Firstly, thank you so much to those families that have already completed their online questionnaire! If you have not done so yet, please do this today so that I can begin to assess who will need greater support as we begin our new adventure into learning.
As our new normal is slowly coming to be, I would like to introduce you to our new classroom! This is a Google Classroom and all students have been invited. Please check your google email (@educbe.ca) and the invite should be there. If anyone has forgotten their emails, I have a list of accounts (not passwords!) so please email directly and I can share this information. The Classroom The classroom is where all assignments and activities will be posted on Sunday evening for the upcoming week. Grade six students are expected to complete an average of 5 hours per week. You can choose which assignments will be completed first and how long you spend each day. Deadlines for assignments will generally be Friday of the same week unless otherwise stated. As this is an extension of our regular classroom, the same expectations apply to the work quality and deadline for the assignment. Assessment information will continue to be located in PowerSchool. Google recommends using Chrome to access all of their apps for the best experience. Connecting With Me Email ([email protected]) will continue to be the best way to connect with me. I will strive to respond to all emails in a timely manner, but please remember that I am communicating with 27 students so please be patient and specific in your email. Online learning assumes a much greater amount of independence. If you are uncertain about something, start out by being a super-sleuth. Read over the directions carefully! Class Comment Section of our Classroom This area on the front page of our classroom is where I will post questions and the expectation is that students will respond using their best writing and thinking skills. This is NOT a chat room! Please refrain from personal dialogue, text speak/spelling and consider who the audience is...me! I am always looking for writing assessment material and this area is no exception. Handing in Assignments All assignments will be completed in google and shared with me in student SHARED GOOGLE FOLDERS or by sending directly to me at [email protected]. I will be able to respond directly in your assignment and feedback will be given. As always, there is an expectation that feedback is followed and applied into the assignment. Willow Park continues to be a “learning through the arts” school. There will often be times that you are asked to complete a visual or artistic component of an assignment. Take pictures of not only your finished product but also your process. This can also be shared within google. As all classroom materials were to be picked up the week before spring break, students should have all of the necessary materials including their Visual Journal to use for artistic representations. Be creative! Use the materials around your home; your blue recycle bin has now become your favourite dollar store! Be Flexible! As we start this journey, we will likely encounter issues. Some may be solvable with a little bit of help, others may require that we stop and adjust what we are doing. Be a problem solver! If you are having an issue, first ask for help at home. Reach out to your classmates; they are a great resource as well! Connect with me with some possible solutions and we will work together to solve the issue. Don’t give up! We are in this together! Mrs. MacGowan zn
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Hi families!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful break before we embark on this new learning journey. I wanted to let you know that I have been very busy getting myself familiar with the new possible learning platforms in order to assist families moving forward in our new E-learning environment. There are still a number of questions that need to be answered as a school before I can share more details with you. Quick reminders:
Simplified idea of our schedule this week: Monday, March 30 - teachers in virtual meetings, planning and exploring new technologies Tuesday, March 31 - I will check in with everyone and connect about technology Wednesday, April 1 - learning platform and course materials will be available and we will set all students up on access to be able to move forward in this manner Other Key highlights: Grade 5 – 6 - FOCUS: Language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes, with opportunity to incorporate science and social studies outcomes through cross-curricular learning. An average of five (5) hours of work per student per week. Happy Spring Break!
I hope that you all have been keeping well! I know that there are a lot of unknowns at this point and I will do my best to keep you informed as the information becomes available. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some strategies that might be helpful to keep REGULATED in this time of uncertainty. Please leave a comment about how you are keeping regulated and let's see if we can start a chat! 1. Create a routine - we all need routine to function more effectively, check out this one if you currently do not have routine in place! If you already have a routine, please share it! 7:00 - Wake up (stretch, make bed, get dressed, eat breakfast) 8:00 - Something for the SOUL (meditate, read, journal) 8:30 - Something for the BRAIN (school work, puzzles) 12:00 - Lunch time! 1:00 - Spend time outside 1:30 - Something for the BODY (Yoga, walk, anything to get your heart pumping) 2:30 - Something PRODUCTIVE (cleaning, organizing) 3:00 - Something for the HEART (hobbies, art etc.) 4:00 - Something FUN (Netflix, reading for pleasure, board games) 6:00 - Dinner time! 8:00 - Start winding down (read, journal, shower, in bed by 10:00) 2. Eat well - balancing our diet has a huge impact on our overall energy levels and mind frame. Take a look at Canada's food guide (click the link) recommendations. What are your thoughts on this? We were going to be analyzing food labels together in class, check out this video on how to read labels and take a look at some of your snacks. 3. Prioritize sleep patterns - try to go to bed at the same time each night and set an alarm to wake up 4. Get moving - try out some of those yoga videos I posted, go for a walk, get out in your backyard. 5. Get social (Physically isolate NOT socially) - FaceTime or message a friend or family member, write a letter, post a comment on here! 6. Learn new hobbies to do at home - take a look at the supplies you already have at home and get creative! Try a new art medium, learn to cook, knit, play a music instrument, write a poem, learn a card trick or new card game, learn origami. The internet is an amazing place with videos that can teach you new hobbies! 7. Help out with chores - cleaning your room is a great stress reliever and can make you feel more calm in a newly organized space 8. Take time for yourself - have a place in your house that you can go for some alone time. This could be an opportunity to journal, read, draw, or just to sit by yourself. This is an important practice in self-care. 9. Stay hydrated - don't forget how important this is and how hydration impacts your mental state and overall well-being 10. Get outside - weather permitting, try to get outside for some fresh air everyday. 11. Take a deep breath - we will figure all of this out, trust that you are safe and we get through this together! Any other ideas? What is working for you right now? What strategies have your families come up with to support each other? Is there anything that your communities are doing? Hi friends,
I will continue to update our blog with new and exciting resources as I come across them. These are a few I found for you today: From the CBE (online and offline resources): https://www.cbe.ab.ca/programs/curriculum/learning-at-home/Pages/6-9.aspx Art at home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e91t_qvI4MZapCrHeVk-pk86OpssfADkLV3KEDB5Xe0/edit?usp=sharing Fitness at home (click the title): Do Yoga with me Kids Workout Fitness Blender AND just for fun.... you could always do the ANGLE DANCE! Hello my Sixlets!
It has been way too quiet and the school is cold without all of you to warm it up. I wanted to reach out and connect with you to let you know that I am here if you have questions, although I unfortunately don’t have many answers right now. You are on my mind every day, but I want you to slow down and enjoy your Spring Break by doing a puzzle, playing a board game, watching a favorite movie (Lilianna and I will be watching Frozen 2!), reading a book, writing a poem, playing outside, taking the dog for a walk, or shocking your parent by doing a chore without being asked (think carefully about this one; you may be at risk of becoming the favorite child for the day). Tomorrow was to be the day that we watched “Hercules” and had our Greek celebration. I am disappointed that this can’t happen or to continue our reading of “The Giver.” However, maybe check out the movie on Netflix! Let me know what you thought of it. Was there anything that surprised you? Were there any parts that would make me (or you) cry? How are your inquiry projects coming along? I hope that there will be an opportunity for us to continue this excellent work and celebrate our discoveries. In the meantime, there are some amazing opportunities available online right now to discover new things. Everything from virtual tours of famous museums to watching live feeds from different zoos! Here is a list I found of 22 different online tours: https://www.insider.com/museums-theme-parks-offer-virtual-tours-ideal-for-social-distancing-2020- We will chat after Spring Break and get our learning back on track! I miss you all! Big hugs to you, Mrs. MacGowan [email protected] *Students gather belongings over the next few days. Please do NOT throw any learning materials out! Hello all, please see the following message from CBE: The Calgary Board of Education is working with the Ministry of Education and school jurisdictions across the province to develop a provincial plan and strategy for student learning. Information will be shared with you as soon as it becomes available. Please know that any updates regarding this will come directly from the CBE. I have received many emails about what work can be done at home. Please see below for where were at/what WOULD have been covered this week. Math - we have covered most items in angles and would have been looking at classifying polygons this week (see last page of notes) then we would be moving to transformations and moving different shapes on the coordinate grid (see attached)
Students could be: - reviewing notes and creating their own visual notes to recall concepts - spending time on IXL (put concept items from notes search in the toolbar to find and complete activities) - play angle games found under the math section of our blog - review computation skills with a deck of cards/IXL/pencil and paper Science - we have almost completed our Sky Science Unit and Science Inquiry projects (see notes for complete unit items)
Students could be: - reviewing notes and creating their own visual notes to recall concepts - completing their inquiry projects (written report would have been due this week) see science section for handouts Social - we have completed our look at how Ancient Greece decisions were made and what democracy looked like during this period in time. Please see notes for complete unit.
Students could be: - reviewing notes and creating their own visual notes to recall concepts - considering the differences and similarities between Ancient Greek Democracy and Canadian Democracy LA - students can continue at home reading. Unfortunately, our look at The Giver is on pause. We have also started story writing (please see notes and instructions on the steps).
Students could be:
- at home reading - starting their story writing either using the picture prompt introduced in class or created a new story based on any picture they like Upcoming Important Dates: March 9th - Planetary Realty Presentations - CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PLUTO 2 GROUP! March 11th - Math Angles "Pop" Quiz (see below for questions) March 12th - Grade 6 Drama presentations @ 3:00pm in the Main Gym March 13th - Willow Park celebration of Pi Day *6-2 Script and Prop List (see below) On the horizon: March 17th - Ancient Greece Quiz March 19h - Inquiry reports due (Paragraphs) + last day before Spring break March 20th - 29th - Spring Break Math - we will continue our look at how to classify different shapes and use a protractor to measure angles. Students reviewed all angle types, reference angles and shapes in class on Tuesday. Pop quiz on Wednesday will have the same questions: - Draw and label the 5 types of angles - Draw and label the 4 reference angles (in degrees) - Draw and label (in degrees) the 3 types of shapes: Science - students SHOULD have completed their inquiry research and will be working on effectively communicating their findings in a report (functional writing) due March 19th. LA - students will be continuing their work in descriptive writing as well as our reading of The Giver. Social - we are finishing our look at how democracy looked in Ancient Greece. We will have a quiz next week (Tuesday) for students to demonstrate their understanding of this society. We will be continuing our work with Artist in Residence Jacqueline Russell (3 periods this week) Presentations will take place on March 12th @ 3PM in the main gym. Students have also started a mini project to analyze what life was like in Ancient Athens by creating our own version in the classroom (Chantezia). Phys Ed - we are in the Aux gym this week
*MARCH IS NUTRITION MONTH!
Please start bringing in nutrition labels from home (after products have been consumed) for a look at how to read nutrition labels! Upcoming Important Dates: March 5th - Planetary Realty Projects due (presentations on Friday) On the horizon: March 12th - Grade 6 Drama presentations @ 3:00pm in the Main Gym March 13th - Willow Park celebration of Pi Day Math - we will continue our look at how to classify different shapes and use a protractor to measure angles Science - students SHOULD have completed their inquiry research and will be working on effectively communicating their findings in a report (functional writing) due March 19th. Students will also demonstrate their work in persuasive communication with their Planetary Realty Projects (due March 5th) LA - students will be continuing their work in descriptive writing as well as our reading of The Giver. Social - we will be continuing our work with Artist in Residence Jacqueline Russell (3 periods this week) to develop a script for our play. Presentations will take place on March 12th @ 3PM in the main gym. Students have also started a mini project to analyze what life was like in Ancient Athens by creating our own version in the classroom (Chantesia). Phys Ed - students had an opportunity to practice their badminton skills last week and we hope to develop more in the weeks to come! Thank you to all students who are consistently changed for phys ed and on time to begin each class. |
NEW Phys Ed Blog!
https://willowparkwildpe.wixsite.com/mysite NEW Mrs. Williams Blog - https://willowparkmusic.blogspot.com/p/instrumental-music-6.html Mrs. Dickson's Blog https://dicksonlc.blogspot.com/ Fill the Well Blog https://willowparkfa.blogspot.com/ Wellness Blog https://willowparkstudentservices.blogspot.com/ HabitudesRespect Archives
May 2020
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