I can’t believe that we are already saying goodbye to the month of February! What wacky weather we’ve had over the past few weeks. Fingers crossed that March decides to come in like a lamb :)
These next few weeks will be very busy here at Gulf Shore as we prepare for both our Student-Led Conferences and for our annual Science Fair. Conference time sheets will be coming home tomorrow. Please get them back to me as soon as possible, especially if you need to make any changes to your scheduled time.
Also, before all the storm days, I sent home a permission form for the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Survey that will take place in March. Please fill out this form on paper or online and send it in as soon as possible. I’m still missing quite a few. Your child’s participation in this survey is greatly appreciated :)
Here is a snapshot into the learning that will take place in our classes this coming week….
French-We continue to work through our anthology unit entitled “L’art de image.” During our reading periods this week, students will finish reading interviews that explore different careers related to photography, film, and art. They will discover the structure of an interview and determine the key messages in the interviews we will read. The final text of this type, that we will read later on in the week, will be an evaluation of their reading comprehension skills.
In writing, we continue with our “texte ludique” inspired by our funny images. Students are finishing up the drafting stage and have begun to use the tools now available through Google Apps to help revise and edit their work including Read&Write, Bonpatron and Wordreference. We are taking every advantage possible to use new wifi system during our writer’s workshops 🙂
As we continue to work on our oral language skills, students will have another opportunity to self-reflect in preparation for our conferences next week. Last week, with the help of Mme Kim and myself, students were introduced to ways to evaluate their oral language. Over the next few classes, students will have the chance to listen to their own evaluations and place themselves on the oral language continuium. Additionally, they will form a specific goal to work on in the coming weeks to help improve their language skills. As a result of these evaluations, during our mini lessons together we will also work on skills that everyone needs a little help with. We’ve done such a great job so far with the verb “aller” that we are ready to move on to our work on “les verbes pronominaux,” which we began on Thursday and we will continue over the next few cycles.
Social Studies-We have now put the Middle Ages behind us and have started to explore the Renaissance. During our classes together this week we will look this movement in more detail, as we map out the Italian cities that were at its core and begin to explore the its key players, paying particular attention to art.
Science- This week we will wrap up our unit on human reproduction. Students will work to research a question related to these concepts and present their findings to their classmates. They will also prepare for and write their unit assessment.
Grade 9 Science- This week we will finish up our study of human body systems with our quiz on the muscular/skeletal system. Then, students will start to look at new biotechnologies, as they put all their work on systems together through an exploratory project.
Grade 7 Science- Our main focus over the next few weeks will be the putting the finishing touches on our Science Fair projects. Students should now be finishing up their data analysis and drawing their conclusions. Work will also start on their posters this week. During other classes, we will start our biology unit of study, beginning with the parts of the cell and its functions.
Have a marvelous week!
Mme MacNevin