Art Wednesday, 29 May

We had art with Joanna first thing this morning.  We started with a cool warm-up exercise where the students wrote on paper, crumpled and threw their sheet at a classmate, who in turn opened and read the paper and then threw it to another and so on.  Of course at some point it became more of an exercise in pelting your friends with paper than reading, but I thought it was a very creative way to pass informatiion: bravo Joanna!  We made prints today using potato stamps and paper stencils.  The process was very quick, engaging and fun.  The class was right on top of things and everyone worked very cooperatively for the whole block.  In the last few minutes of the hour we also created a collaborative piece in the style of a New York artist (whose name escapes me) recently featured in Vogue magazine.  Here are some photos from the morning:

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Layered collaboration: India ink, tempra applied
with a feather, potato stamps with tempra

Stamp prints

Stamp prints drying

After recess we read for ten minutes and then did math.  The 7s completed their unit reviews and then started their pre-tests.  I noticed that some students had trouble with "seeing" the word problems.  We'll have to have some grit when it comes to the test.  Don't expect the equations for the problems to jump out at you: you will have to employ some critical thinking.  There is no homework, but Friday I plan to have the unit test.  Here are some notes:

Student response using algebra tiles

Learning to group the tiles so the
answer is easier to visualize

After lunch we worked on our passion inquiry projects for an hour and then listened to Saleah and Sadie, and Noah and Nicholas share their socials inquiry presentations.  We ended the day with Nikki doing our final yoga lesson.  Most of the class was engaged and respectful but yoga continues to be a challenge for five or six of the boys who can't find it in themselves to settle to their "quiet space."  It's a shame, because they did very well with the actual movement of their bodies.  I understand that it's sometimes tough to be 100% on, last thing in the day.

Please remember your instruments tomorrow for band.

Thank you everyone who was able to donate to the Spring Fling fundraiser basket; ours will be a very practical offering.  Tomorrow will be the deadline for donations, when Aideen, I think, will come by to collect it and work her magic on making it all into a nice presentation.

Grade 7s, please return the Elphi letters ASAP.

And now, if the rain will stop, I'll be off to help coach (read: equipment manager) my son's softball team in a 6:30 start at Hackett park.