Week 21: February 12–15, 2018

In our last final week of preparations before the Linden Science & Technology Fair, many students were hard at work painting and assembling their presentation boards. For students in Grade 1-2, this is their first year doing an independent project and they are working diligently to showcase their work in the best possible way. In CERES, students continued to explore light energy through the construction of transparent and opaque transparency wheels. They also continued their work on our classroom door poster celebrating Jean Augustine and Rosa Parks in recognition of Black History Month. During Writer's Workshop, many Grade 1-2s hit new goals in their writing and the mood was very celebratory. For All-School this week, we welcomed Doug Anderson, an Indigenous educator who has been working at Linden this winter, and students had the opportunity to connect with the importance of water and to learn more about Josephine Mandamin, an Anishinaabe Elder from Manitoulin Island who walked around all five Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. We look forward to continuing our work with Doug in the spring as we connect our learning to ravine walks and time in Yellow Creek. In the meantime, we can't wait to see so many Linden community members and supporters at Science Fair!

G, K, and M work together with other members of cooking club to chop vegetables that they would enjoy with the hummus they were about to prepare. Pushing the buttons on the food processor was a major highlight for many!

K, G, and M work on painting the backgrounds of their science fair presentation boards in art class. All three have chosen a cool colour palette for their background.

M and Z opt for a warm colour palette on their science fair boards.

Grade 1-2s and Early Learners work together in CERES class to sort fraction pieces into opaque and transparent groupings. Many hold them up to the light to test for transparency.

K tests her transparency wheel in CERES class. She chose each design on her wheel and tests which ones project best using the flashlight.

M demonstrates the transparency of her wheel window in CERES class.

Z enjoys creating very detailed drawings while Maho thinks of drawings that all start with the letter S.

G uses a battery-operated tealight to test her transparency wheel in CERES class.

G and K can't contain their giggles as K helps G to spell honey during Writer's Workshop. Both girls are writing about what beehive-related activities they look forward to in the spring when our hive reopens.

K is extremely proud of herself for reaching the bottom of her notebook page during Writer's Workshop. She tells me it's because she was so focused.

Here, M is on to her third page in Writer's Workshop. She said that this was her favourite day of writing because she had so many things to say about the bees that she never ran out of ideas for what to write.

Z records interesting pieces of research from a book on plants and seeds. She will use this research to better understand why her pea seeds are growing better in some liquids than others.

G and K are having fun burying their legs in snow during morning recess.

M, G, and Z return their pinch of tobacco to a special box during All-School after learning about the importance of water to everyone's lives. Doug is going to toss this tobacco in our nearby Yellow Creek on his way home to help connect the girls to an important local water source that they will continue to learn about in the spring.

Z is impressed with how much taller her pea plant that she has been adding water to has grown. Clearly, this is the best liquid to use for gardening.

K works on compiling her mold research for Science Fair. She is looking forward to assembling her presentation board next week.

M cuts out photos of her marble run trials to attach to her Science Fair presentation board.

G, K, and M use yoghurt containers to build snow structures at the park on Friday. It is always a treat to be outside in fresh snow!

M adds some important explanations to our Black History Month door poster. She writes about how Jean Augustine "started Canadian Black History Month" and how Rosa Parks "worked to end segregation".