The Northwest Passage

It was good seeing such a good turnout at last night’s MYP/DP Information Session.

Our annual Jump Rope 4 Heart Assembly took place this morning. This kicks off fundraising that our school does for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Look for information coming home today.

We continued learning about the Age of Exploration during inquiry time. We first reviewed all the learning that has taken place over the last few days. Students then heard how Giovanni da Verrazano, who sailed for France, believed the land Columbus had found was not Asia and that there was a possible way through or around this land. We also learned about various explorers who have geographic features in Canada named after them because of their attempts to find this Northwest Passage. We ended the teaching part of this unit with the sad story of Henry Hudson. Ask your child to tell you about this. Students should add today’s French and English explorers to their timeline. They should be reviewing all work in their duo-tangs in preparation for their unit test on Tuesday, January 22^nd.

Students have been introduced to the final project for this unit – an RSA Animate to teach the class about their chosen explorer. They have received a package that describes the expectations and the steps to complete the project. We viewed a professional example of an RSA Animate and a student example of an RSA Animate to help students understand what they are expected to produce. They will be working with a partner. I will be away on Monday. Students may use class time on Monday to research their chosen explorer or to work on their speech.

Group	Explorer
Jennifer and Rishabh	Christopher Columbus
Rashad and David	John Cabot
Chelsea and Sophie	Jacques Cartier
Tristan and Lucas	Leif Eriksson
Ethan and Julian	Henry Hudson
Christiaan and Ekaam	Francis Drake
Amron and JD	Bartholomeu Diaz
Lynne and Suravi	Ferdinand Magellan
Jayden and Riaz	James Cook
Miriam and Adam	???

 

Students used speech time to do research and find supporting evidence for each of their reasons. Students recorded their reasons in their ‘Persuasive Essay Organiser’. This organiser must be completed when students come to school on Monday, January 21^st.

Grade 6s attended math, music, and French class today. Students should be studying and preparing for their math unit test. The unit test takes place on Monday, January 21^st.

We are away on our Crawford Lake trip tomorrow. We will be outside for most of the day. It is important that students dress warmly in layers, including snow pants, hats, scarfs, and gloves. Students do NOT need to wear their uniform. Remember to bring a packed lunch. Backpacks do not need to come to school tomorrow.

Homework & Reminders

·         Speeches:

o   Get caught up with speech work if you have fallen behind

o   Find 3-5 examples/facts/ideas that support each of your reasons and record these in jot-note form in your ‘Persuasive Essay Organiser’ – due Monday morning, January 21^st

o   Note your sources when you are doing research

o   Devices are need for speech research all week

·         Explorers UOI

o   Create a timeline spanning 400 AD – 1700 AD

o   Add today’s French and English explorers to your timeline

o   Study - unit test on Tuesday, January 22^nd  

·         Math Homework

o   Study

o   Unit test on Monday, January 21^st

·         Jump Rope 4 Heart Fundraising is ongoing

·         Friday, January 18^th – Crawford Lake trip. Dress warmly as we will be outdoors all day. Bring a packed lunch.

·         Monday, January 21^st – Math unit test, Devices needed

·         Tuesday, January 22^nd – Explorers unit test

·         Wednesday, January 23^rd – Ski Trip

·         Tuesday, January 29^th – Bake Sale

·         Wednesday, January 30^th – Bake Sale

·         Thursday, January 31^st – Casual Day

·         Tuesday, February 5^th – Pancake Tuesday

·         Wednesday, February 6^th – Book Fair

·         Friday, February 8^th – Oral Competition

·         Wednesday, February 13^th

o   Caribou contest – arrive 7:15 am for a 7:30 am start

o   Oral competition at the Maples Academy

·         Thursday, February 14^th

o   Spirit Day – Wear pink, red, and white

o   Jump Rope for Heart

·         Friday, February 15^th – PD Day for teachers, no school for students