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We are especially proud of those who sang beautifully in the Glee Club and our 2 wreath bearers. Merci!
Check back to this page for updates on what's going on in Portable 2 throughout the year!
![]() Students were very respectful and they participated in our Remembrance Day activities and assembly. We are especially proud of those who sang beautifully in the Glee Club and our 2 wreath bearers. Merci! In drama, we have been exploring using body language and facial expressions to communicate messages. A tableau is a freeze-frame scene - students had to get in position and freeze to tell a story.
Students recreated some humorous photographs for some hilarious results! To consolidate their learning, students also did a tableau for each illustration of a children's story. The narrator read the story, and the students "were" the illustrations in their tableaux instead of showing those from actual books. They did a great job! Enjoy the photos and guess what's happening! Our first research project of the year was a big success! To end our unit on Habitats and Communities and Human Body Systems , students chose an endangered animal or system to research. They had to consider the impact (positive or negative) of human activity on their animal’s habitat and existence, or on their system's function. After completing their report, students worked on visually representing the 5 needs of their animal within their natural habitat, as well as the human impact, or organs in their system with the human impact. Finally, students interviewed each other about their projects and presented.
I was very impressed with everyone’s hard work! Check out some great dioramas! ![]() Happy Thanksgiving! We had an excellent discussion yesterday about noticing the good things in life instead of the challenges or problems. We shared what we are thankful for and discovered there is SO much in our everyday that we can notice and be thankful for. I'm thankful for each and every student and the creativity, thoughtfulness, and kindness they bring to our class everyday. In music, we have been exploring rhythm all around us, in nature and in urban settings. We've also discovered that everyday things can create very interesting rhythms. Students made up rhythms using cups and presented.
I loved their creativity! Videos to come soon :) ![]() We had a VERY enthusiastic class today on our school Terry Fox walk around the Knoxdale community! We raised over $2,500! Way to go Knoxdale! Students showed off their posters to passing cars and cheered in support of Terry Fox. We discussed how tired we were after just walking 3km and imagined how Terry must have felt running a marathon every day! What strength and perseverance he showed! Students have been working hard on Science stories for grade 1 students. The grade 5 students prepared a short "Savais-tu que?" story about a human body system (how it works and how to take care of it), while the grade 4 students wrote about the 5 essential needs of an animal.
After reviewing their rough copies, they did a beautiful job illustrating their short stories! Next week, they will read their stories to a grade 1 class. Check out these fantastic covers! ![]() As we explore critical thinking, or criteria-based thinking, we discussed what makes a good book. We're going beyond "because it's good" to "why is it good?" I heard deeper thinking and reasoning today as students supported their criteria with evidence and examples. Individually, the students came up with what criteria for them personally are essential for a good book, and then they shared with their groups. Together, they had to negotiate and defend their criteria to come up with a "top 5" list from their group. Once we had these, we made a class list of what is needed for a good book for us and for a younger student. The grade 5's will use their "5 star book" criteria for our new 5 star book club. When students finish a French chapter book, they will bring home a book review sheet to rate their book out of 5 stars (you'll sign this sheet). They will then share and support their rating with the other grade 5 students. Once a student has read 10 books, they will win some game time on the iPad! For the grade 4's, we are using their criteria to help us evaluate our new Science project - writing a children's book about an animal and its 5 essential needs. We will read our final copies to grade 1 students! As we explore the Habitats & Communities unit in Grade 4 Science and the Human Organ Systems unit in Grade 5 Science, we have established the fact that we as humans can make a difference in protecting our world.
Students worked in pairs to make persuasive and informative posters about how we can all make a difference. We then provided each other with positive feedback based on our criteria for a powerful poster. Check out their great work! ![]() This week, we started daily French literacy stations. Each student will complete each station once a week. It is a fantastic opportunity for students to work on their reading and oral French, as well as practice current vocabulary. I've heard lots of great French as we go through the daily stations. Keep up the great work! During the first week of school, students worked hard to create their own personal mandala. We discussed how mandalas represent us and chose a personal symbol to put in the centre of our own mandala. Students were very focused and used lots of detail - we are very proud of the final result!
During the first week of school, we explored a key part of critical thinking - using clues in a text to help you answer a question or solve a problem.
To practice and get to know each other more, we wrote down clues about ourselves in French on question marks and took turns listening to the "evidence" to solve "qui suis-je?" Just like when we do research or read, sometimes we only needed 1 clue to figure it out, and sometimes we needed to keep reading to find more evidence! Hello students and families!
The first few days of school were a big success. It was so nice to meet many of you before or after school. I am your child's homeroom teacher. We are class 4/5MFI in Portable 2. I will be teaching French, Social Studies, Science, Health, Physical Education, Drama, Dance, Music, and Visual Arts. Catherine Nel will be teaching English and Math. Across the OCDSB, junior French Immersion classes are switching to math in English. This week, we worked on establishing and practicing the rules and routines in our classroom, as well as defining our own class community. I am so looking forward to getting to know the students better as well as their families throughout the year. It's going to be a fantastic year! ~ Mme Shealyn Visser |
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