Elementary Update

We are back in full swing with many new projects on the go so we thought it might be helpful to provide an update for you to follow at home. All students are assigned a poem to commit to memory for recitations which begin at 9am on Monday mornings. Levels two and three have spelling tests immediately afterward. Spelling lists and poems go home in the homework files on Tuesdays.

This week, we assigned Science Fair. Each child has a comprehensive lab book to help them organise and follow their project. Level one and two students were assigned a science demonstration which they will present in class, with a completed lab book and display board on exhibit at science fair on March 6th. Level three students are conducting an experiment for which they must identify and follow the scientific method. Their final project will be presented at science fair. Upper elementary will compete a literature review to develop their research question then follow the scientific method. They will present their experiments, research and findings at science fair.

Level three students continue to work on a novel study of Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. They must read the chapters at home and be prepared to do the written follow up in class on Wednesdays. Level two students were assigned Winnie the Pooh which we are reading and discussing aloud in class on Tuesdays. At the end of the novel study, they will complete a “novel in a box” presentation which uses objects to describe an impression from each chapter. Upper Elementary students are completing a drama study, essay assignment and mock trial for Inherit the Wind. As a followup to their work on Animal Farm from last term, they will go to see Soulpepper’s production on March 28th.

In art, the children are working toward a self portrait collage. They use reflection to complete studies that capture different expressions and methods. Last week, they used sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt as inspiration and this week they are learning continuous line technique.Their completed work will contain a still life aspect and each has been given an envelope to collect their collage items in for the final project. We have emailed out the instructions the children received in French as well as an English translation for you to help them collect their collage items.

We are completing final drafts of the articles for The Orchard Press. This term, Orchard will guest edit a spread for The West End Phoenix for which we will pick up some of these articles. If you have additional content, we need to know about it by January 26th to fit it into this issue.

Next week we are looking forward to introducing The Suitcase Project. The project is aimed at studying the experience of migration through significant objects. Each week, a different child will draw a luggage tag to take home the suitcase. They are asked to imagine they are leaving home forever the next day and must fill their suitcase with things from home. One of these things must tell a story about their family from the past. Parents will be asked to supply a migration story from their family’s history as well as a family tree so we can trace the patterns of origin of the class on the large world map. The child whose turn it is will present their suitcase in conference on Monday afternoon. They will share both the contents of their suitcase and the story of their relative’s arrival in Canada.

We continue to visit High Park Nature Centre on Fridays to compliment our studies in Botany and Zoology. Children are working independently at their own pace on classifying vertebrates and invertebrates by their internal and external characteristics, studying the world biomes and working with the tree of life models. Upper elementary will expand their work from The River Project to complete comprehensive studies in human anatomy, culminating with a dissection of a cow’s heart later in the spring term. Concurrently, they will advance in their studies in chemistry, beginning with the Bohr models of the periodic table.

Finally, Nick Arseneau will continue to teach voice, ukulele and theory to the classes. They are broken into two groups based on age and musical experience. Children should bring their ukuleles and music folders to school each Monday and follow the assigned practice drills.

We are booking observations in elementary for interested parents on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9am. Please email Holly if you’d like to set one up.