Wednesday, November 30

Grade 7 Science Review Questions

Your Unit Test on Ecosystems is Tuesday, Dec 6th.

To help you study, you should be doing the following review questions...

pg 79 #1-20
pg 80 #22-24
pg 81 # 26

You will have the entire Science period on Friday to work on these questions. You do not need to complete all of them by Friday.

Grade 8 Science TEST

Don't forget that your Cells Unit Test is on Monday, December 5th.

Grade 8 Language - Novel Study - The Giver

For homework tonight, you must complete a chapter summary for chapters 1-3. You should also have a list of new words for each chapter.

Looking ahead....

1. Write about three connections between the novel and the real world.
2. Write three open-ended questions about what you've read so far. Open-ended questions are questions that don't have one right answer and require more than a simple yes or no response.

Grade 6 Science

Complete "The Diversity of Living Things - The Process of Life Quiz" green worksheet.
Due Monday, Dec 5th.

Your Unit Test will be next week on Wednesday, Dec 7th.

Grade 6 and 7 language

Friday, Dec. 2nd - Spelling Test : non-perishable, affluent, achievement, alternative, initiative, sanitation, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, disease, opportunity, empowerment and self-sufficient

All words are related to the "Hot Topic" article we are working on for our magazines.

Monday, Dec. 5th - Final Draft of "Hot Topic" article due

Upcoming - Fact Sheet on Youth Homelessness will be due next week

Tuesday, November 29

Food Drive

I would like to thank all the students who brought in non-perishable food items over the past month. A huge amount of food was taken to a grateful local food bank this morning!

In particular, I would like to congratulate my own Grade 7s and Mr. Xavier's Grade 3/4s for donating the most food. I'm proud of you for stepping up for a worthy cause!

Grade 7s, your party will be tomorrow afternoon during the last two periods of the day. Enjoy!

Grade 7 Math Test - Bisecting Angles

We have been learning how to bisect angles using six different methods:
     i.   use a protractor
     ii.  use a Mira
     iii. fold your paper
     iv. use a straight-edge to create a rhombus
     v.  use a ruler to create an isosceles triangle
     vi. use a compass

Tomorrow the students will have to bisect three angles using three different methods, but they will not know which of the three methods they will have to use until the test.

Montreal Trip Info

Information has now gone home with all students about our trip to Montreal in early March 2012. Ideally we would like to get as many registrations as possible by this Friday (Dec. 2nd). The registration process is done online directly with EF Education Tours.

The website is http://www.efschooltrips.ca/ and our tour number is 1142294.

After you register, you will be contacted by an EF representative to arrange for your payments. The initial deposit is $99. The remaining $341 is due in two payments by mid-January.

Please contact me, Mr. Marshall, at the school if you have any questions or concerns about the cost of the trip or the schedule of payments. There is some flexibility and we can find a solution that works for your family. We really want all of our grade 7 & 8 students to have this opportunity.

Monday, November 28

Presentation Today

Today, Mrs Ricketts, Mr Marshall and Ms. Smye's classes watched a very interesting and informative presentation on Youth Homelessness, Bullying, Abuse and Drugs. Please discuss the presentation with your parents when they ask you, "What did you do today at school?". They may be shocked when you answer them with something other than "nothing" ;-)

Grade 8 Science

MAJOR SCIENCE TEST on CELLS UNIT: Monday, December 5th. You will have 2 more 1.5hr classes to work on review sheets.

CANNED FOOD DRIVE

Don't forget to bring in your canned foods by tomorrow!! The class who brings in the greatest number of goods wins a pizza party!!

Wednesday, November 23

Grade 6-8 Girls Volleyball

Thursday after school practice has been cancelled and will be during lunch recess instead. Everyone is to check in with their lunch room supervisor and then head to the gym to eat their lunch. Those girls who go home for lunch, can come in to the gym when they return to school.

Also, next Tuesday morning practice is cancelled and will be held after school from 3:30-5:00pm instead.

Helping Your Child With Reading and Writing At Home

TIPS TO IMPROVE READING, WRITING and ORAL LANGUAGE SKILLS

*Students should be reading a minimum of 1/2 hour each day.

*Students should read and be exposed to a variety of text types. These include; novels (fiction and non-fiction), short stories, poetry, comics, graphic novels, magazines, picture books, instruction manuals, newspaper articles, online articles, flyers, and posters just to name a few. Variety is key to improving language skills.

*Ask your child to read aloud to you. Should they have difficulty with a word, encourage them to sound it out. Let them try on their own first before giving them the correct pronunciation. Ask them to explain what more difficult words mean. They can give a synonym for the word, give the definition or tell you what they think the word means based on the context. If they are still unsure, have them look up the definition.

*Most importantly, students should be given the opportunity to discuss what they have read with someone. It is important that they share their ideas and interpretations and listen to what other people's opinions are about the text. Here are some meaningful questions to ask your child;
1) Tell me, in your own words what you read about (summarizing)
2) What do you think the main idea or lesson was?
3) Tell me about one of the characters in the text. What qualities do they have? Explain why you think they possess these qualities?
4) Did any part of the text remind you of another book you've read, a situation you or someone you know have experienced, or something that is going on in our local or global community?
5) How did the text make you feel? Why?
6) What part surprised you the most? Why?
7) What part would you change? Why?
8) What words/concepts were difficult for you to understand?
9) What was your favourite part? Why?
10) What is your favourite sentence, word, or picture and explain why you enjoyed it.

*Enourage your child to keep a journal. They can use this for creative writing, recording events of the day, or doing specific topics you give them. Always encourage them to re-read their entries and check for spelling and grammatical errors. They can also write the answers to some of the questions above in this journal. It is not necessary for you to correct every single mistake they make. It is more important that you focus on one aspect of their writing at a time. For example, spelling mistakes OR capital letters at the beginning of a sentence OR conjunctions.

*Should your child come home with no homework, these are activities that can be done in place of teacher-assigned work.

*Students would also benefit from choosing a newspaper article and reading and discussing it with the family a couple of times per week. This will not only help to develop better language skills, but give them a better sense of the world around them.

We hope this helps!!
Cheers,
The Grade 6, 7 & 8 Teachers

Grade 7 Science

Worksheets titled "Human Activity Can Change Ecosystems" will be due next Tuesday, November 29th. If you did not receive these worksheets due to being away, come and see me as soon as possible please.

Grade 6 Science

The "Heredity" worksheet must be completed for the next Science class (Monday, Nov. 28th).

Meetings for Parents Tonight

Notes were sent home a couple of days ago but just in case you didn't receive them, there is a Graduation Trip meeting tonight at T.W. at 6:30-7:00pm and a Parent Council Meeting from 7:00-8:00pm

Grade 8 Science - QUIZ and TEST

Plant cells, tissues and their functions QUIZ on FRIDAY. Please study the worksheet you were giving last week.

FINAL UNIT TEST on Cells and Cell Systems will be Monday, Dec 5th. You will be given a total of three science periods (80 min each) to work on review worksheets. These classes will provide a good opportunity to ask questions and seek clarification to concepts you don't understand.

Tuesday, November 22

Grade 6 and 7 language

THE FIRST DRAFT of your"Hot Topic" article for your magazine... is due Thursday, Nov. 24th. You need to bring it to class because we will be doing a lesson involving peer editing. Students need to have an introduction and a conclusion. Grade 7 students need 3 separate supporting details sections and grade 6 students need 2 separate sections.

Tuesday, November 15

Grade 8 Students

Please be reminded that the Wexford Info Night (Performing Arts) is tomorrow, Wed. Nov. 16th and the Visual Arts is on Thursday. Also, on Thursday, Nov 17th is the Victoria Park Info Night.

Grade 8 Language

Just a reminder that your language assignment is due tomorrow.