Grade 7 Leadership Program

At the end of April 50 of our grade 7's will be participating in the R. H. Lagerquist Leadership Learning Program. This fun and engaging program selects students in grade 7 who have displayed strong leadership skills or the potential to be strong leaders and gives them an opportunity to attend a unique Outdoor Experiential Leadership Program. We will be taking a group of students Finlayson Outdoor Centre to participate in the Challenge Ropes Course. Finlayson is a Peel District School Board alternative learning site. All staff are certified teachers and hold specialist certifications in running a challenge course. The activities are fully insured and safety inspected each year.

The Challenge Ropes Course is an exciting, dynamic way to introduce or strengthen the concepts of team work, cooperation, goal setting and many other personal growth goals which students will identify in a preliminary session here at school. Finlayson uses the Challenge by Choice approach which enables each participant to experience their own success in the context of their own aspirations. On the ropes course, the greatest gains are rarely measured in terms of the number of feet climbed. And that in all the team building adventures, everyone has a role to play. The high ropes elements are up in the trees so the perceived risk is high, but actual risk is low. Participants walk across cable bridges, or negotiate giant ladders through the trees as they overcome personal fears and develop new self confidence.

The students will spend part of their morning discussing why they are there and what they hope to accomplish, then it's into the climbing gear and up to the Course they  go.  The Challenge Ropes Course has 10 high element challenge activities set in the forest overlooking the property.  Challenge activities will be based on the group goals.  It is an excellent experience for adventure seekers or the timid, shy student. This is an extremely unique opportunity which will enrich a students understanding of their strengths and areas in which they can improve their leadership skills. 

The cost of trip is 20$ to students. The trip has been subsidized by the school bringing the overall price down by 50%. The cost of busing for this trip was very high due to the extended day but we believe in the value of an opportunity like this and felt that this was an effective item to spend some of the school's money on. We will certainly update people on the student's progress and the outcomes of the trip. 

Forest of Reading - An Update!!!

There's so much going on at school right now. The library has been booked solid for the last three weeks.  The Forest of Reading has been incredibly successful. I ordered a total of 80 books for just the Red Maple category of the Forest of Reading and right now all 80 books are checked out. In total I purchased 170 titles for the Forest of Reading. I have kids requesting copies left right and centre. I've included a link to the Forest of Reading brochure. People can access and see all the categories and all the titles in Forest of Reading. If anyone were to donate some of these titles particularly the Red Maple category, that would be fantastic:))

The Forest of Reading has been very popular this year. I currently have 176 students signed up to participate in the voting, for the winning books. This is a huge number. I certainly didn't anticipate having this many students interested in the program and am feeling a little overwhelmed by their enthusiasm.

Students can participate in the Forest of Reading in a number of ways. My goal was to make the program accessible to everyone and make it easy and fun to participate. I would like to see every student in the school pick up a Forest of Reading book sometime during this year and enjoy reading it. If students do this then I will consider the program to have been a success. Of course this isn't the only thing going on students have the following options for participation.

1. Read any of the books for enjoyment.
2. Read any of the books for enjoyment then speak to one of the participating teachers about what they have read.
3. Read any of the books and come to book club on Tuesdays or Thursdays. 
4. Write a message on the Graffiti board. 
5. Rehearse and discuss their book while I film them for our Forest of Reading video.
6. Read 5 books from one of the categories and document their reading on a passport, then participate in the voting at the end of April. 

I want students enthusiastic about reading and enjoying what they read. I believe that literacy is best promoted through positive encouragement.Students all read at different levels so it is important to make the books and success accessible to all. Hopefully, the variety of options that I have presented to students will encourage them to keep reading and above all enjoy it.  

Finished Aboriginal Projects

I would like to display some of our finished projects from the grade 6 aboriginal peoples unit. Please see the blog entry entitled The Actual Assignment Pages to refresh your memory as to what the assignment entailed. Students were very enthusiastic about the assignment. They worked hard to complete the assignment and worked well together. Mrs. Camarda and myself worked hard to have to students conference with each other in order to ensure that each part of the assignment was completed. I have included samples of the students work below.

1. The Cree - this is a power point presentation which has been uploaded to a Google drive file. 
2. The following images display the models of traditional aboriginal wigwams, teepees, longhouses, etc.

Wigwam

A Salish house

A Longhouse

A teepee

Salish Longhouse

A Wigwam

The whole collection

The following images show some of the display boards that students created for their presentations.

A Story board for an Iroquois Creation Story

A presentation board on the Blackfoot

All about the Iroquois

A drawing of a teepee that explains different parts of the structure

All about the Salish

Mrs. Camarda and I consider the project to have been quite successful. The students have learned a great deal. They were able to be creative and  appeared to enjoy the work. They were enthusiastic and confident when they presented to their classmates. This is the first time that we have run this particular project with the students and Mrs. Camarda and I will discuss some things that we plan on changing in the future. This however is what teaching is all about. We learn just as much as the kids do each time we prepare and present a unit. Sometimes the manner in which a project is introduced is changed or the order in which the background information is changed. Each time a unit is taught there are always little changes or tweaks for the better. Teachers analyze and assess the effectiveness of a given unit and then work towards building it into something better each time it is taught.