Week of February 27th-March 3rd

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

Weeks of February 13th-17th and February 20th-24th

What a blast of winter we’ve been having these last few days! I guess I spoke too soon when talking about the warmer weather that the groundhogs predicted 🙁

These next few weeks here at Gulf Shore with lots of exciting activities. On Friday, February 17th students and staff are asked to wear purple to school, as we work together to help prevent family violence. On Friday evening our Student Leadership team has planned a ski trip to Brookvale for the intermediate students. Permission slips have been sent home with your son/daughter. Hopefully the weather will cooperate 🙂

Wednesday, February 22nd is Pink Shirt Day. Everyone is asked to wear a pink shirt to school to show that they are willing to take a stand against bullying. We will also spend some time in our classes next week chatting about bullying and its impact in our schools.

Also, late last week 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. Your child’s participation in this survey is greatly appreciated.

Now take a minute to have a look at the learning that will take place over the next few weeks in our classroom….

French-We continue to work through our anthology unit entitled “L’art de image.” During our reading periods, students will begin reading interviews that explore different jobs 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.

In writing, we continue with our “texte ludique” inspired by our funny images. Students are now into the drafting stage and we will continue to review the writing process, as we move through the creation of these stories.

Lastly, students will have another opportunity to self-reflect, as Mme Kim visits our class. Together everyone will have the opportunity to listen to a voice recording of themselves speaking French and will take note of the great things happening in their speaking skills. Students will also begin to set goals to improve on areas that may cause them some difficulty.

Social Studies-This week we will finish up our final projects for the Middle Ages and present them to our classmates. We will also start to take a look at our next time period The Renaissance, as we discuss what “renaissance” means and predict why this name was chosen for this period in human history and map out the areas that were at the heart of this movement.

Science- In our human reproduction unit, this week we will continue to explore ways to prevent pregnancy through our discussions of various contraceptives. Later in the week we will also take a look at sexually transmitted infections and their symptoms.

Grade 9 Science- We are moving through our final body system; the muscular/skeletal system. In our next few classes we will learn about the three different types of muscle and their functions. We will also dissect a chicken leg, as we take a look at bones and muscles and their structures.

Grade 7 Science- This week we will finish up our ecology unit, as we present our animal projects to our peers and prepare for our written evaluation. Finally, we continue to prep for our school Science Fair which is only a month away!

Have a great week and a safe and happy Islander Day weekend!

Mme MacNevin

Week of February 6th-10th

Fingers crossed that the groundhogs were right last week and that we will soon begin to see signs of spring 🙂 

Please note that there will be no classes on Friday, February 10th as this is a Professional Development Day for teachers and staff.

Here is a snapshot of the learning that will take place over this four day week…

French-We are now working through our anthology unit entitled “L’art de image.” During our reading periods this week, students will begin to read 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.
During our writing blocks, students will find a funny image that will serve as their muse, as they will draft, revise, and edit a humorous story to represent what they see. We will also spend some time discussing “les accords” and the importance in the French language of pairing our nouns and adjectives with their proper number and genre.
Finally, as we continue to work on our oral language skills students will take the time to listen to themselves and will begin to self-assess their skills and form goals and next steps for their oral language proficiency.

Social Studies-As we finish up our final assessments for our unit on the Middle Ages, this week students will write their written evaluation and will prepare their fief projects, that will be presented in class next week.

Science- This week in Science class we will wrap up our study of the stages of pregnancy and human development. We will then begin to explore ways to prevent pregnancy through our discussions of various contraceptives.

Grade 9 Science- We had another great dissection last week, as students were able to look at a sheep’s kidney up close and further solidify their understanding of the how our body eliminates urea. This week we will conclude our study of the excretory system and start to look at our final human body system; the muscularskeleto system.

Grade 7 Science- During our classes together this week, students will work to demonstrate their understanding of our ecology unit through their research of a Canadian animal, its habitat, and niche. Finally, we will continue to work hard on preparing our Science Fair projects; focusing on collecting data and results.

Have a wonderful week!

Mme MacNevin