Wednesday Agenda Items - and a Special Announcement!

Hello, friends!

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day! We will be planting Space Tomatoes! :)

Be sure to check back then for all sorts of Science-y Tomato learning fun! 🍅

(And check out THIS SHORT VIDEO explaining the Tomatosphere project! We watched the Français version in class today, but the link given here is for the English version so that you can be in-the-know, too! ☺)

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AGENDA

1. Math scribbler and Science duotang - if you have not yet sent these supplies, please send them ASAP. We have started using our Math notebook and will be adding to our Science duotangs everyday this week.

2. Scholastic flyers! Please see Scholastic post for more info! (Class Code: RC148269)

3. Ness Gear - Order your Chevalier gear before it's too late! Online store is open until Sunday, October 4.

Tuesday Agenda Items

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AGENDA

1. Orange Shirt Day - tomorrow (Wednesday). Students are encouraged to wear an orange shirt and will be learning more about the history of Orange Shirt Day through a guided activity in the afternoon.

2. Math scribbler and Science duotang - if you have not yet sent these supplies, please send them ASAP. We started using our Math notebook today and will be adding to our Science duotangs again tomorrow.

3. Scholastic flyers! Please see Scholastic post for more info! (Class Code: RC148269)

4. Ness Gear - Order your Chevalier gear before it's too late! Online store is open until Sunday, October 4.

Happy Monday!

Hello, families! Happy Monday! :)

Please read below for a list of events for the coming week! Let's have a great one! :)

Sharing about our weekend and the coming week with our classmates!

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Coming up this week:

1. Terry Fox Walk - Students from Cohort 3 will be going on a community Terry Fox walk tomorrow (Tuesday) during Period 5. The loop distance is approx. 2 km. All students will be required to wear their mask and maintain physical distancing (~ one sidewalk section of space) during the walk. Students are encouraged to wear school colours (green, grey) and/or Ness gear (if they have). As the walk is taking place in the afternoon, Mme Houlahan will be accompanying them.

2. Orange Shirt Day - Wednesday. Students are encouraged to wear an orange shirt and will be learning more about the history of Orange Shirt Day through a guided activity in the afternoon.

3. Math scribbler and Science duotang - if you have not yet sent these supplies, please send them ASAP as we will be using them this week. 

4. Scholastic flyers! Please see Scholastic post for more info! 

5. Ness Gear - Order your Chevalier gear before it's too late! Online store is open until Sunday, October 4.

Scholastic Book Orders!

 

Hello, families!

This year our Scholastic Book Orders will look a little different than usual.

While I will still hand out flyers once/month (the first one was handed out in class today!), orders are now completed exclusively online and will be shipped directly to your home.

In addition to the books included in this month's flyer, there are 100s (1000s?) more to search online at scholastic.ca/clubshop.  Please use my class code (found at the bottom of the flyer below) when placing your order so that our classroom will still benefit from the book rewards program.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Happy Reading! :)

Friday!

Youpi! Friday is here!

Today in Math we learned a new game that helps us practice our multiplication skills - Spiral Math!

We each get our own baggie of game supplies that we'll keep in our supply boxes.

Setting up our game boards!

It's tricky to fit a deck-of-card spiral onto our tables!

Here's a picture of us in action! Please ask me how my partner and I did!

What a fun way to finish off our morning and our week!

Happy weekend! Enjoy the sunshine! :)

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AGENDA

1. Supplies: please continue sending extra supplies as you are able. We have started using our duotang for our Science log book and will start using our scribblers early next week. If you are unable to send these supplies at this time, let me know and I will make arrangements here at the school. Thank you!

2. Chevalier Gear! École Ness' clothing store is now open! 

https://tom.balticathletics.com/         Password: SJASD      Please see additional information (below).

Thursday Agenda Items

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AGENDA

1. Immunization forms are now overdue.  Please return to the school by tomorrow (Friday). *Even if you do not want your child to be vaccinated at school, the form should still be signed and returned. There is a spot on the form to indicate, "No, I do not consent."

2. Supplies: please continue sending extra supplies as you are able. We have started using our duotang for our Science log book and will start using our scribblers early next week. If you are unable to send these supplies at this time, let me know and I will make arrangements here at the school. Thank you!

3. Chevalier Gear! École Ness' clothing store is now open! 

https://tom.balticathletics.com/         Password: SJASD      Please see additional information (below).

Picture Day!

Hello, families!

Here's a quick overview of our morning.

In Math, our brains were working hard when we completed a beginning-of-year mental math diagnostic. Mme will use this to see what mental math strategies we already know well and what strategies we need to review before moving on to learning new ones. We will retake a very similar 'test' at the end of the school year to measure our growth.

After we had our pictures taken, we began reading an article about Terry Fox. We are using the reading strategy "les 4 fantastiques" to guide our article study. Les 4 fantastiques - Predict, Question, Clarify, Summarize - is a tool will be using throughout the year as we work on our reading comprehension skills in Français. The process will be guided by Mme Careen and completed as a class at first, and then, as we become more confident with the steps, we will begin following the four steps in small groups and then on our own.

Please ask me what we learned about Terry Fox after reading the first paragraph together today. What new words did I learn as part of the "Clarifier" step?

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AGENDA

1. Please complete and return immunization forms to the school by tomorrow (Thursday). *Even if you do not want your child to be vaccinated at school, the form must be signed and returned. There is a spot on the form to indicate, "No, I do not want my child to be vaccinated."

2. Chevalier Gear! École Ness' clothing store is now open! 

https://tom.balticathletics.com/         Password: SJASD      Please see additional information (below).

3. Student homework for tomorrow (Thursday) - will be reflecting on our remaining 2 school beliefs in class tomorrow (Responsabilité et Excellence). Please reflect on what you and what Mme Careen can do each day at school to demonstrate these beliefs. We will discuss and share in class tomorrow.

4. Supplies: please continue sending extra supplies as you are able. We have started using our duotang for our Science log book and will continue using our Français scribbler later this week. If you are unable to send these supplies at this time, let me know and I will make arrangements here at the school. Thank you!

Tuesday!

Hello, learning friends!

Day 2 and Day 5 always zip by so quickly as we are only together for two periods.

Here's a quick recap of the morning:

1. In our PA block we continued our Project 11 programming. Today's lesson focused on stress.

Please ask me about the videos we watched this morning as part of Project 11.

2. In Français, we had the chance to listen to the other half of our classmates present their "Top 5" hands. Bravo à Ciara, Tate, Juliette, Olive, Jacob, Ava, Karstyn, Olivia et Adi who spoke so nicely about their Top 5.

Our "Top 5" Hands displayed in the hallway!

3. After the presentations, Mme Careen read us a story about family.

4. We then reflected on our second school belief: Intégrité. How will we demonstrate this belief each day and how can Mme Careen show Integrity to/for us?

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AGENDA

1. Picture day! School pictures will be taken tomorrow (Wednesday). Students will be able to remove their masks for their picture. (Some students asked if they can leave their mask on -  we will let that be a decision that comes from home.)  :)

2. Please complete and return immunization forms to the school by Thursday of this week.

3. Chevalier Gear! École Ness' clothing store is now open! 

https://tom.balticathletics.com/ Password: SJASD      Please see additional information (below).

4. Student homework for tomorrow (Wednesday) - please think about our Science experiment results. Why do you think our results were so varied? Even though we all followed the same method, what factors could have affected our results? Please come ready to share and discuss tomorrow.

5. Supplies: please continue sending extra supplies as you are able. We have started using our duotang for our Science log book and will continue using our Français scribbler later this week. If you are unable to send these supplies at this time, let me know and I will make arrangements here at the school. Thank you!

Happy Monday!

 Hello, friends!

Week 3 is here and we are ready to get started! Here are a couple of highlights from this morning.

In Science, we did our first activity following the steps of the scientific method. Our task: To see how many water drops fit on the surface of a penny! Please ask me about the method we followed and how many drops I was able to fit on my penny!

In Français, after our daily reading time, half of the class had the chance to share their Top 5 hands. Bravo to Danika, Huston, Munira, Elliott, Akira, Kacie, Mannix, Temesgen, Josh and Cayden who presented today! We look forward to hearing from the rest of the class tomorrow! (And a picture of our finished hands will be posted here tomorrow, too!)

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AGENDA

1. Picture day! School pictures will be taken Wednesday, September 23. Students will be able to remove their masks for their picture. (Some students asked if they can leave their mask on -  we will let that be a decision that comes from home.)  :)

2. Immunizations forms are being brought home today! Please complete and return to the school ASAP. Thank you!

3. Chevalier Gear! École Ness' clothing store is now open! 

https://tom.balticathletics.com/ Password: SJASD      Please see additional information (below).

4. Student homework for tomorrow (Tuesday) - please reflect on our school belief "Intégrité" and come ready to share one thing you can do and one thing you need Mme to do in order to demonstrate this school belief in our classroom every day.

5. Supplies: please continue sending extra supplies as you are able. We have started using our duotang for our Science log book and will continue using our Français scribbler later this week. If you are unable to send these supplies at this time, let me know and I will make arrangements here at the school. Thank you!

Happy Friday!

Hello, learning friends!

We have made it through our second week of school and are settling in to our new routines.

Sharing our plans for the weekend with our classmates!

Today, in Math, we continued studying the clock and were able to review time-telling vocabulary and equivalent fractions in the process. We then put our new skills to use for a game of BINGO! Mme Careen read out the times, and we had to read the clocks on our BINGO cards to see if we had a match! Bravo to our 2 winners, Adi and Josh, who took home a win! :)

In Français, after we did our daily reading, we finished out Top 5 hands and had time to practice our short presentations that will take place on Monday. Our presentations do not have to be long - a short explanation of our Top 5 list is great.

In Science, we reviewed the steps and process of the scientific method and we will be completing our first experiment on Monday! Stay tuned for updates!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy the sunshine! ☀

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AGENDA

1. Students will be presenting their TOP 5 hands on Monday. They are encouraged to practice what they will share with the class at home over the weekend. A written presentation is not required, but taking time to practice and being familiar with the words they will need in French is strongly encouraged. :)

2. Please continue sending in the additional supplies requested the first day of school. We are beginning to incorporate these supplies (duotang, scribblers, etc.) in our daily routines, with the goal of keeping our things as organized as possible. If you are not  able to send in the additional supplies, please let me know and I will make arrangements at school. Thank you.

3. We continue to do well with wearing our masks and have been improving when social distancing in line and in the halls. We are doing well when following the guidelines of sanitizing our hands before and after we leave the room, before and after we eat and after we use class supplies (such as BINGO counters (aka dry kidney beans)). We will continue to review and remind each other of the safety guidelines put in place for the safety of all students and staff. Thank you for also taking the time to review these protocols at home.

Happy Thursday!

 Hello, families!

We had a short but great 2 periods together this morning.

During our time together we:

- Solved another esti-mystery (posted below for you to try at home!)

- Practiced telling and learning specific time-telling vocabulary in French

- Did our daily "LaLaLa" time.

- Worked on our "Mon Top 5" hands and started prepping for our short presentation tomorrow.

Wishing you all a fab afternoon! :)

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AGENDA

1. Please reflect on what you will share about "Mon Top 5" in class tomorrow.

2. Thank you to all families who have sent back their forms. If you have not yet done so, please send them back as soon as possible.

3. Please continue sending in the additional supplies requested the first day of school. Click HERE if you require an additional copy. (Or you can request another paper copy ).

4. Masks and social distancing check in: 

* We are doing a great job wearing our masks during classroom instruction time!

* We are mostly doing a great job wearing them during lunchtime when we are in our classroom. (A reminder that masks can be off while eating but must be worn when getting up from the table for any reason.) 

* We are still working hard at maintaining at least a 1m distance between our classmates when lining up outside and walking in the hallways. 

* We will also continue to work hard at staying in our assigned seats during our morning break and during lunch eating.

* We are all doing our best and will continue to be reminded daily of the measures that have been in place for the safety of our classmates and teachers. Please continue to review the importance of mask-wearing and social distancing to ensure students understand the school protocols. Thank you for your support! :)

Wednesday!

Good afternoon, learning families!

Here's a quick look at our morning together.

We are reviewing multiples and are also practicing how to tell time in the process.
We each made our own clocks and will use them to practice time-telling vocabulary and review foundational equivalent fractions.

In Français, we had our first block of Lecture Autonomme.

Mme Careen gave us each two books that we will keep in our own supply boxes to access during this time. We will switch the books up once/week, ensuring they have enough time to quarantine between readers.

Mme Careen read us this book to kick-off our discussion about our 4 core school values :
Respect, Intégrité, Responsabilité, Excellence.

Our focus today was on Respect.
After having some time to reflect, we each shared (on post-it notes) one thing we need from Mme Careen to ensure a respectful classroom environment and one thing we need from our classmates.
Our needs will be collated into common ideas and will be shared and reviewed in class tomorrow.
This will become the core of our classroom contract for the year.

Things to ask me about this evening:

What new Math terms did we review in class today?

What book did I read in Français? What is it about?

What message is shared in the book We're All Friends Here? How did Mme link this to our own backpacks?

What items made my "Top 5" list? Was is hard for me to choose only 5?

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AGENDA

1. Thank you to all families who have sent back their forms. If you have not yet done so, please send them back as soon as possible.

2. Please continue sending in the additional supplies requested the first day of school. Click HERE if you require an additional copy. (Or you can request another paper copy ).

3. Masks and social distancing check in: 

* We are doing a great job wearing our masks during classroom instruction time!

* We are mostly doing a great job wearing them during lunchtime when we are in our classroom. (A reminder that masks can be off while eating but must be worn when getting up from the table for any reason.) 

* We are still working hard at maintaining at least a 1m distance between our classmates when lining up outside and walking in the hallways. 

* We will also continue to work hard at staying in our assigned seats during our morning break and during lunch eating.

* We are all doing our best and will continue to be reminded daily of the measures that have been in place for the safety of our classmates and teachers. Please continue to review the importance of mask-wearing and social distancing to ensure students understand the school protocols. Thank you for your support! :)

It's Tuesday!

 Hello, families!

We had a great morning of learning together!

In Math, we started with a Qui suis-je and then played "YAHOO" - a game of chance that allows us to practice our foundational multiplication facts and mental math strategies. We quickly learned who likes to play it safe and who has nerves of steel as we took our chances with the dice! Please ask me how I did!

In Français, we started writing and paring down our lists for "Mon Top 5." Many of us commented on how hard it is to pare down a list of things that are important to us to only 5! 

We also learned a bit about how our daily reading time will work for the year. Each day, at the beginning of our Français period, we will have 10-15 minutes of "LaLaLa" time, which will include a rotation of independent, partner and group reading and literacy activities. We will practice each section in turn over the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more info as we begin adding this routine into our daily schedule.

We ended our morning with a "real life" esti-mystery: how many packing peanuts can Mme Careen fit into 2 different sized can? Our estimation for the large can was right on, but our estimation for the smaller can was waaaay off...! Please ask me how the small can was able to fit at least 10x more packing peanuts than the large can!

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AGENDA

1. Please send back forms (lunch, medical, parent/student questionnaire) as soon as possible.

2. Please continue sending in additional supplies (as outlined on the blue form sent home last week) as you are able. Many supplies can be kept in our classroom in personal supply boxes, but binders will have to make the daily journey from home to school. 

* Reminder: students will not be changing for Phys Ed until further notice, therefore gym bags are not currently required. Please ensure they are ready to be active outdoors on days 1,3,4 and 5. Thanks!

3. Please continue reviewing the importance of social distancing and the proper way to wear a mask. We are all doing well so far with wearing our masks in class; maintaining enough distance between our classmates and other school friends in the halls and outside is definitely the more challenging part. We will continue to review and remind at school as we all adjust to our new norms. Thank you for your support!

Welcome, Week 2!

Hello learning friends!

Welcome to Week 2 of Middle School! :)

We started our short but sweet morning together outside with a "Trouve quelqu'un qui..." activity. Some of the items on the list included: "Qui joue au hockey?" - "Qui a lu toute la série de Harry Potter?" - "Qui a mangé de la crème glacée pendant la fin de semaine?" Please ask me what boxes I was able to sign for my classmates!

Once back inside, we listened to another of Mme's favourite picture books:

before moving on to our next Esti-mystère. (Our most challenging one yet!)

We ended our morning reading over and adding to our list of items that are important to us. We will be starting our own lists in class tomorrow. Stay tuned for more info! :)

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AGENDA

1. Please send back forms (lunch, medical, parent/student questionnaire) as soon as possible.

2. Please continue sending in additional supplies (as outlined on the blue form sent home last week) as you are able. Many supplies can be kept in our classroom in personal supply boxes, but binders will have to make the daily journey from home to school. 

* Reminder: students will not be changing for Phys Ed until further notice, therefore gym bags are not currently required. Please ensure they are ready to be active outdoors on days 1,3,4 and 5. Thanks!

3. Please continue reviewing the importance of social distancing and the proper way to wear a mask. We are all doing well so far with wearing our masks in class; maintaining enough distance between our classmates and other school friends in the halls and outside is definitely the more challenging part. We will continue to review and remind at school as we all adjust to our new norms. Thank you for your support!

Week One and Done! :)

Hello, friends of learning!

We Did It! In a back-to-school like no other, we conquered our first first week and are still smiling! Woohoo! :)

We had a great morning of learning together and we can't wait to share some of it with you below!

First up: today's book...

This led us to our sharing question of the day: if you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose and why? We had a whole range of answers - everything from monkeys and wolves to snakes and goats! Please ask me what animal I would love to keep as a pet and why!

Next up, after we solved today's esti-mystery, was a tangram challenge! Working with our table partners, but with each of us using with our own set of tangrams, we set out to solve three different tangram shapes before our morning break. 

Do not be fooled! Tangrams are NO joke!

Our brains are thinking SO hard!

This is tough!

Congrats to the groups who were able to solve all three puzzles!

We continued our morning with viewing and discussing two different "Vraiment Top" videos - one about Organization Tricks and the other about ways to stop the spread of germs. 

Using the theme of creating a "Top 5" list, we then began brainstorming for our first mini-assignment of the year, "Mon Top 5!" After having turn-and-talk time with our table parter, we shared our ideas of the most important/irreplaceable things in our lives with the class and Mme started a word bank that we will be able to pull from as we begin our writing next week. Our "toothbrush homework" for the weekend is to continue thinking about other things that are important in our lives so that we're ready to share on Monday. (*Toothbrush homework is 'thinking' homework... while we are brushing our teeth, we can continue to think/reflect on what is important to us. It does not take any extra time out of our day as brushing our teeth is already built in... and then we can come ready with new ideas to share with our classmates.)

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Side note from Mme Careen: 

It has been a pleasure meeting and getting to know your children this week! Despite standing meters apart, wearing masks, touching elbows instead of shaking hands, keeping our supplies in class instead of lockers and having to stay put for most of our day, we are settling into middle school and are starting to become an incredible 6-5 team. I look forward to continuing our unconventional school journey together. Thank you all for your continued patience, positivity and support! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

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AGENDA

1. Please send back forms (lunch, medical, parent/student questionnaire) as soon as possible.

2. Please continue sending in additional supplies (as outlined on the blue form sent home on Tuesday) as you are able. Many supplies can be kept in our classroom in personal supply boxes, but binders will have to make the daily journey from home to school. 

* Reminder: students will not be changing for Phys Ed until further notice, therefore gym bags are not currently required. Please ensure they are ready to be active outdoors on days 1,3,4 and 5. Thanks!

3. Please continue reviewing the importance of social distancing and the proper way to wear a mask. We are all doing well so far with wearing our masks in class; maintaining enough distance between our classmates and other school friends in the halls and outside is definitely the more challenging part. We will continue to review and remind at school as we all adjust to our new norms. Thank you for your support!

Back to School, Day 3!

 Hello, everyone!

We had a great morning on learning together!

In Math, we solved two esti-mysteries by working both together and then with our table partners. What is an esti-mystery? It is a picture - usually of small objects in jar - and a series of clues that guides you towards estimating the answer. Following and deciphering the clues helps us review and apply Math vocabulary and concepts in an interactive way.

Here is a look at one of the ones we completed in class today:

Please ask me to guide you through the steps to see if you arrive at the answer!

Next, after completing a short Math survey, we listened to Mme Careen read us another silly story.

This story prompted our question of the day: What is your least favourite food and/or what food would you never like to try? Our answers ranged from tomatoes, to liver, to insects! And, upon discussion, we learned that many of us had in fact already tried insects - and some of us didn't think they actually tasted that bad! :)

We ended our morning with a small block of time to organize our binders into sections. Mme Careen gave us some suggestions and we were able to get our subject dividers in order from there. We will continue to work on organization over the coming weeks as we move into our learning routines.

Thanks for another great morning, everyone! :)

*****

AGENDA

1. Please send back forms (lunch, medical, parent/student questionnaire) as soon as possible.

2. Please continue sending in additional supplies (as outlined on the blue form sent home on Tuesday) as you are able. Many supplies can be kept in our classroom in personal supply boxes, but binders will have to make the daily journey from home to school. Thanks!

3. Please continue reviewing the importance of social distancing and the proper way to wear a mask at home. We are all doing very well so far with wearing our masks in class; maintaining enough distance between our classmates and other school friends in the halls and outside is definitely the more challenging part. We will continue to review and remind at school as we all adjust to our new norms. Thank you for your support!