Happy Weekend

Just some reminders for Monday:


--there will be a mandatory meeting for parents of students going on the Grade 8 Ski Trip: Monday, February 2nd.


--Interims will be going home on Monday next week. Interims are informal reports that are intended as an update on how you are doing so that you can receive the best results on your formal reports.


Have a great weekend, but don't forget to:


English: complete the neat, typed copy of your final response to an article of your choosing. Remember you must include that article with your neat copy.


S.S.: Make sure that your Interactive Notebooks are up-to-date (table of contents, page numbers, notes and assignments)


French: study the verbs Etre and Avoir because there is a Quiz Tuesday for Div. 5. Finish the Chez le médecin comics because they are due on Tuesday as well.

January 29th

Ski Notices due on Friday (AKA Tomorrow)

Mandatory parent meeting for the SKI FIELD TRIP on Monday, February 2nd at 6:30.

Homework:

English:
Neat copy of the Jack Knox Hockey parents article response due tomorrow
Neat copy of the Final Unit Project response due on Monday, February 2nd.
(This class was dedicated to peer editing and work time)

S.S.:
Interactive Notebook Check on Wednesday; bring your notebooks up to date, if they are not already.

French:
Chez le medecin comics are due Monday (Div 2) and Tuesday (Div 5)
Review AVOIR and ETRE. There is a quiz on Monday.

HCE:
None


Today's word: Knight

January 28th

Last day for Ski Trip forms is this Friday, January 30th.

Homework:

(What we did in class)

French: Comic is due on Friday for Div 5 and Monday for Div 2 (We did a review of "chez le médecin" vocabulary and language. Then, you were given time to work on your comic)

S.S.: Interactive Notebook Check next Wednesday (Today, we drew our lots in the Feudal Game of Fief. Where are you on the feudal hierarchy? Some of you are on top and others are not)

English: The neat copy of the Jack Knox Reading Response is due on Friday, January 30th/ The neat copy of the Final Unit Project Response is due on Monday, February 2nd. (Both classes reviewed what sentence fluency is and how to develop better flow in your writing by rewriting/reworking sentences)

HCE: None.

Today's word is: "feudal"

January 27th

Ski Money is due on Friday, January 30th.

Students going to Me2 on February 3rd need to have the permission forms in ASAP.

Homework: 
(Work done in class)

English: 
-Div 5 and 6 should be finished the rough draft of their Jack Knox article response by tomorrow. The neat copy is due on Friday.
-The neat copy of the Unit Final Project is due on Monday, February 2nd.
(We did sentence fluency practice in class. You can find the exercises on the Wiki under resources. We did 1-4.)

S.S.:
None (Interactive Notebooks should be up to date. We learned about the Domesday or Doomsday Book. You can find information on the book in this week's wiki page)

French:
None (We reviewed etre and avoir. Plus, we took notes on "Chez le medecin". We will have a etre/avoir quiz next Monday. Tomorrow, you will begin work on a comic depicting a dialogue at the doctor's office. Your "Mon alien" is past due.)

HCE:
None

Today's word is hidden on the English course page under assignments.

January 26th

Friday is the LAST day for Ski money.

Homework:

English:
-Complete the rough draft of the reader's response to Jack Knox's article on Hockey parents for Tuesday (Div 5) and Wednesday (Div 6).
-Select a non fiction article to write a response to for the final project (Div 5 and 6)
(Today Div 6 had computer time to work on the Jack Knox response and to look for a final project article; Div 5 had time to complete the rough draft of the Knox response.

HCE:
-None (If you were absent: you should complete the five questions and submit them when you return.)

S.S.:
-None (Make sure that your Interactive Notebook is up-to-date)

French:
-None

A reminder that if you are away, it is your responsibility to keep up to date by using the blog, course links and friends. When you return, you will be expected to complete projects and assignments missed during your absence; such is the policy at High School.

Today's word is: "preparation"

This week, January 26th to 30th

Reminders:

• Bring sharpened pencils, working pens and lined paper to school so that you are prepared to work in class
• Course confirmation sheets are due tomorrow, Monday, January 26th. They should be signed by your parents.
• Ski money and permission forms are due in on Friday the 30th of January.

Academics:

English: This week you will be assigned your final project for the non-fiction unit. One block of class time will be provided, but this is primarily a homework assignment. It is due on February 2nd. 

HCE: We will look at healthy eating habits for teens. You will be asked to answer five questions in class and, if you are absent, you can find those questions on the course link. They are due in class.

S.S.: You will draw your feudal role this week. Some of you will be lucky in your medieval life and draw a noble title, while others will not be so fortunate. The purpose of this role play is to become familiar with feudalism.

French: Chez le médecin. You will draw a 4 frame comic depicting a dialogue at a doctor's office. We will also act out such a visit with our "sick" teddies.

Today's word is: Mountain.

January 22nd

Tomorrow you will be entertained by a hypnotist blocks 3 and 4. I will not be at school. Please be gracious with your Teacher on Call.

If you have any questions about your grade 9 courses, please contact EMCS for more information. Your parents need to sign your course confirmation sheets and you need to get them into us on MONDAY, JANUARY 26TH. EMCS Grade 9 Course Cruising is linked on the right.

Homework:
(If you miss school, your homework is keeping up with the class work and making up for what you miss, when you get back)

English: Finish the "Sentence Grammar Package". (Today, we reviewed the definition of a fragment and a run-on; you were given time to work on the sentence grammar package. I have pinned a copy to the assignments section of this week's wiki page).

S.S.: Keep your Interactive Notebook up to date. You should have picto notes on the concept of Feudalism and a diagram of Feudal Hierarchy in your book; if you don't, get them done.

French: Mon alien is due on Monday for Div. 5, Div 2 has no homework.

HCE: None

The word for this week is: snap. I will do the draw on Monday next week.

January 21st

Exploratories tomorrow. Dress appropriately.

Click on the Grade 9 Course Selection Link to sign up for courses at EMCS.

Visit EMCS tonight from 6:30-8:30. Word is that they are handing out a lot of goodies as well as tidbits of information about programs at the school.

Tell your parents that my husband will be at the PAC table and is looking to recruit parents who want a say in how that school is run.

Homework:

English: None. (Today we wrote a review quiz on the grammar points we have been discussing in class. Div 6 reviewed different sentence types: Simple, Compound and Complex.)

French: Div 5 Mon Alien is due on Friday(We had class time to complete the "Mon Alien" diagram. Grammar errors were brought to light especially around agreement (plurals) and the use of articles (le, la and les)

S.S.: Feudal Pyramid (We discussed the Feudal Pyramid and recreated one for our Interactive Notebooks)

HCE: None

Today's word is "High School"

January 20th

We had a great Need2 Prevent Suicide Workshop this morning. It was very proactive and informative. Remember that Mrs Cooper is available to discuss any concerns you have around your mental health..

Reminders:

Ski Money and permission forms in by January 30th. No late registrations will be accepted because we book tickets, equipment and bus seats based on our final head count and that needs to be in on January 30th. The mountain isn't as understanding as your teachers are ;-)

EMCS OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW 6:30 to 8:30

January 22nd EMCS course choices can be selected, submitted and printed off.

January 26th EMCS course verification sheets are due.

Homework:

English: Review Quiz tomorrow. Go to the Wiki page to review; remember this is my online lesson plan so what is on there is testable. You will find the test questions in the Assignments section of this week's page. Remember my motivation for testing you: seeing if you have been paying attention to instruction and learning what you need to learn.

HCE: none

French: none

S.S.: (Today we took notes on the concept of the Feudal System. We learned how to take picto notes. Some of you chose to take picto notes and others chose to take traditional notes. Both work. If you were away, watch the video on picto notes and record notes on the next available page of your Interactive Notebook.)

Today's word is: "mindfulness"

January 19th

Tomorrow a Need2 Suicide Prevention speaker will be visiting to talk about suicide prevention. The counselor and a Need2 Suicide Prevention representative will be available to talk to students on a private basis, if needed.

Homework:
(Remember: work done in class will be written up in brackets and if you were not there or fell behind, you should make up that work at home)

HCE: None (In class we discussed Teen Mental Health. We viewed an info graphic about Teen Mental Illness and watched a video about a Calgary Teen raising awareness about teen mental health. You were asked to complete and submit 5 questions in class. Please visit the course link for those questions, if you were away)

English: Test Wednesday. See yesterday's blog for details on the test. (Div 5: You reviewed sentence types and structures for the test; Div 6: You went to the computer lab to write up the neat copy of the Dogs on Buses)

S.S.: None

French: None

You are not alone and mental illness can be treated. Look for help; it is there.

January 19th to January 23rd

I am trying to get this out before my power goes out. Oh boy, it is windy!

Calendar Notes:
Tuesday, January 20th Suicide Awareness presentation

Wednesday, January 21st, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: EMCS OPEN HOUSE. There will be department displays and a variety of teachers, students and staff there to answer all your questions about what EMCS has to offer.

Friday, January 23rd A hypnotist is coming to our school to entertain ...and turn us all into a bunch of chickens.

January 30th is the deadline for Ski Notices and cheques

Interim's will be going home soon. Stay tuned.

Academic Notes:
English: English: We will continue exploring informational texts. To improve how you compose sentences, we will continue to look at different sentence types. There will be a quiz on Wednesday; questions that you should be able to answer include: What are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions? What is a declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentence? What defines a simple, a compound and a complex sentence? How can you identify a sentence fragment or a run on sentence in your writing? What are the three ways that you can fix a run on sentence?

HCE: We will look at mental health and teens. There will be a suicide awareness presentation on Tuesday.

S.S.: We will explore the feudal system and its impact on society in the middle ages.

French: We will continue to work with human body vocabulary and the verb avoir. The verb, etre, will be reviewed.

Math - students wrote their practice unit exam on Friday.  MANY students did not finish and did not come in for extra help to complete it.  I will give a bit more time to complete the exam on Monday and review some more.  We will go over the exam on Wednesday and the "real" exam will be on Thursday.

Science - Unique organism assignment is due on Monday.  We will spend Monday and Tuesday going over the characteristics of living things and students will have a quiz on Friday on these characteristics.  

Don't blow away, kids. See you tomorrow.

January 15th

Tomorrow, block 5 we will have a whole school recognition ceremony for Term 1.


Homework:


English: none (In class we wrote the rough copy our response to the newspaper article on the dogs on buses debate. We watched a short clip from the news on a bus riding pooch from Seattle)


HCE: none (but letters should be in)


S.S.: Interactive Notebooks should be in for the check up tomorrow.


French: none


This is not very high brow in the way of humour, but I don't think that you will look at the Bayeux Tapestry the same:

January 14th

A reminder that Exploratories are tomorrow. So don't end up like Arnold, Mantrackers; come dressed for the weather!

Homework:
(Please note that what we did/or should have done in class is in brackets. If it was not done, it is for homework.)

English:
Div 5 and 6: None (We read Katherine Dedyna's Time Colonist article "Dogs-on-buses Debate Delayed Until February". Then, we took notes on the article and made connections. Most students began writing a rough copy of a paragraph response to the piece, but did not finish. So, tomorrow, you will get more class time)

S.S.: Interactive Notebooks collected on Friday so make sure that they are current especially if you have had multiple absences (We finished reading pages 38 to 42 in the text and completed the definitions page in your interactive notebooks.

French: None

HCE: None

January 13th

Homework:

English: 
Division 6: The response is past due. Tomorrow is the last day. Complete the two grammar exercises started in class for homework, if you didn't finish them.
Division 5:Finish the neat copy of the reader's response to Richard Watt's "Addicted to Text". Submit it tomorrow.

S.S.:
-Interactive Notebook Check-up Friday- fix up and complete all pages, update table of contents.
-The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry: Vocabulary --> tapestry, vassal, lord, feudal contract, Anglo-Saxon, cavalry, lance, propaganda

French: None

HCE: None

Today's word is: tapestry

January 12th

(We will start a new unit in Social Studies tomorrow that starts with the Battle of Hastings, a turning point in history)

Today/Homework:

HCE: We went on the Grade 9 Course Cruising site to make sure that our logins were working. All of you were able to get on the program and some of you began planning. If you did not finish your letter to your grade 12 self in class, it is for homework due tomorrow. Check the course link for details.

English: None (Div 6 you had a full computer block today to type out the neat copy of your paragraphs responding to Richard Watt's article. I am adding this note at 7pm...some of you promised to email your finished paragraphs and aren't keeping that promise....GRRRRRR)

S.S.: None

French: Study for your 'er verb test tomorrow. Remember the first section is translating English to French just like the exercises we did in class. The other part will be conjugating.The test is out of 20, but will value out of 5. Learn the verbs on the wiki site.

The word today is "awesome" which is the word that Ms Wilkie used to describe your dystopian stories.

This week, January 12th to 16th

 

Calendar Notes:

 

Interested in hosting a Japanese student? There will be a meeting on Tuesday at lunch in Mrs. Stewart's room to discuss the Japan/Journey exchange program.

 

Are you on the honour or effort roll for Term 1? There will be a recognition ceremony last block on Friday. Names will be posted in class on Monday.

 

Academic Notes:

 

English: We will continue to explore informational texts. We will be doing grammar exercises around correcting sentence run-ons and fragments.

 

HCE: High School Transition will be a topic of discussion. We will also complete our letters to our grade 12 selves.

 

S.S.: We will explore a major turning point in history: The Battle of Hastings and the Norman Invasion. For one, it is responsible for how the English language sounds today.

 

French: There will be an 'er verb quiz on Tuesday. We will be learning how to communicate that we are ill or hurt in French.

 

Math:

 

Science:

 

 

Grade 9 Transition...Yes, already.

Mr. Phipps and a team of Grade 9 students from EMCS visited today. A yellow form went home outlining how to use the Course Cruising site and listing important dates including:

• EMCS Open House January 21st, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
• EMCS "Career Cruising" Confirmation Sheets must be handed to me and Mrs Abell by January 25th (there is a link to the Grade 9 course selection program under course links)

*If you are registering or considering registering for other High Schools, please contact those schools directly for application details and registration deadlines. 

**EMCS is requesting that students in our catchment area sign into "Career Cruising" and indicate that they will not be enrolling at EMCS so that they can accurately construct a timetable for 2015/2016.

January 8th

WELCOME
Na Lee and Hyun Jun
from South Korea.

Na Lee is from Daegu and Hyun Jun is from Seoul. Click on the place names for more information and name these places for an entry.

Homework:

S.S.: Study for the Social Studies test tomorrow.

English: None; however, in class we spent time working on the rough draft of the responses to Richard Watt's article, "Addicted to Text". You should be finished or working on the concluding sentence. If you aren't, it is homework.

French: ER verb test this Monday (Div 5)/ Tuesday (Div 2).

K-pop or Korean pop. A great Korean export.

January 7th

Notes:

Notices went home today for the upcoming Ski Field Trip. Did you remember yours? If not, there are extras beside the homework board.

We are first by two donation bags. Mr. Elm is determined to win and so am I. Remember winning isn't everything kids...but it is fun to be the winner!

Tomorrow we welcome our Korean International Students.

Homework:

S.S.: Study for your S.S. test this Friday.

French: Study for your 'ER verb test next Tuesday (Div 5) and Monday (Div 2)

English: None, unless you missed class today.

HCE: None.

January 6th

Notes:

Thursday: we will welcome two Korean students who will be staying with our class for 7 weeks in order to become more fluent in English and to connect our culture with theirs.

Friday: In school recognition ceremony for Honour Roll and Effort Roll Grade 8s.

February ski trip is on the horizon. Wish for SNOWWWWWWW.

Homework:

S.S.: Test on Friday. Study: your interactive notebook notes and the course site. We will be doing in-class review, but to achieve an A or a B you should review at home too. This includes finishing the review page.

French: ER verb test Tuesday (Div 5)/Monday (Div 6).

English: None. In class work this week.

HCE: None. In class work this week.

January 5th

A gentle reminder to bring your school supplies to school. You cannot do your work without a pen, pencil, eraser and paper so gather those at your door to bring tomorrow.

SKI TRIP - We are taking a poll for interest in the trip. If you are interested in going, add a comment (you will get an entry for your input). I will follow this up during attendance/notices tomorrow.

USED CLOTHING/ STUFF -- still being accepted until Friday for the Salvation Army, a very good charity. Place your stuff in bags or boxes and mark it with division 5 or 6.

Homework today:

S.S.: Review notes on the three main religions at play in Europe during the Middle Ages.

French: Review er verb sheet, class link and exercises for test on Tuesday, January 13th, Div 5, and Monday, January 12th, Div 2.

This week, January 5th to 9th, 2015

Happy New Year Division 5 and 6!

Come prepared Monday to get back to work. 

As per the email sent out, here is your week in academics:

English: We will be starting a non-fiction unit. Do not expect homework this week as reading and writing assignments will be done in class. Of course, if work is outstanding, there is no class time for that and it is expected that students will complete it at home or at lunch.

Social Studies: We will review the three, main religions at play in Europe during the Middle Ages. There will be a test on those religions this coming Friday. It will be out of 30 marks, have true and false questions, fill in the blank vocabulary, short and long answer questions.

HCE: We will be looking to the future and writing a letter to our grade 12 selves. I will mail this to you in your 12th year.

French: We will review er verbs and have a quiz on them next week.

Math – first class will a jump-start to the brain – review.  We will return to Pythagorean theorem that we looked at before the break and homework should be expected on Monday.  Students will start a unit project on Wednesday, which is proposed to be due on Monday, Jan. 12.  An electronic copy can be provided if you wish, just email me at kabell@sd62.bc.ca .

Science – unit summaries are due on Monday, Jan. 5. Students in groups of 2-3 (or individually if they wish) will design and conduct an experiment of their own creation.  It will include all the steps of the Scientific Method that we have been studying in class, including a report with quantitative data that can be graphed.  They will have the week for this assignment and the project is proposed to be due at the end of this week (Friday)

Get to bed early tonight and see you bright...or not so bright...and early tomorrow.

Mrs Bridal and Mrs Abell