Thursday, 9 May

Thank you for the strong response from parent drivers for Monday's visit to Kinnikinnick.  So far we have seats for 21 students; there are 27 students currently in our class.  We have 13 of 27 consent forms back. Please bring yours tomorrow if you've not already done so.

Please remember runners for track and field activities tomorrow from 1:30 - 2:30.

Today we had many activities that occurred outside of the classroom and that made the day fly by.  We started by getting the laptops so we could continue our short story paragraph response writing.  Only about one quarter of the class is now finished that piece.  This was a difficult assignment for many because they had to define, in concrete terms, exactly what they should write about.  It is easier to answer a narrow topic such as "discuss the use of irony," or, "identify the role conflict plays..."  In this case, I wanted the class to answer a more open question: "what makes this story notable, or memorable, or worthy of our time?" This assignment has caused much thought and made it necessary for students to reflect on all of the elements of fiction that we've studied so far.  We'll take some time tomorrow so those who are still working have a chance to finish.  After we finished writing, the class had band.

Upon returning from recess we read for a short while and then began math.  In Math 7 we completed the practice set on p. 224-25 and then I gave instruction for Lesson 6.2 where were looked at the idea of balancing equations using the metaphor of a scale or balance.  I have asked that the students complete question #1 before tomorrow's class after which we'll complete the problem set on pp. 229.

After lunch we met outside on the field with Martin and Division 1 to hear a safety briefing for the May 22 Stanley Park trip the grade 7s will attend.  Martin discussed tandem bike etiquette, safety rules, seawall courtesy and equipment considerations.  Thanks agin, Martin and Dianne.

Afterwards, we returned to class and read our novels or worked on our inquiry projects while we waited for the Chatelech Secondary band to arrive for an afternoon performance.  They were a bit behind schedule, but had time in the end to give the students a good taste of what the music program there could offer.

I was not pleased when a number of students in our class snuck out of the gym after the performance to avoid having to help stack chairs.  I thought that after all of the team building that we've done this year during activities like the snowshoe trips, we were beyond that kind of behaviour.  Through the lens that I view life, leaving our responsibilities to others is inconsiderate at best, and selfish at worst and I hope we can do better next time.