BBQ!

Hello everyone,

I'm busy working with some members of the tech club right now, getting ready for the Twitter presentations we are doing in the Learning Commons during the BBQ.

Hope to see you here!

If you can't make it, here is a sample of what we will be talking about:

Tech Club Twitter Presentation - Schedule and Outline

I will post more invitations for the Farewell Ceremony tonight, when I get home from the BBQ.

Have a great weekend!

Mr. Skinner

You're Invited!

Hello,

After finishing the third Language section of the EQAO testing, the students worked on Google Slides to make some invitations to the Grade 6 Farewell Ceremony in June.

Here are some of the invitations that were completed today. More will be posted tomorrow as well.

Renee
London
Eden
Katie
Patrick
Emma
Ashanti
Ive
Allison
Claire
Austin and Connor

We hope you like the wonderful invitations and that you can make it to the ceremony in June!

Have a great evening.

Mr. Skinner

Some Important Dates

Hello,

The students finished the second EQAO Language assessment today. By the end of the week the Language portion will be completed. Next week we will be working on the Math testing.

It hit me today that the end of the year is quickly approaching when I realized the next After School Basketball session would be in June!

Some important dates in June for Grade 6 students:

Monday, June 1, 2015 - order forms and payment are due for the Holy Redeemer Class of 15 red t-shirts. The students signed the "15" screen today and the order forms were sent home as well. The t-shirts cost $13 and you can pay by cash or cheque.

 Friday, June 12, 2015 - Grade 6 trip to the Y Camp. There will be hiking, climbing, games, swimming and more. A permission form will be coming home next week with more details. It will be a day trip, leaving in the morning and returning in the afternoon. Students will bring their own lunches. I went with the Grade 6 students last year and it was a lot of fun!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - The Grade 6 Farewell ceremony will be held in the school gym. There will be a liturgy and student recognition with certificates and awards. The ceremony will begin at 12:30.

A Great Question!

Hello,

This morning, the students completed the first Language section for the EQAO testing. Each student read two stories, answered multiple choice and short answer questions about each passage, filled out multiple choice grammar questions, and wrote a paragraph about their personal answer to a very interesting question.

Ask your child what the question was and what answer they chose to write about.

There were many interesting choices, but after a lot of thinking, I decided to go with soap (although many students thought I would choose a hockey stick).

The students made me very proud as they worked very hard throughout the morning. It was clear that everyone was giving their best effort. Once everyone finished the task, we went outside for some well deserved free time. A game of manhunt was the chosen wind down activity today.

Tomorrow, we will work on the second language assessment. There is no homework tonight other than to get a good night's sleep.

Have a great evening.

Mr. Skinner

EQAO Starts Tomorrow

Hello,

This morning we went over what the typical EQAO morning will look like. We made sure we had all the needed materials to get started tomorrow. My big message today was that EQAO testing was nothing to stress out about, and the students just need to focus on giving their best efforts.

Today in class we worked on some multiple choice math questions from a variety of strands and we shared our "Lost Ring" narratives, giving feedback with regard to whether or classmates' stories followed a logical progression of ideas, included dialogue, as well as a problem that was solved by the end of the story.

Have a great evening, get your rest, and I know everyone will do an amazing job on the first Language assessment tomorrow. 

Mr. Skinner

Mock Trial Introduction

Hello,

This morning, Kevin and Caity came in and discussed our legal system with the Grade 6 classes, to prepare us for the mock trial we will be having in June.

The students stated their preferences for possible roles during the mock trial. We will do our best to accommodate their requests.

All of the needed information for the mock trial process is included in this link.

In Math, the students worked with a partner to complete the following transformation problem solving question.

Next, we worked with our partners to complete multiple choice questions from a variety of Math strands and discussed our strategies for solving our questions.

Finally, in Language, we started to write short narrative stories about a lost ring that we discovered. Each students is writing their version of the solution to this problem. We will continue to work on this story on Friday, as we have our Track and Field tryout tomorrow morning.

As we will be outside tomorrow, students are reminded to dress properly for the weather and to bring water to ensure they are properly hydrated.

Have a great night.

Mr. Skinner

Moon Trees and Rotations

Hello,

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It sounds like there were lots of fun things going on, and I heard a few stories of tornado (warning) survival.

This morning, we discussed and corrected our responses for "Moon Trees." We discussed how multiple choice options can all seem correct, but that we have to pick the response that best answers the question being asked. We continued to stress the importance of including examples and explaining our thinking in short answer questions.

Tomorrow, we will be looking at the "Get Active Day" plans. Most people already have this finished, but if you don't please complete it tonight.

In Math, we worked with a partner on three problem solving questions, which required the use of translations, reflections and rotations. We used tracing paper to make our transformations, then discussed our responses as a group.

We had some great discussions as we examined the differences between a Level 2, Level 3 and a Level 4 response, as well as the ways we can clearly display and explain our thinking with questions like these.

We will continue to work on transformations tomorrow. There is no Math homework, but the students can practise on Mathletics, in the Geometry strand.

Tomorrow, we will have some special guests, as local lawyers will be discussing our justice system with the class and preparing us for a mock trial we will hold in June.

Finally, some information regarding the EQAO testing should be coming home with the students tonight. The testing will begin next week. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Have a great night.

Mr. Skinner

A New Way to Pay for Things at School!

Hello,

Some of you may have already received information via email about online payment options for items at school.

Just in case you haven't received the information, here is a link:

Online payment information

It was announced late last week that the first class to have everyone sign up will get ice cream. The students were excited by this prospect, so I said I would share the information on the blog, to help their efforts to win the prize!

Have a great weekend! Go Canada Go!

Mr. Skinner

Have a Great Long Weekend!

Hello,

I'm sorry about the lack of blog posts this week. It's been a busy week and we have had a few minor childcare issues for our daughter, so I have found it difficult to find my usual time to post.

The students had a great time filming some shots for the Grade 6 end of year video, yesterday. I am sure the footage will be very entertaining!

This morning, we used the chromebooks to fill out the school climate survey for the students.

Next, the students finished their "Moon Trees" reading activity and the "Get Active" writing activity.

In Math, the students worked on transformations, completing activity sheets on translations (slides), reflections and rotations.

These sheets should be completed for Tuesday. We will continue to look at transformations and complete some hand-on activities for this Math strand next week.

Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday.

Mr. Skinner

Solving our Fraction Problems

Hello,

This morning, we solved fraction problem solving questions, which were created by another group in the class. Upon completion, the groups gave each other feedback on their strategies to solve the problems, then we posted the work in the hall.

In Language, we used the chromebooks to examine the students' responses for Iceberg Wranglers. We continued to work on providing examples to illustrate our thinking. If Spring Sweetness is not already completed, it should be finished for homework.

Otherwise, the only homework for the students is to make sure they look nice for tomorrow, when the Ministry of Education will be filming our amazing work in Math. I'm going to get a haircut after school. Who knows, I might even wear a tie!

If the students want to be able to appear in the video, they need to make sure they have returned their signed permission form.

Have a good night.

Mr. Skinner

Great to see everyone!

Hello,

It was wonderful to see so many parents at the muffin breakfast and then joining us for our Math lesson. In Math, we discussed fractions, decimals and percentages and how they are used outside the classroom. Next, the students worked in pairs to create problem solving questions, which involved fractions, decimals and percentages, which other students will solve on Monday.

In Language, the students finished their short answers for "Iceberg Wranglers" and "Spring Sweetness" and then worked on a "mystery" task involving connections to some of their favourite stories. The answers for the two short stories should be completed for Monday and the "mysery" task should be given to all the amazing mothers on Sunday.

Please remember to return your permission forms, if you want to be a part of the educational video being filmed in the class on Tuesday.

Finally, here is the awesome video of the dance team, filmed by the incredibly talented, Mr. Ullrich. (The password is x).

Rockets Dance Video 

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day!

Mr. Skinner

Muffin Breakfast Tomorrow!

Hello,

Yesterday, the students worked very hard on their proportional reasoning evaluation task. Upon completion, students answered questions about two non-fiction texts - Iceberg Wranglers and Spring Sweetness.

Unfortunately, I was not feeling well yesterday, so I went home yesterday and rescheduled after school basketball to this afternoon. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thanks for your understanding.

Today, the students finished up the responses to the non-fiction texts and began to explore transformations in Math. There were 20 Station cards, with tasks to complete, and the answers which could be read from a QR Code. We will be discussing our responses and observations from the activity on Monday, once all of the students (including today's missing dancers) have had a chance to work on the cards.

We look forward to seeing many of you at Friday morning's Muffin Breakfast. Once you have filled up on delicious muffins, please stop by the classroom to join in a wrap up discussion about proportional reasoning, (with some problem solving fun) and perhaps even some debates about our preferred jobs involving being out in nature! 

Have a great evening.

Mr. Skinner

An Amazing Dance Performance!

Hello,

This morning we started the day with the following word problem, which involved proportional reasoning:

A Grade 6 class is having a fundraiser. The class buys 3 bags of apples. Each bag has 24 apples. The total cost of the 3 bags of apples is $12.24. The class sells the apples for $0.75 each. How much money will the class gain per apple? Show your work.

It was very interesting to see the strategies the student pairings used, in our Math Inquiry books, and we discussed our solutions.

We are reaching the end of the unit, so we will have an evaluation task. As many students will be attending the dance showcase on Thursday, we decided as a class, to complete the evaluation task tomorrow. The students should review their work, but they do not need to spend hours studying. We went over the types of questions they can expect on the task, so there should be no surprises.

 In Language, the students finished their volunteer paragraphs and began to a non-fiction piece called "Iceberg Wranglers". We will be answering multiple choice and short answer questions on this selection tomorrow morning, after the Math activity is completed.

Finally, this afternoon, we were lucky enough to see the Dance team's performance. It was amazing! Congratulations to all the students from our class who were involved in the performance. I'm sure it will be great on Thursday too!

Have a good evening.

Mr. Skinner

Education Week Easter Mass

Hello,

This morning, we had our Education Week Easter Mass with Father Pierre. The class was well behaved while I helped operation the slide show for the Mass.

Working with Fractions

We also continued our group work on the white boards in Math. We did some great work on Friday and continued to put fractions, improper fractions, mixed fractions and decimal numbers in order. We corrected one side of the sheet today and second side (p. 226) is for homework, if it was not completed in class.

In Language, we will be wrapping up our work on our volunteer paragraph tomorrow. If you don't have much done yet, you might want to spend a few minutes working on it tonight.

Have a great day.

Mr. Skinner