Input/Output Machines

In today's math time we began a new unit called Number Patterns. Students appreciated a real life application of patterns when we discussed how patterns of dots and dashes were used in Morse code. Today, our lesson centred around input/output machines. The machine(s) change the number going in by different magnitudes and operations. Students made excellent progress with their practice work where they completed T-Charts for input/output machine or used charts to figure out what the machines were doing to the numbers going in. Remaining practice questions need to be completed at home. Students are bringing home their Whole Numbers Unit test and performance task. Please take time to review the test with your child. Please send the signed test back to school tomorrow.

In our inquiry time, students worked with their partner from yesterday to complete a good copy of their billboard design that convinces the public to conserve energy.

For science fair work, students continued reading sources and recording  jot notes in point/bullet form. Students MUST have jot notes from 3 book sources before they may begin using their devices to conduct an internet search. Today I met with students who still needed to clarify their science fair project. I also met with students who completed jot notes from one source before they moved onto the next source.

In language, we reviewed the use of commas, semicolons, colons, and quotation marks. We also discussed proper and common nouns. Students used class time to correct previously completed work and new practice work on nouns. Also in language, we discussed report writing. Students examined examples of student writing and gave each sample a level 1 to 4. Students are creating an anchor chart on how to write a good report by recording characteristics of good report writing from the samples they view.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

Look out for SJA Hoodie order forms coming home today. An additional Scholastic form is coming home today too.

 

Homework & Reminders:

• MMS p. 8 & 9 - Complete all questions not already completed in class
• Review, sign, and return Whole Numbers test and task
• SJA Hoodies need to be ordered by Friday
• Scholastic orders due Friday, Oct.3
• Bring in library sources on your science topic if you are able. I have a number of books in the classroom for students to use

Jot Notes

In today's math time students wrote a test to sow what they know about Number Patterns. This helps me to know what student's weaknesses and strengths are. We begin the new unit tomorrow.

In our inquiry time, students worked with a partner to brainstorm ways to conserve energy. Students then researched internet sources for additional energy-conserving ideas. Working with their partner, students drafted a billboard design that convinces the public to conserve energy. Students had to decide on slogans and images that would convey their message. Partners were assessed on how well they worked together.

 

For science fair work, we discussed how to cite a source APA style. All students had the opportunity to select a book in the classroom to do this with. Students know to check the contents and index pages of their text to determine if the book contains information that is relevant to their project. While reading and taking jot notes, students have been instructed to write in point/bullet form and to include about 3 words in each bullet point. I did not get to meet with students today to discuss individual science fair project progress.

Grade 6s attended Drama, French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Scholastic orders due Friday, Oct.3
• Bring in library sources on your science topic if you are able. I have a number of books in the classroom for students to use

kWh

In today's math time, students worked with a partner to complete a performance task that required understanding of whole number concepts. Before students began working, we took time to discuss the rubric that will be used to assess their work.

In our inquiry time, students researched the how we measure electricity usage by devices They made jot notes to represent what they learned. They then read about how children living in different parts of the world use electricity. They calculated electricity consumption for each device used as well as total used in a day. Ask your child what they learned.

While students worked on their research, I met with students individually to discuss their science fair progress. Most students are up-to-date with their progress. Please talk to and check your child's agenda to find out if they have any work to do on their project over the weekend.  Students worked to generate questions that need to be answered about their topic while the do background research next week.

In language, students used colons and quotations makes to show their understanding of usage.

As a treat, we all had art time. Students started a scratch-art project. The goal today was to cover a page with patches of oil pastels.

Scholastic order forms are coming home today. Orders and payment are due on Friday, Oct. 3 if you are interested in ordering - cheques only.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

 

Homework & Reminders:

• Scholastic orders due Friday, Oct.3
• Bring in library sources on your science topic if you are able. I have a number of books in the classroom for students to use

The Telephone

In today's math time, students wrote the Whole Numbers end of unit test. Some spent as much as 90 minutes on the test. After all the hard work and concentration, Grade 6s got a well deserved unscheduled break in the sunshine.

In our inquiry time, students researched the history of the telephone by reading a non-fiction text. They made jot notes to represent what they discovered. Ask your child what they learned.

While students worked on their research, I met with students individually to discuss their science fair progress. Students who are doing the engineering design project are now to create a problem statement that addresses the who, what, and why of their problem. Scientific method students are to generate a question that will drive their project. Problem statements and questions are due tomorrow. Also due tomorrow is the project proposal form.

Grade 6s attended Drama, French, and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Read, discuss, and sign the science fair letter if you haven't already done this
• Scientific Method: Question and Science Project Proposal form due tomorrow
• Engineering Design: Problem statement and Engineering Project Proposal due tomorrow
• Lunch forms and payment are due tomorrow
• Fall Fair takes place today, 6 pm- 8 pm

Electromagnet

In today's math lesson, students continued working on the review package we began yesterday to help prepare them for tomorrow's unit test on Whole Numbers. Some students did not complete the package in class. They are asked to ensure they have completed and corrected the entire review package in order to be well prepared for tomorrow's unit test.

We did not have a lot of time for our inquiry unit, as we spent 2 hours on math review. We did manage to build an electromagnet. Ask your child to describe how we did this and what the electromagnet was able to do. 

Also in inquiry time, students were asked the type of project and the topic they have chosen for the science fair. Students who have not made a decision yet, are asked to let me know by tomorrow. Students who have made a decision received either a Science Project Proposal Form or an Engineering Project Proposal Form depending on their project type. Students who are doing an engineering project need to complete their 'need finding' brainstorm by tomorrow. Students who are doing the scientific method project need to have a question by Friday.

Mme. Blanco was away today, and students had the special treat of having Mr. Sawatsky teach them about the use of commas and semicolons in language.

Grade 6s attended Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete and correct the remainder of the math review package coming home today
• Whole Numbers Unit test tomorrow
• Read, discuss, and sign the science fair letter if you haven't already done this
• Visit sciencebuddies.org for ideas
• Scientific Method: Question and Science Project Proposal form due on Friday
• Engineering Design: 'Need finding' due tomorrow, Engineering Project Proposal due Friday
• Lunch forms and payment are due on Friday, Sept. 26
• Fall Fair takes place tomorrow, 6 pm- 8 pm

Static Electricity

In today's math lesson, students worked on a review package to help prepare them for Thursday's unit test on Whole Numbers. Students are asked to ensure they have completed and corrected half the review package for homework if they did not get that far in class. We will work to complete the rest of the review package tomorrow.

In our inquiry time, students learned about static electricity. They used balloons to investigate the characteristics of static electricity.

 

 

Students then read about positive and negative charges and how like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other. Students can tell the overall charge on an object by examining the amount of positive and negative charges. Students used vocabulary like positive, negative, charges, repel, and attract to explain what happens when a charged balloon picks up pieces of paper.

In language, students worked on writing an expository paragraph.

Grade 6s attended Drama, French, and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete and correct half of the math review package coming home today
• Read, discuss, and sign the science fair letter if you haven't already done this
• Visit sciencebuddies.org for ideas
• Lunch forms and payment are due on Friday, Sept. 26
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week
• Tomorrow is Casual Day
• Whole Numbers Unit test on Thursday, September 25
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25, 6 pm- 8 pm

Science Fair Start

In today's math lesson, we continued using long division to divide a 4-digit number by a 2-digit number using the following repetitive steps. Students used this strategy to solve word problems that sometimes required other operations too. Grade 6s will be writing a Whole Numbers Unit Test on Thursday, Sept. 25.

In our inquiry time, students wrote a test to show what they understand about electricity concepts. Once students were done working on their test, they worked to solve an electrical problem. They wrote a letter to explain a solution to the problem. We began in-class discussion about the science fair in terms of the type of project that can be done and the expectations of students. Grade 6s began work on their project by brainstorming scientific method and engineering design projects ideas in their scientific journals. Please take time to review and sign the letter and expectations coming home today.

In language, students worked on writing a descriptive paragraph.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions  3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15 on p. 74 & 75 of the MMS textbook.
• Read, discuss, and sign the science fair letter coming home today
• Visit sciencebuddies.org for ideas
• Lunch forms and after-school program forms are coming home today. Lunch forms and payment are due on Friday, Sept. 26
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week
• Wednesday is Casual Day
• Whole Numbers Unit test on Thursday, September 25
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm

Long Division

In today's math lesson, we reviewed how to use long division to divide a 4-digit number by a 1-digit number using the following repetitive steps:

1. Divide
2. Multiply
3. Subtract
4. Compare
5. Bring down
We then used this strategy to divide by a 2-digit number. Sometimes we used rounding to help. Ask your child how we did this. It is very important that students work neatly and maintain place-values to get a correct quotient. Grade 6s will be writing a Whole Numbers Unit Test on Thursday, Sept. 25.

In our inquiry time, we continued yesterday's work of building and investigating the characteristics of series and parallel circuits, solving electrical problems using troubleshooting steps, and defining electrical terms using a glossary. We had time to take up the troubleshooting work at the end of the day. We even got to retry our experiment of using a fruit to generate electricity. Ask your child to describe what happened. We got to watch a DVD about how power is generated in Ontario. Many thanks to the OPG for this DVD!

 

All students completed their paragraphs too.

Grade 6s attended Drama, French, and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions 1.e), 2.c), 3.f), 4, 5, 9 on p. 70 & 71 of the MMS textbook.
• Practice your multiplication facts up to 12 x 12
• Electricity test on Monday, Sept. 22. Electricity binders are coming home today
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week - $10/child, $5/adult. Prices increase after Friday
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm
• Whole Numbers Unit test on Thursday, September 25

Series and Parallel Circuits

In today's math lesson, we used the short algorithm for multiplication to solve word problems involving multiplication. Students found this tricky work. Not only do you need to be great at multiplication facts up to 9 x 9, but you need to work neatly and systematically, keeping digits in the correct place. Due to the amount of time it would take to get through the practice questions, I have reduced the number of questions that need to complete for homework. Please see the list below.

In our inquiry time, students worked independently to discover troubleshooting steps that electricians use to solve problems Students used the troubleshooting steps to solve electrical problems. Students were given an additional electricity vocabulary list to find the definitions for from a glossary.

While all this independent work was being done, some students were called over to the electricity station, where they learned about the properties of series and parallel circuits. They did this by building both types of circuits. We will continue with this work tomorrow, so that everybody has a turn at the electricity station.

 

Students who completed their electricity work began working on writing a paragraph that began with a TOPIC sentence supported by DETAIL sentences. They were challenged with beginning and ending with strong sentences.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

We finally made it through all the power generation presentations. YAY!

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions 2. c), h), 3, 5, 8, 9, 10,11 on p. 66 & 67 of the MMS textbook.
• Practice your multiplication facts up to 12 x 12
• Electricity test moved to Monday, Sept. 22
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week - $10/child, $5/adult. Prices increase after Friday
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm

Features and Symbols of Electric Circuits

We were back to more of a routine today. In math, we had a lesson on the addition and subtraction of whole numbers. Students shared their strategies for adding 3-digit numbers. We discovered that all students in Grade 6 solved the problems the same way -through adding digits with the same place value. They used the same strategy to subtract 3-digit numbers. Students used estimation (rounding to the nearest hundred) to check the reasonableness of sums and the used the inverse of subtraction (adding) to check differences. Students should complete practice questions on p. 62 & 63 of the MMS textbook. Students are bringing their math tests home today. Please review the test with your child, sign it and send it back to school tomorrow.

In our inquiry time, students worked independently to discover the symbols that are used to represent the features of electric circuits as well as the definitions for the terms used in electric circuits. They used this knowledge to construct circuit diagrams. Students were given a electricity vocabulary list. They were expected to use a glossary to find the meanings of the terms on the list.

 

While all this work was being done, students who had not completed their reading assessments yesterday worked to complete them today. We are very happy that all reading assessments are now done. Students who did their assessments worked very hard to get caught up with their class work during recess and drama. Well done grade 6s!

Some students continued working on yesterday's language, where they combined sentences, read about paragraph structures, and identified the topic and detail sentences in a paragraph.

Grade 6s attended Drama, French, and Gym class today.

We again ran out of time to get to the power generation presentations due to reading assessments. We will try again tomorrow.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 62 & 63 of the MMS textbook.
• Review, sign and return yesterday's math test
• Bring in your devices for your presentation tomorrow if you haven't already presented
• Electricity test moved to Monday, Sept. 22
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week - $10/child, $5/adult. Prices increase after Friday
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm

Reading Assessments & Presentations

Today was a very unusual day in Grade 6. We had technical difficulties with displaying presentations. As a result, not everybody got to present today. We will try to get through the remaining presentations tomorrow.

Students wrote their math test on Whole Numbers during math time.

A large portion of today was used in conducting reading assessments. Students read a text and wrote questions, predictions, summaries, inferences, reflections about the text they read. Students who have completed their reading assessment package are very relieved to have this out of the way.

Students who were not doing a reading assessment worked on reading about electrical power production in Ontario out of a publication that is the compliments of the OPG. They also conducted a practical investigation into how wires, batteries, and light bulbs can make a light turn on.

Some students worked on language work, where they combined sentences, read about paragraph structures, and identified the topic and detail sentences in a paragraph.

Look out for Fall Fair permission forms coming home today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Bring in your devices for your presentation tomorrow if you haven't already presented
• Electricity test moved to Monday, Sept. 22
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week - $10/child, $5/adult. Prices increase after Friday
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm

Order of Operations

In our math lesson Grade 6s discovered that the answer of a mathematical expression changes depending on the order in which you do the operations. They were challenged to perform operations in order until they found the correct answer for a mathematical expression. Students learned the Order of Operations Rule:
First: Brackets
Second: Multiplication or Division in order from left to right
Third: Addition or Subtraction in order from left to right
or
BOMDAS
For homework students should complete practice questions on p. 56 & 57 of the MMS textbook. Students will be writing a math test tomorrow on the concepts covered in Whole Numbers so far.

In our inquiry time, students worked in pairs to finish up their presentation on power generation. Presentations will take place tomorrow.

After recess we watched a video that showed Terry Fox's determination in crossing Canada. We then headed off to Meadow Green Park for our Terry Fox walk/run. Our Grade 6s showed good participation.

Instead of having gym at the end of the day, students used the time to work on today's math homework to lighten the load in order to make time to prepare for tomorrow's math test.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete specified practice questions on p. 56 & 57 of the MMS textbook
• Bring in your devices for your presentation tomorrow
• Math test tomorrow
• Electricity test on Friday, Sept. 19
• Fall Fair tickets on sale this week - $10/child, $5/adult. Prices increase after Friday
• Fall Fair on Thursday, September 25,6 pm- 8 pm

 

Mental Math

Our math lesson was all about mental math. Students can compute problems mentally but have a harder time explaining how they did it. The mental math strategies we focused on today were 'compatible numbers', 'subtracting from left to right when there is no regrouping', and 'breaking numbers apart'.  Students used these strategies to solve word problems. For homework students should complete practice questions on p.  51 & 52 of the MMS textbook. Students will be writing a math test on Tuesday, Sept. 16 on the concepts covered in Whole Numbers so far.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! Today's lesson followed on from yesterday's lesson on the sources of electric power. Students were presented with a list of ten energy sources. They selected 3 options that they would like to research further. Based on these choices, students were grouped with one partner. Students were then presented with  the challenge of becoming the expert on their choice of power source through internet-based research. Students are narrowing their search parameters by including .gov or .edu after their search term. They worked to record their research notes (without plagiarising) and begin work on their slide show. They will be presenting their findings to the provincial government on Tuesday. Students are not to work on these projects at home as they are being assessed on what they can achieve in the class time given.

 

Students will be writing an electricity test on Friday, September 19. Electricity binders are coming home today.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete specified practice questions on p. 51 & 52 of the MMS textbook
• Bring in Terry Fox donations as they are raised.
• Monday is our Terry Fox Event. Please come to school dressed in your gym uniform
• Bring in your devices on Monday
• Math test on Tuesday, Sept. 16
• Electricity test on Friday, Sept. 19
• Please note that we have two lunch times. The first is from 11:50-12:10. The second is from 2:10 - 2:30
• Please also note that school begins at 8:45 am. Students may be dropped of from 7:30 am onwards without charge. Dismissal is from 3:40 - 3:45 in the gym. After 3:45 students are checked into the after-care program. There is a charge for after care.

Sources of Power Production

Our math lesson was all about strategies today. Students were challenged by various word problems. They shared the different ways the problems could be solved. We focused on making an organised list as a strategy to solve the problems. For homework students should complete the remaining 2 problems on p. 49 of the MMS textbook. Students will be writing a test toward the end of next week on the concepts covered in Whole Numbers so far.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! For today's lesson, chose to work alone, in pairs, or in a small group to research hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind power, coal, and nuclear energy from a student text. Students organised their research into a +/- Chart. We did not have enough class time to use devices in class today. We will do the internet-based research tomorrow instead.

Grade 6s attended Art, French, and Gym class today.

 Homework & Reminders:

• Complete q. 1 & 2 on p. 49 MMS textbook
• Bring in Terry Fox donations as they are raised
• Bring in your devices tomorrow
• If you have not already done so: Be prepared to have access to PowerPoint or Prezi. If you choose to use Prezi, have your parents help you create an account. Public accounts are free. Practice logging in and out of your account before tomorrow. Be sure to bring in or memorise your email address and password.
• Math test on Tuesday, Sept. 16
• Electricity test on Friday, Sept. 19

Conductors & Insulators

Today Grade 6s got to find out what prime and composite numbers are. We used a table to list numbers 2 to 20. Students then used an organised and systematic strategy to find all the factors of all 19 numbers. For example, to find the factors of 10: 1x10, 2x5,

The factors of 10 are: 1, 2, 5, 10. Students learned that a prime number has 2 factors - 1 and itself. A composite number has more than 2 factors. The number 1 is neither prime nor composite. Students are asked to complete only the questions listed below on p. 46 & 47 of the MMS textbook. I did not get to check yesterday's homework today. Students will not be able to do corrections.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! For today's lesson, we discussed the steps of the scientific method. Ask your child if they remember the steps. SJA's Science Fair is taking place in November this year. Because it is so much earlier in the year, it will not interfere with Exhibition. For this reason, Grade 6s will participate along with the rest of the school. A change from last year is that the project will be mostly done in class. This will be excellent preparation for Exhibition. Students will be restricted to a topic about electricity. The project will count as their summative task for the How Shocking! unit. More information about the science fair will be coming home soon.

We used the steps of the scientific method to conduct two experiments today. In the first, students determined if a lemon, orange, banana, or slice of bread could work as a battery to light up an LED.  In the second experiment students investigated a variety of materials to determine if they were insulators or conductors. Ask your child to describe how they did this.

 

 A question that has us wondering is:

• Why is salt water a conductor while water is not?

Students worked to complete the language work on sentences and then their paragraph on what life would be like without electricity.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete the following practice questions on p. 46 & 47 of MMS textbook: 1 a), c), e), g), 2. all, 4. a), b), c), 5, 8, 9, 10
• Bring in Terry Fox donations as they are raised
• Bring in your devices tomorrow and Friday
• Be prepared to have access to PowerPoint or Prezi. If you choose to use Prezi, have your parents help you create an account. Public accounts are free. Practice logging in and out of your account before tomorrow. Be sure to bring in or memorise your email address and password.

Energy Transformations

Today's math lesson was about exploring multiples. We discussed the meaning of vocabulary such as multiples, common, and common multiples. Students practiced listing multiples of given numbers and finding common multiples present in multiple lists. Students used this strategy to solve word problems. Students are asked to complete all practice questions on p. 44 of the MMS textbook. Students should correct practice questions from the previous day on a daily basis.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! For today's lesson, students shared their information in their research notes from yesterday with the class. Students added additional notes to theirs to improve the quality of their research notes.

 

Students were asked if electricity can make objects move. We spent time discussing how to answer a question like this, as students were not answering it in a scientific way. Students should answer yes, or no, and follow this up with evidence they have observed. We discussed energy transformations. Ask your child to explain the meaning of this term to you. Students played with battery-operated toys with a view to explain the energy transformations that occur.

 

As we are in the second week of school, students are expected to be in correct school uniform daily. The following steps will be taken to address uniform infractions:
First time - a note will be sent home,
Second time  - Students will be sent to the office to wait for a family member to bring the needed uniform piece,
Third time - the student will be given the needed item and the  parent will be billed

Grade 6s attended Art, French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 44 of MMS textbook
• Bring in Terry Fox donations as they are raised
• Wear full uniform daily

Research

As will be the routine for this year, we began out day with a math lesson. In today's lesson we continued looking at large numbers. We used place-value concepts to decide which numbers are larger or greater compared to each other. Students showed their understanding by listing numbers from greatest to least or least to greatest, placing numbers on a place-value chart, and using the less than (< ) or greater than (>) symbols.

Students are asked to complete all practice questions on p. 41 and 42 of the MMS textbook. Students should correct practice questions from the previous day on a daily basis.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! We began the lesson with students contributing information to the question that was asked on Friday, "If you are in a car during a lightning strike, would you be protected?" Some students had heard about the tragic incident where a student was killed by lightning strike on Friday. We watched a video clip of a couple who were in a car that was struck by lightning in Ontario. Ask your child to tell you more about this incident. Students shared some tips that they knew of  of how to keep safe during a thunderstorm. Since students are very interested in this topic, we are discussing turning it into a project later on in the unit. For today's lesson, students used their laptops to research two scientists who made important contributions to electricity - Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta.  Grade 6s made jot notes as a way of recording their findings. Students will have the opportunity to share their findings with the class tomorrow.

 

In language we reviewed the four kinds of sentences and discussed how students can make their writing more interesting by writing a combination of long or short sentences. They practiced combining sentences using words such as when, while, but, and, etc.

Grade 6s attended French and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 41 & 42 of MMS textbook
• Bring in Terry Fox donations as they are raised

Writing Big Numbers in Different Ways

We started our day with a school-wide house game of 3-legged races. Well done to Theta for winning this morning's game. We also heard that Theta is in the lead for the house cup, with Zeta in second place, and Kappa in third place.

We are making progress of getting into a routine. We began our work day with a math lesson. Today's lesson focused on understanding big numbers. Students learned that large numbers are organized into groups of 3 place values. Each group is called a period. Within each period, the digits are read as hundreds, tens, and ones. When we read large numbers, we say the period name after each period excepts the units period. When we write a number with 5 or more digits, we leave a space between the periods. Grade 6s used class time to write big numbers in standard, expanded, word, number-word, and place-value form. Students are asked to complete all practice questions on p. 37 and 38 of the MMS textbook.

Next up was our inquiry unit How Shocking! We began the lesson with students contributing information to the questions that were asked yesterday. We learned that lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun. We also learned that old parking meters were wind-up and did not operate on electricity. Modern parking meters are digital and run on electricity. Students shared that Benjamin Franklin did experiments with electricity but did not discover electricity. The class was divided on the battery question. Some think that a batteries store electricity but are not a form of electricity. We will continue being inquirers and develop a better understanding of batteries through this inquiry unit on electricity. A new question that came up in today's class was:

• If you are in a car during a lightning strike, would you be protected? Students were divided on this question.

Students worked in groups to generate a list of the many ways in which we use electricity. They then worked to categorise their list in different ways.

Grade 6s attended Art, French, and Gym class today.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 37 & 38 of MMS textbook
• Scholastic order forms & payment are due on Monday for those interested in ordering
• Look out for Terry Fox and After-School Programs letters coming home today
• Bring in your devices for research on Monday

Millions

We started our day with a game called 'Add 'em up. This was followed by a math lesson on very big whole numbers. Grade 6 students practiced saying numbers like 1 000, 10 000, 100 000, and 1 000 000. We are using spaces not commas to help us quickly recognise the number. Students examined the relationships between large whole numbers by solving problems requiring multiplication (10 x 10 000) and division (1 000 000  / 10 or 100 or 1000, etc.) Students who did not complete all practice questions on p. 34 of the MMS textbook in class are asked to complete the work at home.

Next up was a writing assessment. This term we will focus on report writing. Students were given a writing prompt of reporting on a interview that they pretended to conduct. We discussed the categories in the rubric which will be used to assess student work (Knowledge & Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application).

We began working on our first IB inquiry unit How Shocking! which falls under the transdisciplinary them How the World Works. Students participated in a graffiti activity as a way of sharing their existing knowledge about electricity. Students have already begun asking interesting questions such as:

• Is lightning hotter than the sun?
• Did Benjamin Franklin discover electricity?
• Are batteries electricity?
• Do the old kind of parking meters work on electricity?

Grade 6s had their first French class with Mme. Blanco today. We were then treated to fun musical chairs house games in the game before getting ready to go home.

Homework & Reminders:

• Complete practice questions on p. 34 of MMS textbook
• Remember to wear house colours tomorrow
• Lunch orders are due tomorrow

First Day of School

Grade 6s had a busy first day to start their last year of PYP. We spent time getting to know each other through introductions and a game of 'A Lotta Hot Air'. We discussed how everything we do this year will prepare students for The Exhibition. Students who have been to an exhibition before shared their impressions with the class to help everyone to begin forming an idea of what exhibition will be like. We did a walkabout around the school to become familiar with the locations of SJA personnel and classes in the main building and portables as well as the procedures for exiting and entering buildings.

Students came to school well prepared with supplies. We took time to organise supplies in bins, shelves, and chair bags.

Students wrote the Whole Numbers portion of the Ontario Numeracy Assessment Package (ONAP). This test is used as a tool to determine strengths and weaknesses in understanding whole number concepts. It does not count towards report card grades. It helps me as a teacher know how to teach the unit. The results of this test will be shared with parents later this month. Whole Numbers will be our first math unit this year.

Mr. Monaghan is teaching art at SJA this year. He popped into our classroom to introduce himself, explain the focus in art this year, and get a sense of the interests of grade 6 students in the arts field.

Grade 6s participated in individual reading surveys. This survey is used to give a snapshot of students reading habits, preferences, strengths and weaknesses, and goals.

Students enjoyed their first gym class with Ms. Lovan. They were not required to change for today's gym class, but starting tomorrow student's are expected to change for gym class daily. Exceptions  to changing for gym include Spirit Days and Casual Days.

Students are bringing their agendas home with them today. Please take time to look through the student handbook in the front section of the agenda and sign page 19. Scholastic orders are coming home today. If you would like to order books, forms and cheques are due on Monday, September 8th.

Homework & Reminders:

• Sign up as a follower of the blog if you haven't already.
• Read through the student handbook and sign p. 19.
• Lunch order forms and payments are due Friday, September  5, if you are ordering hot lunches.
• Friday is Spirit Day. Wear your house colours.