Genius Hour Questions for 2017- Amazing Stuff!

What would you do if you could shape your learning? We asked our students to come up with a question that they could use to guide their Genius Hour projects this year. The pitches are in and approved. Here is the list of amazing, unusual, and intriguing challenges that students of division 2 have set for themselves:

Genius Hour Questions 2017

• What can we do to help prevent food allergies in the future? -Raakin
• It even possible for a 12-year-old kid to write and produce a school musical? -Sophie
• Can a 12-year-old girl take it upon herself to learn to code within the year and ultimately build a                                  website? - Jacoba
• How can I make a functional Rube Goldberg machine with limited space? -Michael
• What can robots I create, do for me? –Gavin
• How can I improve my own artistic abilities by researching and practicing my favourite artists’                                     techniques? - Lucy
• What do I need to learn to make a good stop motion Lego video? –Zlatko
• What is it like to be a doctor and researcher in the real world? – Stephen
• What factors make a cookbook a bestseller and how do I create a cookbook of my favourite recipes? –Ella
• How does elite gymnastics impact an athlete in their daily life? –Brianna
• What skills do I need to become a designer and dressmaker? - Amelia
• What are the tools I’ll need to write and sing my own original songs? - Louise
• Can I improve my vertical leap by March by doing exercises once a week that I’ve researched? - Jason
• Can I learn to sew and design a camouflage cloak? - Owen
• If I create a YouTube channel, what will bring me audience and how much fun can I have?  - Gavin
• Can I build my own skateboard from scratch? What tools, skills and time will I need? –Charlie
• Can I design and make long lasting goalie gloves? - George “Cheez Whiz”
• Can I encourage youth to read more if I create a blog that has book reviews and                                                               recommendations? - Kristina
• Who are philosophers and how can I use my inspiration from their ideas to create my own                                           philosophy? - Lauren
• How can I write a historical novel? - Simone
• How can I make a blog and offer craft tutorials? - Aggie
• What does it take to learn to felt and then successfully teach those felting techniques to kids? 
         - Sofia
• What is happening to the ocean and how can I help? – Walker
• How much can your soccer performance (shooting, dribbling) improve with one extra hour of  practice a                   week? – Daniel
• How can I build an airplane out of wood that is aerodynamic? - Ben
• How does a blind person experience a normal day? –Annabelle
• What’s it like to create animation using a computer? – Sophia

Fun Times at Mixed Nuts

It was great to spend the morning watching Mixed Nuts by Arts Umbrella. We saw hip-hop, swing, ballet, pas de deux,  jazz, contemporary, character and even the hustle. Thanks to our parent volunteers, Lynn and Andrea.

Meeting some of the dancers after the show.

We saw some very talented dancers today.

Geometry Test: What to Study

Grade 6's
Learn these definitions:
Shapes: triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon, hexagon, rhombus, square, parallelogram, and rectangle
Properties of triangles: acute, obtuse, right angle

Identify triangles that are equilateral, isosceles, and scalene
Identify parallel lines in shapes

Calculate the area of a triangles (b x h / 2) and parallelograms (b x h)
 JUMP Math Book: pages 145-160.

Grade 7's

Calculate the area of a triangles (b x h / 2) and parallelograms (b x h)
Calculate the area of a  circle ( πr²)
Calculate the perimeter of a circle (circumference); π2r

Using a protractor, draw perpendicular line segments and parallel lines.
Identify linear pairs (two angles that add up to 180 degrees) (p.112)

Classify triangles by side lengths: equilateral, acute, obtuse

JUMP Math book: 97-116, 121-126, 97-204

Please review all of the concepts listed above. Good luck!

Geometry Test- This Friday, December 16th.

There will be a geometry test this Friday. Please review the pages we've been working on  in your JUMP math book.

- Grade 7s should also know how to calculate the circumference, radius, and diameter, and area of a circle using the correct formula.

- Grade 6s should be able to calculate the area of a triangle and parallelogram using the correct formula.

More information to come!

Secret Santa and Holiday Party Info

Division 2's holiday party will be on Thursday afternoon from 1-3. We will take a break to perform in the concert, of course! 

As a thank you for all your generosity towards Mom2Mom, we will be providing pizza for the class. If you would like to bring a treat to share, please remember no nuts.

We will also be doing our "Secret Santa" at this time. Students have already chosen their names. The limit is 5 dollars. 

Reminder: Ancient Civilization Poster, Notes and Bibliography due Monday

Reminder: Ancient Civilization Poster, Notes and Bibliography due Monday.


Khan Academy class code: AYBGEE

Bibliography help using: easy bib

Reminder: Field Trip and Gingerbread Geometry Challenge Tomorrow

A reminder that we are doing a geometry gingerbread challenge tomorrow. Please bring a piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil and any extra candy your group may need. Pieces in different geometric shapes will be distributed to each group after recess.

At 12:20, we will walk over to Eric Hamber to watch their one-act plays. We will return to school by 3pm. Please dress warmly.

Deadline for Dance Presentations Extended!

Mixed Nuts/ Nutcracker dance presentations are now due on Thursday, December 8th.

Deadlines for December Projects

Projects that are due in December include: an essay, ancient civilizations poster,  and a mini presentation on the Nutcracker. Check the assignments tab for more details.

Ancient Civilizations Poster Project

Students need to remember to bring in their public library cards to school tomorrow in order to reserve resources for their research project. Students also need to purchase a 22x28 white poster board this weekend.

Here are some links to online resources for their project:

Tecumseh Elementary Ancient Civilizations Links

2 Column Notes Template

MOM 2 MOM Poverty Initiative: Please Help Fulfill the Wishlists Until November 25th!

Today, students will learn more about Mom2Mom- a local organization that supports single moms and their children who are living in poverty right here in Vancouver.

For the second year in a row, our class and two others are sponsoring three families who have very little.

We are grateful for any donations that you can offer and will accept them in our classroom until November 25th.

Click here to see the wishlist for all three families.

We hope you can help!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Here is some more information about Mom2Mom:

Dear Cavell families,

We are writing to you to ask your support of the Mom 2 Mom organization. We encourage you to visit the M2M blog at http://www.m2mcharity.ca/, or have a look at the the Mom 2 Mom facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/Mom2Mom-Vancouver-629599763802862/?fref=ts where you will find inspiring stories of the resiliency, strength and resourcefulness of mothers here in Vancouver.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MOM 2 MOM

Mom2Mom (M2M) was co-founded by developmental pediatrician, Dr. Barbara Fitzgerald, who has been working in Vancouver Inner City Schools since 1997. In her role, she saw that children were in loving homes, however poverty created huge disparities in the tools they received to foster their success at school and in life. With such an uneven playing field, the likelihood that they would succeed seemed remote. Through compassionate and respectful mentoring, our M2M volunteers help and support mothers to parent their children and provide them with the tools they need to be successful. We try to provide the basic necessities for their homes and food to feed their families, but mostly we extend kindness and compassion to women who may not have had enough of that. We hope to level the playing field a bit so that resilient, loving mothers can raise healthy children who finish school and go on to lead happy and productive lives.

SPECIFICALLY WE ARE ASKING FOR HELP WITH OUR WISHLIST PROJECT….

Families at M2M have received a blank wish list and have been coached to ask for ANYTHING they need or DREAM of. We have summarized their requests on the attached sheet. These families have so little, with your help we can make an enormous difference in their lives. Our hope is that you and your team are able to grant or donate as many of the wish list items as possible on the list.

Your class will be receiving their wishlist on November 18^th, at which point …

GUIDELINES FOR GIVING

o   Please do not donate what is not on the list; the families at Mom 2 Mom do not have any means to store items they are not using.

o   Please ensure that the items are freshly washed, like new and good quality. Something you would like to receiveJ

o   If you are not able to donate items from the list, please consider adding gift cards to grocery stores, community centers and a preloaded compass card. Each family has listed grocery gift cards on their wish list.

o   If the size of clothing requested is not one you have ready access to, please consider purchasing items from consignment stores.

o   Please send items you are donating to your child`s classroom during the week of November 18^th – 25th, 2016.

o   We cannot accept cash donations.

THANK YOU so much for helping us to show families in need that they are a part of an incredible community.