Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dear families,

We had a very action-packed week. The students performed beautifully in the multitude of performances of "Once on a Housetop" and then as part of the Junior Band and/or the Intermediate Choir in the Intermediate Holiday Concert.

Even in between all of the distractions, whenever asked to do curriculum-based work, they did so to the best of their ability!

Yesterday, everyone had a blast participating in the Santa Steal event. I really appreciate all of the support provided in helping everyone choose great gifts for the event.

Thank you for all of the kind holiday words and generosity. I wish everyone a very safe and fun holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

See you January 4th.

Best wishes,
Mr. Moskal

Reminders:
DreamBox is still available over the holidays.
Warplane Museum field trip on the first Wednesday back in January.

Dreambox

Dreambox, the online Math practice software is back. It is an excellent resource to support student practice and learning in all 5 Math strands and is aligned with the curriculum. Student progress can be tracked in order to support their learning as needed.

The class roster is set up. I have included a Dreambox page along the side of my website in the menu. There is a direct link for students to access the class icon and get started. I've also included an instruction sheet for getting started at home and on mobile devices.

Student login: firstnamelastinitial - e.g., davem

Passwords: each student was given a simple word last year, many remembered, and all were reminded

In order for Dreambox to be helpful for students, and for me to support learning, it needs to be used regularly and consistently. If no homework is specifically assigned, Dreambox is an excellent tool to fill the time set aside for homework each night. Between some access at school, but more required time at home, students are expected to be on Dreambox for 1.5 hrs or more each week.

If you have any questions about Dreambox, don't hesitate to email me or call the school.

Good luck and have fun!

Busy two weeks

The weeks leading up to the Christmas break are always chalked full of events. Please take note of the events below and plan accordingly. (Note: watch for additions and revisions)

Thursday, Dec. 10

• Gr. 6 song rehearsal for "Once on a Housetop" - Per. 2
• junior volleyball try-out for girls at first break
• junior volleyball clinic at lunch for boys and girls

Friday, Dec. 11

• class celebration notice needs to be signed and returned
• full rehearsal for "Once on a Housetop" - morning
• junior volleyball try-out for boys at first break
• Progress Reports go home

Monday, Dec. 14

• Warplane Museum field trip form and payment due
• "Once on a Housetop" - 2 pm performance
• wrapped gifts for class celebration brought in by today

Tuesday, Dec. 15

• "Once on a Housetop" - 3 performances: 2 pm, 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm

Thursday, Dec. 17

• class celebration - 'Steal-a-gift'

Friday, Dec. 18

• last day before the holidays - early dismissal at 1:50 pm

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Monday, Jan. 4, 2016

• Happy New Year!
• first day back

Wednesday, Jan. 6

• field trip to Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - all day

Updates and Reminders

Tomorrow is the Dance-a-thon fundraiser. Bring back any remaining pledge envelopes. Also, if you're interested in purchasing glow in the dark items for the dance, don't forget to bring some money.

We had a great time with our paper airplane activity in Science, relating ideas about Air & Flight to some pretty cool flying objects! Hopefully some of these ideas will sink in and help on the Science test next week. Take home your Science duotangs to update any incomplete notes and study.

We had some excellent learning in Math, specifically Geometry, and did a great job practising some EQAO questions and dissecting how the marking system works.

If anyone is still interested in ordering Scholastic for December, bring your orders in by Monday.

Junior volleyball

The class has loved all of the volleyball lessons taught during Phys. Ed. Many have also expressed interest in the sport in general, asking questions about junior teams and intramurals.

Volleyball clinics and pick up games are being offered to junior students on Tuesdays and Thursdays respectively.

Teams will be chosen shortly based on clinics and potentially other try out times.

It is a great sport to learn and become involved with as it can be played by all ability levels at any age.

Strategies for completing homework when you're stuck

Over many years of teaching, I have heard the following statement more times than I can count:

"I couldn't finish my homework because I didn't understand it!" (or some similar variation)

I personally do not assign homework just for the sake of it; more often, it is for students to practise a new skill or to move more quickly through a unit that should not require as much direct instruction.

When 'stuck' try:

• asking a friend / classmate / peer
• asking an older sibling or parent
• reviewing notes in workbooks and/or text books
• looking up answers on-line
• e.g., from this past weekend's homework, some students did not know what a 'reflex angle' was (even though there was a mini lesson on Thursday) --> 'Google it': "what is a reflex angle?"

Good luck next time!

Enjoy your PD Day off

It was a busy week of wrapping up Patterning in Math, beginning Geometry, catching up on our Art project, working on our vivid/figurative writing, exploring more concepts of air and flight, culminated by a performance by Nelson's concert band.

Tomorrow is a PD Day, so enjoy your long weekends!

BRAVO Graduation

This morning we celebrated the culmination of the BRAVO program with a graduation ceremony. The Grade 6s represented themselves admirably and it was a very nice presentation. A group of students from the class shared their learning from the program in the form of a skit, and another individual shared her learning in essay form.

Each student received a certificate, and officer Gardner shared that a local company will turn the certificate into a plaque for free. A form with more information and locations to have the certificate turned into a plaque was sent home with the students today.

Fun homework?

The writing homework that was assigned Tuesday (see Homework page) and due this morning was completed enthusiastically by most of the class. Proud of their efforts, a number of students shared their pieces to an extremely receptive audience. It was like an impromptu coffee house poetry reading, right down to snapping for applause.

The focus of this homework activity was to get students out of their normal pattern of writing, and force them to begin their sentences in drastically different ways. As a result, virtually all rough drafts had much more of a mature sound.

I strongly encourage all students to continue to use this strategy on a regular, even nightly basis, to practise their writing. Revising alongside parents, older siblings, and tutors is also extremely beneficial. I am also very happy to review extra work completed at home and make additional suggestions for revision and next steps to practise.

Dance-a-thon!

This morning there was a kick-off assembly for Pineland's annual Dance-a-thon. It will be held on December 5th.

This is a major fundraiser for the school put on by Parent Council.

Your child will receive a fundraising envelope and pledge form and bring it home today. The message at the assembly was that each student should aim to raise as much money as they can. In addition, each student who raises $100 or more will receive a plaque. The class that raises the most money in each division (Primary, Junior, Intermediate) will earn a pizza party.

Envelopes and monies raised are to returned by November 25th. Even if no money is raised, it is asked that the envelope be returned to the school.

Thanks for your support!

Math: Patterning

Tips for success:

• identify whether the pattern is Repeating, Growing, or Shrinking
• Growing patterns (numbers are getting larger) - think addition and multiplication
• Shrinking patterns (numbers are getting smaller) - think subtraction and division
• try both operations (+ & x, or - & /) and see which operation would allow you to continue to get the same numbers in the pattern
• if you discover that there is a number and operation that is constant between terms, that will help you discover the pattern rule
• (e.g., 2, 5, 11, 23,... from 2 to 5 is 3, from 5 to 11 is 6, from 11 to 23 is 12... SO, from 3 to 6 and 6 to 12 is a doubling effect...
• so apply the x2 to the initial pattern
• 2 x 2 = 4 (Not 5! But add 1 to get 5)
• 5 x 2 = 10 (+1) is 11
• and so on
• Explaining number patterns in words is tricky 
• don't forget "Start at..."
• ensure your wording makes sense and would give you the same numbers as the original pattern

• We've also been solving basic equations (an introduction to Algebra) and taking note of the difference between Equations and Expressions

Good luck! Check in with me for clarifications and support.

Sara Westbrook Concert

Yesterday the school was treated to a concert and motivational talk presented by Sara Westbrook. Her performance and message were extremely well received. In fact, the junior students in grades 4 - 6 were commended by Sara and her stagehand for their impeccable audience participation and respectful listening.

Two of our classmates were fortunate enough to be part of the show, and the remaining students enjoyed singing along, listening to stories, giving high fives, and receiving hugs and autographs from Sara.

Ask your son or daughter about the performance and Sara's message.

Routines and Expectations in place

Two months into the school year and the class is mostly into routines and understanding how to perform optimally as a group and as individuals. Keep an eye on Class Dojo to follow individuals' learning skills progress.

Coming up...

• Math unit test on Monday - Number Sense (see homework page for more details)
• Math Patterning unit has begun
• Sara Westbrook presentation on Monday - Motivation singer and speaker on the topics of Resilience & Respect 
• See her web page: http://www.sarawestbrook.com/music/
• Picture re-take day on Tuesday
• Remembrance Day on Wednesday - Have discussions at home about the significance of the day... Do you have any family members who took part in and/or lived through a war? Military involvement? Peacekeeping?
• This is my favourite Remembrance Day message: Terry Kelly - "A Pittance of Time"

What we've been up to...

The class and I have collaborated to compile the below list of topics and activities that have been covered since the website was last updated. A brief blurb is included to describe some of the ideas, but ask your son or daughter to elaborate further.

BRAVO

• a program run by the police to help student make good choices for themselves as they get older
• What does the B.R.A.V.O. acronym stand for?
• program covers many parts of the Health curriculum 

Language

• reading responses based on "Dunk" and personal reading selections
• DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment)
• 'Awesome' writing
• Halloween-themed vivid/figurative writing

Science

• Air & Flight experiments

Math

• Order of Operations (BEDMAS)
• variety of mental math and computational strategies
• Prime vs. Composite numbers

Art

• self portrait sketches
• Alberto Giacometti sculptures

French

• learning about Respect, colours, body parts, difference between feminine and masculine --> Building a Robot

Music

• practising for Winter play "Once on a Housetop"

Awesome Authors

This photo may be a little dated, but it sure was AWESOME to meet with Neil Pasricha, the author of the worldwide bestseller, "The Book of Awesome." He truly was a down-to-earth, yet inspiring guy, and loved to hear the awesome pieces of writing shared by many of the students in 6-1.

Equally awesome, but in a very different way, was listening to the stories of strength and bravery exhibited by those who stood against Hitler and the Nazis during WWII. These stories were shared by Canadian author Kathy Kacer. Her stories were inspirational and prompted many students to explore her writing. Her website can be found in the upper right of my site.

Updates are back!

We've been up to a lot in class since this site was last updated. Hopefully your students have been sharing their learning with you at home. I will do my best to provide a summary just in case you felt a little in the dark.

Stay tuned...

Until further notice

Until further notice, this website/blog will not be updated. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Math Talks and Read Alouds

In Math, we have been discussing and working on problems related to 1 000 000. We are trying to make sense of large numbers (i.e. understanding magnitude).

The class has bought in amazingly well to the concept of Math Talks and respecting each others' understanding and strategies. The students have been listening to myself and each other to build upon their own understanding and they have been taking risks by sharing even if unsure of the correctness of their answer.

In Language, I have been reading a novel called "Dunk" by David Lubar. Reading an engaging book aloud to the class allows me to model how 'good readers' read and think about texts. I am able to provide mini-lessons and emphasize different reading strategies (e.g., making connections, visualizing) in order to help students better understand how to improve the quality of their reading responses when done independently.

It is very exciting to be part of rich discussions and observe meaningful dialogue between students.

Week One Complete

We survived the heat at the beginning of the week, engaged in a variety of back-to-school-back-into-the-routine-of-things activities, and made it to Friday!

Thanks 6-1 for being such a nice group of students to teach and get to know!

No homework this weekend, so enjoy your couple of days and we'll see each other again on Monday.

Take care :)

Great start, great students

Aside from the excruciating heat, it has been a great start to the school year. This is thanks in great part to the tremendous group of students in 6-1. They quickly listened to and followed closely to classroom and school expectations and as a result, we have already had many rich discussions.

They've demonstrated respectful behaviour towards their teachers, and especially towards one another. Ideas shared during different start-of-school activities have been on point and frequently insightful.

To cap off a great start... When I walked into the class following an outdoor duty today, the entire class were at their desks reading silently. I am one very proud teacher!

Summer break is over and school begins!

By now, many of you have learned that you will be in my class this year. I am very excited and looking forward to seeing you all again, building on what I already have learned about you as your hallway neighbour last year.

I've already been planning out the year, but look forward to your input to make your year in grade 6 exciting, beneficial, and memorable.

I hope that you are as energized for the year as I am!