October 29th

Great Dance Tonight!


Academic Notes:

Advisory: Alcohol and the brain. This legalized substance is not very good for us.

Block 1: Div 2 S.S. Students who are missing their PHP were reminded that November 9th is the latest date to submit it without having to attend I Days. We ran the Barbarian research stations and internet search tips were reviewed; sometimes too much information makes it difficult to find the answers in it all.

Block 2: Div 2 Reading and research time continued.

Block 3: Div 5 Drafting time for the Scary Stories. The published good copy is due on November 6th. It will be marked for you by November 9th.

Block 4 and 5 Exploratories.

October 28th

Attila the.....one of our "Barbarian" groups.

Dance Tomorrow from 6:30 to 8:30. If you haven't bought a ticket, you aren't coming. Ticket sales are closed. See you at the next dance.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Marijuana Questions were collected. If you were absent, you need to submit them upon your return.

Block 1: Div 5 English: You were given a handout on adverbs to complete. If you finished that, you were given time to draft your scary story. The draft is due tomorrow.

Block 2: Div 2 S.S.: You were given time to research your Barbarian in your groups. You worked very well and it was noted.

Block 3: Div 5 S.S.: You also were given time to research your Barbarian in your groups. I was really impressed with the focus. Looking much better Div 5.

Block 5: Div 6 English: You were given a block to draft your Scary Story. The draft story is due tomorrow so that you do not have homework on the day of the dance.



Today's word is: Hun

October 27th

We are into "Barbarians" in S.S.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: We continued to answer the questions around teenage marijuana use.

Block 1: English Div 5 - You reviewed verbs and then did an in class writing activity where you described the action in a Gif. This can be found under Verbs in Unit 2 on the English Course Page. This was to be submitted in class. We reviewed adverbs. You took notes on what adverbs are and the word order for adverbs. You were given time for writing your "Scary Story". The draft needs to be done by this Thursday. Proofreading and editing needs to be done in class before the final deadline will be set.

Block 2 and 3: English Div 6 - You reviewed adverbs, did a couple of pages of grammar practice and were given time to draft your story or to peer edit/proofread. You were given a 20 minute reading block.

Block 4: French Div 5- You reviewed family vocabulary in French and were given two handouts. One of the handouts asked you to describe Homer Simpson's family.

Block 5: S.S. Div 5- Meet the Barbarians - The class was broken up into groups and assigned a "Barbarian" group to research and present to the class. You will be given a group mark for your presentation out of 5.

Div 5 had a class meeting today about treating each other with respect. This includes acknowledging we are all different and learning how to adjust how we interact with classmates based on what we know about them. For example, if someone does not like sarcasm, don't use it with them; communicate in a different way. If you know somebody is sensitive about a difference, don't highlight it. Being able to work with a variety of different personality types is a life skill. We can practice it here.

Conan didn't have this skill...but he had others.


Today's word is: Barbarian.

October 26th

Academic Notes:

Advisory: 5 Questions about Marijuana and the teenage brain.

Block 1, 2 and 3: Science Fire Safety

Block 4: HCE 6 Sleep presentations. No Homework (unless you didn't do your project)

Block 5: English: Verb review and in class writing assignment. See verbs on the English course page under unit 2.

How NOT to use a fire extinguisher:

Today's word: "extinguish"

This Week October 26th to 30th

Calendar Notes:

Fire Crew Safety Demonstration Tomorrow

Halloween Dance (October 29th). Ticket Sales Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at LUNCH. No tickets will be sold the day of the dance for safety and regulation reasons. $5/ticket

Academic Notes:

It is Halloween Week, but in Grade 8 academics do not pause. We are hard at work.

S.S.: We will get to know the non-Roman populations that migrated into the region formerly occupied by the Empire. These "Barbarians" were hardly barbaric. You will get your Mid Unit 2 Test results back as well as your Personal History Project marks. Didn't do your project? You need to get it in to pass term 1.

English: We will continue exploring the parts of speech. This week we will look at adverbs and how they can describe and bring verbs to life. We will be reviewing proofreading shorthand and editing techniques. You will be given time to draft, proofread and edit your "scary" stories. On Friday, you will read them out to each other. The neat copy is due by Monday, November 2nd. As this is a major assignment, I will contact home, if you do not submit your work.

French: We will begin a unit on family.

HCE: We are looking at Marijuana and the teenage brain. Life is about choices and making informed, good decisions. Marijuana isn't good for an adolescent brain. We will be learning why.

Math - students had a word problem quiz last week.  This will be handed back on Tuesday.  The priority of operations was postponed to Tuesday because I felt that students needed some more practice over the weekend.  We will review exponents and homework should be expected for Wednesday.

Science - last week students wrote a quiz on Science Safety.  Quizzes will be handed back on Tuesday.  We will now focus on the proper procedure to create and run an experiment.

Check blog for accurate daily updates on what was covered and what is for homework.  Check out:http://workspacedemadamea.blogspot.ca/

Today's phrase is: "short term memory loss"

Small Town FYI

October 22nd

(Narnia)

If you are absent, you need to make up for missed notes, missed handouts and missed tests. We are open at lunch for you to catch up, but we will not use other students' class time to do this. Also, you need to take the initiative in this. We will not chase you down.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Marijuana and the teenage brain.

Block 1: S.S. Div 2 Rise and Fall of Rome Test

Block 2: English: Div 2 Reading time and Kim Phuc's Story, The Girl in the Photo as inspired from We Day.

Block 3: S.S. Div 3 Rise and Fall of Rome Test

Neighbourhood Meeting: Dressing up Narnia - Inspiration for Decoration

Block 4 and 5 Exploratories

Homework:

English Division 5 and 6 -- Scary Stories should be planned and you should have begun writing the draft. Most of your work should be in class so you only have this to do, if you have fallen behind (Also, Scary is not a requirement so if you want to choose another genre, you can.) .

S.S. Div 2 and 5 None

French Div 5 None

HCE Div 5 and 6 None

The word is: "decorate"

October 21st

Sorry for the late post. I was at WE Day. It was incredible and I am inspired to work with you to help in the community and to work with the other Middle Schools to help Haiti. I will tell you more later.

Academic Notes/Homework:

Div 2 and 5 you have a S.S. Mid Unit Test Tomorrow. This is posted on the board in class.

Div 5 and 6 you have to have your Scary or ? genre narrative planned out by now and you should be working on the ROUGH draft. The writing process involves writing a draft and it is a key step before editing and publishing. I will not accept published copies now especially as I have not witnessed the edit.

Overdue PHP need to be submitted. Your parents know and it is now up to you to do the work.


Set the goal to do better...today's word is "imagineering"

October 20th

What verbs would you use to tell what this man is doing?
What IS he doing?

Academic Notes:

Advisory: SMART Goals started.

Block 1: English Div. 5 - We did an in class Adjectives and word order activity for marks. Also, we reviewed the function of verbs using a "puppet" activity to illustrate how a wide variety of verbs in your writing can make it more interesting and engaging.

Block 2: French Div. 5 - We did a dialogue for marks. If you weren't here, you are meeting with me at lunch for the mark.

Block 3: S.S. Div 5 - Reviewing for the Quiz on Thursday. We did questions in the text on page 12 (#3,5,7,8) to prepare for the test which will cover the rise and fall of Rome.

Block 4 and 5: English Div. 6 - See Block 1. Also, time was allowed for planning out your narrative story. Some of you began writing your rough draft.

Secret word: "meander"

October 19th ELECTION DAY

Photo RETAKES TOMORROW

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Goal setting and interims.

Block 1: English Div 5: We reviewed the function of verbs in sentences including the importance of agreement and verb tense. Also, we looked at Adjectives and word order. You were given two "easy" verb review sheets.

Block 2: S.S. Div 2: We reviewed the main reasons for the fall of Rome. Plus, you were told about a mid unit test on the rise and fall of Rome. This will be given on Thursday of this week. Study the Fall of Rome hand out, the page on the course wiki and your notes on the textbook to do well. We viewed a video on the Goths, a Germanic people who "sacked" Rome.

Literacy: Reading Block for Division 5 (Some of you really need to refresh your reading selection this Wednesday when we have our Library block)

Block 4: HCE Div 18: We viewed a student created information video on the importance of sleep. Then, you were given a work block in the computer lab. These projects are due next Monday.

Block 5: English Div 6: See Block 1 English.

Are you curious about our election results? I can post them now that the polls in BC have closed. What do you think? Did the JMS student body reflect the adult election results?

414 JMS students chose to vot: and these results reflect the 400 ballots that were valid and not spoiled:

David Merner — Liberal Party of Canada = 133
Randall Garrison — New Democratic Party = 110
Frances Litman — Green Party of Canada = 106
Shari Lukens — Conservative Party of Canada = 38
Tyson Strandlund — Communist Party of Canada = 13

This week, October 19th to 22nd

English: This week you will be looking at Verbs for our weekly Grammar grind. These handy parts of speech allow you to express an action and we will be needing those for our Ghost stories. Speaking of which, you will be writing the first draft of these stories this week. We will also be reviewing how to correctly peer edit and proofread each other's work to make it the best that it can be. I have a few short stories that I will be sharing with you and we will be responding to those; don't worry you won't be screaming in response, I only choose well crafted and thought provoking Scary Stories. (Ghost Story deadlines: Rough is due on October 22nd/ Neat is due on October 29th).

Social Studies: We will conclude our look into the fall of Rome and we will begin to look at the Germanic tribes or "barbarians" who are credited/blamed for the fall of Rome. There will be a review quiz on the Rise and Fall of Rome on Thursday for both Divisions 2 and 5. This test will be multiple choice and short answer questions. (I will collect the personal history projects first off on Monday)

French: We will present our likes/dislikes dialogues for credit.

Advisory/Health and Career: Interim reports will be going out at the end of this week and we want you to understand what they are intended for and how to respond to them. So, this week we will be looking at SMART goals, a way of planning out how to do better. I will be modelling how to use these goals by scrutinizing my own teaching practice and setting some goals to improve it. 

Math - the final word problem is due this Monday (division).  We will now work on order of operations (also known as BEDMAS).  Review will take place on Monday and Tuesday, with exercises for practice given each day, possibly as homework.  Students will be writing a quiz using the strategies we have discussed in class to solve word problems on Wednesday.  Students will most likely write a quiz on the order of operations on Thursday.

Science - students were given review activities to help them review for their quiz on Tuesday on Lab and Science safety.  We will then be moving into how to create an experiment and a report.

Yoda, you are so wise, but no understanding of word order have you.

Here's to a great week, Div 2, 5 and 6. Today's word for a draw tomorrow is: "goals"

October 16th

For the weekend:

Don't forget to complete your Personal History Project by October 19th. The link for criteria is found under Social Studies Unit 1. However, a well organized student should have the criteria page in their binder because it was distributed and discussed in class.

Don't make a face about it. DO IT. :-)

October 15th

Tomorrow Journey Votes. For more information go to studentvote.ca

 

Academic Notes:

A reminder to Division 5 that they should be linking to Mrs Abell's blog to check in with Math and Science work. This is good prep for High School where every class is taught by different teachers.

 

Advisory: Ted Talks Sugar and the Brain. Discussion.

 

Block 1, S.S. Div 2: Continue and conclude notes on The Rise and Fall of Rome.

 

Block 2, S.S. Div 2: Computer Lab Time for PHP - Due on Monday, October 19th.

 

Block 3, S.S. Div 5: The Right to Vote - Handout and Questions. Student vote preparation for tomorrow. You have been charged with researching your choice. Try: votecompass.ca and pollenize.org/canada for information to help with your decision. 

 

Exploratories Blocks 4 and 5.

 

Pedro...is not on the ballot.

Today's phrase: "universal suffrage" - Narnia votes at 11:07 tomorrow.

 

 

October 14th

Ummmm.. this young man needs to lay off the birthday cake!

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Sugar and your brain. Are you addicted to sugar? I am. This week we will explore what this can do to your brain and how it impacts you as a learner (or teacher for that matter)

Block 1: English Div 5 - Parts of Speech Test/ Ghost Story Assignment Example

Block 2: S.S. Div 2 - Read page 9 to 11 in the Pathways Text and watch John Green video clip. Take Cornell notes on The Rise and Fall of Rome.

Block 3: S.S. Div 5 - Read page 11 and watch John Green video clip. Continue taking Cornell notes on the Rise and Fall of Rome. Focus is on the fall.

Silent Reading - Some of you need to bring your reading material.

Block 5: English Div 6 - Story Mapping - plan out your Ghost/Scary story for approval.



Today's word: "probelmatic" which describes my experience with my internet last night.

October 13th

Sugar and the brain, our next topic in HCE.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Sleep diaries were collected for marks.

Block 1: Div 5 English - Character descriptions. You did a writing exercise around character description that was collected in class. If you missed today, you now have this activity for homework. It can be found under exercises in Unit 2 of English.

Block 2 and 3: Div 6 English - Reading time followed by a quick how to on developing ghost stories. You were given some time to map out your own story following a traditional plot outline. More time will be given to develop these plans tomorrow.

Block 4: Div 5 Social Studies - Personal History Project Computer Time/

Block 5: Div 5 French - Dialogues were completed and practiced. You should be able to say your lines by next week.

Today's word is "tardy" the adjective that describes this post.

This week, October 13th to 16th

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.

Calendar Notes:

Student Vote Week October 13th to 16th - Journey Votes on October 16th (Student vote results will be reported in the news on election night) -- Democracy is a wonderful thing and voting is your way to celebrate it.

Student Council meets at lunch on Wednesday

Japan Meeting at 7pm in the JMS Library on October 19th (Travel to Japan with the Journey to Japan exchange program)

Picture RETAKES October 20th

Provincial Pro D Day October 23rd No School for Kids/ Workshops for Teachers

Halloween Dance October 29th.

Academic Notes:

English: We will continue to develop our understanding of story elements through in class writing exercises. By the end of the week, you should have a story map outlined for your scary or fantastical story. You should be able to identify the nouns, pronouns and adjectives in a sentence because there is a pop quiz on those parts of speech tomorrow.

Social Studies: The Rise and Fall of Rome continues to be our topic of study. The skills we will be working on will include: note taking, reading for information and analysis.  The Personal History Project Deadline has been moved to the 19th to accommodate students who need to interview distant relatives.

HCE: We will conclude our sleep study and move toward a mini unit on the brain and how it reacts to sugar. Yes, I chose to do this as we head toward trick or treat week.

French: We will be doing conversation practice this week.

Mrs Abell's classes:
Math: Multiplication word problems are due Monday, October 13.  We will evaluate in class and then this week we will focus on division, with the last word problem assignment given on Wednesday, rough copy due on Thursday and good copy due on Monday, October 19.

Science - we continue to look at lab safety.  This week we will finish up our notes and I encourage students to start to study WHMIS, lab equipment symbols and the common sense lab safety and procedure we will go over this week.  Students will write a test on these three areas mid to end of next week, so I suggest review should start now! :-)

I think Mrs Abell will like this Turkey cooking cautionary photo:

Today's word is: "gluttonous" an adjective often associated with eating too much.

October 8th

Thanks to Ms. Johnston for covering my day. I was under the weather. I will be back tomorrow.

Academic Notes:

S.S. Personal History Projects are due on Friday, October 16th. The project requirements are under the S.S. link, Unit 1, Personal History Project. I have two finished projects that have already been submitted.


Today's word is mysophobia. What does that mean?

October 7th

I was at a school meeting in Port Renfrew today. I hope that you were gracious hosts and worked well for Ms Johnston.

Keep up with your Sleep Journals. I did mine and you would not be impressed with the sleep debt I am building up!

S.S.: We are working on lessons that can be found on www.studentvote.ca Both Division 2 and 5 worked on principles of democracy or lesson 1. Remember one of the reasons that they suppose Rome fell was because it didn't recognize the benefits of a democracy, citizens take ownership of and pride in their country.

Journey Votes on October 16th. There will be no campaigning in school or in class. We will be privately looking into our own values and which party reflects those values. Then, on Friday, next week, we will fill out a secret ballot with our choice. Results will be reported in the media on election day, but we are sworn to keep our school results secret until then because they could influence the outcome of the actual election!

Today's phrase is "car sick", a condition that I suffer from especially on roads like the one to Renfrew
 ;-)

October 6th

Some things can make sleep very, very difficult.

Advisory: We check in on those sleep journals. Copies of the journals are available on the Health and Career 8 Page under Week 3, Assignments.

Block 1: English Div 5 - We looked at how adjectives can improve writing by making it more descriptive. Then, you were asked to write a setting description using a photograph of an old mansion in Dawson City, Yukon. The link is available in the English site under Unit 2, Exercises.

Block 2/3: English Div 6 - We looked at your descriptions of setting and you were asked to circle all the adjectives and to put an S above those that described the setting. Less circles generally meant less descriptive. Then, you were asked to write a description of character using as many adjectives as you could to detail her appearance, possible personality and state of being. Following that, you were given time to read and I recorded your choices to keep track of your interests and your reading habits. Reading regularly does improve academic achievement.

FIRE DRILL - The Grade 8s were the ...BEST (and our grade 7s)

Block 4: S.S. Div 5 - Computer Lab Time for the Personal History Project (See Unit 1 Under Assignments)

Block 5: French Div 5 - We looked at completing a basic conversation in French that involved sharing favourite and least favourite sports.



The word for today is: "REM sleep"

October 5th

Calendar Notes:

Exploratories are up. They start this Thursday.

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Sleep journals were introduced today and you are to start them tonight. You should do them every night until Monday, Oct. 12th.

Block 1: English Div 6 - Monday Grammar Grind - We reviewed the role of Nouns and Pronouns in language. Adjectives were added to the list of parts of speech. You did two pages of exercises on adjectives.

Block 2: S.S. Div 2 - PHP Work Block.

Literacy Block - You were given silent reading time and your reading choices were recorded. Some of you need to take a book you enjoy out of the library this Wednesday because reading your palms is not an option.

Block 4: HCE 6 Div. 18 - You were given a work block for your Sleep Campaign.

Block 5: English Div 5 - Monday Grammar Grind - See English Div 6 Block 1.




Today's word is: "sluggish" an adjective describing people who don't get enough sleep.

This week, October 5th to 9th

Thanksgiving is coming soon...

Calendar Notes:

Thursday, October 8th - First Exploratory Session - Come prepared.

No School October 12th - Thanksgiving (I am thankful for such a great class)

October 13th to 16th - Student Vote Week --Journey Votes October 16th www.studentvote.ca 

Academic Notes:

English: This week's grammar grind will focus on Adjectives and their many uses. We will be doing a couple of exercises around description. Specifically, we will write character and setting descriptions. Div. 2 and 5 will be working on their Personal History Projects, a S.S./English dual credit assignment; the due date for that project is October 16th.

S.S.: We will review what democracy is and look at the right to vote in preparation for Student Vote Week. As well, we will continue to look into why Rome fell using the Grade 8 textbook as a source. Some feel that Rome's shift away from its democratic values was one of the biggest reasons that it failed to continue to thrive as a civilization. Unit 1 Tests were returned to students who sat the test; students who were absent are required to make up the test.

French: Expressing interests will be continued. We will be working on a dialogue.

HCE: We will be starting a sleep journal to see just how healthy our sleep habits are. Yes, I will be keeping a journal too. Recent studies into the human brain have shown that healthy sleep habits are key to learning well.

Today's word is: ravenous

The FIRST of October

Calendar Notes:

First Exploratory Next Week, October 8th

October 29th Halloween Dance

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Summary Assignment, The Teenage Brain.

Block 1, Div 2 S.S.: Unit 2 The Fall of Rome was discussed and we read an article that explored the possible reasons around why that great empire fell. You took notes on the article and we explored how to use abbreviations/symbols in note-taking.

Block 2, Div 2 English: Fire Drill. Reading Block. Homework: Select your historical subject and find your information on them...that is it.

Block 3, Div 5 English: Unit 2. Story Elements were reviewed; in particular: the plot outline, types of conflict and points of view.

Literacy: The Greek root "phobia"

Block 4, Div 5 Art.

Block 5, Div 5 Team Building - Kingdom Game outside.


Today's word is: Ephebiphobia. Do you know what it means?