December 22, 2011

Today was a day to finish up last items.  All classes have finished tests, marked them and they should be on HomeLogic by the end of the day Friday.



I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday with their friends and families!

December 21, 2011

My homeroom is having a pizza party on Friday.  Students who wish to order pizza need to bring in their money by Thursday.  We will be watching a movie and doing a gift exchange ($15 limit).  Only those students who want to participate in the gift exchange need to bring a gift.  We will be cleaning out lockers and cleaning up the classroom Friday morning.  Students have a dance in the afternoon.

Social Studies 7

Students wrote their chapter 2 test today.

Social Studies 8

Students finished writing their chapter 2-3 test today.  They began reading chapter 5 and the reasons for exploration.

Health 8

Students worked on their My Digital Identity posters today.

December 20, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students will write their Chapter 2 exam tomorrow.  Originally I had planned to have one class write today, but our Advent mass is actually block 2 tomorrow so this made it possible to have both classes write on the same day.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students wrote their Chapter 2-3 exam today.  For those who require it, they will have time tomorrow to finish it up.

Grade 8 Health

Students finished up the processing phase today.  They need to have all their materials to make their posters ready for block 7 tomorrow.

December 19, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students used the class today to study for their Chapter 2 exam and ask questions.  The exam is open book.  Students can use their textbook, notes and study notes.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students completed their Chapter 4 Assessment in class.  Anyone who did not hand in their paragraph needs to hand it in prior to the test tomorrow.  Chapter 2-3 test is tomorrow in class.  This is a closed-book exam.

Grade 8 Health

Students worked on the Processing Phase of the project.  Students should be doing an activity sheet at home with parents as part of the assignment.

December 16, 2011

Alberta Winter Games Volunteers

Please check with our office if you are interested being a volunteer for the Alberta Winter Games.  We are still looking for volunteers.

Grade 7 Social Studies

European explorers[1]

View more presentations from kscheidy.

Students completed reading chapter 2 today.  They read about several explorers (Frobisher, Hudson, La Salle, La Verendrye).  Students have a chapter 2 review sheet they are working through this over the weekend.  If they complete the study guide they will have reviewed all material necessary for the unit 12 exam.  Students are allowed to bring study notes, textbooks and class notes in to use with the exam.  We will review any outstanding questions students have on Monday in preparation for the test on Tuesday.

Grade 8 Health

Stand Up to bullying: Day 4 Presentation

Stand Up 4 on Prezi

Guest Speaker:  Mark Brown

Here is one of his videos:



Grade 8 Social Studies

Students watched a video on Science and Technology in the Renaissance period.  They then were assigned an assignment to work on from the chapter 4 materials.  They will have a chapter 2-3 test on Tuesday.

The Renaissance

View more presentations from tkester

December 15, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students participated in a Socratic Debate today to defend, with evidence from the primary sources in their textbook, the position of the speaker which they felt most closely matched their own beliefs.  Students participated in some rich discussion about issues we face in society, such as how to deal with historical events that are not acceptable in our society today.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students finished looking at the art, sculpture and literature of the Renaissance period.  Tomorrow, they will explore the inventions and technology that rose from this era.  There will be an assignment for the assessment of Chapter 4 material (given tomorrow in class) and a test on Chapters 2 and 3 on Monday.  Students will need to have all materials in class tomorrow.

Grade 8 Health

Students began collecting information for their digital identity poster.  This is the more enjoyable point in the project because students generally feel like they are getting to the interesting "stuff".

December 14, 2011

Social Studies 7

Students read through the journal excerpts from Samuel de Champlain's voyage in 1604.  They analyzed the entries to determine the motives and means for this voyage and contacts they made as a result.

Students are using the primary sources to support their opinion of  these first contacts.  They will share their responses tomorrow in class.

We are finishing the chapter 2 concepts this week and a Unit 2 exam will be given on Tuesday next week.

Social Studies 8

Students finished exploring concepts such as civic humanism, humanist education and how this fit with religion during this era.  Students will be learning about at the inventions of the Renaissance era during class tomorrow.  They will have a Chapter 2-4 test on Tuesday next week.

Health 8

We are collecting the last pieces of the first two phases of the My Digital Identity project.  All elements are required tomorrow or students will be asked to attend homework room at lunch time to finish these first two phases.

Parent Volunteers for Alberta Winter Games

We are looking for extra volunteers to supervise students in the school during the games.  A criminal record check will be required.  Please see the office for details.

December 13, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students re-wrote the primary source for the death announcement of Shawnadithit.  They incorporated their understanding of aspects related to the historical context in their version of the announcement.

Students then began working with primary sources from the journals of Jacques Cartier.  Students are interpreting the information he recorded in his journal and applying their knowledge of the historical context to their interpretations.

Grade 8 Social Studies

We finished going through the Renaissance Art and the characteristics that were common of artwork produced in this era of history.  We then defined what a humanist thinker is and the beliefs and values they held.  Tomorrow we are going to introduce some of the humanist thinkers and explore some of the inventions that emerged from this era.  Students will examine the effects this had on society.

Grade 8 Health

In preparation for Stand Up to Bullying day on Friday (wear your pink shirts!), students watched and discussed three presentations on bullying.

Stand Up 1 on Prezi

Stand Up 2 on Prezi

Stand Up 3 on Prezi

December 12, 2011

Christmas Hamper

Thank you to everyone who donated to our 8C Christmas Hamper.  We filled it with food and gifts for the family.  There were wonderful food items, as well as some beautiful gifts. 

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students corrected their current events packages today.  They have now covered the following current events topics and have demonstrated a good understanding of the following issues/topics:

• Alberta Oil Sands Mining Dilemma
• The Occupy Movement
• World Population
• Seniors in the Workplace
• Electronic Waste Disposal
• The Season of Giving

Students will continue with their exploration of Jacques Cartier and Primary Sources tomorrow.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students completed their Italian City-States booklets today.  We began looking at the art work of the Renaissance.  We will be exploring the humanist thinkers and their contributions to society.

Grade 8 Religion

Students participated in a celebration for the third week of Advent.  We watched a great Charlie Brown clip on the true meaning of Christmas.

Grade 8 Health

We debriefed the first two phases of the project.  Tomorrow students who are finished the planning and retrieving phases of the inquiry project will begin their processing phase.  This is where the interesting work begins.  Students have been shown several resources to explore on digital identity and how to manage it.  Students will also gather information about their own digital identities.  It will range from little or not digital presence to significant digital presence.  They will consider the how the digital identity they have will impact them as they continue to grow and evolve in our society.

My Digital Identity

December 8, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students worked on their current events booklets today.  We will mark them Monday.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students reviewed the spread of Renaissance across Europe.  They continued to look at the Italian city-states and the major themes of the Renaissance.  Students also worked on their current event packages which are due Monday.

Grade 8 Health

Students continued working on their Digital Identity projects.  Tomorrow we will make sure everyone is done the first two phases before beginning the processing phase on Monday.

Christmas Hamper

Tomorrow is the last day to send gifts or food item for our Christmas hamper for a local family.  It includes a mother, father, 16 year old boy and 12 year old girl.  We have received some wonderful donations.  The box is about 3/4 full.  If you have an extra gift that would be appropriate for the mother or father, it would be a wonderful addition to our hamper.  Even gift cards for grocery stores or similar are great items.

Thank you for your generosity.

Food Hampers and Santa Clara Shoe Boxes

On last call...please remember to send in items for these boxes.  The food hamper and shoe boxes are being picked up on Monday.  Our girls ages 2-4 shoebox is filled but could use a few more items for the other boxes.  Our food hamper for the family is only about half way filled so far.  Every donation is appreciated.  Your generosity is a gift to others during this season!

Have a wonderful weekend!

December 2, 2011

Social Studies 7

We discussed the Pocahontas movie questions to gain a better understanding of the accuracies and inaccuracies in the portrayal of the relationship between the First Nations and explorers.  We discussed stereotypes and exaggerations that were evident in the movie.

Students then completed a push/pull activity.  They read pages 39-43 in their textbooks and looked at what pushed the Europeans to explore, and what pulled them into exploration.  If students have not finished this activity, they need to finish it for Monday.

Social Studies 8

We corrected current events.  I extended the textbook questions until Monday due to some questions that were still outstanding regarding which pages to do or for questions which needed further clarification.

Health 8

Students finished their Planning Stage for their Digital Identity Project.  They are ready to begin retrieving information about their digital identities on Monday.

December 1, 2011

Grade 7 Social Studies

Students finished watching Walt Disney's Pocahontas.  They are to complete the questions for homework tonight so we can review them in class tomorrow.

Grade 8 Social Studies

Students worked on the assignments that have been distributed over the last two days.  We will be marking the current events and questions from the textbook tomorrow.  They will have the remainder of class to work on the Italian-City States and Definitions handouts tomorrow.  These will be due Monday.

Grade 8 Health

Students completed the planning stage form in class.  The remainder of the class was used as a homework block.