Looking at pictures...Gallery Visit

We had a special guest come from the national gallery today, bringing with her some great prints that really got us all talking about art.  A highlight was "the Manitoba Party" by the grandfather of a former Churchill student, William Kerrilick.  Ask your child about the works we explored.

Gov General Trip

You couldn't have picked better weather for today's trip.  Everybody had a wonderful time.  It I s a beautiful place to visit.  The skating rink was perfect.  We learned a lot during your tour of the of the residence.  Check out these photos.

Happy MLK Jr Day

Hey there in Room 308 land.  Monday we will be celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. day in Room 308 with stories, videos, and songs that are all related to the famous American civil rights leader.  It is a holiday in the US, but up here we take it as an opportunity to carry out discussions, and investigate an important figure in world history.  We will be checking out the following video from Kid President, about MLK Jr.

We will also be bringing  home different work this week, as the Friday PD day, and our field trip Thursday, will likely throw off some of the class in terms of the regular Lit Logs.  There will be a measurement related piece of math homework coming home, so keep your eyes out for it, and try to lend a hand to your child if needed.

Governor General trip this week.  Everyone needs skates, and a litterless lunch as we will be away for second nutrition break.

Scholastic orders are due by Thursday.

The class voted to start this new year off like we wanted to in the fall, with daily group snack. Please contact me if you want a special day on the calendar.  I will be making one up and sending it home this week, to start next Monday.  Just recall the topic from the fall newsletter, and family meeting.  Something healthy, perhaps fruit/vegetable.  You will be asked to provide this for the class about once every month and a bit.  There are 24 students in the class.  Students will take ownership for distributing snack at first break each day (10:00).

Please remind your child to come to school with proper indoor, and outdoor footwear, hats, mitts, etc.  It is winter in Ottawa, and we have children without snowpants on every day!  We start days with phys ed, and our plan is to stay out side at least once a week, so showing up ready for the weather is a good idea...

Keep these two dates open...Feb 11 for our canal skate, and Friday, May 13th, for Churchill's School of Rock 11!

Virtual Black History Museum Tour

To kick off Black History Month in Room 308, today we visited the Virtual Black History Museum of Canada.  Click on this link to visit the museum...
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/games/museum/flash/index.asp

Here is a treasure hunt (online quiz) to challenge yourself to answer after visiting the museum.  Enjoy!

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/games/museum/treasure-hunt.asp

Homework this week

I am trying to upload a photo...but struggling with a new phone.. so the example of the work we did in class is made up by me, rather than the photo of the work we did in class sorry...
This week students are decoding book covers to decide who the intended audience is.  They received a written prompt today, and their lit logs, so they can start.  They need to identify features of a book (novel) cover that target a certain audience.  We created three ways to share our observations in class...the best way is a t chart...
The rest of the info is in the handout.  We will print off copies of book covers at school tomorrow once choices have been made, just to add some visuals to the log entry.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J. K. Rowling
Audience	Evidence from Cover
8-10 year olds	Cartoonish images on the cover
Harry Potter Fans	The words “Harry Potter” are the largest on the cover
Fantasy readers	Magical elements in the pictures such as the wand…