Friday, Sept 29th

Summaries for today:

English Div 4: You were given Chapter 2 of LoTF, taught how to annotate text, and asked to use the system to annotate the chapter directly on the page.

English Div 5: Grade 8's you finished annotating Chapter 2 and the Grade 7's read Chapters 1 and 2 of  Shipwrecked in the Island series.

Social Studies Div 4: You were assigned the personal history project. Your homework is to think about a story about yourself or someone else that stands out in your life as important and to think about what evidence there is to help you to maintain this memory/story. The project is linked at the bottom of the page of the S.S. site.

Have a great weekend you wonderful group of kids!

Orange Shirt Day

Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day at our school; Sept. 30th is the official day. This video provides information about Canada's history of residential schooling, the impact on indigenous people, and steps toward reconciliation. There is hope for healing.
The word today is: support

Sept. 28th

Squares and spirals everywhere!

Today's summaries:

Math Div 4: Half block. We marked and reviewed the exercises. You were told to look at your errors and to think about why you made them. "Because I am no good at Math" was not an accepted answer. Reasons like: "I forgot to multiply" "I was thinking about Perimeter and not Area" allow you to correct your thinking and to grow.

S.S. Div 3: You were introduced to the Personal History Project. The project is included on the S.S. link to Unit 1; scroll to the bottom of the page. Then, you were given time to work on both the personal history project background work and the test. To be continued Monday.

English Div 5: Grade 8s you were to finish annotating Chapter 2. Grade 7s you were to submit a "raw" writing sample, so that I can assess your writing fluency and base writing skills so I know what to help you to improve.

You had a Fire Drill as mandated by code and you watched "Narnia" in the neighbourhood while drawing characters from the film for a Narnia Nook.

(I went home sick at lunch. I am going to bed...now!)
Today's word is: perfect

Wednesday, Sept 27th

Here are the summaries for the day:

English Div 5: Grade 8s, you were given a short lesson on annotating text and Chapter 2 of LotF for practice. You were asked to identify: interesting/shocking text (!) question the text (?) quotes that resonated with you (") , and new vocabulary words (voc). Grade 7s, you began to write a writing sample where you imagined what you would do on a boat that was in high seas. This is in preparation for reading the books in the Island series.

Social Studies Div 3 and 4: You wrote a test on primary and secondary source information. I will give you another block for this.

Math Div 4: You played our multiplication rehearsal game. Then, you were given time to complete the pages on squaring numbers and perfect squares. When you were finished, you were invited to try some art by fusing Fibonacci's sequence with perfect squares to draw a beautiful, artistic, yet mathematical spiral.

The word is: nature.

Tuesday, September 26th

Today's summaries:

English Div 5: Trapped on a Deserted Island -- the class was given the scenario that both the characters in LOTF and in the Island series find themselves in, they are stuck on a deserted island...a dessert island is somewhere I would love to be stuck. This was an in class activity and we will discuss the group findings next class.

Math Div 4: You were given multiplication practice through a game. Then, you were introduced to the concept of perfect squares and squaring numbers. You were given a handout with exercises. We will be working on this in class tomorrow. I will have a challenge set for students who have mastered the concept.

English Div 4: You went to the library to take out books. Then, you read the rest of LOTF Chapter 1. You finished with the Trapped on a Deserted Island activity. How would you and your classmates cope on a deserted island without adults? What parallels would you see with unsupervised time in your day to day activities?

Today's word is the answer to this question: What type of island were the boys trapped on?

Beach Day

A great day at the beach for all of our Grade 8s. It was very interesting how I could get you to gather by blowing the conch...verrrrry interesting.

Today's word is the word that Golding uses for glasses.

This first week of Fall, September 25th to 29th

Monday is beach day and it looks like we are going to be doing it up WET coast style so bring your boots and rain gear.

This week in my courses:

English Div 4 :we will finish Chapter 1 of LOTF. Then, you will read and reflect on Chapters 2 and 3; of course, if you want, you can use a headset to listen to the online narrator read the story as you read. We will look at the plot thus far, the characters and map out the island.

English Div 5: We will be welcoming 5 new grade 7 students to our class. I have taught a split 7/8 English class before at Journey. Grading expectations were different, but the 7s engaged in shared lessons and activities with the Grade 8s that address both curriculums. I will make these differences clear to the students as we go along.  Presently, the grade 8s are reading Lord of the Flies as a class book study so that I can model literary analysis before we set into Literature Circles. I am thinking that I would like to do a contrasting book study with the Grade 7s because of the nature of this book; there is a disturbing ending where the characters in the book become violent with one another. It is an excellent study of the uglier side of human nature, but it might be a bit much for Grade 7s to understand fully given their age. So, this week book Grade 7s and 8s will be reading, analyzing what they read, reflecting on it, and writing about it. I am looking forward to it!  

Social Studies: You have a "Think About It" quiz on Primary and Secondary Sources of historical information this Wednesday. I am hoping to move on to our first inquiry unit on the Vikings by the end of the week.

Math: We will continue to work with area models. Then we will look at perfect squares (not Mrs Bridal!) and square roots. Again, this is all leading to an investigation of Pythagorean Theorem.

Today's word is under this photo:

stormy

Thursday and Friday, Sept. 21st and 22nd

Yesterday was Terry's day and you made it count. Students and staff pulled together to raise what seems to be adding up to a lot of money for a great cause.
Thanks to all your parents and guardians for coming out to meet us. Please welcome your parent to come by to meet us, if they were unable to last night. Our door is open.
Bring your Exploratory forms back on Monday. They were sent out today.

Today's notes:

Math Div 4: You were given a test of terms. You were also introduced to the idea of growth mindset which we will be getting into later.

English Div 4: We looked at adjectives and characterization. You took notes on Piggy, Ralph, and Jack, the main characters in Lord of the Flies.

English Div 5: We got through the first and longest chapter of LOTF. The time point is 53:13. You were to focus on character descriptions and to look for foreshadowing around Jack's character.

Social Studies Div 4: You completed the worksheet on Primary and Secondary Source information. We looked at newly recovered primary source history from off the coast of Belgium, a WW1 Submarine. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41318195

BEACH DAY MONDAY!

Wednesday, Sept 20th

Bring in your Toonies for Terry tomorrow.
Bring in your permission forms for Beach Day.

A summary of my classes:

English Div 5 and Photo Day: Fire Drill yesterday, photo day today. So, we were able to listen to Lord of the Flies to 36:46/pg. 31 of the pdf file. More importantly, we have been introduced to all the major characters in this story.

Social Studies Div 3 and 4: You have a "Think About It" or Test on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The topic: primary and secondary sources of information. Today you reviewed the pros and cons of each type and were handed out a review sheet.

Math Div 4: We looked into Area in preparation for Pythagorean Theorem. The link to the lesson is on the right hand side under Math.

Terry didn't win his battle with cancer, but thanks to his legacy many kids are alive today because of research that he has funded with his cause.


Today's word: legacy

Tuesday, Sept 19th

PHOTOS TOMORROW!

My courses today:

Div 5 English and Fire Drill: We didn't get much accomplished, but we did begin our look into word choice and character development using Golding's novel as one example.

Div 4 Math: We completed the definition sheet together. You will have a matching test on these terms this Friday.

Div  4 S.S.: You were shown two videos on the different types of historical evidence, primary and secondary source evidence. You were then given a list of historical evidence from our period and asked to sort it into primary, secondary or both. Next class we will determine the pros and cons of each. You will get a "Think About It!" Quiz this coming Tuesday on these sources, their pros and cons.

Today's word: Toonies (for Terry that is!)

This week, September 19th to 22nd

A busy week for us ahead.

Photo Day is this Wednesday the 20th. Don't forget your comb.

This Thursday is Fox Fest in the morning and the Terry Fox Run in the afternoon. You will be learning social responsibility and rallying for a cause. Certainly, cancer research and Terry's legacy is a good cause to start off with. You are encouraged to bring a Toony for Terry this week.

Also, this Thursday is Meet the Teacher Night. We will be in our classrooms from 6:30 - 7:15. All parents and teachers will be invited to come to the gym after 7:15.​​

Here is a brief summary of what I hope to achieve in my courses this week in the face of  Photo and Terry's Day:

Math: We will continue to work with improving fluency with basic facts and number sense. In preparation for learning Pythagorean Theorem, we will be taking a look at Area and Perimeter. Practice sets will be done in class. If students want to explore the topic further, I recommend Khan Academy's free site for lessons, practice sets and performance tracking. Emphasis on the free.

English: This week we will continue to read Lord of the Flies​ and we will be focusing on character development. Through this study, we will look at how Golding masterfully uses words like descriptive adjectives to bring his characters to life so to speak. We will be looking at adjective use and word order as a part of this focus. 

​Social Studies: We will be distinguishing between primary and secondary sources of historical information. Students will investigate the pros and cons of each type of information source. They will be assigned a project by the end of this week that entails looking into the primary and secondary sources of personal history. Some students have wanted privacy around this in the past and the assignment is very adaptable to accommodate for this, if need be. I want kids to have fun with it and learn something in the process.

And here is Mrs Abell's notes on the week for her courses. Check out her blog linked on the right hand side of this page for updates daily throughout the week:

French 

This week will involve students sharing previous experiences (if any, none is needed) with French as a Second Language. We will look at a course outline and make some decisions based on student interest. This week's focus will be on the comparison of English and French. Students will be surprised by how much they actually already know!

Science

We have been working on setting up an interactive Science notebook up until now. This week, we will focus on what it takes to be a scientist and what qualities are seen in each letter of the grading system that we currently use for assessment (A, B, C+, C, C- and I). Homework was given last week concerning the components of an interactive notebook (you may have noticed your child colour a grid of sorts). This is due on Wednesday if it is not already complete. I invite you to ask your child about what is involved in an interactive notebook. 

As always, if you have any questions about the week, please do not hesitate to email us. We believe that open communication is key to an effective learning community :-) Today's word is a name: Terry

Sept. 15th

A summary of my classes today:

Social Studies Div 4: You completed your historical evidence studies.

Art Div 4 and 5: We did a conch study and drawing. Some of you finished your mandalas.

We team built in the afternoon.

Sept. 14th

A summary of my classes:

Math Div 4: You were given time to work on your math definitions and examples in your groups. I will give you time to finish this up in class tomorrow, first thing.

S.S. Div 3: We viewed a video account by a holocaust survivor, an example of a primary source of information. Then, you viewed a video that went further into defining primary information and secondary information. You were given a handout th at listed types of historical evidence. Next class we will sort that evidence into primary and secondary. We will be looking at the pros and cons of each type of evidence.

English Div 5: We discussed the story elements in a Lord of the Flies so far. You listened and read to pg. 24 of the pdf and time mark 26:32 of the audio book. No homework. Don't read ahead this is a group experience across the Grade 8 class.

Neighbourhood lamp building challenge all afternoon.
Today's word is: lamp

September 13th

Tell your parents about the Firefighters' workshops today.

Here is a summary of my classes:

English Div 5: You were introduced to William Golding's Lord of the Flies, our Grade 8 Book Club Book. You read the pdf while the audio book was read. We got to page 14 of that pdf. Please do not read on as we are going to be focusing on the characters' transformation. I would like to experience this together as a class.

Math Div 4: You did some mental math work and we continued to look at patterns in Division that allow us to make rules for divisibility.

Today's word is: extinguisher
(No, do not try this at home!)

September 12th

Here's a summary of my classes:

Special Guest Darcy Abell of the Sooke Fire Department gave a presentation on fire extinguishers. As a consequence, I am buying a bigger one for my home and moving where I keep it to beside the exit.

Social Studies: You continued to analyze evidence from the past in groups.

Math: You defined multiplicative thinking and looked at patterns in your times tables and divisibility rules. No homework, but I recommend reviewing your times tables. There are an assortment of drill sites on line or you can use a deck of cards to select two numbers to multiply for review.

English: Lord of the Flies. You listened to 11:39 on the audio tape/ page 14/290 of the pdf. All grade 8s are reading this book; consider a Grade 8 Book Club Book.

No homework, but here is a secret word for our draw on Friday: conch

Sept. 11th, 2017

Today in my classes:

There is no homework, but envelopes need to be in and you need to have a binder organized with dividers and lined paper for my classes; many of you have not attended to these tasks so please do as soon as possible.

Div 4: We met the counsellor, Ms Campbell. She told you how to access her help and gave you the KidsHelpPhone.ca site and phone number (1 800 668 6868). We came up with an initial list of classroom jobs and their "real world" equivalents.

Div. 3 S.S.: You finished the group activity around assessing evidence from the past.

Div. 4 S.S.: You were introduced to the course and the term goals. You started the group activity around assessing evidence from the past.

Div. 4 Math: You did a mental math game.

Div. 5 English: You were given the term goals for your binder and a writer's checklist featuring the 6 traits of writing. You completed a writing sample to assess next class.

Div. 4 English: You were given the term goals for your binder and a writer's checklist featuring the 6 traits of writing. You completed a writing sample to assess next class.

Today's word is: Peculiar

This week, September 11th to 15th

This week we will be running through our academic rotations as well as doing some neighbourhood and team building. These activities are critical to developing a positive learning environment in the school. The focus is on developing social and communication skills which are so important in life.

Academics will be addressed this week too, however. Here is a brief projection of what I hope to accomplish in my classes:

Math: We will be conducting a number sense review. I gave the students a placement assessment last week and it is clear that we need to review the value of numbers and number concepts. I will be focusing on multiplicative thinking to prepare for our first unit on squares and square roots. 

S.S.: We will be assessing how we know what we know about the past by looking at artifacts from the past. The thinking skills that students will be working on is their critical thinking skills. What does the evidence tell you about the past? What doesn't it tell you? How can you manipulate evidence to tell the story you want to be told? Important questions for citizens to ask.

English: We will be creating a writing sample and look at the 6 traits of good writing. We will also be responding to informational text.

For Science and French information, please access Mme Abell's site which is linked to the right of my blog.

Any questions about the week, fire them my way. I check emails at 7 am and 4 pm during week days and on Sunday at 8pm.

Sept 8th

We had an assembly and a BBQ to communicate some expectations and to socialize in order to team build, a very important part of creating a tight community of learners.

Sept. 6 and 7th

This afternoon we ended with a Grade 8 Team Building Activity.

Please bring in your envelopes and forms in by Friday, tomorrow. The office is updating their information.

If you haven't already, send me an email so I can get you in on this Sunday's mail out. This includes students, if they wish.

So an academic summary for my classes:

Div 3 S.S. : I introduced you to the Grade 8 course and you began looking into the question: How do we know what we know about the past? Today you looked at artifacts and determined what they taught you about the past.

Div 4 Math: You were assessed on your math ability at this particular moment in time after a long summer and in your teens. I want to know what I can do for you and this assessment will help.

Div 5 English: I introduced you to the Grade 8 course and you began a writing sample which we will work on next class.

In other words, no homework for my divisions, but lots going on. :-)
They are almost as cute as you.

September 5th

Today my homeroom and I got to know a little about each other. Then, we met up with our partner class, Div 5.

We reviewed the roles and responsibilities of Journey students. You developed 3 class specific rules. You and your parents need to sign that form for tomorrow.

You were given an envelope full of forms to sign. I sent you home with an introductory letter and questionnaire to complete. The link to those documents, if you have lost them, is here. Please bring them back tomorrow or ASAP.

We will be getting lockers either tomorrow or Thursday. Bring a pen, pencil, paper, a snack, lunch, and your smile tomorrow.

Any questions: gbridal@sd62.bc.ca or lay a comment down here (it will be public)