Happy Friday!

Today the students had a wonderfully busy day!

We began our day with the Pillars of Care Assembly. In the assembly we learned about Orange Shirt Day which will be happening this coming Monday Oct 1. Here is a link to learn more: ORANGE SHIRT DAY

After the assembly, the students returned to the classroom where we began our intro lesson for multiplication. Students played a fun game of multiplication war to warm up their brains for some multiplication 3x1 practice questions.

After a tasty snack and some CNN 10 the students were given time on Mathletics to practice place value subtraction and addition questions. I gave each student their login info and I encourage them to complete the math assignments in school and at home.

Students also completed a poetry review quiz today that tested their knowledge from the last week!

I told students to spend some time working on their social cities over the weekend to reduce stress and procrastination.

Way to go room 14 for raising $58 for the Toonies for Terry Charity! You are all awesome!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Blog message from Mr Sadowsky

In 1997, Walk our Children to School Day was launched in Chicago by the Partnership for a Walkable America. Canada held its first national Walk a Child to School Day in 1998 with participants from five provinces. In 2000 the first International Walk to School day officially began and today schools from all thirteen provinces and territories join millions of students all over the world as they walk to school.

Participating countries include Canada, United States, Mexico, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy, India, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

To learn more about the international event please visit www.iwalktoschool.org.

Join the movement and millions of walkers around the world as we walk to school during t.his week! 

As a school we will keep track each day that week how many students walked or rode their bikes to school. I will post our results on this blog. Lets see how active Beddington Heights can be!

The dates are October 1st - 5th 

Happy Thursday!

Pillars of Care assembly tomorrow! Congrats to the winners of room 14. Please come join us for a great assembly starting at 8:15 am in the gym.

Today we started our day by switching up our regular routine with doing math after music. The students were starting their day with basic fact practice so continuing into the core concepts was a natural change. Tomorrow we will be transitioning from subtraction to multiplication.

After recess the students were given a good chunk of time to work on their social city projects. I am very excited to see the awesome rough plans coming into their own!

In the afternoon Mr Mueller finished his instructional lessons on the basics of poetry. Students are looking forward to creating their own poems next week.

Have a great evening!

Reminders:
Orange shirt day Monday!

Happy Wicked Wednesday (Forgot to publish my blog!)

Today the students went a walking field trip to Nose Hill Park!

We observed trees and learned about their different qualities. We examined leaves and used our senses to plan for a nature poem: what do you see, hear, feel, smell. We saw wildlife such as, deer, insects, birds, dogs, and even a coyote! We used paper and a pencil to create bark rubbings for our upcoming science project. We picked up several leaves that will be used for a project!
Here is what some students had to say about their trip to nose hill:

"It was awesome I really enjoyed the experience"
"All the prickly plants were very prickly"
"The nature looked really cool"
"There were lots of beautiful trees!"

Another blog message coming later today!
Mr Lancee

Happy Terry Fox Run Tuesday!


Today the students took part in the Terry Fox Run! A 500 m course was laid out around the school field and students pushed themselves to run for a straight 40 mins! Happy to report we are all exhausted for an amazing cause!

Today the students marked their first round of spelling sentences and completed their first spelling test. By marking spelling sentences students are able to improve their editing skills while building proper sentence structure.

Reminder!! Tomorrow is our walking field trip to Nose Hill Park!
We will be walking from the school to the park and then hiking up the hills searching for leaves and tree bark.
For the field trip tomorrow please bring the following:

• water bottle
• hat
• warm jacket and sweater
• snack
• proper footwear for hiking
• gloves
• sunglasses
• pencil and eraser

Have a great evening!

Mr Lancee

Happy Monday Sept 24!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Reminders:
Spelling Sentences due tomorrow!
Nose Hill Field trip Wednesday! Please dress for the weather!
Spelling test tomorrow!

Due to the weather forecast for this  week we have changed our annual Terry Fox Run to Tuesday September 25th. We will start with a quick assembly in the gym at 1:30pm.  Everyone is welcome.  We are collecting Toonies for Terry from Monday September 24th to Friday September 28th.  You can also go to:  http://www.terryfox.ca/BeddingtonHeights  to donate online.  Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather and wearing appropriate shoes to run (running shoes).  Thank you for your support.

Also, if students in my class are able to raise $100 or $200 for the Terry Fox Run I will:
$100 raised: Dye my beard and hair for a day (any color)
$200 raised: wear a silly costume and do a fortnite dance
Cannot wait to see all the support for The Terry Fox Run


Today the students began their first day of poetry in Language arts. We will be covering the basics of poetry and creating several different kinds of poems over the next few weeks.

In math we started working on subtraction of whole numbers. Please check out Mathantics.com for some great video tutorials.

In social the students began to learn the importance of services and taxes with a local government. We listed the services that local governments are responsible for and started a new project to show the students learning. Below is the assignment and rubric!

Happy Thursday September 20th!

Reminders:
Pillars of Care Assembly next Friday
Terry Fox Run Next Friday following our POC assembly
Still looking for Volunteers for our field trip to Nose Hill Park!
No School Tomorrow!

I am very happy to report that the students who signed up for Patrol Club had a wonderful had a wonderful first day of training!

In Math students continued their work with addition of multi digit numbers. Next week we will begin to work our way through subtraction and some word problems. We build the basics now so they can be applied and tested soon!

We were also able to get onto Mathletics today for the first time this year. If your child was not able to log onto a computer it may be because they forgot their password. I am working to fix this error. Mathletics logins will be distributed to each student next week!

Looking forward to meeting everyone tonight at Meet the Teacher Night tonight! Even if you havent signed up...come anyway!

Have a great weekend!
Mr Lancee

Happy Wednesday Sept 19

Final Reminder:
Please come for meet the teacher night tomorrow! 6-7 or 7-8!
If you have not already done so please finish silhouettes and finger poetry for tomorrow!
No School Friday
Patroller Training tomorrow at 9 am in the gym
Terry fox run September 28th
Spelling Sentences due Monday
Spelling Test Monday


Today the students had their first LA and Math lesson with Mr Mueller's class! I have to say I am personally very proud of the work ethic, focus and positive behaviors from the classes! keep up the great work room 14/15!

In LA the students wrote their first baseline assessment in which they had to create a story from a picture displayed on our smart boards. This story will help us to understand what our students need to be successful and also where they are sitting now.

In math we started our first addition with regrouping lesson! Below are some links to math antics for some great tips and strategies for addition and place value.

https://www.mathantics.com/

Have a great evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Tuesday Sept 18!

Reminders:
Volunteer forms in ASAP
Silhouettes due tomorrow!
Finger Print poems due tomorrow!

*If work is not finished for tomorrow morning students will be in at recess and lunch until it is finished. We are trying to teach students that due dates must remain firm as they become even more strict in Junior High.

Patroller Training on Thursday in the gym from 9-11 am.

Today the students were able to experience their first science class with Mr Mueller. Students worked with Mr Mueller learning about trees and forests!

Tomorrow we will be starting team teaching for LA and Math!

Have a great evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Monday Sept 17

Today is a long but very important blog message.

Reminders:
Silhouette project due Wednesday
Fingerprint poem project due Wednesday
Still looking for volunteers for nose hill park trip!
Meet the teacher night is Sept 20th. Form sent home today with instructions on how to sign up.

Educational Considerations for team-teaching with Room 15

 

Last year, grade 6 students experienced a lot of success thanks to our team-teaching between both classes.  This was measurable in our growth over the year and resulted in a high level of students doing well in the Provincial Achievement test in June of 2018.

Our plan for this year is to instruct the students in Math and LA as a whole class on Mondays, Wednesdays and parts of Friday. This allows for more personalization, a wider range of activities and more in depth, specialized delivery of knowledge (e.g. focus on current events and issues) between two teachers and our educational assistant Mrs. Ruiz.  On Tuesday and Thursday, students will work in their own space for educational reasons, as well as due to our music and P.E. schedule. This will benefit our students in regards to focusing on finishing work tasks and gives each homeroom teacher a good understanding of their own students’ strengths and areas of growths on these days.

Mr. Mueller, my teaching partner in room 15 is an amazing LA and Science expert. Therefore he will instruct room 114 students every Tuesday and Thursday in Science in the afternoon. I will teach his class Social on said days.

We have noticed from past experiences, that teaching these two subjects in a smaller setting allows for more discussion and time for inquiry based learning.

Today the students began weekly spelling words in LA. Each week 15 words related to one of the subjects will be assigned on Monday. Throughout the week students must write a sentence that follows the rules we recorded in their spelling books. The students will be quizzed on the Friday in the same week (Occassionally the following Monday depending on the week and how busy we are). 

The purpose of the grade 6 spelling program is to:

1. Develop students overall spelling
2. Research and reinforce terms learned in LA, Math, Science and Social
3. Develop and practice proper sentence structure

This weeks words are:

Spelling Week 1: Poetry Words

1. Simile

2. Metaphor

3. Personification

4. Rhyme

5. Rhythm

6. Verse

7. Stanza

8. Onomatopoeia

9. Scheme (rhyming scheme)

10. Symbol

11. Alliteration

12. Poetry

13. Abstract

14. Expression

15. Concrete (poem)

The rules of the spelling book:

1. Capital letters to start sentences
2. Periods at the end of a sentence
3. No questions, dialogue or calculations
4. Write words on one page in spelling book
5. Skip a line
6. Sentences on a separate page in spelling book
7. Underline term in sentence when applicable
8. Ask yourself “Is this a sentence? Does it make sense?”
9. Sentences must be 6+ words
10. Proof read alone/with a friend/parent

Friday September 28th is our annual Terry Fox run.  It will immediately follow our Pillars of Care assembly (approximately 9:00am).  Everyone is welcome.  We are collecting Toonies for Terry from Monday September 24th to Friday September 28th.  You can also go to:  http://www.terryfox.ca/BeddingtonHeights  to donate online.  Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather and wearing appropriate shoes to run (running shoes).  Thank you for your support.

Happy Friday! Hooray!

Looking forward to seeing everyone for Meet the Teacher Night next Thursday Sept 20th. All parents and students are invited to come meet the grade 6 teachers and see a presentation on year to come!

In math, students have begun to do some great work with place of numbers up to one million (1,000,000). The ability to recognize the basics of place values and how numbers are broken down sets a strong foundation for computation of numbers (+-x/). Next week we will continue place value and begin working on addition and subtraction of whole numbers.

In Language Arts, students have begun to create the good copies of their finger print poems! After writing their poems in their LA notebook, students draw their finger print on a white piece of paper. They use this as a tracer for writing their poems into the shape of of a finger print.

Reminders:
Silhouette multiple intelligences due Wednesday
Volunteers for Nose Hill field trip in ASAP

Stay warm this coming rainy weekend!
Mr Lancee

Happy Thursday!
Just like that...the week is over! Time flies in September!

Today a field trip form was sent home with the students that explains our walking field trip to Nose Hill Park on September 22. The form does not need to be returned unless parents/guardians/grandparents etc would like to volunteer! The volunteers are on a first come first serve basis so try to get the forms in ASAP!

Reminders:
Identity Crest due tomorrow! Cannot wait to post them above our whiteboard!
Silhouette due Wednesday of next week.
Finger print poem due Wednesday of next week.

All three of these assignments must be done by Wednesday in order to have them up to show parents on Thursday September 20th for parent teacher night!

Have a wonderful evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Wednesday Sept 12!

Today the students began working on a new writing assignment called the Finger Print Poem. This writing assignment will have the students creating a concrete (shape) poem that show their unique traits, experiences and memories.

For our Documentation of Learning Board the students created Pillars of Care Promises in which they had to reflect on how they would show the pillars of care in the school this year. The documentation of learning boards will be up around the school on September 20th for Meet the Teacher night.

Students were able to start their weekly visit to the library today! Two books can be taken out at a time and they must be returned or checked in every week.

After a long summer of relaxing and tasty food it is time to get our grade sixes into the best shape possible! We have begun building up our running skills each day in gym for the Terry Fox Run at the end of the month.

Reminders:
Identity Crests due Friday
Silhouettes due Monday
Meet the Teacher Night Sept 20th


Have a wonderful Wednesday evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Tuesday Sept 11!

Parents,

Reminders:
All patrol forms due Monday September 17
Patrol training September 20th
Meet the teacher night September 20th
Identity Crest due Friday
Silhouette due Monday


Patrol Club!
Several students in grade 5/6 were invited to the Patrol Club meeting today at lunch! Students interested in becoming patrollers for before and after school coverage of the crosswalks with the AMA Safety Patrols went home with forms today that must be signed and returned by Monday Sept 17. This is an all year club with lots of great life skill building and some fun parties at the end of the year.

Below is a summary of the activities we have been completing in class and the subject they fall under:

Math: Review
Students have been completing and marking two different math assessments focused on concepts covered in grade 5. The assessment students completed today will be used a benchmark for understanding the students strengths and areas of growth in math.

Social: My Identity Crest
Students have been working hard to finish their Identity Crests which display four key qualities of themselves.

LA/ART: Intelligences Silhouette
Using magazine clippings, we show our interests and activities based off our most powerful intelligences.

Have a terrific Tuesday evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Rainy Monday!

Today the students began their day by working hard to finish their Identity Crests. We want to finish these crests in the next few days so that we can proudly display them for Meet the Teacher night. Students that completed their descriptions and drawings moved onto the Intelligences Silhouette project.

In Math we marked our start of the year math booklets that touch on all the concepts we focus on in grade 5/6.

We started working on our Pillars for our Pillars of Care Documentation of Learning Boards. In small groups the students are designing a pillar that represents others, self, learning and place.

Reminders:
Meet the Teacher Night is September 20th
Please return all forms ASAP! I am only missing a few!
Please sign and return spelling test from Friday
Identity crest and silhouettes due Friday!

Have a wonderful evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Friday! Hooray!

We made it through our first week of school! It has been wonderful to get to know all the diverse students in room 14 :)

Today we began our day with the welcome back assembly. The new and old students and teachers at Beddington were overjoyed to officially be recognized by Principal Trumper and Assistant Principal Strum.

Afterwards, the students wrote the Edmonton Spelling Test. This spelling test consists of 50 words that measure students spelling knowledge from grade 1-6. That being said...
It is not an official CBE rating scale or test... it is just a way for teachers to get a rough assessment of students spelling abilities at the start of the year. The last 15 words in the scale are mostly grade 5/6 specific words so if your child did not spell these words correct it is okay! They will learn so much this year, including these words, and you will be shocked at how much your child will grow in grade 6. I also will be using this test as a way to support students in taking their learning into their own hands by giving them a personal dictionary with space to add new words. This way students can build their vocabulary and achieve their personal goals of improving spelling and writing skills.

Students finished up the day by working on their personal identity crests before cleaning up the room for home time!

Reminders:
Please return all forms by Monday. We are so close to having them all in!
Meet the teacher night will be on September 20th. Looking forward to meeting everyone!
Please sign the Edmonton Spelling Test and have your child return it to class for Monday.

Have a great weekend!
Mr Lancee

Also:

Boost Athletic – After School Sports Programs
We’d like to invite all students to our After School Soccer Program at Beddington Heights School!
Boost is excited to be offering our 2nd program at Beddington Heights School! For the 2018 Fall Season, we will be offering Soccer. The programs are led by Boost Athletic founder Andrew Fleming and our sport-specific technical staff. All kids are eligible to join, whether they already play or not! We’d love to see new faces out on the field! Our program cost is $50 for each 6 week program and financial assistance is available for those who are in need, we will not turn any kids away because of cost!
If you are interested, please register online to hold your place atwww.boostathletic.ca. All students must register online, but payment can be made on the first day via either cash, cheque or debit/credit through our mobile card readers. If you require financial assistance, please emailandrew.fleming@boostathletic.ca after registration and indicate that it is required.
Each program has limited places for the Outdoor Season. We will limit programs to the first 30 registrations.
Programs
www.boostathletic.ca

Outdoor Soccer

Tuesdays 2.30-3.30

September 25th –October 30th

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Special thank you to everyone who brought in forms, flashlights and magazines today! When students keep themselves accountable for their own learning they WILL reach their goals!

We started our day by starting the good copies of our classroom identity crests. I am encouraging students to fully color each square and write descriptions that they are proud to showcase to the classroom.

In Math we reviewed the basic fact questions that we completed in class the other day. I liked how students are pushing themselves to answer questions and share their personal strategies in solving equations.

In the afternoon students worked in groups of three to trace their silhouettes for the multiple intelligences art project. The silhouettes were divided into their three or four strongest intelligences to be covered with magazine pictures.

Reminders:
Welcome back assembly tomorrow at 8:15 am!
Half day tomorrow!
Please return the first day forms and digital citizens forms by tomorow!

Have a wonderful Thursday evening!
Mr Lancee

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

Today the students of room 14 began their day by writing in their journals focusing on their their identity crest descriptions.

The students also began a math assessment focusing on basic facts and word problems!

In the afternoon we also completed a quiz to measure our multiple intelligences for a future project.

Tomorrow we will be starting a new project in which the students must trace their silhouette using a light source. We will be creating silhouette's that represent the students specific intelligences!
If possible: please have your child bring either a flashlight or phone and a magazine or two to class to help with this project for tomorrow. 

Digital citizenship form sent home today! Return ASAP

Reminders: 
Forms due Friday sept 7

Welcome back assembly on Friday at 8:15 am

Happy First Day of School!

I want to welcome all the students back from summer and into a brand new school year!

Some of the activities the students took part in today were:

• Introduced expectations and school procedures (fire drill / classroom jobs / responsibilities)
• Picnic name game
• Labelling school supplies and note books
• Making name tags for our classroom jobs and DL board borderSocial Studies / Art project: Design a crest that represents your identity and culture.
• Engineering challenge: build a structure to support a golf ball using only straws and tape!

In our class we have provided all the materials needed to be organized in their daily tasks. That being said if students want to use binders instead of duotangs to stay organized they are more then welcome!

Reminders:
A large collection of stapled forms was sent home today and is to be returned by Friday!