First Week in the Books!

 Well, we have the first week of school under our belts with lots accomplished! I need to apologize for the mistake in my email address in the letter I sent home. There should have been a period between my first and last name. The correct address is:  joanna.jackson@ed.amdsb.ca, please feel free to contact me at any time.

This week was spent talking about how we can make MDHS a safe and welcoming learning environment. We covered the topics of racism, discrimination, bullying, disciplinary consequences, and ways to report incidents that may occur. 

We co-created our E104 Class Agreements:

Before Class

• We will treat everyone with respect
• We will have all the materials we need for class
• We will arrive on time
• We will be respectfully quiet in the hall

During Class

• We will treat everyone with respect
• We will respect anybody who is talking by actively listening
• We will not have phones in class unless given permission by an adult
• We will raise your hand when we have something to say
• We will be respectfully quiet in the hall
• We will work to the best of our ability
• We will use our time wisely and get work done
• We will ask questions when we are unsure of something

After Class

• We will treat everyone with respect
• We will clean up after ourselves making sure to take all of our belongings with us when we leave
• We will be respectfully quiet in the hall
• We will use our time wisely and get work done

We started the process of getting to know ourselves as learners by completing the How Are You Smart graphs. I want kids to see that it’s not who is smart, it’s how you are smart! 

source of  image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences

We spent some time speed-dating the books in my classroom and also went to the library so everyone could pick their first book for the Novel Study Tic-Tac-Toe.  Not all kids read at the same rates and to accommodate this everyone will be setting their own goals for their book completion which will be established in our daily reading conferences.  We went over the Tic-Tac-Toe reading response assignment and evaluation rubric.

In the world of writing, we decorated our writer's notebooks and started reviewing the writing process and began to work on generating ideas by doing a few speed writing activities.

8B personalizing their writer's notebooks

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and finished off the week with a little Art in the courtyard.  We are learning about elements of design and creating personalized name tags.

Courtyard artists

Reminders For Next Week:

School Portrait Day: Friday, September 16, 2022.

Independent Novel Study

Well, aren't these crazy times? I feel like I'm living in a dystopian novel right now! Speaking of reading here is a refresher about our independent novel response never-ending assignment. Students in 8D and 78 should always be reading and responding. I usually start every class with 25 minutes of reading and during that time I conference with students about what they are reading or what they are going to do for their novel responses. After reading, students are asked to the following:
1. Write a brief summary
2. Do a character analysis for one of the main characters in their book
3. Complete one of the creative choices from the options provided.

Link to Independent Learning Menu

Having a hard time finding something to read at home? Check out this list of digital ebooks and audiobooks you can access for free right now:

Audio Stories from Amazon

Amazon canceled the subscription of books and audio stories for children and students of all ages as long as schools are closed, kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help you continue dreaming, learning and just being kids.

All stories are free on you desktop, laptop, phone or tablet using the following link:

Link to Audible

EPIC

Class Code: vre1365