I hope everyone had a safe Halloween. We had a whole lot of fun during our school spirit week last week. I cannot wait until the next one!
This upcoming week will be a very short one, as students will not have classes on Thursday, November 7 and Friday, November 8. This is due to teachers and staff attending their annual conventions. There will also be no classes on Monday, November 11 as we observe Remembrance Day.

Our school Remembrance Day assembly will take place on Tuesday, November 5 at 11:15am. This is due to our grade 9 students being away on Wednesday as they take part in the annual “Take your kids to work day” as a component of their health curriculum.

With two short weeks, we will have to cram in a lot of learning over a shorter amount of time. Here is a look at what we will be working on during our classes over these next few weeks…

Grade 7 Science-On Wednesday, November 6th, we will write our chapter assessment on energy transfer. This means our next few classes will be spent reviewing those concepts covered in chapter 2. Once that is complete, we will move into our final section of our unit on ecology. We will begin by learning about the process of succession as we discuss how ecosystems change over time. We are also almost halfway through our read aloud novel “The Walking Fish.” This week students will work on a character study, comparing and contrasting two of their favourite characters in the novel.

Grade 7 Core French-As we move along in our study of pastimes, we will dive deeper this week into the vocabulary related to clubs. Students will read and listen to some advertisements about different groups and clubs around the school. We will also play the game “les phrases mystère” and students may even start to create a club of their own if time permits.

Grade 8 Science-On Wednesday, students will write their assessment on oceans (chapter 2). Following the quiz, we will begin an interactive engineering design project, where students will apply their knowledge from our unit on the ocean to create a model explaining how the oceans shape our beaches.

Grade 9 Science-Our focus these next few weeks will be on the chemical and physical properties of matter. Students will learn how to identify substances based on their properties and take part in many lab activities where they will put this knowledge to use as they attempt to identify unknown substances.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-We will spend this week and next wrapping up our look at acids, bases and properties of matter. We will then begin to prepare for our chapter 1 assessment.

Grade 8 FI Science- This week and next, students will wrap up their look at chemical and physical changes in matter. Students will create an experiment to show either a chemical or a physical change and then present it to their peers. We will also begin preparations for our chemistry unit final assessment.

Grade 9 FI Science-Over the next few weeks we will be moving deeper into the second section of our chemistry unit. This section of the curriculum is not found in our regular textbook (resources for this section will be handed out in class and will be posted to Google Classroom). During their classes this week and next, students will create a timeline exploring how our model of the atom has changed over time.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-As hard as it is to believe, as we approach mid-November our main focus will be on beginning to discuss some holiday activities for the month of December. We will also begin designing our yearbook pages, as students will choose which pages they’d like to work and begin sketching out their designs.

I hope you all have a fabulous few weeks!

Mme MacNevin

The end of October has arrived, and with it a busy week leading up to Halloween and our PD day on Friday.

Our leadership students have organized a spirit week for this four day week. Here are the details for each day:
Monday-Dress in fall colours. Tuesday-Dress like your teacher. Wednesday-PJ Day. Thursday-Costume Day (remember no weapons or full face masks). We will also be having a Halloween sock hop on Thursday and of course our annual costume parade.
Freezie sales will take place on Thursday at lunch. The cost is twenty five cents per freezie. The proceeds will go to our leadership team to help fund various activities and events throughout the year.

Teachers and school staff will be attending professional development sessions on Friday, November 1st. There will be no classes for students on Friday.

Now let’s take a look into what we will be working on during our four days together this week…

Grade 7 Science-This week students will finish up with owl dissection reports. They will also write their energy transfer assignment and then begin to prepare for their quiz on the concepts presented in chapter 2. We will of course also continue reading our class novel “The Walking Fish” and continue to discuss the important themes in this novel and how they relate to our studies in ecology.

Grade 7 Core French-This week we will share our pastime story books. We will then begin to look at how many pastimes take place in clubs or groups. We will read through some advertisements for different clubs with the goal of eventually creating a club of our own. With the spooky season in full swing, our listening activities this week will definitely follow this theme as we listen to the fan favourite “C’est l’Halloween.”

Grade 8 Science-Over the next few classes, we will wrap up our look at waves and tides. We will also begin a project researching a piece of important technology that helps us to explore the oceans.

Grade 9 Science-This week folks will continue to explore the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures and how matter is categorized. Students will work in the lab to separate out a mixture, explaining at each step what specific category its components belong to.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-Continuing along with their exploration of the properties of matter, our focus this week will be on acids and bases. Students will learn the differences between the two and if time permits, they will create their own “potion” using cabbage juice, a natural pH indicator.

Grade 8 FI Science- As we move through our study of transformations of matter, this week students will learn the law of conservation of mass. We will see this law at work through some experiments in the lab and students will then begin to prepare an experiment of their own that show a chemical or physical change at work.

Grade 9 FI Science-Over the next few weeks we will be moving deeper into our chemistry unit. This section of the curriculum is not found in our regular textbook (resources for this section will be handed out in class and will be posted to Google Classroom). We will begin by looking at atoms and how atomic theory and our idea of the atom has changed over time. Later in the week, students will begin to work to create a timeline of these changes.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-This week during their leadership class, students will organize and run the Halloween sock hops. They will also be responsible for freezie sales and spirit week advertising.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead and a happy and safe Halloween for all those taking part.

Mme MacNevin

It is hard to believe that we have already arrived to the last full week of October. It seems like this year is just flying by! This will be our last full week for a while and the next month or so will be very busy!

Freezie sales will continue on Friday. The cost is twenty-five cents per freezie. All proceeds will go to support leadership events happening in the school.

Here is a snapshot into what will be taking place in our classes together…

Grade 7 Science-This week we will continue our look at how energy is transferred through an ecosystem. Students will write their energy transfer assignment and also complete an owl pellet dissection… We will of course also keep reading our class novel “The Walking Fish” and continue to discuss the important themes in this novel and how they relate to our studies in ecology.

Grade 7 Core French-On Tuesday, students will write their quiz on “les passe-temps” and the differences between “faire-to do” and “jouer-to play.” We will also continue creating some short story books that will eventually be read and presented to our peers.

Grade 8 Science-This week we will continue to look at the impact oceans have on the water cycle. We will continue looking at ocean currents. Work will also begin on waves and tides, as we explore what happens to shape our beaches.

Grade 9 Science-With our first unit on the nature of science now complete, our focus this week will be on exploring our new unit on chemistry. To begin, we will review the states of matter and then dive into the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures. This unit can be quite heavy on new vocabulary. Students are reminded that a frequent review of new material as it is introduced will help them to solidify their understanding of these difficult concepts.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-On Thursday, students will write their quiz on the states of matter, mass and volume. We will spend the first half of the week reviewing those concepts together through some interactive games and activities. Once our quiz is written, we will move into our next section on temperature.

Grade 8 FI Science- During our classes together these next few days, we will wrap up our look at physical changes in matter. We will finish up our lab on those outcomes and then move into looking at chemical changes. We will learn the signs that help us to know if a chemical change has occurred and if time permits, begin looking for those signs through some fun experiments involving several different chemical reactions.

Grade 9 FI Science-This week we will finish up our look at the physical and chemical properties of matter. Students will complete their labs from last week and finish up their lab reports. We will then shift our focus to reviewing those concepts we’ve been working on in throughout chapter 6, as we will write our final assessment on those outcomes on Friday, October 25th.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-This week we will finalize plans for our fall spirit week. We will also look further ahead to what other activities and fundraisers we may like to take on for closer to the holidays. Finally, we will pick our yearbook theme and create some promotional materials for our annual yearbook cover contest.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Mme MacNevin

I hope that everyone had a wonderful long weekend and that we are all rested after a great few days at Tim’s Camp. What an amazing experience it was! I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend and I know that lots of learning took place.

There will be a Home and School meeting on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:00pm. All are welcome.

While this week will be a short one, it will still be very busy I’m sure. Here is a look into what we will be exploring during our classes together…..

Grade 7 Science-This week we will dive into how energy is transferred through ecosystems as we begin to explore food chains and food webs. Students will learn about producers, consumers, decomposers and scavengers through several interactive activities including creating their own edible food chains using pudding cups. We will of course also keep reading our class novel “The Walking Fish” and continue to discuss the important themes in this novel and how they relate to our studies in ecology.

Grade 7 Core French-As we continue to study pastimes, we will continue to work on learning the differences between the verbs “jouer” (to play) and “faire” (to make/to do) this week and we will begin preparations for a short quiz on these terms in the coming days. We will also keep working on our oral language skills, using our strategies “les mots amis” and “les mots familiers” to read and understand simple texts en français and have some fun in Duolingo.

Grade 8 Science-As we continue to dive deeper into our study of oceans, students will spend most of this week learning about ocean currents and their impact on our environment. Notes and videos on this topic can be found in Google Classroom. Students are reminded that a consistent review of new concepts as they are introduced will help to solidify their understanding.

Grade 9 Science-This week, students will finish up and present their poster projects on the characteristics of a good scientist. With this complete, we will begin preparations for our unit assessment on the nature of science, which will take place on Friday, October 19 (Day 5). Review materials and study guides can be found in Google Classroom.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-This week we will finish up our look at states of matter, mass and volume, Students will then begin to prepare to write their assessment on these concepts. Study materials can be found in Google Classroom.

Grade 8 FI Science- This week we will kick off our second section of our chemistry unit on the physical and chemical changes in matter. This unit involves many labs and interactive activities. We will begin by looking at physical changes in matter, understanding that when physical changes happen the properties of the substance stay the same. We will explore some real-life physical changes including changes in state and form.

Grade 9 FI Science-We will enter into the final section of our first section of chemistry this week, as students learn about the properties of matter. Working in teams, students will use the physical and chemical properties of substances to identify an unknown substance in the lab, as they complete their first formal lab report. They will also learn about the physical property of density and experiment in the lab calculating the density of both solids and liquids.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-Today, we will have the opportunity to debrief on Tim’s Camp and on our Terry Fox Day. Students will reflect on their experience planning and executing their activity. We will then shift our focus into planning some other events to celebrate the fall season and look ahead to beginning our yearbook, as we start to narrow down a theme for this year’s edition.

Wishing you all a fantastic week!

Mme MacNevin

We had a blast on Friday during our annual Terry Fox Day. Big thanks to our leadership class for their hard work organizing the games in the afternoon and to Mrs. MacMurdo and friends for their organization of the walk. This event is always a great way to kick off our school spirit. Last I checked we had raised over $5000 for cancer research. Way to go everyone!

For many of our students and myself this is a very exciting week as we head to Nova Scotia to Tim Horton’s Camp. Packing lists and permission slips for those attending have been sent home, so please look for those in school bags if you haven’t already received them. If you need any extra copies, please reach out to Mrs. Conohan or Donna in the office.

Monday and Tuesday will be very busy as we cram a whole lot of learning into those two days. Students who are not attending camp will spend their class time reviewing concepts they have already seen this year and participating in some nature of science activities.

Here is a snapshot into what our week looks like…..

Grade 7 Science-I was very impressed with the results of our first quiz on ecosystems. We had some good discussions about how consistent review can help when it comes to test taking and many students took advantage of the resources, I provided in Google Classroom to solidify their learning. This week we will dive into chapter 2, as we explore symbiotic relationships (mutualism, commensalism and parasitism). If time permits, we will also take a look into food chains and food webs, as we learn how energy is transferred through an ecosystem. We are also about halfway through our read aloud novel “The Walking Fish.” There are so many awesome discussions happening through our reading of this book and the suspense of what will happen next is keeping us all on the edge of our seats 😊

Grade 7 Core French-As we continue to study pastimes, we will continue exploring strategies to help us understand simple words and phrases in French. We will look a bit deeper that the differences between the verbs “jouer” (to play) and “faire” (to make/to do) this week. We are also having lots of fun with Duolingo as we work to build upon our language skills.

Grade 8 Science-Students will write their assessment on Chapter 1 (water cycle and fresh and salt water) during tomorrow’s class. With that complete, we will shift our focus onto the world’s oceans and begin learning about currents.

Grade 9 Science-We are almost through our unit on the nature of science. This week we will learn how to tell the differences between good science, bad science and pseudoscience. We will also review the scientific method through experimentation and begin discussions around the characteristics that make up a good scientist, in preparation for a poster project that they will be working on while I’m away later in the week.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-Today we wrap up our look at mass and how it is measured through some hands-on experiments calculating the mass of different objects around the classroom. We will also learn the differences between mass and weight and if time permits, we will begin our section on volume.

Grade 8 FI Science- Tomorrow students will write their quiz on chapter 1(atoms, elements and molecules). We will then begin our next section on physical and chemical changes in matter.

Grade 9 FI Science-Students are currently working on a case study on the sugar content of some of our favourite drinks, as they learn how to calculate the concentration of different substances within solutions.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-There will be no leadership class this week.

Have a great week everyone! Have fun at camp for those attending and I hope you all have a safe and happy long Thanksgiving weekend!

Mme MacNevin

This week is shaping up to be a very busy one here at Gulf Shore!

During lunch recess (from 12:00-12:30) on Wednesday, October 2nd, students in Grades 6-9 are invited to our chocolate bar bingo fundraiser. The cost to play is $2 per card (max 3 cards) plus a peanut-free chocolate bar or small package of candy.

On Thursday, October 3rd, our Grade 7 classes will head out on a field trip to Cavendish Beach. This activity, put on by the Island Nature Trust, will align with many outcomes in our unit on ecosystems. Students should dress for the weather (coat, hat, sunscreen, rubber boots). We will leave the school shortly after morning announcements and return in time for lunch recess.

Finally, on Friday, October 4, the whole school will be participating in our annual Terry Fox Day. We will begin with a walk on the beautiful Gulf Shore Parkway in the PEI National Park. After the walk, we will come back to a bbq lunch sponsored by the Home and School and then finish off the afternoon with some team building activities in our Gulf Shore Games teams that have been organized by our leadership class. This is always a highlight of the year and I know I’m definitely looking forward to it 😊

Next week, many of our students in Grades 6-9 will head to Tim Horton’s Camp. More information on what to pack went home with students on Thursday, but should you have any questions about camp, please direct them to Mrs. Conohan in the office. Any student who is not attending camp will have regular classes while the others are away.

Now let us take a look into the learning taking place this upcoming week….

Grade 7 Science-On Wednesday, October 2nd, students will write their chapter 1 assessment. Review materials (and even a copy of chapter 1 of their books) can be found in Google Classroom. We will spend our class today reviewing these concepts together as well. We will also continue to read and discuss our read aloud novel “The Walking Fish.” Thanks so much to the Engen family for sharing their connection to some real-life walking fish fossils. There is lots of great discussions happening around this novel, as we see the connection between what we are learning in the lab and the characters in the story.

Grade 7 Core French-As we continue to study pastimes, we will keep exploring strategies to help us understand simple words and phrases in French. We will look deeper that the differences between the verbs “jouer” (to play) and “faire” (to make/to do) this week. We are also having lots of fun with Duolingo as we work to build upon our language skills.

Grade 8 Science-This week we will finish up our chapter 1 outcomes and move into preparing for our assessment on these concepts later this week or early next week. As always, review materials can be found in Google Classroom.

Grade 9 Science-Moving closer to the end of our unit on the nature of science, we will continue discussions this week around bias and the influence it can sometimes have on the outcomes of our experiments. We will work through a case study on a horse named “Clever Hans” and explore how bias played a factor in this experiment.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-Today we will dive deeper into our unit on matter. We will begin with an experiment to help solidify our understanding of how matter changes state, as we graph the change of ice to water. We will then look at mass-what it is and how it is measured.

Grade 8 FI Science- As students continue to examine the periodic table, they will discuss how matter is organized and grouped on the table. Students will work on a project where they will each research a different element to highlight their understanding of how we can use the periodic table to find important information about a specific element.

Grade 9 FI Science-Students will move into the second section of their unit on matter. They will begin by looking at the properties of solutions and will learn how to calculate the concentration of different substances within solutions.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-Students are excited to help plan and organize our Terry Fox Day. Working in small groups, they will run their activity during the afternoon activities, as well as promote and run the chocolate bar bingo. I’m excited to see them at work!

Wishing you all a wonderful week! Fingers crossed for some great weather on Friday!

Mme MacNevin

It was wonderful to get the chance to connect with so many of you at our Meet the Teacher night on Thursday. The connection between school and home is a very important one, so please do not hesitate to reach out any time if you have any questions or concerns.

Our fundraising campaign for the Terry Fox Foundation is well under way! On Tuesday, September 24th, Terry Fox Day t-shirt order forms are due. The cost is $20 for youth sizes and $25 for adult sizes. Cash is preferred, but cheques can be made payable to Gulf Shore Consolidated School.

On Thursday, October 3rd, students in Grade 7 will be travelling to Cavendish Beach to participate in an event put on by the Island Nature Trust pertaining to our unit on ecosystems. A note with more details on this activity will be sent home with your child on Tuesday and I will add more detail here closer to that day.

We will take some time this week to reflect, as we mark Truth and Reconciliation Week. All students are encouraged to wear an orange shirt to school on Friday, September 27th. We will also be having an assembly that day and taking time to think about how we can do our part towards reconciliation. There will be no classes for students and staff on Monday, September 30th in observance of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Finally, there are only a few outstanding, but if your child has not returned their first week’s permission and information forms or paid the $20 students fee, please make sure to do that as soon as possible so that the folks in the office can get all that important information entered into our record-keeping systems.

With all that being said, here is a look into what exciting learning will be happening during this four-day week……

Grade 7 Science-Today, students will submit their project on how organisms are organized in ecosystems. We will share these creations and then move into the final section of our first unit on ecosystems, we discuss some ecosystems that we have here in Atlantic Canada and explore the interactions between organisms in them. We will next begin to prepare for our first quiz of the year. Students will find a study guide and many review games and activities to help them to practice for their assessment which will take place on Wednesday, October 2nd. We will also continue to read and discuss our read aloud novel “The Walking Fish.”

Grade 7 Core French-This week we will dive deeper into our first unit of the year on pastimes. During the next few months students will work to learn vocabulary to allow them to describe their favourite activities. To begin, we will listen to some other students sharing what they like and pick out some “mots amis” and “mots familiers”. These are words that either sound the same in English and French or that are familiar to us.

Grade 8 Science-This week our focus will be on discovering the differences between fresh and salt water. Students will take part in a lab where they will learn to explore water density, salinity and freezing points. Discussions will also take place around water sources and their importance.

Grade 9 Science-We are moving nicely through our unit on the nature of science. This week students will finish up their exploration of the scientific method. To help show their understanding, they will find an experiment of their own and discuss how it follows each step. We will then begin discussions around bias and the influence it can sometimes have on the outcomes of our experiments.

Grade 7 Immersion Science-Our work on the three states of matter continues. This week, students will learn how matter changes from one state to another and we will conduct our first lab experiment-heating ice. While this is simple taking an ice cube and boiling it until it becomes steam, this experiment will allow students to follow the steps of the scientific method and see the changes in matter over time as temperature increases. We will also plot our results onto a graph and discuss the importance of being precise when “doing” science. Late this week or early next week, we will test our knowledge of these new concepts with a short quiz and then begin to discuss other properties of matter, starting with mass.

Grade 8 FI Science- We are now fully immersed in our first unit: “L’univers materiel.” This week we will continue to discuss atoms, molecules, and Dalton’s atomic theory. We will also begin to examine the Periodic Table of the Elements and discuss how matter is organized and grouped on the table. Later in the week, students will begin work on a project where they will each research a different element to highlight their understanding of how we can use the periodic table to find important information about a specific element.

Grade 9 FI Science-This week students will further explore how matter is organized, as they define and discuss the differences between elements, compounds, atoms, molecules, mixtures and solutions. In the lab, they will continue to work for “GS Industries” as they attempt to separate a mixture and discuss its different components; identifying at each stage of separation if what they see before them is an element, a compound, a mixture or a solution. They will also write an assessment to show their understanding of how matter is organized.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-Students are excited to help plan and organize our Terry Fox Day. Working in small groups, their goal this week will be to map out their activity, gather materials for that event and write a short description how their event to be shared with students and staff.

Have a fantastic week!

Mme MacNevin

The first full week of school was a great one and here we are already halfway through the month of September!

This week we will begin our annual Terry Fox fundraising campaign. This morning students will take part in our kick-off assembly and pledge sheets will be sent home. Our Terry Fox Run/Walk and Fun day will take place on Friday, October 4th. Please note this change as the date has been moved from the original date that went home early in September. T-shirt orders are due back to the school by September 24th.

The first Home and School meeting of the year will take place in the staff room on Wednesday, September 18th at 7:00pm. Home and School is a great way to get involved in our school community. All are welcome to attend.

On Thursday evening (September 19), we will welcome families into the school for this year’s “Meet the Staff” event. This event is an important one, as teachers and staff will go over routines and procedures that help to set everyone up for success and help establish the connection between school and home. Everything will begin at 7:00pm in the Multipurpose Room. Please note that there will not be any childcare provided during the sessions.

Finally, there are only a few outstanding, but if your child has not returned their first week’s permission and information forms or paid the $20 students fee, please make sure to do that as soon as possible so that the folks in the office can get all that important information entered into our record-keeping systems.

Now here is a look into the learning that will be taking place in our classes this upcoming week….

Grade 7 Science-We are working our way through the first sections of our unit on ecosystems. Tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17, students will write their first assignment on the differences between biotic(living) and abiotic(nonliving) factors in an ecosystem. Some helpful notes, videos and games can be found in Google Classroom to help to review these concepts that we have been working on together. With that complete, we will then begin to look at how ecosystems are organized. Students will learn many new vocabulary terms including biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, organism, habitat and niche. Later in the week we will begin a project to help reinforce their learning of these new terms. Stay tuned for more details on that. Finally this week, we will continue read and discuss the novel “The Walking Fish”.

Grade 7 Core French-This week students will officially begin their first unit in French on pastimes. We will begin by discussing our own pastimes and learn some new vocabulary related to activities we enjoy including sports, art, and technology. We will spend some time practicing our letters and numbers in French and as always, add in a little music and dance “en français”.

Grade 8 Science-Over the next few classes we will wrap up our look at the water cycle and prepare and write our first assessment of the year on these concepts. As always, students will find review materials to help them study in their Google Classroom. If time permits later in the week, we will begin to explore the differences between freshwater and saltwater.

Grade 9 Science-This week we will wrap up the first section of our unit on the nature of science with our first quiz later this week. Students will find review materials in Google Classroom. Concepts included in this assessment include scientific reasoning and the new “words of science” vocabulary terms they started last week.

Grade 7 FI Science-Tomorrow, students will write their mini quiz on the vocabulary and safety rules needed in the lab. We will then move into our first section entitled “Univers matériel”. Our goals this week will be to gain an understanding of the three major states of matter (solid, liquid and gas) and learn how particles behave in each state. If time permits, students may even have the chance to “become” particles of matter as they enter “the dance of the atoms.”

Grade 8 FI Science-Our focus this week will be on molecules. Students will learn what molecules are and how they form. We will then complete our first lab of the year, where marshmallows will become elements to form some edible molecules to help us have a hands-on understanding of how matter behaves.

Grade 9 FI Science- Students will finish up their review of particle theory before jumping into how matter is organized. Students will classify matter into the proper category based on properties and learn the differences between elements, compounds and mixtures. Late this week or early next week we will also work through our first lab of the year, as students must solve the mystery at “GS Industries” and showcase their understanding of the new concepts they will work on earlier in the week.

Grade 7-9 Leadership-We will begin our leadership exploratory course this afternoon by starting to plan our Terry Fox Day. We will also spend some time brainstorming and discussing possible events and activities to help foster school spirit and positive school culture.

Wishing you all a wonderful week! I look forward to seeing/meeting you all on Thursday!

Mme MacNevin

Our first full week of school is here! It was so lovely meeting all my new students last week and catching up with those whom I taught in previous years. I have a feeling this year is going to be fantastic 😊

Just a quick couple of housekeeping notes before we take a look at the week ahead:

If your child has not returned their first week’s permission and information forms, please make sure they do that as soon as possible so that the folks in the office can get all that important information entered into our record-keeping systems.

Also, if your child has not yet paid their $20 student fee to cover the costs associated with Industrial Arts and Foods, please be sure to send that along this week as well.

Now let us peek into the learning that will be happening during our first full week back….

Grade 7 Science-This week we will officially kick off our science course, as the first few days were spent getting acquainted with our new surroundings and routines. We will look at what a scientist does and the different domains of science before entering into our first unit on ecosystems later on this week, beginning with the differences between living and nonliving things. We will also start a read aloud novel “The Walking Fish” that will relate to this new unit.

Grade 7 Core French-Our first few weeks of Core French will be spent reviewing some terms we worked on in elementary. We will begin with a project entitled “C’est moi” where students will use pictures to describe words and phrases, they know how to say en français. Establishing our daily class routines in French will also take place, as we begin each class with the date, the weather and a greeting through our “Message de la semaine”.

Grade 8 Science-During our classes together this week we will go over a short review of the concepts covered in Grade 7 including lab safety, before diving into our first unit called “Water Systems.” We will start by discussing ways we use water in our daily lives and then move the importance of water and the water cycle later on in the week.

Grade 9 Science-Our first unit on the nature of science will get underway this morning. During our classes together this week students will learn about the work of a scientist, explore the steps of the scientific method and learn some new vocabulary “words of science” such as theory, model, hypothesis, law and fact, giving examples and counterexamples from the world around them.

Grade 7 FI Science- During our classes together this first cycle, we will spend time continuing to get acquainted with the lay of the land in the Science Lab; exploring new vocabulary, the scientific method, as well as our “etext”, before beginning to discuss the three states of matter. There will be a short check in evaluation on rules and vocabulary related to the lab later this week. Students have been provided review sheets to help them to prepare both in class and on Google Classroom.

Grade 8 FI Science-Now that everyone is all set to go with their texts and Google Classroom, we will dive deeper into our first unit entitled “L’univers matériel.” This week, we will wrap up our review of lab safety, states and changes of matter, and the properties of solutions and mixtures that we studied last year. We will also begin to look at how matter is organized, define atoms, and begin to explore how they combine to form molecules.

Grade 9 FI Science- This week we will review many of the chemistry concepts we studied last year and in Grade 7, and officially begin looking at the Grade 9 outcomes related to “L’univers matériel”. Students will explore the particle theory in detail, define the three states of matter and explain the behavior of particles when matter changes state. Each student will assume the role of a particle changing from one state of matter to another and tell their story in written paragraph, a comic strip, or by creating a short video or scene.

I hope you all had a marvelous Monday and have a great week ahead!

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions/concerns.

Mme MacNevin

Welcome back! Bienvenue!

This short two day week (Thursday and Friday) will be spent getting to know each other, catching up on summer adventures and beginning to establish our classroom routines and procedures.

Many forms will be sent home on Thursday. Please spend some time reviewing them and making any changes needed. If you would kindly send them back as soon as possible, it would be greatly appreciated.

Be sure to check back each Monday to see what will be taking place around the school and during our classes together.

I’m looking forward to a great year!

Have a wonderful week!

Mme MacNevin