Grade 8 Trip - June 11-13, 2024
Every year, our grade 8 students have an opportunity to spend three days of team-building and personal growth activities at Camp YoWoChAs, an outdoor adventure camp on Lake Wabamun.
Every year, our grade 8 students have an opportunity to spend three days of team-building and personal growth activities at Camp YoWoChAs, an outdoor adventure camp on Lake Wabamun.
Dear Mom,
The weather in Edmonton is great, much better than when we left in the rain. I can't believe I was on the bus at 6:15 am! The skies are so blue this afternoon and the Legislature Building is amazing, even better than the photos we saw during Social Studies. Don't worry about me. I'm in good hands and am having a wonderful time on the Grade 6 Trip!
Thank you to Elders Ann and Allan for sharing your wisdom with our students today. Our first group of students helped build the structures and subsequent classes gathered within to hear stories, learn about the significance of objects and traditional practices. With the sun shining overhead, it was a perfect day for Tipi Teachings.
Our grade 8 students have been studying how the human eye works. What better way to see all the parts up close than by dissecting a preserved sheep's eye under another watchful eye -- that of Mr. Schamehorn -- during science class this morning?
As part of their study of the Aztecs, Mr. Danielewicz's grade 8 students had to research, prepare a slideshow presentation, and recreate a part of Azetc civilization. Today, they displayed their projects and filled out questionnaires describing what they learned from each others' displays.
We are getting excited for the Spring Break holiday! Here are some yummy treats Mrs. Fortin's class made during their Grade 6 Foods Exploratory Class. Thank you to Mr. Pittman for the Easter Egg-cellent idea.
This week our 7/8 Foods class planned a 'St Patrick's' themed charcuterie board. It was both fun and tasty to see their creations come to life. Happy Green Day!
Our French Immersion students had the opportunity to put their comprehension skills to the test today as they gathered with students from other schools in Peace River that offer French programs and watch one of two French-language movies at River City Cinema. The event was organized by #cineimagine, an organization which promotes francophone culture through film and supports future filmmaking potential in Alberta. Une belle sortie, merci!
Grade 7 students Ella Dallyn and Arianna Tomlinson show off a new bulletin board display to help students at T.A. Norris better understand the Braille system of reading/writing. Ella and Arianna have been paired together in our Mentorship program which runs during the MWF 7/8 Exploratory period. Ella was presented with several project ideas and came up with this one using felt pad furniture protectors. Well done, Ella! We're "touched" by your thoughtfulness and creativity.
We were so fortunate this afternoon to have Lynn Page-Scott, a retired teacher and experienced Festival Speech Arts coach, help our students prepare for this year's North Peace Performing Arts Festival. We have 23 students who have challenged themselves to tell a story, recite a poem, or deliver a speech in front of an audience next month. Ms. Page-Scott had some very helpful presentation and content suggestions which the students will be implementing as they continue to hone their performance skills and build confidence over the next few weeks.
Happy Year of the Dragon! The library started preparing for the Chinese New Year two weeks ago with books about Dragons. Last week students were challenged with creating a dragon shape from the seven traditional Chinese tangram pieces. This week, we're featuring Dragon poems and finishing up our Year of the Dragon colouring contest. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Mention hearts to these students, and it's not Valentine's Day they're thinking about, but aortas, valves and chambers. Mr. Schamehorn's grade 8 science classes are dissecting pig hearts as they learn more about human anatomy. They're pumped! Pun intended.
8A Science students watched with fascination this afternoon as Mr. Schamehorn dissected a piglet, explaining the various body parts and how they function. The students have been studying human anatomy with textbooks and illustrations, but they all agreed that being able to see the organs and listen to their teacher's play-by-play helps to make the abstract easier to understand.
The hallway next to the music room came to life again today as grade 5B students were heard chording along to "Stand By Me." In the process of developing fine motor skills and a sense of rhythm, they also "discovered" harmonic analysis. Such fun!
Today, the moon is in the Waning Gibbous phase of its lunar cycle. Our grade 6s might be able to tell you this ... or they might simply be able to tell you that Oreo cookies are delicious. Either way, the students in Ms. Dryden's 6C class had fun earlier this year learning about phases of the moon.
Our 7/8 Careers & Finance Exploratory students were visited this afternoon by Tina Laliberte who talked about working on her trapline in the Deadwood area. The students were fully engaged and spent a good 45 minutes asking questions about her experiences. Thank you, Tina, for sharing your insights with us!
Mme Meghan's 8Fr class started their day today with a curated-to-taste collection of beignets et boissons. Last month, they participated in a 30-minute financial literacy course offered by Enriched Academy, an online education resource for kids and young adults to get practicial "how-to" advice about managing money. At the end of the Smart Money session, they played a synchronous Kahoot game with over a hundred high school classrooms across Canada and won! Janaya, who secured the #1 spot was rather modest in explaining her strategy: "The questions were actually pretty easy ... you just had to be FAST!"
Enjoy your doughnut party prize, 8Fr!
The bubonic plague has hit students in grade 8!
As part of their social studies unit on life in the Middle Ages, Mr. Danielewicz' 8B class played a card-trading game today in which students were assigned roles of being peasants, merchants or nobility. They were dealt cards with suits representing food (clubs), money (diamonds), status (spades) and health (hearts), then had to trade according to their most pressing needs, all the time avoiding wild cards which would infect them with The Black Death. The unmarked grave of victims grew with each round, and at the end, points were tallied and students had to answer questions about how the game represented what really happened in the mid-1300's.
What a clever way to make history come to life ... or death, as the case may be.
With the assistance of the French Language Resource Centre, we were thrilled to welcome Francophone cartoonist, author, and animator Tristan Demers to our school today. Our grade 7 & 8 French Immersion students got to learn the ABCs of comics as he guided them in the creation of their own comic strip during a morning of literacy, art, and amusement! Check out his website for more information: www.tristandemers.com
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