Grade 10 Personal Projects

Day 9

We continued working on our new math unit. We took up yesterday’s homework and then did a lesson on subtracting fractions. We did this using the same method as yesterday, namely by changing fractions to an equivalent fraction that has the same denominator and then subtracting the numerators. Students are asked to complete practice questions on p. 305 – 306 of the MMS textbook.

The rest of class time was spent working on exhibition. Students began their time conducting a self- and peer- assessment of their own and a partner’s research and note-taking skills. Students were then asked to discuss their primary research source and their action component ideas with their groups, mentors, and parents as planning needs to be done for these components. The remainder of exhibition time was used to complete the secondary research sources as we begin working on the essay on Monday.

Students had the opportunity to visit the Grade 10 personal projects today. Grade 6s attended at least 4 different presentations. We discussed what we learned, the strengths that inspired us and gave us ideas for our exhibition projects, and what we would do differently. Students had many ideas for their exhibition that they are super excited about.

 

 Homework & Reminders

• Read, sign, and date the parent exhibition letter if you have not already done this
• MMS p. 305 - 306
• Devices are needed daily for exhibition work
• Friday:
• Term 2 Report Cards go home,
• Autism Awareness Day – wear blue,
• Personal Projects by Grade 10 students
• Hot lunch orders are due
• Hot lunches are now ordered at http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja for April. Orders must be placed by Fri. March 31st at 4pm and payments must be received by Monday April 3rd in order to process your lunch order. Please use your previously created accounts to log in. If you are having an issue logging in this may mean your account has been frozen because you have an outstanding balance due. Please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com if you have any questions. Please keep in mind that we do not reimburse for absent days or field trips.  
• Monday: Hot lunch payments are due
• Thursday, April 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Friday, April 7: Talent show at 9:30 am

Exhibition: Research & Note-Taking

Day 8

We continued working on our new math unit. We took up yesterday’s homework and then did a lesson on adding fractions. We did this by changing fractions to an equivalent fraction that has the same denominator and then added the numerators. Students are asked to complete practice questions on p. 305 - 306 of the MMS textbook.

The rest of class time was spent working on exhibition. As a class we discussed the criteria needed to do good research and have good note-taking skills. Each student received a list of the criteria that will be used to assess their research and note-taking. We then continued the research. Students used the internet as their source and continued making notes in their records book.

 

Students attended French and gym class today.

 Homework & Reminders

• Read, sign, and date the parent exhibition letter if you have not already done this
• MMS p. 305 - 306
• Devices are needed daily for exhibition work
• Please donate a “Toonie for Autism” tomorrow
• Friday:
• Term 2 Report Cards go home,
• Autism Awareness Day – wear blue,
• Personal Projects by Grade 10 students
• Hot lunch orders are due
• Hot lunches are now ordered at http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja for April. Orders must be placed by Fri. March 31st at 4pm and payments must be received by Monday April 3rd in order to process your lunch order. Please use your previously created accounts to log in. If you are having an issue logging in this may mean your account has been frozen because you have an outstanding balance due. Please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com if you have any questions. Please keep in mind that we do not reimburse for absent days or field trips.  
• Monday: Hot lunch payments are due
• Thursday, April 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Friday, April 7: Talent show at 9:30 am

Exhibition: Lines of Inquiry and Research

Day 7

We continued working on our new math unit. We took up yesterday’s homework and then did a lesson on comparing and ordering improper fractions and mixed numbers.  We did this in several ways: by drawing pictures, by using a number line, converting all mixed numbers to improper fractions, and converting all improper fractions to mixed numbers. Students are asked to complete practice questions on p. 296 - 297 of the MMS textbook.

The rest of class time was spent working on exhibition. As a class we discussed the criteria used to create lines of inquiry. Students used these criteria to formulate their group’s lines of inquiry. I have checked on most groups’ central ideas, concept questions, and lines of inquiry. We then began the research. Students used the internet as their source. They made a note of the source of information in their records book. They also made jot notes in their records book. Groups attended mentor meetings through the day.

Students attended French class today.

Look out for emails that went out yesterday about parent-teacher conferences taking place next week.

 Homework & Reminders

• Read, sign, and date the parent exhibition letter if you have not already done this
• MMS p. 296 - 297
• Devices are needed daily for exhibition work
• Please donate a “Toonie for Autism” this week
• Friday:
• Term 2 Report Cards go home,
• Autism Awareness Day – wear blue,
• Personal Projects by Grade 10 students
• Hot lunches are now ordered at http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja for April. Orders must be placed by Fri. March 31st at 4pm and payments must be received by Monday April 3rd in order to process your lunch order. Please use your previously created accounts to log in. If you are having an issue logging in this may mean your account has been frozen because you have an outstanding balance due. Please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com if you have any questions. Please keep in mind that we do not reimburse for absent days or field trips.  
• April 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• April 7: Talent show at 9:30 am

Exhibition: The Issues, Groups, and Mentors

Day 6

We continued working on our new unit on fractions, percents, ratios, and rates. We took up yesterday’s homework and then did a lesson on converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and mixed numbers to improper fractions. Students are asked to complete practice questions on p. 293 of the MMS textbook.

The rest of class time was spent working on exhibition. Students learned the issue, group members, and mentor they will be working with for exhibition. These are as follows:

Issue	Environmental Pollution: Garbage	Crime	Assisted Suicide	Equality: Disabilties	Mistreatment of Animals	Immigration	Global Warming	Terrorism	Neglect of the Elderly
Members	Alffino Christina Sakshi	Bibi Ian	Avneet Sofia	Farah Areej	Husmeen Jacob	Eghosa Arya Leah	Jierui Akash	Sai Satvik	Melia Kaaya
Mentor	Ms. Blair	Mr. Foster	Ms. Glover	Ms. Ross	Ms. Bancud	Ms. Baimas	Ms. Ramnarine	Ms. Schwarz	Ms. Jaskolka

 

Students began their work by creating an essential idea that they think will help them be successful as they work through the collaborative process of exhibition. They then started their research with the goal of getting a broad understanding of their issue and possibly begin focusing their ideas.

Students met with their mentors to introduce themselves and to set a meeting time and date for their first meeting. They then worked on their conceptual questions for their project. The class made such quick progress on these that they even began work on their central idea.

Look for a parent letter coming home in the exhibition section of your child’s binder. Please read, sign, and date this letter.

Students attended French and gym class today.

 Homework & Reminders

• Read, sign, and date the parent exhibition letter
• MMS p. 293
• Devices are needed daily for exhibition work
• Please donate a “Toonie for Autism” this week
• Wednesday: Casual Day
• Friday:
• Term 2 Report Cards go home,
• Autism Awareness Day – wear blue,
• Personal Projects by Grade 10 students
• Hot lunches are now ordered at http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja for April. Orders must be placed by Fri. March 31st at 4pm and payments must be received by Monday April 3rd in order to process your lunch order. Please use your previously created accounts to log in. If you are having an issue logging in this may mean your account has been frozen because you have an outstanding balance due. Please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com if you have any questions. Please keep in mind that we do not reimburse for absent days or field trips.  
• April 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• April 7: Talent show at 9:30 am

 

Exhibition - The Beginning

Day 5

We began a new term with a new unit on fractions, percents, ratios, and rates. Today’s lesson was about equivalent fractions. We used fraction circles to help develop a conceptual understanding of equivalent fractions and then used multiplication and division to generate equivalent fractions. Students are asked to complete practice questions on p. 289 & 290 of the MMS textbook.

We then began working on exhibition and spent the rest of the day on exhibition. I am sure many Grade 6 students have been talking about exhibition at home already. We reviewed the expectations of exhibition as students remembered them from before March Break. We discussed the modified daily schedule now that exhibition is upon us. Students know that one of the expectations of exhibition is reflection. As a class they co-created a list of criteria for successful exhibition journal entries. In groups, they brainstormed real-life issues that affect Canadians locally but that may also be a global issue too. They shared their brainstorms with the class and then chose their top 5 issues. These choices were used to narrow down the issues as so many issues were generated by the class. Students then used the narrowed down list of issues to again choose their top 5 choices. These will be used to place students in groups for the exhibition project. Students will hear tomorrow about which topics they will be working on and which students they are working with.

 

Students then watched videos of previous Grade 6 students. These students shared their exhibition successes and challenges. This year’s Grade 6s have a better idea of challenges that may come their way and what to avoid. Using all they had heard today, students made their first journal entries about the ideas, concerns, and questions they have about exhibition.

We spent some time getting organised. Students have added 4 exhibition divider tabs to the UOI section of their binders. They placed the exhibition planner in the first section. The planner will remind students of required components of the exhibition. Using the planner students read about the exhibition expectations and the role of the student. The second section is being used to store an exhibition records book. This is where students will record any notes they make and record any ideas or planning steps. The third section houses the journal. The final section will hold any assessment tools that will be used or that are created by students. This will help students to have a clear picture of how they will be assessed during the process and final presentation of exhibition.

Students attended French class with Mme. Stella today.

 Homework & Reminders

• MMS p. 289 – 290
• Devices are needed daily for exhibition work
• Please donate a “Toonie for Autism” this week
• Wednesday: Casual Day
• Friday:
• Term 2 Report Cards go home,
• Autism Awareness Day – wear blue,
• Personal Projects by Grade 10 students
• Hot lunches are now ordered at http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja for April. Orders must be placed by Fri. March 31st at 4pm and payments must be received by Monday April 3rd in order to process your lunch order. Please use your previously created accounts to log in. If you are having an issue logging in this may mean your account has been frozen because you have an outstanding balance due. Please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com if you have any questions. Please keep in mind that we do not reimburse for absent days or field trips.  
• April 6: Parent-Teacher Conferences
• April 7: Talent show at 9:30 am

St. Patrick's Spirit Day

Day 4

Grade 6s had a wonderful time skiing at Mansfield Ski Club the past two days.

 

This morning they attended music class with Mr. Oliver.

When they got back from music they received many assessments, such as math tests, PowtToons, timelines, and RSA Animates. We took some organise these in binders and then the class was off to gym.

 

Once back in class students worked on their IB portfolios and their report card comments for term 2. These will be coming home after March Break.

Once back from French class, Grade 6s had the choice of watching Tuck Everlasting or attending a Spirit Day Dance. Either way it was a well-deserved break after a lot of hard work this term.

Have a wonderful break everyone. See you in two weeks.

 Homework & Reminders

• March 13 - 24 March Break

Problems, Issues, and Difficulties

Day 1

We began our day with the math unit test on patterns in number and geometry. Well done everyone on getting a whole math unit done before the break.

The remainder of class time was spent on the explorers unit. Students mostly worked on their RSA Animate project. This included recording the video, uploading the video to Movie Maker or iMovie, editing the video, narrating the video, and uploading the video to YouTube. Students are asked to NOT make the video private in order to allow me to view them. They should NOT allow comments on their video. Students are asked to email me the YouTube link by this evening to mhaag@stjudesacademy.com. Many students ran into technical difficulties. They had a true taste of work place stress and had to figure out how to problem solve issues such as incompatible formatting, transferring large files between devices, losing all work accidentally, not being able to speed up the video or records a narration, starting from the beginning again, running out of time, etc. They have all learned much from this experience. Students who completed the RSA Animate worked on their Viking art project and their unit reflections.

Students attended the spirit day assembly in their crazy hairdos and colourful outfits. The houses competed against each other in hoola hoop game. Well done to Zeta for winning the game.

Please remember to hand in your novel study summary and your Tuck Everlasting copy. This is past due.

Students attended French class today.

We will be skiing tomorrow and Thursday. Please be ready to leave the school at 6:45 am on both days. Dress appropriately for the weather and skiing, including snow pants and gloves. A change of clothes is a good idea in case you get wet. Bring a lunch, snacks, drinks, and if you would like, money to purchase food items. We will be extra hungry from being outside and skiing, so bring extra food and/or money. We are expected to get back to school at 5 pm tomorrow and Thursday.

 Homework & Reminders

• Explorers
• Timelines are past due
• The final RSA Animate project is due to be uploaded to YouTube by this evening. The link needs to be emailed to me: mhaag@stjudesacademy.com
• Novel Study
• Summary report due are past due
• March 6 – 10: Spirit Week
• Wednesday, March 8 – Ski Trip, Princess and Super Hero Day
• Thursday, March 9 - Ski Trip, House colours day
• Friday, March 10 – St. Patrick’s Day – wear green
• March 13 - 24 March Break