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Outdoor School!

Last week we ventured into Kananaskis and Camp Chief Hector.  We were extremely lucky with our weather the entire week.  Students participated in many engaging games, tasks as well as a full day hike.  The smiles and friendships built were a beautiful thing. We are so incredibly grateful.

Jan. 7 - 18

A new year and a new beginning.  We began our first few days by making resolutions on how we can give more, share more, and in general be our best selves in 2019.  We said goodbye to our head Lunchroom  Supervisor who has been at CJFS for 27 years.   As a tribute to her we created some "Breakfast Watercolor" art.

Students in Room 20 were very curious about all of the U.S. government shutdown news they had been hearing and so we used this opportunity to research the situation and compare it to our government here in Canada. Students then wrote their own newspaper articles to explain the situation.

We continue to learn and explore the history of Ancient Athens and are currently deciding whether or not we feel that it in fact should be called the birthplace of democracy.

Dec. 1 - Dec. 14th

Students have been working on further developing their research skills this month and we began by investigating the practice of yoga.  Yoga can play a key role in growing healthy brains and bodies.  Students were given a posture to research and then worked to replicate this through both artistic and physical means.

We also finished our final Sky Science Inquiry Projects.  Students chose a topic that they wanted to learn more about and then brainstormed 5 'Juicy' questions they wanted to research.  We then shared our amazing work with our 5/6 classes.  They topics were varied and some really interesting questions were answered.

Social Studies Study Guide

Municipal Government - Calgary

• Headed by a Mayor
• Made up of Councilors (voted in my the people)

Responsibilities include:

• Senior's facilities
• Public Transportation
• Fire protection
• Streets and Roads
• Libraries
• Waste disposal
• Animal Control
• Fire Protection

Vocabulary:

Revenue: Money that is collected by the government, mostly through taxes

Expenditures:  Money that is spent by the government to provide essential services

Bylaw: Rules voted on and implemented by the local government

Provincial Government: Alberta

• Headed by a Premier
• Housed in Edmonton, AB
• Made up of the Lieutenant Governor, Premier, Cabinet and Legislative Assembly
• Vote on Bills (like laws)

Vocabulary:

Constituents: Members of the community represented by their MLA

MLA:  Member of the Legislative Assembly

Opposition: Party Members who are not part of the part in majority rule

November

It has been a very busy month in Room 20!   In light of Remembrance Day students read two books by the same author and it was our first experience this year with the genre of historical fiction.  Students made predictions and then after reading we compared the two books. 

We also started a new read aloud, The Girl Who Owned A City by O.T. Nelson and have been learning about the fictional plague that left a world with only children under the age of 12!  We brainstormed characteristics of great leaders and talked about whether Lisa fits these criteria.

The Calgary Olympic Bid Plebiscite was a huge issue in Room 20 and we had a very lively debate.  Students worked as City Councillors to convince their fellow colleagues whether or not they thought the bid should go forward.  The debate was incredibly lively and successful starting with a 50-50 split with the 'No' Councillors swaying the vote 7 to 22!   We have also been learning about the three levels of government in Canada, specifically the provincial and municipal ones.  Students have learned about their different responsibilities as well as the ways that they are organized. 

In math we have been working towards sharing and explaining our mathematical thinking.  We developed a checklist of criteria and then put it to the test with a Lego Problem.  

Oct. 29 - Nov. 2

We have begun looking at interpreting graphs this week and are working to establish some success criteria.  So far we have decided that a graph needs to have the following:

• A title
• Labeled X and Y axis
• Scale
• Legend

Next week we will dig into what a legend is and when we use it for graphing.

Students worked with water color paint this week and we created some interesting pumpkin art using our knowledge of color. 

We continue to develop our persuasive writing skills this week looking into the Nov. 13th Olympic Plebiscite.  Students began to research the issue and will participate in a debate next week trying to convince their colleague whether or not they should vote for the games.