September 30th

Terry Fox Runners...you were amazing.

Today, we ran 5km to raise money for Terry's cause. Four students had their heads shaved for the cops for cancer fundraiser and we went out to cheer on the riders.

Academic Notes:

S.S. Div 2: We reviewed the test and how to answer it well.

English Div 6: We reviewed Story Elements to start Unit 2. Please see the wiki for an overview.



Today's word is: archaic. Does this accurately describe Mrs Bridal?

September 29th

Calendar Notes:

Bring a Twoonie for Terry tomorrow. Cancer ends with good research and that needs funding.

Friday, Mime Presentation

Academic Notes:

Advisory: The teenage brain and socialization. Tomorrow you will be asked to summarize what is going on with your teenage brain and to list out strategies that you will need because you are operating with a brain that is "under construction".

Block 1: English Div. 5 - You were assigned the "Personal History Project" a dual credit project for English and S.S. See the Social Studies Wiki for details. Homework: decide on your subject for the PHP. Collect information and artifacts.

Block 2: English Div. 6 - Noun review and Pronouns. There is a quiz on noun types and what a pronoun is next Grammar Grind Monday.

Block 3: English Div 6 - Reading: "Home Alone" article and class discussion.

Literacy Block: Hydra/Hydr/Hydro otherwise known as water in Latin and Arch otherwise known as first or chief were discussed.

Block 4: S.S. Div. 5 - S.S. Test Unit 1

Block 5: French Div. 5 - French Cognates Review. Dialogue page.

Today's word is: "archenemy"

September 28th

Calendar Notes:

Sept. 30th Terry Fox
Oct 2nd Mime Performance
Oct 8th First Exploratory

Academic Notes:

Advisory: The teenage brain and love.

Block 1: English Div 6 - Grammar Grind Monday - Parts of Speech Nouns - We reviewed common and proper nouns, capitalization rules for proper nouns, abstract and concrete nouns, as well as possessive singular and plural nouns. You did two pages of a package.

Block 2: S.S. Div 2 - Primary and Secondary Sources Unit Test

Literacy: Grouping words by suffix, prefix or roots to determine meaning. We had a list of words and you grouped them. The concensus was that the words could be grouped into words with 'hydra'/'hydro' and words with 'arch' in them. What do those parts mean?

Block 4: HCE Div. 6 - Sleep and the Middle School Kid - You were assigned the task of developing an ad campaign to build good sleep habits in the Middle School set.

Block 5: English Div 5 - Grammar Grind Monday. See above, Div 6 English.

Today's word is: hydrophilic (a science word that you will use in school)

This week, September 28th to October 2nd

This kitty does Mondays like I do.

Calendar Notes:

Get those waivers in a.s.a.p. for those Exploratories with an element of risk.
Terry Fox Run Wednesday, September 30th.
Thursday, October 8th is our first Exploratory Session.

Academic Notes:

S.S.: There is a test on Tuesday. This test will conclude Unit 1. Please go to the course link to review.
English: We will conclude our first unit which has revolved around how to connect with text and a general overview of the 6 Traits of Good Writing. Our next unit will focus on story elements and developing the mechanics in your writing.
French: This week will focus on exchanging information about interests. Participation is key here.

For an entry in this week's draw, the word is: "innovation"

Sept. 24th

Watch out for that....tree!!!!!
Remember to come dressed for your part in our Global Simulation. Let's hope that our pilots are more capable than the ones running that plane!

Calendar Notes:

Terry Fox Run, September 30th.

Exploratory Forms due ASAP

Academic Notes:

Advisory: We continued to learn about the adolescent brain and its relationship with neurotransmitters like Dopamine.

Block 1: Div 2 Social Studies: We reviewed Primary and Secondary Sources. I introduced Cornell Notes and modeled how to use them using 5 important questions that you should be able to answer for the unit "game" (okay, it's a test) on Monday.

Block 2: Div 2 English: You were assigned the Personal History Project. It is linked to the Unit 1 page on our Wiki. Your job now is to decide on a person in your family or circle to research.

Block 3: Div

Literacy Block: Neighbourhood Meeting and Renaming Vote

Block 4: Div 5 Library Orientation. Many of you did not take out reading material. Reading regularly increases your fluency and makes learning easier. So, I recommend it.

Block 5: Div 5 Social Studies. See Block 1 Notes. Your unit test is on Tuesday.

Today's word is: neurotransmitter

September 23rd

Calendar Notes:

Sept. 24th Exploratory Forms will go home
Sept. 30th Terry Fox Run

Academic Notes:
Advisory: The Teenage Brain. We watched a video about the changing landscape of your teenage brain. These changes impact how you learn and live your day to day life. So, it is good to know how to take advantage and how to make up for shortcomings.

English Div 5: We read an article about the recent Supreme Court ruling on child supervision. You can find the link here, if you were away. Just scroll down to the exercise. We stated our opinions in writing; next class you will present and defend those opinions.

S.S. Div 2 and Div 5: We reviewed the differences between Primary and Secondary sources using items from Terry Fox's life. Many of you understand this differences between the two sources. Most importantly, you know which is the more reliable of the two and why. This is good because we are playing a "game" for marks this Monday, Sept. 28th for Div 2 and Tuesday, Sept. 29th for Div 5. Study for homework.

Numeracy: Mental Math drills to work those brains of yours.

English Div 6: We read an article about Facebook's Dislike button. You can find the link here, if you were away. Just scroll down to the exercise.

Today's word is: "Pre-frontal Cortex"

September 22nd, Beach Day

What a great day! You were extremely well behaved, tidy and all-around wonderful. Certainly, you are a credit to your fine parents.


Today's word is "wave"...an oscillation current and really fun except if you are this guy.

This week, September 22nd to 25th

Calendar Notes:

Tuesday is BEACH DAY. The forecast is partly sunny, but it will be very muddy after this weekend's rain so dress appropriately. We will hike down to Mystic Beach and eat lunch in the great outdoors. This is the first of many opportunities for Grade 8 Team Building.

Cross Country Runners - Meet in Mr Dunbar's at Lunch on Wednesday:

Thursday - Exploratory Forms go home. First come, first serve; you are more likely to get your first choice, if you return your forms quickly.

Wednesday, September 30th is the Terry Fox Run. We need parent volunteers to help you navigate the route through Sooke. We will be raising money for cancer research.

Academic Notes:

S.S. - Primary and Secondary Sources of Historical Information. Can you tell the difference? We will continue to explore how history is recorded and how to assess the reliability of sources. You will be assigned a family history project that will require you to collect history from family or friends.

English - We will continue with our overview of the 6 Traits of good writing and how to respond to text. 

French - Can you express what games and sports you like to play in French? Well, you will by the end of this week.

Today's term is: "oscillation current" What is an easier word for this?

September 17th

Beach Day is coming up this Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get your forms in.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Mrs Wilkie, our new counsellor, came and talked to the class. The discussion revolved around our fright or flight response and how it can interfere with doing our best at school and work. Mrs Wilkie had a lot of great strategies for dealing with this pesky prehistoric part of our brains.

Block 1: S.S. Div 2 - We reviewed what Primary and Secondary Sources of information are. You looked into the pros and the cons of each information source.

Block 2: English Div 2 - We read for 20 minutes. Then, we discussed the genre of historical fiction because this class is going to revolve around activities that spin out of Social Studies.

Block 3: English Div 5 - We responded to a text that wrote about Facebook's plans to introduce a "dislike" post.

Block 4: Art Div 5 - We completed Mandala's and started a hand art piece.

Block 5: Grade 8 Teambuilding

Today's word is: "nemesis"

September 16th

Now that I have your attention:

Academic Notes...

Advisory: We learned that the three learning styles are contested and that we must always search for truth. You can watch the Ted Talks video on my HCE 8 site.

English Div 5:
We looked at key points in the 6 Traits of Writing and you read a piece of writing that I wrote about my husband. We will respond to that tomorrow.

S.S. Div 2 and Div 5: We investigated what history actually is and how it is recorded. You were asked to sort historical evidence into primary and secondary sources.

Numeracy:
You were given a mental math dice game to work on.

English Div 6:
See Div 5.

Calendar Notes:

Meet the Teacher TONIGHT

Today's word is: " megalomaniac"....do you remember what that means?

September 15th

Sorry for the late post. My internet was down.

Calendar Notes:

Tomorrow is meet the teacher night. 6:30-7:30

Academic Notes Homework:

English Div 5 Blocks: We looked at binder organization. Then, we reviewed how to be an effective writer and reader.

English Div 6 Block 2: We completed our writing assessments. You received one handout.

English Div 6 Block 3: You clearly demonstrated your point of view with regards to uniforms. Then, you read an article with a pro-uniform bias. You received one handout.

S.S. Div 5 Block 4: We review the course content and skills focus for the year. You received one handout.

French Div 5 Block 5: We learned about cognates and how they help you to understand a language with similar roots. You received one handout.

Today's phrase is: "computer problems"

September 14th

Academic Notes (This is a summary for my classes; check out Mrs Abell's blog for a summary of hers)

Advisory: We did a questionnaire on the three learning styles, Kinesthetic, Auditory and Visual. There was a handout.

English Division 6: We had our photos taken and so the lesson that I had planned has been moved to tomorrow.

S.S. Division 2: Two handouts: Agenda Use and Course Summary. We looked at an overview of course content.

English Division 5: We began Unit 1 which involved us reading an article on Uniforms and determining its bias.

Homework:

Bring a book or reading material for Literacy Block.

Some of you still need to bring in basic supplies. If this is an issue, please see me, I have my sources.

Calendar Notes:

Meet the Teacher is Wednesday, September 16th 6:30 to 7:30 starting in your classroom and finishing in the gym.

Today's word is: "learning"

This week, September 14th to 18th

Picture Day tomorrow....

Academic Notes:

Bring your binders, dividers, paper, pens, pencils, erasers and rulers for this week.

Calendar Notes:

Monday, September 14th is PICTURE DAY

Wednesday, September 16th, is "Meet the Teacher Night"

Thursday, September 24th is BEACH DAY

The secret phrase is: "comb your hair"

September 11th

Get out there and enjoy the weather. See all of you on Monday. Remember, I check my emails on Sunday night, if you have any pressing concerns over the weekend.

September 10th

Today, we revisited our "I am" sheets. We also did assessments in Math, Reading and Writing; this was a challenging task after a summer of academic siesta. These assessments will help us to plan your school year. Thanks for doing your best so that we can do ours.

Our last block was spent outside doing team building games. Some of you were reluctant at first and I really appreciate that you joined and brought your enthusiasm to the activities.

Take Note:

Tomorrow is the welcome back BBQ so don't pack a lunch. Pack a snack though.

Keep those pesky forms coming in. I need them in by this Friday.

Our Beach Day is now Sept. 24th.

The secret word is "hot dog" for an instant prize.

The Power of Words...

The power of your words...the power to hurt and the power to heal and help.

What defines you? What do people see in you?

Day 1, September 9th...A good day.

We had a neighbourhood meeting today complete with a team challenge and all 120 of you were amazing. I must say that all of the teachers took a step back and marveled at your ability to communicate, problem solve and work cooperatively.

You had your first applied skill today. If you were away, the list of applied skills is on the information board.

You were given an assortment of forms today. Those forms are due on the 11th, this Friday. We win a prize for coming first. As you know, I am competitive so...I want us to win. Get those forms in folks.

A notice went out for our field trip on the 17th, next Thursday. Some of you didn't receive forms. More have been copied; pick them up tomorrow.

A reminder that contact sheets and a family questionnaire was also sent home; those forms should be in by this Friday.

If you have read this, tell me "neighbourhood x" for a prize tomorrow.