Weeks of February 17th-20th and February 23rd-27th

Weeks of February 17th-20th and February 23rd-27th

Has everyone had enough snow? I can’t believe how big the drifts are! I’m hoping that Mother Nature will give us a little reprieve over the next few weeks, as they are shaping up to be busy ones here at Gulf Shore 🙂

On Wednesday, February 25th we will celebrate Pink Shirt Day here at Gulf Shore. Students are encouraged to wear pink to stand up against bullying.

Here is what is happening inside our classroom over the next few weeks…

French-For our dictée, we continue our study of present tense verbs. Students should take a few minutes each evening to review their verb list and complete that night’s activity, in preparation for our dictée on Day 1 next cycle.

Reading- We are well into our book club activity. Students continue to read and respond to stories by Gilles Tibo and continue to discuss what they’ve read with their peers. They are reminded to make sure they have their activity prepared on time for each day in order to fully participate in their group’s discussion. We will also begin to prepare for our Student-Led conferences which will take place the first week in March, looking at our reading goals from last time and preparing new ones for the months ahead 🙂

Writing- Work continues this week on our story writing. We have explored lots of different stories together and are now starting to brainstorm ideas for our own writing which will start this week. As in reading, we will also look at our writing goals from last term and start to establish new ones

Math-Our study of long division is well underway. We have learned how to divide three digit numbers by one digit numbers and will continue to practice these strategies this week. We also continue to review those concepts we’ve previously studied earlier in the year, in preparation for our first “flashback” quiz at the end of the month and if time permits, we will start the study of our last foundational concept on calculating perimeter and area.

Social Studies-This week we will continue to examine different products and services available to us here on Prince Edward Island and we will start our rough drafts of our fictional communities.

Science-This week students should complete their experiments. In class, we will be typing out our procedure and will start to examine our results.

Grade 7 Science

This week, students should be wrapping up their experiments and starting to examine and assess their data for their Science Fair projects.

In class, we will finish up our discussions on hazardous materials and symbols and we will prepare for our quiz on these concepts. This will finish up our study of solutions and mixtures and we will soon be starting our unit on heat.

Grade 8 Science

We will finish up our review and final evaluation of our optics unit.

Students should be wrapping up their experiments and starting to examine and assess their data for their Science Fair projects.

Have a fantastic week!

Madame Walker

Week of February 9th-13th

Mother Nature has certainly made her presence known over the past few weeks! It is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago the grass was green! This should be a busy (and hopefully full 🙂 ) week here at Gulf Shore!

On Wednesday, February 11th, we will be hosting our first Gulf Shore Family Art Night. Local artist Mr. Maurice Bernard has offered to help us create a beautiful piece of art, as we spend time together as a Gulf Shore community. If your family would like to attend, please send a note indicating how many family members will be attending to school with your youngest child, as soon as possible, so that we may ensure we have enough materials for everyone.

On Friday, February 13th, our grade 4-6 classes will be treated to a presentation from Treeternity. This is a group of students currently studying at UPEI. They will present about the importance of trees and other flora here on PEI.

As Friday is also the day before Valentine’s Day, students are welcome to bring in cards or treats (peanut free of course) to share with their classmates, if they so wish.

There will be no school on Monday, February 16th as we celebrate Islander Day here on PEI.

Here is what is happening inside our classroom this week…

French-For this week’s dictée, we will continue to study verbs in the present tense, looking in particular, at how we may use these verbs to enhance our writing.

Reading- This week we will start discussions in our literature circles. As I have stated before, this activity not only helps improve our reading strategies, but is also a great opportunity to practice conversing with our peers in French and sharing our thoughts and opinions about what we’ve read.

Writing- We have now finished up our poetry unit, this week we will start into some story writing. We will examine different stories together and evaluate the different parts that make up a story (setting, characters, problem, climax, ending, etc). We will then practice writing some stories together, before starting one of our own.

Math-In math class this week we will be starting our study of long division. As with two-digit by two-digit multiplication, this can be a difficult concept for many students. Continued practice of multiplication and division facts will help make this progress easier. We will also learn many different strategies to solve these kinds of problems. Ask your child to show you the strategies that he/she uses in class 🙂

Social Studies-We will continue this week to work on creating our own community. This week we will look at primary and secondary needs and the differences between products and services.

Science-This week students will continue researching their topics and developing their hypothesis, list of materials and procedure for their Science Fair projects. They should also begin to complete their experiments at home if they haven’t already done so 🙂

Grade 7 Science

This week, students should continue to work on developing their list of materials, their procedure and at carrying out their experiments for their Science Fair projects.

In class, we will continue to discuss hazardous materials and symbols. We will explore objects that we use everyday at both home and school that can be harmful and we will discuss how to properly handle and dispose of these solutions.

Grade 8 Science

This week we will finish up our study of how the human eye works and we will begin to review for the final evaluation of our optics unit.

Students should continue to work on developing their list of materials, their procedure and at carrying out their experiments for their Science Fair projects.

Have a marvelous week and a safe and fun long Islander Day weekend!

Madame Walker

Week of February 2nd-6th

With our short 2 day week last week, a lot of the projects we were working on last week will continue on into this one 🙂

There will be no classes for students on Friday, February 6th, as this is a collaborative planning day and teachers and staff will be busy learning and working together.

Here is what is happening inside our classroom this week…

French-For this week’s dictée, we will continue to study verbs in the present tense.

Reading- Today we will finish up the novel “Noémie-Le Secret de Madame Lumbago.” We will continue to discuss and critique this book and we have also begun our literature circles. Students have been assigned their novel and we will begin reading and responding to what we’ve read this week, before our first group meeting later on this week or early next week.

Writing- We are finally finishing up publishing our poetry booklets. We hope to have our poetry café on Thursday, where we will present our finished pieces to our classmates.

Math-This week we will finish up our formal study of two-digit by two-digit multiplication and will be evaluated on our understanding of this concept to date. As this is a foundational concept, we will continue to work on it through June and continued practice at home is recommended.

Social Studies-Work continues this week on commerce here on PEI and we will also continue to prepare our plans for our “create a community” project.

Science-As students all now have their questions finalized, they will spend some time this week researching their topics and developing their hypothesis, list of materials, and procedure. They should also begin to complete their experiments at home.

Grade 7 Science

Students should continue to work on researching their topics, developing their hypothesis and at writing their procedure and materials.

In class, we will write our quiz on solutions and mixtures and will start to discuss hazardous materials and symbols.

Grade 8 Science

This week we will continue our study of refraction and will explore how the human eye works. As long as the weather cooperates, we will finally be treated to our presentation from an optometrist, who will help us understand the complexity of our eyes and how we can use lenses to correct our vision, when we have problems with our sight.

Students should continue to work on researching their topics, developing their hypothesis and at writing their procedure and materials.

Have a great week!

Madame Walker