONIC)

English Div 4: We read to 2:21.11 on the audio book version of LOTF. We took notes on the question: When do things start to fall apart for Jack and Ralph? Do you believe that kids would fall to these depths if left alone, without adult supervision.

Social Studies Div 4: We reviewed primary and secondary source information. You looked at artifacts and determined: whether the item was primary or secondary, what information you got from it, what questions you had about it. Some of you began to decipher what the artifact you were given was all about through the wonders of modern technology.

Anxiety Play for the afternoon. Talk to your parents about it.

Today's word is Ironic.

September 28th

English Div 4 (Block 1): We read up to chapter 4, 1:46.17 of the audio book. You were looking for quotes that show weakness in the two main characters, Jack and Ralph. I have been modelling this note-taking on the board. Some of you copy what I write, those of you who find your own evidence as well are taking it to the next level.

English Div 5(Blocks 2 and 5): We read up to 2:13.04 of the audio book. You were looking for quotes to answer the question: How do things fall apart on the island? We are also noting vocabulary that is new to us. This differs from student to student; some words will be familiar to some of you, while others might not know them. So, write the ones that a new to you as we scroll through the PDF.

Math Div 4: You took a review quiz. After marking the quizzes, I can move on with the next concept. Some of you did not perform well because you need to buff up your multiplication fluency.

Social Studies Div 3: You were introduced to the Cornell Note Taking system and we viewed a NOVA video on Vikings to practice taking notes on the essential question: How do we know what we know about the Vikings?

Today's word: rescue (what rescue?)

September 27th

Arm Wrestle Competition Tomorrow

Academic Notes:

Anxiety Workshop Prep: We talked about Mental Illness this morning in preparation for tomorrow's Greenthumb Theatre presentation on Anxiety.

Math Div 4: We reviewed what square numbers are and drilled squaring numbers using a deck of cards. Many of you need to do this type of daily practice at home to memorize these doubles from 1 to 20. We will do a daily drill at school for one week. After that, it is on you.

English Div 5: We read to Chapter 3 of Lord of the Flies. We were looking to find quotes that answer this question: Do Jack and Ralph show weakness and if they do, what does it look like?

English Div 4: We read Lord of the Flies. See above for the focus.
Today's word is: "leader"

September 26th

English Div 4: We did a book exchange and then, did one of the required fire drills. You were very mature during it; I was proud of you.

Math Div 4: What is a perfect square or a square number? You should be able to answer that question and be able to demonstrate your understanding after today's lesson.

S.S. Div 3: Primary/Secondary Source Quiz

English Div 5: We read to 58.10 on the audio file for Lord of the Flies (Chapter 2). You were asked to continue to look for quotes that are evidence of Jack's and Ralph's dominance over the group. Now, I would like you to investigate: Do Jack and Ralph show signs of weakness?

This week, September 26th to September 30th

This is going to be a busy week. 

Calendar Notes: 

September 29th Bake Sale for Terry Fox and Cancer Research (BRING BAKED GOODS; I am bringing GF muffins)

September 29th Anxiety Presentation

September 30th Terry Fox Run

English: We will be continuing to read Lord of the Flies. Please check the Blog if you are away, I post the time mark so you can keep pace with the class. Refer to the English link for the youtube link to the audio book.

Social Studies: We will continue to explore sources of information including maps this week. You should know the difference between primary and secondary sources as well as the pros and cons of each information source by the end of this week.

Math: Nobody's perfect...well, perfect squares are. We will continue to look at the concept of area and explore perfect squares and square roots.

Today's word is "perfect"

Sept. 23rd

Khan, you are my hero. This is someone who loves learning and wants to share it for FREEEEEE.

Academic Notes:

Math Div 4: We continued our notes on Area and Perimeter. The notes revolved around the area of a triangle. You were introduced to Khan Academy, a great site for explorations in Math at the grade 8 level and beyond. You did a practice set.

English Div 5: We read until 37:54 on the youtube audio book version of Lord of the Flies. You were asked to continue to look for evidence of leadership potential in the main characters. As it stands, Ralph and Jack both show leadership skills and command the respect of the rest of the boys. How they get that respect is different. The difference is subtle now. We will be looking at how it is different next week. You were to take notes for a future in class assignment.

English Div 4: We read until 49:54 on the youtube audio book version of Lord of the Flies. See Div 4 Write Up.

Social Studies Div 3: We worked in our groups to determine what information our artifacts/historical information sources could provide. You reported out to the larger group. Be prepared to demonstrate that you understand what a primary and secondary source is next week in a review quiz.

A video for your parents about this great teacher:

September 22nd

Academic Notes:

English Div 4: We listened to Chapter 1 of Lord of the Flies (video/audio 20:45). You were asked to consider the characters who were introduced and to assess which one showed more leadership potential.

Math Div 4: We took Cornell Notes on Area and Perimeter. We will finish those notes and do some practice next class. If you weren't here, you have to make up the notes. They will be available on the course link.

Social Studies Div 4 and 5: How do you record a place (create a map)? How do you show distance? What features do you include? How do you show them? We went into the ravine to do some old school mapping and got the job almost done before being chased out by bear....well, we left to give the bear its space.

Event Planning Div 4 and 5: You worked as a team to build events for Terry Fox week. These events will be planned and run by our grade 8s to raise money for cancer research. This is how we honour those who needed a medical solution, but didn't have it yet. We will be funding that brighter future with them in mind.

Today's word is: Hope.

BEACH DAY

Grade 8 Beach Day at Mystic Beach -- It was good to see you all unplugged and enjoying the great natural beauty of the surrounding forest and the beach. Today's word is: unplugged.

September 20th

Academic Notes (Homework will be noted, but usually this is a summary of what was done in the classes that I teach):

Block 1 We had an important class meeting about supporting one of our own. Please talk to your families about this.

English Div 5: We began reading Chapter One of Lord of the Flies. If you missed class, we read to page 22 of the pdf file that can be found on the course link. You were to focus on the power dynamic between Ralph and "Piggy".

Social Studies Div 4: We reviewed Primary and Secondary Source information by sorting examples of both. You were asked to determine the pros and cons of each source. You will be pop quizzed on this on Thursday. It will be a quiz out of 10 that looks exactly like the worksheet you completed. This is a test of whether you look at the blog or not.

English Div 4: You wrote on the question: "How do we know someone has leadership potential?" These were submitted in class. We watched a clip for the film version of Lord of the Flies to wet your appetite for the book which we will start tomorrow.
Today's word is: strength.

This week, September 20th to 23rd

Calendar Notes:

Meet the Teacher is on Tuesday night (tomorrow) from 7 to 8 pm: We will start in our classes and then move to the gym at 7:30 pm.

Beach Day is on Wednesday. E-notices were sent home by email. Thank you to those of you who have already submitted e- permission. Hard copies go home tomorrow. We are asking for a $5 donation to cover costs.

Academic Forecast:

Div 4 you will be doing a portfolio review. Look over the evidence that you produced last week: How did you perform? Where do you need to grow? How will you improve your results?

Math: You will review your math assessments and divisibility test to do an error analysis. Where did you make your errors and why? What was your thinking? Did anxiety affect your performance? How do you counter anxiousness in tests? We will also do a review of perimeter and area as a lead up to Pythagorus, but also to roll around in multiplication some more. All of you need to run these drills to kick the rust off of your mental gears.

Social Studies: You will analyze primary and secondary sources of information from the medieval period to current times.

English: We will read the first couple of chapters of Lord of the Flies. we will review the main parts of speech and basic sentence structure. After reviewing your writing assessments, it is clear that run-on sentences are running around in most of your compositions.

Today's word is storm.

September 15th

Academic Notes:

English Div 4: You were given the scenario of being crashed on an island. Your job was to determine whether or not you would elect a leader, who that leader would be and why, what problems might you face, and to set priorities for survival. This is a lead up to Lord of the Flies.

Math Div 4: You were given a review of the key terms: divisibility, multiples, factors, prime, odd and even numbers. You were given a set of exercises to complete. Tomorrow you will be quizzed on the week's work.

We decorated Narnia for the afternoon and had a fire drill. Today's word and sorry that it comes late at night is...drill.

September 14th

Academic Notes:

Div 4 Social Studies: We looked at the definitions of Primary versus Secondary Source Information. You reviewed the meaning of biased and unbiased sources. You classified evidence of your past into either Primary, Secondary or both.

Div 5 English: You looked at a scenario where you were crashed on a desert island. You determined who, if anyone, would lead, you predicted what problems you might encounter and you decided what your priorities for survival would be.

Div 4 Math: You continued to look at using the divisibility rules to help you determine if a number was divisible by numbers 1 to 10. You were asked to classify a selection of numbers. You will have a quiz on using divisibility rules this Friday. If you didn't understand this lesson, I am at school tomorrow to offer help, 8 to 830 am.

Div 3 Social Studies: You did the same lesson as Div 4. Please refer to the note above.

Div 5 English: You were asked to go through tests of strength and speed to determine who was the strongest and fastest in your groups. In addition, you were asked to devise an ingenuity test to find the most effective problem solver in your group. The point of this lesson was to point out that conflict can arise when two strong leaders are apparent in a group. This is a theme that is explored in Lord of the Flies.

Today's word is "conflict".

September 13th

Math: You completed a multiplication grid. We also tested your ability to use divisibility rules.

English Div 5: We finished the reading assessment and previewed Lord of the Flies.

English Div 4: We did a reading assessment using the book Gone.

Social Studies Div 4: We looked at historical evidence namely around 9/11. We looked at a newspaper from the date.

The secret word is: disaster.

September 12th

Today:

Social Studies Divisions 3 and 4: We discussed this question: "How do I know what I know about my past?" The discussions were very rich.

Math: We reviewed Math terms around division and divisibility. You were given a divisibility rules sheet to fill out that can be found on Week 1 on the Math link.

English Div 5: We looked at the novel Lost and began a reading assessment which will be concluded next class.

This week September 12 to September 16th

Reminder: Get your parents/guardians to email me so that I can add them to my contact lists.

Use the calendar on this blog to track important dates like photo day; it's on Monday!

Math: We will be reviewing divisibility rules and how to think in multiples. You will be given mental math practice to tone up your math-muscle.

English:"What would life be like without adults?" We will begin reading William Golding's classic Lord of the Flies to explore this question.

Social Studies: "How do we know what we know about history?" We will learn how to classify primary and secondary sources of information. Also, we will try our hand a some historical detective work.

See Mrs Abell's blog for Science and French :-)

September 8th

Today you produced a baseline sample of your writing and began a Math diagnostic assessment. You also went to your first Applied Skills rotation (Woodwork, Foods and Computer Coding). We finished the day with a neighbourhood activity where you were tasked to build a lamp post using limited materials. This Narnia Challenge showcased your creative and critical thinking. More importantly it pushed you to work constructively with a group of relative strangers, a real life skill.

You should bring in your envelope and all of the forms to the office tomorrow morning. I am still waiting for some emails from parents so that I can add you to my contact list. I know that I  have a couple of parents who need phone contact because they do not have internet access at home.

Today's word is: mindset

September 7th

First full day.


Today, we had a class discussion about "Your Job/My Job". Those discussions informed drawings, skits and stories about doing and not doing our jobs. They were rather amusing.

We had a Grade 8 meeting and team building session (a grade wide game of "Tank")

You got your lockers today. So, if you missed school, you will need to get a locker when you return.

We did a "Snap Chat How to Be...in Grade 8" Some of you need more time to complete the task so I will be handing them out first thing tomorrow.

Your parents and guardians have homework: they need to email me so that I can add them to my contact list. I have received 5 out of a class of 30 (now 10/30). Give me that number for an instant prize tomorrow.

Sept 6th, Your First Day (or half day) of Grade 8

First off, none of you are moving classes; I know that this was a concern for some of you.

Secondly, the secret word is: "growth"

To get an instant prize, give me this secret word, your questionnaire and your "Rules and Responsibilities" sheets tomorrow morning.

Also, have those who love you contact me at: gbridal@sd62.bc.ca, so that I can add them to my class contact list. I will be sharing this list with your other subject teachers so that they can communicate with you and your team.

Welcome to Grade 8 in Mrs. Bridal's Homeroom

Welcome to my homeroom class and welcome back to school.

Today we are going to:
1. go over how to use this blog
2. review your rights and responsibilities
3. set up a 2016/2017 student wish list
4. go over a student questionnaire and welcome letter which you will take home
5. dismiss at 11:58

Tomorrow, if you come in with the "secret" word on the blog and your completed questionnaire, you can collect an instant prize.