Week 10: November 6–9, 2017
Students in the Grade 1-2 class continued collecting data for our upcoming Social Justice Data Fair this week. Last week, they designed two unique survey questions each about different types of waste sorting and disposal, and this week, they finished surveying every student and teacher in the school while practicing their tally marks. We also continued building connections between this project and issues of food security and access in the North. We have made contact with a teacher working in Pangnirtung, Nunavut and have sent her questions to ask her high school students about food including: "Do you know anyone who lives outside of Pangnirtung for some of the year to find animals to hunt or eat?", "Is it hard for your families to get fruits and vegetables at the store?", and "What is the hardest part of living in the North?". We are looking forward to hearing their responses next week as well as receiving some photos of outdoor activities they do in their daily lives. Our vegetables that we are regrowing from food scraps are flourishing in our classroom and the Grade 1-2s are enjoying tracking their growth daily while practicing measurement. Projects in CERES class have also connected to this food waste learning as students explored how to reuse non-recyclable materials for creative purposes. On Thursday, one of our wonderful beekeepers returned to winterize the hive and to deliver our jarred honey! The Grade 1-2s were very excited to try out the beekeeper hats while observing the hive care and they also wanted to hear about how they could get their own jar of rooftop honey. We wrapped up the shortened week with a discussion of peace using the book The Enemy: A Story of Peace and then enjoyed a very exciting trip to our local library. Hopefully the students are enjoying lots of reading this weekend with their new books!
G and K work together to read the mass of the compost bin in the lunchroom while collecting data for Social Justice Data Fair. They will continue this data collection before and after a lunchtime announcement about the importance of litterless lunches next week to measure the impact of their advocacy efforts.
The Grade 1-2s survey the teachers on topics of waste management and food waste.
To compliment their project on food waste and access to food, the Grade 1-2s are regrowing vegetables from food scraps in our classroom. K measures the progress of our romaine lettuce as G gleefully correlates the height in centimetres to the lettuce's age.
Z measures the green onions that we are regrowing in our classroom as part of our food waste project for Social Justice Data Fair.
The Grade 1-2s line up at the front desk to survey Mel on her understanding of different waste sorting examples.
M displays the beginnings of an elevator that she created in Maker's Club. She is looking forward to adding a pulley component to the project in the future.
Z is excited to perform her song based on the poem "The Light Keeper", which she learned in an extracurricular activity.
S enjoys the pirate ship that G crafted in Maker's Club this week. The design was completed with a paper towel roll telescope and a paddle made out of a ruler.
Students learn about how mylar cannot be recycled and use CERES class to create jewelry out of it.
After learning that coffee cups can't be recycled because they are a mix of paper and plastic, Z decides to create a swivel head toy which mixes eyes with different mouth expressions.
M and S illustrate their learning about the importance of proper waste management. S really enjoyed explaining how you can reuse canvases by painting over them in white.
M and Z are very excited to wear the beekeeper hats during our visit from Alvéole. The beekeeper taught the students about the importance of winterizing the hive to protect the bees from the cold air as well as excessive moisture in the hive.
S asked really thoughtful questions during our beekeeper's visit about how the hive is winterized and how the bees behave throughout the winter.
S proudly shares the engineered solution she developed at home to help keep her sailboat upright.
K arrived on Thursday with a loose tooth and after some strategic wiggling, she was very proud to be coming home with her tooth in an envelope.
G and K love skipping together on the roof at recess.
On Thursday, the Grade 1-2s and Early Learners read a book called The Enemy: A Book About Peace together. The story explores a soldier's realization that "the enemy" he has learned to see as evil is really just like him. Students made connections to how they also sometimes have disagreement with friends, even though they are also so similar, and how important it is to talk to them so it doesn't turn into a fight.
The Grade 10s created a collaborative art piece using white poppies and invited all students to illustrate or write what peace means to them on it.
S creates a white poppy with the statement "Peace is beautiful" to add to a collaborative art piece by the Grade 10s.
The Grade 1-2s and Early Learners enjoyed a trip to the Deer Park Library on Thursday. They modelled library behaviour that was very respectful to all visitors and enjoyed choosing their own books to take home. G loved the selection of books on planets that were available!
M reads to A during our library visit. Her love of reading continues to increase as her vocabulary expands and she sounds out more unfamiliar words.