Team Quadra January Newsletter
Friday, January 10, 2014
Team Quadra January Newsletter
Welcome back! We hope everyone had a restful break and is reenergized coming back into 2014. If you have not yet had the chance to take a look at your child’s report card, the notice for Camp Squeah, or the Montessori registration letter (6s and 7s only) that was sent home before the break, please take a moment to review those things and have your child return them asap to their advisory teacher.
Team Quadra would like to extend a big thank you to Kevin L., Ashlynn and Lauren P. for speaking at the Montessori Kindergarten Registration evening on Thursday and giving us the gift of their time. They showed amazing confidence standing in front of a room full of parents speaking about their experiences in Montessori from elementary through middle school. There will be more opportunities in the future for our students to represent Montgomery Middle and the Montessori program and we will be looking for others to share their experiences and insights at those events.
It is that time of year where the grade 8s are starting to look at options for next year. Earlier in the week a letter was sent home with all grade 8 students indicating important information session dates for each high school. We strongly encourage children and families to attend these evening sessions to get a better idea about the programs offered at each of the high schools, elective courses, and to help make that transition a little bit easier. In addition, on January 24 all grade 8 students have the opportunity to visit their catchment area high school for a tour during the day, along with all other grade 8s in the district. Although Monty has a pro-d day on January 24, the grade 8s are still encouraged to attend. They will need to organize transportation to and from their catchment high school and might want to plan on going with other students from Monty to ease their stress or nervousness!
Before the break, students began exploring different extreme environments on earth and in space. They are now applying their knowledge of living things, survival strategies, and technologies for survival by creating a new concept for a t.v. reality show in which contestants will need to demonstrate their survival skills in an extreme environment. Students will pitch their ideas in a creative way to a group of producers (our class). We have many creative students on our team and are looking forward to seeing some new and innovative ways to present their learning!
In Language Arts, students are either starting or finishing an independent novel study focused around a theme of survival. Though some time will be provided in-class during Language Arts or independent work blocks, it is an expectation that students are taking their novels home and are reading each night. As they are reading, students will be completing responses and big fat bookmarks/reading journals as part of the criteria. Ms. Smallwood and Mr. Kwok have set a due date of February 7 for the novel study, whereas Mrs. Weger’s class should be finishing up by the end of this week.
In Math, the 7s and 8s are continuing with the flipped math structure and have started Unit 1 this week. The unit test has been scheduled for Friday, January 31. Students are continually encouraged to use their in-class work blocks effectively to stay on-pace with the unit, seek out help from Mr. Kwok or Ms. Smallwood whenever needed, and to complete and hand in their assessment focus questions promptly so feedback can be given in a timely manner. Grade 6s are continuing their routines with Mr. Magistrale and are working on dividing decimals.
Our focus in Social Studies will center on the Middle Ages for terms 2 and 3 which will lead up to a Medieval Fair to celebrate their learning at the end of the year. Students will have the opportunity to mix with other classes on our team as they rotate between teachers and learn about different aspect of Medieval times. After gaining some background knowledge on a variety of topics, students will have the chance to focus in on one specific area to study further. A guiding question will be “How did the culture of the Middle Ages influence our culture today?” We will be taking some time to sit down with the team to develop the criteria together for this PBL so the students can take real ownership over their learning.
In French, we began this week with a lot of oral review of vocabulary and phrases from last year, which will eventually lead up to a play as the final product. The grade 7s and 8s are doing a new play this year called Le garcon qui joue des tours and the grade 6s will be doing Les trois petits cochons. These programs were developed by AIM Language Learning for FSL students and the philosophy behind the program believes that through oral language, repetition and kinesthetic movement, that students are more successful in acquiring the language. That being said, students will be fully immersed in French language; the lessons and instructions will all be given in French and students are expected to only speak French in class – no English!
In H.A.C.E we are beginning our unit on healthy vs. unhealthy relationships. Students will be learning about warning signs of abusive relationships and examining the power wheel of abuse; comparing healthy vs. unhealthy relationships; learning to recognize positive friendships; and will be exploring boundaries. Boundaries are extremely important for establishing strong, healthy and positive relationships and therefore students will be learning what boundaries with people are, how to recognize other people's boundaries and their own, in addition to learning ways of facilitating these boundaries with others.
In PE, the students will be going through basketball, wrestling, and possibly floor hockey this term. Our new Action School reps will plan activities for the rest of the team to participate in our weekly Action School block, and various fitness activities will be continued. Our team is also planning to go on a skating field trip at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex on Monday, January 27. Please ensure your child has returned his/her permission form and fees by Jan. 20.
Thank you for taking the time to read through the newsletter to see what is coming up this month on Team Quadra.
Sincerely,
Ms. Smallwood, Mrs. Weger, Mr. Kwok, Ms. Carruthers, Mr. Magistrale