Hi parents/guardians and students from Division 7!  I can't believe it's already October and this is my first post of the year.  Busy doesn't even begin to describe September this year!

I think I've met most of you now, and thank-you for taking the time to attend our Open House evening and parent-teacher interviews.  It has been so valuable to get input on your child.

We have had a very good beginning.  The children are really settling in, and are getting better with routines and expectations.  Just a reminder:  your child is expected to read daily for 30 minutes at home.  Please sign planners to indicate that this has been completed each evening.

We have organized students in our class according to a spelling inventory we did a few weeks ago.  Your child is studying words and patterns that s/he will benefit from studying.  Each week your child will get a new group of words (to be kept in a Ziploc baggie in the planner).  It would be very beneficial to practice the word sorts each day (this should only take about 5 minutes), as well as to quiz your child on the ten starred words (which will be on the test).

 In math, the students have been working on place value and estimation in addition and subtraction with Mrs. Kollen and I, and will be having a math quiz on Tuesday, October 9th.  Please have you child review the concepts learned (in their red and orange duotangs).

In Social Studies, we are studying Canada and are looking at its geographic diversity.  Students are creating posters that, in pictures, shows the varied geography (as well as wildlife and outdoor activities) of our nation, divided by region.  Please ask your child to show you the criteria sheet for more information on this project, due Friday, October 12th.

Also, for an upcoming Socials activity, students need to know their cultural backgrounds.  Please talk to your child about his or her cultural background (if there are many, as is becoming common, perhaps just choose a couple of the major cultures, such as "British and French" or "Italian and Finnish" or "First Nations and Polish.")  For this activity your child also needs to know which language(s) are spoken in the home and which religion is followed ("none" is acceptable also).  Finally, your child needs to know how long your family has lived in their neighborhood.

Other important dates:

Friday, October 5th--Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous meeting in library at noon

Oct. 5th--Hot lunch order form (green) is due

October 10th--photo orders are due

November 16th--raffle donations are due (PAC)

From our dress rehearsal:

And some last-day-of-school pics of the students enjoying the fantabulous Alexander France:

Have a great summer everyone!!!

No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks...! Just a quick note as we wrap up a fun school year... I am glad so many parents were able to come to the school to watch our class play this year. If you got some good photos, please send one or two to me at nancy.rupert@gmail.com and I'll put them on the blog for others to see. Mrs. Kollen and I were so proud of the students, who put so much effort into their art/props/costumes/acting. It was neat to see how excited they all were, too--and who knows, maybe one day a famous Hollywood star will say, "I got my start on the stage at Alouette Elementary..." I just want to confirm that tomorrow (Wed.) and Thursday are full days, although students are welcome to go home at lunchtime on Thursday. That day we have an assembly in the morning, and then a concert (hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be outside). Anyone who stays at school in the afternoon will go to the gym, where a movie will be presented. I will be asking students to bring home everything from their bins, desks and the cloakroom tomorrow. Report cards will go home Thursday. I think that's it! Mrs. Kollen and I have very much enjoyed each and every student we've taught in Division 7 this year. It's a privilege to get to work with your creative, enthusiastic children! Have a wonderful summer.

A Day Spent Weaving

Kathleen Williamson from our District's Aboriginal Education department visited our classroom last Friday. She taught us about the history of Salish weaving (such as the fact that the Salish took their wool not from sheep, but from a now-extinct wooly dog!) She then taught the students how to use a loom to weave, and students spent the entire day engrossed in their projects. While a few students said it wasn't for them, the majority of the children found it a fun, soothing, creative activity. Some even said they wished they could weave every day! Kathleen told the students that if they wanted to keep on weaving at home, they didn't need fancy equipment, but could make a loom out of a shoe box. I found online directions here: http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/aa01/aa040201.htm Here are some photos of the students, hard at work:

Field Trip to view Lyle Wilson's artwork

Friday, June 1st was a real west coast weather type of day: warm but occasionally pouring and often drizzling rain. Nevertheless, Division 7 and a handful of parent helpers walked to the ACT in Maple Ridge to view the Northwest Coast art of Lyle Wilson.

Our guide explained the basic shapes used by Northwest Coast artists and that it "should feel like it's staring at you".

Students admire ABCs Reconstituted.

Tsimshian Cosmos

Kitamaat means "People of the Snow"

Octopus

Admiring a Bentwood box.

Author's Celebration! and other stuff

Hopefully you received an invitation today to our Author's Celebration next Thursday (the 17th). From 8:45 until 10:15 we are meeting in small groups to share our novels, and parents, grandparents and good friends are welcome to join in the fun. The following students have volunteered to bring items for the food portion of the celebration: Sam and Matthew (fruit), Jordan (veggies), Kai and Sara (cookies), Holly and Emily (cupcakes), Hannah (pretzels and water jug), Nathan H. (chips), Josh and Riley (juice), Amanda (paper plates) and Kenzie (cups). If you are unable to bring one of these items, please just email me at Nancy_Rupert@sd42.ca so I can make a new arrangement. Thanks in advance to those of you who can send us some goodies. Some of the students are doing some last minute novel publishing, so please check in with your child this weekend and make sure he/she is ready to go for Wednesday, the last day the printing press is running! The MRTA has created a letter and have asked teachers to send it home via either email or in an envelope. In the interest of trees, if you would like to read this letter (which explains the current job action and its rationale), please email me at the above email address and I'll send it along. I don't wish to post it on the blog because some students read this blog and it is meant for parents only. Please keep on sending in the Jump Rope for Heart envelopes. Students have a week of quizzes this upcoming week: on Tuesday there is a Science chapter 6 test and a French quiz (this is 5s only), and on Thursday, a Socials vocab quiz. Enjoy the sunshine!

Year is almost over!

This school year, more than any other for me, has just flown by. I think working part-time this year has been part of that. And the next few weeks will zip by even more quickly. Speeches are now finished, and I am happy to say that the students simply excelled during the in-class speeches. Congratulations to Kai and Hannah, who represented the grade five students in the gym, and to Tiffany and Sara, who represented the grade fours. All four did a terrific job in the gym Mrs. Kollen tells me, and Kai and Tiffany were chosen to represent grades five and four at the district event this week. Hannah also got to attend as a runner-up. Well done! I will posting details later this week about our upcoming publishing party, celebrating the result of hard work by the students in creating their novels. Parents will be invited to attend (watch for invitations). In writing, the class blog will no longer be part of the homework. Kudos to those students who kept up with it, but because I want to ensure that all students are practicing their writing, we are transitioning to paper journals for the remainder of the year. Your child should be bringing home a paper journal he or she created and writing in it for about twenty minutes at least once a week. Please let me know if you are not seeing this come home at least one time per week, and I will let you know if your child isn't meeting minimal expectations also. We will be having a field trip to the ACT on June 1st--watch for a permission form to come home very soon, and I will be looking for parent drivers. Nancy