Let's get it started.....

Here's to another great week!

It was so nice to see everyone out at our Open House! I'm glad you stopped by Room 18!

Coming up this week, we have our class pictures on Thursday. I will remind you throughout the week:)

In Language, we will be finishing up our biodome presentations. The biodomes are absolutely fantastic. The caliber of work is just amazing! I'm so proud of 8D and the effort they put into these projects. After we finish the presentations, we will be working on the skill of summarizing. The kids have been reading an article on Thomas Edison, and will take the key points from the article and summarize them in a piece of writing. We will be practicing this skill as we head into October.

In math, we continue with our geometry unit.  We are working on Interior Angle theory, Opposite Angle theory, Supplementary Angle theory, and Complementary Angle theory. There will be a quiz early this week to check for understanding of these theories thus far.

In history, we continue with our "Profound Moment in History" activities. The kids have another two classes to polish a brief visual presentation, as well as a brief oral presentation explaining why they chose their "moment".

In phy-sed, we continue with soccer skills, move on to tennis skills, and in health we are studying Canada's food guide and healthy eating.

Take care,

Miss Waddell

Biodomes look GREAT! !!!

Updates :)

Here are a few updates from Room 18 :

Biodomes are due tomorrow - so we can show off these awesome projects at Open House.

Open House BBQ is tomorrow night from 5:30 - 7:00 - hope to see you there!

Walking forms, downtown lunch forms, and HPV forms (females) are due at school now.

Take care and see everyone tomorrow!

Miss Waddell

Great Trip!

We have had a busy start to the week in room 18!

Our week began with an awesome trip to Island Lake! The pond study and cooperative games were great!  The class had such a positive experience!

See pictures below!

Here are some updates :

Schedules went out to the kids yesterday, and they are FAIRLY accurate – with just some slight changes that need to be made.

In language we are working on a couple things. One activity is our bio-domes. Rough copies have been written and edited and gone over by me. Good copies have been started on the cloud and are due next Monday. The actual model of the bio-dome is due Tuesday morning. In the next little while, we will also be working on our summarizing skills.  The students will be practicing how to take a large piece of written material and bring it down to a suitable size. Not an easy feat! We will spend a good chunk of time on this and then move on to some "longer" pieces of writing.

In math we are well into our triangle (geometry) unit and have begun learning about the interior angle theory.  The kids will have a quiz on Friday, and a larger test by the end of next week.

In history our focus will be on Confederation and we will be taking a closer look at the Fathers of Confederation.

IEP’s

I will be meeting with the parents of those kid who have IEP's. If you have not received a notice regarding this, please contact me at school or drop a note in your child's agenda.

Reminders:

HPV needles for the girls is Monday, September 22nd. (forms going home soon)

Open House BBQ is Tuesday, September 23rd

Picture day is Thursday, October 2^nd

Take Care,

Miss Waddell

Pics from Island Lake!

The kids have been quite busy this week, even though it's only Tuesday!

We have been writing and creating a bio-dome, starting our geometry unit, reading humorous tales, playing cooperative games, honing our soccer and floop-ball skills....the list goes on.

The kids have a bit of homework tonight : they need to finish the rough copy of the writing component of their bio-dome.

Parents have some homework as well!!! Please try to have your Parent Brag Sheets back to school by Friday :)

This week, all students have been on a school computer to log on to the network, and onto UGCloud.  The Cloud is a fantastic, safe, and multi-faceted program for the kids to use to complete assignments, communicate with teachers and peers, and to create projects online.  If you aren't sure what the cloud is, ask your child :)

Today, blue permission sheets outlining our trip to Island Lake next Tuesday, were sent home for you to review. Any parents interested in volunteering would be more than welcome to join us.

Also, an important message regarding Remind 101 - the communication tool/app that I will be using to remind parents of upcoming events - went home for you to look at. Please feel free to sign up at any time.

I would like to meet with all IEP students and their parents over the next two weeks, to go over the IEP and to discuss the best way to program for your son or daughter.  I will be sending a note home soon regarding the best time and date to meet.

See everyone at the Open House on Tuesday, September 23!

Take care,

Miss Waddell

First Week!

Congratulations to 8D on a fantastic first week back at Erin P.S.

The year is off to a great start!

Already the kids have been busy - getting to know each other, figuring out their classes and teachers, and learning the expectations of grade 8.

Thank you for sending back all forms and information sheets with the students.  There will be information and a permission form coming home regarding our trip to Island Lake in two weeks, and an Open House BBQ information package for you to look over as well.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend,

Take care,

Miss Waddell

A New School Year!

September 2014

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer!  I would like to introduce myself to you as your child’s grade 8 core/homeroom teacher.  My name is Carolynne Waddell and I have been teaching at Erin Public School for 14 years.  I am really looking forward to teaching the grade 8’s – we are going to have an amazing year!

 Over the next few months, our goal is to meet the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum, and of course to make sure the students settle into Erin Public School routines and activities comfortably.  I will be teaching the following subjects to your child/children : Language, Math, Geography, History, Phys-ed and Drama, and some Visual Art.

·        The language arts program will consist of  grammar, creative writing and reading, persuasive writing, novel studies, media studies, book reports (one per term), and many other language-based activities.  The students will be working in small groups, guided reading groups, and whole-class lessons and discussions.

·        The math program will cover many areas of study – starting off with a geometry unit that focuses on line segments, rays, congruent and similar figures, obtuse, acute and reflex angles.

·        We will be covering history term one and will then move into the geography program in term two. Our first history unit will begin with a look at the Confederation of our country. The focus in social studies this year will be project-based learning. What is PBL?  According to Edutopia : “Project-based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying.”

·        In phys-ed we will begin with team-building games, leadership skills and soccer skills. The culminating task for the team-building/leadership unit will be to design, practice, and carry-out a warm-up activity and a team-builder activity to a Junior or Primary class. Health will focus on healthy body image, and healthy eating.

·        In drama, we will be starting with small comedic skits.

·        In visual arts we will explore different aspects of colour,cartooning and sketching.

During our first day of school, the students and I discussed classroom rules and expectations that will be followed over the entire school year.  Please ask your child to go over these with you.  They are posted in the room at all times.  My overall focus for the class is for the students to enjoy a happy, cooperative, and respectful learning environment.

In the past, each student was given an agenda at the beginning of the school year, to track homework, due dates, and special events. With students having hand-held devices and access to various forms of technology, it is much easier and current to track this information digitally. Cell phones and I-pods with calendars/agendas will (with my help and guidance),
be used to track homework and assignment due dates. I will be checking these devices on a daily basis to ensure that all needed information is being tracked by all students.  (We ordered 30
agendas for students who will not be able to consistently access an online agenda if need be). Another form of communication is our class blog.  At  www.misswaddell8D.blogspot.com  , you can check for up-coming classroom activities and assignments.  The blog will also be updated on a regular basis. And finally, an amazing way of communicating to you directly will be through a program/phone app called Remind 101. This allows communication directly to you and your cell through text message. I will be sending home a sign-up sheet and explanation of this program. In short, it will allow me to send you due dates and upcoming event reminders right to your phone.

 A quick heads-up regarding a field trip that is on the horizon. On September 16 and 17, the grade 8’s are heading to Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville, for an entire day  (9:00am - 2:30pm) to participate in cooperative games - linked to the phys-ed program, and a  pond study that will be linked to their grade 8 water cycle science expectations. Students need to dress appropriately, bring a lunch, and wear appropriate footwear. Parent volunteers are needed - please contact me if you are interested in going with us. Two classes are going on the Tuesday, and two are going on Wednesday – I will keep you posted with info regarding which day we go to Island Lake.

 I look forward to meeting you at our Open House on Tuesday, September 23rd!  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the school, 519-833-9685, send me a note, or via our class blog/email.

Take Care,

Miss Waddell