Greetings R7A Families –

This will be my last blog to you for 2017. Time certainly has passed quickly since September. As a class, we have learned a lot, laughed a lot, cheered each other on and gotten through some rough days. It is an amazing opportunity to watch children grow and experience life intensely, in the moment, in grade 7.

This week, we will be having a Holiday Dance on Friday, December 22nd in the afternoon. Students are being asked to contribute $2.00. Before that we will assemble in the gym for a loud, boisterous game of volleyball: teachers v. students. My athletic contribution will be to yell and jump on the sidelines; a ball in the face a few years ago shortened my volleyball career! On Wednesday, the Leadership Group which Ms Eichel and I facilitate is hosting the Great Cakewalk for all Junior and Intermediate students. Classes raise money and every class that raises a minimum of $10.00 gets a wonderful, candy-laden cake to eat. I am asking R7A students to do their best to donate a tooney for the cause. There will be 22 cakes in our classroom, the Chateau Gateau, on Wednesday. All proceeds go to the WE Foundation, “Adopt a Village” program for clean water projects. On Thursday, R7A will be hosting its first Lit Cafe where students present their singing, dancing, comical, drawing, magical skills etc..

In Literacy, we will be continuing our reading from “Hana’s Suitcase” and concluding a writing activity. We will also be doing our two sessions on guided reading. Last week, our kindergarten reading buddies treated us to a preview of their dance routine for the Holiday Assembly. The grade 7s joined in and much fun was had by all. Natural Disaster project work will continue in Geography. In Visual Arts, most students have completed their own “Morning Star” creations. Here is a sample of four of the pieces.

 

And here is a photo the “Morning Star”dome I took this Saturday on a visit to the truly wonderful Museum of History, as well as a photo of Haida artist Bill Reid’s sculpture “The Spirit of Haidi Gwaii”.

 

I was shooting into the brilliant, winter sun; my photo does no justice to this beautiful piece.

HARMONY HOUSE – a message from the VM staff

Harmony House Needs our Help!
We are so appreciative for all we have and would like to share our good fortune with others in need.  Instead of a staff gift at Christmas, please consider purchasing a gift card for Harmony House instead. Harmony House is a second-stage women’s shelter. They provide safe, affordable transitional housing for women and children who are survivors of violence. They are located in Ottawa and are the only second-stage shelter in Ottawa.
They are in need of:
Gift cards for local grocery stores:  Independent/Loblaws/Metro/Food Basics
Gift cards for pharmacy/drug stores:  Pharma Plus/Rexall/Shoppers Drug Mart
Gift cards for Walmart, Canadian Tire
Please note – if you choose to give to Harmony House, please send it as a gift to your child’s teacher, clearly labeled for Harmony House.  We will thank your child as if it was a gift intended for us. We will then pass it on to Harmony House to help someone in need.

For most students, two assessments have been sent home for your signature for the Ideal School project and their vocabulary review. Please ensure they are read, discussed, signed and returned to school. Thank you.

I wish you all a happy holiday break. We will all meet again on Monday, January 9th. All the best to Zaiyon and his family as they travel to Mexico and return in March. Try not to miss the cold, Zaiyon!

Ms Swail

 

 

Hello Everyone!

We had a busy, eventful week in R7A. In Literacy, we started our guided reading groups with Ms Austin, Ms Davies and I facilitating. It is a joy to be in the room with all of our readers; there was a happy, productive buzz.

The class goal is to get everyone up to their best, potential reading level so they can be strong going into grade 8 and high school. Most of the students are working in groups of 4-5 and reading smaller books that come from the LLI series which focuses on directed teaching of reading and comprehension strategies. We continue to read aloud from “Hana’s Suitcase” and this week we will be starting a related writing piece. Vocabulary tests will be coming home on Monday for your signature.

In Geography, the R7A geographers are working on their natural disaster projects. We are making a concerted effort to get all students to learn how to organize research folders and follow a project checklist.

Some of our artists are still working on their “Morning Star” pieces – photos next week. Our next project will be learning how to work with pencil and shading. We will be re-creating landforms.

Congratulations to Lucas who is now a part of Mme Hivert’s  STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math) team that will eventually be entering a competition called the LTS Challenge. The whole class cheered for Lucas when we found out.

Thanks to the Gosselin family for the lovely box of Celestial Seasonings Fruit Sampler tea – the peach was a real favourite!     

PLEASE remind your children to bring in a mug from home so they can enjoy some herbal tea on Thursdays.

Ottawa Events – a focus on skating. Skating is a popular sport here in Ottawa with the Rideau Canal and many skating rinks.

• The Canada 150 Rink on Parliament Hill is now open for public skating! As of Thursday, December 7 and continuing until February 28, 2018 the rink is open daily. Skating time slots can be reserved 48 hours in advance and skate rentals are available. Read about accessibility, regulations, and more at the Canada 150 Rink Make sure to keep an eye out on the special programming planned throughout December, including this weekend’s Flavours of the North with free activities and free food truck samplings on Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10. FREE!
• Skating in Ottawa begins with the SENS Rink of Dreams  (at City Hall) and Lansdowne Park Skating Court now open, and the Skating Rink at Rideau Hall opening on Saturday, December 9. FREE!

HARMONY HOUSE – a message from the VM staff

Harmony House Needs our Help!
We are so appreciative for all we have and would like to share our good fortune with others in need.  Instead of a staff gift at Christmas, please consider purchasing a gift card for Harmony House instead. Harmony House is a second-stage women’s shelter. They provide safe, affordable transitional housing for women and children who are survivors of violence. They are located in Ottawa and are the only second-stage shelter in Ottawa.
They are in need of:
Gift cards for local grocery stores:  Independent/Loblaws/Metro/Food Basics
Gift cards for pharmacy/drug stores:  Pharma Plus/Rexall/Shoppers Drug Mart
Gift cards for Walmart, Canadian Tire
Please note – if you choose to give to Harmony House, please send it as a gift to your child’s teacher, clearly labeled for Harmony House.  We will thank your child as if it was a gift intended for us. We will then pass it on to Harmony House to help someone in need.

Have a very good week,

Ms Swail

 

Welcome to December, everyone, the last month of 2017.

Three more weeks of school in 2017 and we have lots to do!

In Literacy, the students will be receiving their full Ideal School assessments this week. They will be bringing the assessment summary home for your signature. If you have not already, please ask to hear about their ideal school. There will be a vocabulary review test on Wednesday, December 6th and I will provide more time for the R7A students to prepare tomorrow. Our Guided Reading Boot Camp starts on Thursday with about 5 groups reading different texts and answering comprehension questions. In some groups, students will have specific tasks such as facilitator, summarizer and recorder. I will be continuing the Hana’s Suitcase read-aloud and we may be doing some story-telling of our own on the special story-teller chair. In Geography, we will be finishing up our viewing of a BBC documentary on Natural Disasters and starting our own project research. We are also focusing on reading comprehension in Geography. In Visual Arts, I am determined (!) all will be done their beautiful Morning Star adaptations and we will be moving on to a new project for next week. I will make sure that I post photos of their art pieces and explanations of why they created their pieces.

Fears and Phobias unit: the students did a good job in researching phobias and distinguishing the difference between fear and phobia. Here is an excerpt from a Maya Angelou poem, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” and my own photo of a beautiful frog perched in November leaves in the Pine Grove green space

   

“Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou

Don’t show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I’m afraid at all
It’s only in my dreams.

Tissues and Tea: our noses still require more boxes of tissue. Thanks to those families who sent in boxes. The students seem to be enjoying their Thursday tea. Any interesting herbal teas would be welcome.

Macskimming Event Photos: here are a few pics from our great field trip, the first being a class picture.

                           

Great Things Happening in Ottawa

This week on Thursday, December 7, the NCC will be hosting an Illumination Ceremony on Parliament Hill when all of the Christmas lights will be turned on. It is a free event and worth attending. As well, the newly renovated, re-charged Science and Technology Museum opened last weekend. It is on Lancaster Road, just east of St. Laurent. On Thursdays between 5 and 8 p.m., the museum is free

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ENJOY YOUR WEEK,

Ms Swail