Newsletter #2 - October 3rd, 2013

September was a great month in Portable 2! The students are all settled in, working hard, and seem to be enjoying grade 6. Last week the class earned a pizza party by filling up the marbles in our jar (for working cooperatively, demonstrating responsibility, and working hard on a daily basis, among other things). It was wonderful to be able to connect with so many families at the Barbeque a few weeks ago and to see so many families enjoying the beautiful weather. In addition to the school newsletter, please find information specific to our classroom.

Dossier dvaluations: Today the first Evaluation folder was sent home with a brief letter explaining the process. Please take the time to go over the work with your child, sign it, and return it to school. I will do my best to send it home towards the end of the month with a few samples of work. Library: Our class library date is now Wednesdays. Students are asked to sign out one French and one English book. They may renew them on Wednesdays if they have not finished reading them. Skating: I will be sending home a note with our skating dates shortly. We will go skating a total of five times this year at Jack Charon arena, which is walking distance. Parent volunteers are required to ensure that the adult-child ratio is met. Please let me know if you are able to join us. All students and adult must wear CSA-approved helmets on the ice.

This Month in 6 EFI:

More detailed updates are posted on the class website. Here is an overview of where we are and where were going this month!

Science: We are continuing to study biodiversity. So far, students have learned about tree branch classification systems, have created their own, and have classified specimen (ranging

from sponges, to snakes, to spiders!) preserved in jars of formaldehyde. They are learning to apply scientific terms and knowledge when creating media related to living things. For the next few weeks, they are undertaking a joint science, French, and visual arts project where they will be researching a vertebrate or invertebrate, and creating a picture book adopting the point of view of that animal. Students are now in the planning stages. I will post the handout of the assignment on the website, along with the assessment rubric. It is a fairly large task, and I have broken the assignment down into segments so I can conference with students throughout the process. I look forward to seeing their creations! Our study will also take us into a case student about development and its effects on the biodiversity of an area. Students are bringing a wealth of background knowledge about our planet and the animal kingdom into this unit. I am also hoping to bring in a mealworm colony, starting next week, to allow students the opportunity to observe and investigate characteristics of the animal up close! I maintain a science website. It is still under construction but as it continues to grow, I add science-related videos, games, and websites to it. Feel free to have a look at :
http://labrossesciences.wikispaces.com

French language: In addition to the aforementioned project, students are continuing with our Reading/Writing groups. Students are enjoying the variety of tasks, including adding contributions to our whole class journals. I continue to read the text, Voyage mortel to the class, and we will be discussing and responding to various passages. Students have all completed their September oral presentations. They were very welldone and interesting! After de-briefing with the class, students decided that they should focus on a few things to improve their presentations. These were: showing confidence in what you are saying; using humour to keep the interest of the class, and speaking clearly. The class has the topics for October and have already begun planning! Health and Physical Education: In health, we are continuing to work on problem-solving strategies, through discussions and reflections. Once a week, (or more often, if needed) the class participates in a circle discussion where students are free to bring up issues they wish to discuss, or offer praise to those who have helped them. So far, it has been successful, and students are offering creative and sincere solutions to one another. We will be applying some of these strategies as they write Dear Abby-esque columns. Were also continuing to make use of the wonderful weather to go outside often! We ve played a variety of team-building games and fitness activities. Well continue with cooperative games, running, soccer skills, and some Borden ball for the upcoming month.

The arts: I have introduced the idea of the vanishing point and horizon line to students, and we will be creating art based on perspective. We will be also making art on a different medium: wood! We also had the opportunity to use our boards percussion kit last week, which the students loved! They were given time to explore various percussion instruments, experiment with different rhythms and tempos, and then create and perform short pieces with a group! Unfortunately, the kit is no longer at our school, but I am working on booking it later on in the year. Thank you for keeping up to date! Please feel free to touch base with me at any point. Sincerely, Rene Labrosse Renee.labrosse@ocdsb.ca
http://mmelabrosse.weebly.com/