News from Room 106-December 2014

Welcome to the winter and holiday season everyone!   November seemed to have disappeared far

too quickly and the end of 2013 is also coming very fast.

We have been working on a number of projects/learning objectives that will be continued and added to as the month progresses.   We also have a few special events coming up.

 *Just a reminder that many of these learning objectives/learning opportunities are accommodated/enriched based on each student’s learning needs.

 Literacy:

We have continued our worked on Who, What, Where and When questions from a variety of texts as whole group activities and in diads or triads.  We are continuing to conduct research from the Internet about our solar system. Students are finding and recording information on the planets and related solar system vocabulary.  Topic sentence work (heading towards paragraph construction), regular and irregular verb ending and regular and irregular plurals have also been explored in class.   The students continue to engage with mainstream students in reading/social activities for at least an hour each Monday afternoon.  Our P.A.L.S program is very popular for our students and with the students from Mr. Fugigami’s classes.   It is a positive learning experience for all, in a variety of way.

Numeracy:

We have been working a great deal on multiplication, with manipulatives, technology aids, online games, apps, manipulatives, and emulated real world situations.  We have approached the teaching of this number sense knowledge and skill using alternative methods (lattice, and by breaking in down in to simpler equations etc.) and using traditional methods.  With varying degrees of support, all students are able to answer 2 digit multiplication equations without the aid of a calculator.  We will continue to work in this skill before moving on to measurement (distance, perimeter and area).

Work Placement:

Matt will begin posting pictures on our Blog of the students’ work placements.  You will now find a section in the back of each student’s agenda for a copy of their work placement goals, and for Matt to record for you notes about each student day at work.   He has been recording their progress along, but this way more immediate assessment can be provided to parents.

Community Engagement:

We have been involved with the greater school community in a variety of ways throughout the month of November.   We were invited to participate in the Simon Jackson and The Spirit Bear Presentation.  This presentation was a motivational one and aimed to show teens how they can make a difference in the world.

We have some of these ideas into action by demonstrating our leadership skills.  Our program headed up our school’ s the funding raising iniative to  help the  victim of Typhoon Haiyan.. We, (room 105 and 106) collected $1000 (from staff and LDHSS students ) that will be given to the Rotary Club to purchase shelter boxes.

Over the past month, we have been working with a grade 9 woodworking class.   They have been showing us how to use various machines and collaboratively we have worked on several projects. For example; made frames with screens so we and other students can make homemade paper. We have also been working on painting the benches they made for us. 

 

We also have been practicing our vocational skills by making gift tags and Holiday/Christmas cards to sell to staff.   If you wish to purchase cards or tags, please send a note in your child’s agenda.   They are 12 for $5.00 and/or 10 gift tags for $1.00.   All proceeds will fund arts projects/trips such as fusion glass art, picture frames in wood shop, and offset the price of past and upcoming NAC trips etc.

 

School Winter Ball:

 The school is having a Winter Semi-formal ball for senior students on Dec. 13, 2013 from 7-11pm here at the school.   I am going to help supervise the dance so you are welcome to bring your child to the dance.  You do not need to stay.  All I ask is that you let me know if your child is coming and that you pick them off and drop them off.   The Winter Ball Committee will not be charging our students admission for this event.

Field Trips:

December 10^th - Billings Bridge Museum to make ginger bread cookies- $4.00

December 17^th- Rainbow Cinema (St. Laurent Shopping Centre) - Transportation and admission to be covered by us as a holiday gift to our students.   Movie TBD.

~The Room 106 Team