Playing with our Heart

We are exploring major organs of the Human Body before we talk about body systems with the 5's, and we are going to look at the heart next (we talked about the kidneys and the lungs so far). 

On Monday we re-created the workings of the heart by pumping coloured water through our homemade heart chambers...

The heart has four chambers: The right atrium receives blood from the veins and pumps it to the right ventricle. The right ventricle receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs, where it is loaded with oxygen. ... The left ventricle (the strongest chamber) pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.


Here is a great link to a kids site talking about the heart...
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/heart.html
Here are a few fun games to try and help you learn more about the heart and how it works/how to keep it working,,,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/apps/BlastOff/BlastOff_Game.html

• Blast Off – Your heart is like a rocket ship. It needs the right fuel to keep it running and to give you enough power to do all the things you want to do. Try your hand at fueling up your rocket with this fun game from the USDA. Don't forget to pick an activity!
• Smash Your Food! – Too much sugar, salt, or oil could make your heart run poorly, but do you know how many of these foods are hiding in popular food items? Smash the food and find out!
• Food Hero – It can be tricky to figure out how much food and exercise you need to keep your heart feeling healthy. This game from HealthySocial.org can help you discover what makes a good meal and a good exercise routine.
• Chef Solu's Build-a-Meal Game – Exercise and good nutrition are important to keeping your heart in perfect condition. Give them both a try in this fun, fast-paced game!
• Dining Decisions – To keep your heart healthy, you need to eat healthy foods. See if you can tell which foods are good for you in this online game from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Circulatory and Respiratory Systems Tour – Take a trip through your lungs and veins in this animated tour. You'll learn about the heart and smaller processes like how blood carries oxygen through the body.
• Label the Heart – Once you've read up on the heart and its parts, why not see how much you remember? This game will test your knowledge about the parts of the heart.
• The Human Heart Trivia Quiz – Here is a quiz about one of the most important organs in the body-the human heart. Enjoy!
• The Blood Typing Game – This game's for older kids, but it's still good fun. Learn how to figure out what blood type someone is, and prescribe the right blood transfusion.
• The Circulatory System game – An interactive online game about the circulatory system.
• How Does Blood Flow Through the Heart? – You probably know that blood goes through the heart, but it can be harder to imagine how it does that. This will show you how the different chambers in the heart work together.
• The Heart Quiz – How much do you really know about your heart? Take this quiz from KidsHealth and find out!
• Find the Heart – Using a virtual stethoscope, can you find the heart? Make sure your computer sound is turned on.
• The Healthy Fridge Quiz! – To keep your heart healthy, you need to eat the right foods. Learn which foods are good for your heart in this fun quiz!
• Structures of the Heart – A handy website to learn the structures of the heart.

Viola Desmond Bills

Since our visit to the Bank of Canada museum two weeks ago, we have been aware of the new Viola Desmond $10 bill that was coming out, and we have been reading about her story in class.  We are currently comparing and contrasting this story of a Canadian trailblazer, with the story of Rosa Parks in the US.  Ask your child about the differences and similarities in their stories.  Ask them who stood up (sat down) for their rights first?  Ask them for more details about Viola's story.  They likely know more than most do about her story, but hopefully we all will be more aware of this Canadian pioneer in human rights.
Then, if you get a chance, try to pick up a Viola and look at it with your child when you get home.  They are all keen to get a closer look.

Here is a link to the bank of Canada site exploring the new bill...
https://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/vertical10/

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Text

We are looking at the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes today in class.

Click on this link below to read the full story online...
https://archive.org/details/SadakoAndTheThousandPaperCranes-English/page/n16

Paper Crane Origami Instructions

What a Day! Skating Tomorrow...

The subject line says it all.  What a week really, after hosting the Remembrance Sharing, today's trip was pretty epic.  The students represented themselves, and their community like superstars.  I am not sure if the bus ride there and back was more exciting for some than the rest of the day (we did get on a double decker!) bur from the very start the trip was memorable.  It was cold, and it sure was busy...in fact my watch clocked in over 11 000 steps and almost 12 km by the end of the day (Owen S' had 17 000 steps, but students hardly ever walk a straight line :).  That being said, I think the overall reviews were that it was fun and we learned a lot.  

Ask your child about how a bill becomes a law?

Ask them how many flags they counted from the peace tower?

Ask them what the Peace Tower really is if it isn't a tower?

Ask them about the big renovation starting soon, and how long it will take?

Ask them about what our new currency will look like, and what makes it so different from the money in the past? 

Ask them about giant stone currency.

Ask them about the Tea Party.

Ask them about Queen Elizabeth's statue, her favourite animal, and what makes this statue unique?

Thanks to all of the volunteers who came out today.  In the end we are lucky we had as many as we did, since that backpack shuffling was not something we had planned for!

It was a great day, and the students made me proud of them throughout our trip.  I hope they all sleep well tonight.  They deserve the rest.

Just a reminder that we skate tomorrow from 11 - 12.  The bus leaves Churchill at 10:40 at the latest.  All students must have skates, winter sports helmets, and gloves/mitts.

And one final reminder that we have spots left on the 3 way conference sign up.  If you can not find a time that works for you, please let me know and we can arrange to meet another day either before, or after school.

We 

Regards,

Ray Kalynuk

Facilitating an Educational Adventure in Grade 4/5

Churchill Alternative School

http://alternativeschooladventure.blogspot.ca/

http://sixstringstudents.blogspot.com

http://churchillschoolofrock.blogspot.com

         

Upcoming Trips and Remembrance News

Hello Room 211 Families,

This is a quick reminder of the trips we have coming up this week.  Forms are in and we are all sorted out for our trip to Parliament Hill this Wednesday.  We leave Churchill just after attendance, so don't come late Wednesday!

I am quite happy to be able to make this next request.  As of today we have 12 volunteers for our trip to the Hill.  This is way more than we need, and I don't want anyone coming out of a feeling of obligation, and showing up to realise they were not really needed due to the large numbers.  If you are willing to bow out of the trip, please let me know ASAP so I can set up groups for getting on and off the bus (I like a 1:5 ratio getting on the bus so we have extra eyes on our students if it is busy).  

We are 12 forms short for our first skate at Dulude arena on THURSDAY.  If you have not sent in your form and payment, the forms are due tomorrow.  If your child has not looked out their skates and tried them on, as well as their helmet, please do so ASAP.  We have extra skates at the school, but it would be best to know tomorrow if they need to look for some at school, in case there are none in their size.

Today our class hosted the Remembrance Day sharing (yes, for those keeping track, we organized set up, and took down the Terry Fox run, the Family Math Night event, and now the first Sharing of the year!!) and the students did a spectacular job.  They were responsible for creating artwork for the gymnasium, welcoming families and classes into the gym, introducing each presentation, presenting a skit about being peace activists and building peace in their lives, and then clearing up the gym afterwards.  The students did themselves proud.  Everyone had a speaking, or acting role, and many had both.  We also had many members of our class represented in the guitar and ukulele club presentations.  It was a day the 211 community could be very proud of!

Just a reminder to all that there are spots left on the 3way conference sign up.  Click on the link below to access this.  I apologize to some of you who are having a hard time accessing it.  I am getting requests to allow access, and this has never happened in previous years to anyone on our class list, so something must have changed.  If you see a time you want, and it won't let you edit to sign up, please email me with the time slot and I will put you in.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aj8jwvphc-4h31fYyg6mvbAi3BD2ha5-_1EW7QnPzb0/edit?usp=sharing

Aftermath of Halloween

I told the students that the healthy eating policy of the school board asks that candy and sodas not be part of regular lunchtime routine, but that the day after Halloween might be an exception. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when lunchboxes came back looking like the one in the photo below… Despite the higher sugar intake by the student population yesterday, we survived and did quite well. Everyone had great stories to tell, and they were all pretty tired after the busy week and late nights.  It made me think that I should’ve added something to her fear factor graph at the math freaks event… The day after Halloween for parents and teachers!

Interesting to notice that the clear winner winner fear factor graphing was wore for the second year in a row. It’s just something that perhaps we should all keep in mind when dealing with children and thinking about messages and the media in conversations we are having at home. 

We are trying to get forms home today regarding our trip on the 14th to Parliament Hill. I’m hoping that they will becoming home in backpacks at the end of the day. Have a great weekend.