Top 5 Highlights of 2014 School Year

This post is a short reflection on 5 highlights to date of the current school year, 2014-15 year. I have chosen to focus on highlights from both of my present classes from September through to December since they and the school community are likely to be reading this post.

The top 5 highlights have been extracted from various situations that have impacted both my Gr Fours and Fives in regards to their learning. There is no order of importance - just chronological :)

#5 - Ottawa Citizen Report
St. Cecilia had been chosen to be one of the two schools from our school board to be featured in our local paper. My Gr. Fives were fortunate to be interviewed for this article. This was a fascinating experience for my students since they had the opportunity to talk to the reporter about the 21st Century design of our school. They were also excited to show off their technological skills and discuss how we use technology to enhance our learning.
This was also an interesting opportunity for me to explain to the reporter about how teaching practice has changed and the physical structures of schools are complimenting that practice.
My Grade Fives were so honoured to be part of this experience and to see themselves in the e-article (which included videos). It really gave them an appreciation of their daily learning environment.
You can find the article here.

#4 - Corresponding with France

Both my classes have had an enriching opportunity to correspond with students in Misérieux (Lyon) France. Students started with short introductions on Google slides and expanded onto making iMovie Trailers about our school, video presentations, recipe exchanges, giving hand-crafted Christmas cards, and passing on descriptions of our culture (e.g., Halloween, Apple picking).  And to think that this is only the beginning! All students are so engaged in this project. They think about the students in France frequently and constantly want to share more with them. This has really opened their eyes to the benefits of learning another language. This authentic experience has inspired them to perfect their French in speaking, reading and writing!
Check out the website in progress, I have created to compile our interactions.

#3 - Parks Canada Giant Floor Map
These maps borrowed from Canadian Geographic were a big hit! The giant floor map provided a great visual of Canada politically and physically which gave students a very deep learning experience.  Students were able to collaborate on various activities, exploring and discovering the political and physical regions of Canada. They learned how to use coordinates, discovered various landmarks, practiced their French to complete the scavenger hunt and used iPads to capture their learning. I was just as excited about this map as my students were - maybe slightly more ;)
Here is where you can order yours for your school.






#2 - Hour of Code
This was a first for my students and I. After this activity, I quickly discovered how important computer science is for students. Both classes had the opportunity to practice coding using interactive games from code.org. At first both classes found it intimidating, but after some more tutorials and attempts, they were surprised with the results. Coding gives students the opportunity to problem solve, look over their mistakes to see where they went wrong and fix them, apply critical and analytical thinking and it encourages their confidence...etc. This list can go on and there are plenty of articles out there that will support the theories of how code benefits students. Overall, I noticed that my students were exposed to technology in a way they never thought was possible. Most of them enjoyed coding and pursued it at home. I think it really made them feel empowered and they realized all the opportunities it can bring.
Both classes were able to spend a block with a Grade Two class and teach them how to code. They soon realized how fast the Gr Twos picked up how to code and were impressed with their abilities. It was such a great experience to watch.
The Gr Fours started to use Scratch to make their own Christmas cards. I can't wait to explore further with more coding!


#1 - Trip to Parliament
The Gr 5s had an amazing field trip to Parliament and surrounding locations. This was the first field trip that we let students bring devices and our school gave us permission to bring iPads so that students can capture their experience.
Any field trip is such a great learning experience for students. This one, in particular, meant so much for the students. After the shooting that took place in Ottawa this year, we weren't sure how students would respond to this trip. To the surprise of all Gr Five teachers, all students had a very humble experience and new appreciation of our city, including all the people that make our government function. Students were first blown away by the parliament buildings and took hundreds of photographs with the iPads. Then they paid tribute to Terry Fox at the statute of him on Wellington. Afterwards, it was one student's idea to pay our respects at the War Memorial. And so we said a prayer at the monument in memorial to Cpl Cirillo.
Afterwards we continued to walk taking note of some landmarks e.g., Chateau Laurier, Union Station, Rideau Canal, Major's Hill Park, National Art Gallery, Notre Dame Cathedral-Basilica and the market.
A very meaningful field trip! One that students will share with their correspondents in France :)

Joyeux Noël

I am not trying to advertise coffee, however this video captures the warmth of the Christmas season.

I wish my students and their families Love, Peace, Joy and Hope during the holidays. 
Joyeux Noël!

Don't forget to check out our classroom Christmas videos:
Gr 4s: Une petite pièce de théâtre pour le Noël
Gr 5s: Noël est là
All shared with you in your Google Drive (check your e-mail)

Resources for Gr 4 and 5 Projects

Gr 4's will be working on an Integrated Sciences project (Science/Social Studies): Rocks and Minerals (focusing on fossil fuels) and Canada - Political and Physical Regions (whereabouts of the pipeline). 

Gr 5's will be focusing on the Fossil Fuel Pipeline in Canada and looking at the political aspects (Provincial/Federal) of this current issue.

Please take some time at home to look into and/or review information regarding this topic.

Fossil Fuels - Pipeline - Canada

Jour de souvenir

On Remembrance Day, the Grade Fives were asked to think of one word that comes to mind when they think of Remembrance Day/Jour de souvenir. Using a Google Form, students submitted their word. Then I took all the compiled words and copied them into Wordle.net. Wordle takes the most common words and highlights them in a larger font. You can easily see what words students thought of most.

Grade Fours and Fives recited Remembrance Day poems in front of our green screen. These videos will be shared with students. They will be able to save the videos in their Google Drive.

If you check our twitter wall, Grade Fives tweeted about how they remember on Remembrance Day using the #werememberocsb.

Les textures

Gr Fours have been learning about the elements of Art. For the element of textures, we discussed  what real textures were and used the iPad to take photos of examples of real textures in our school yard. Students made a PicCollage of textures, identified them and described them with an adjective.

Waste-Free Lunch Challenge!

Get ready St. Cecilia as we participate in the “Waste Free Lunch Challenge”

Are you ready for the CHALLENGE?!?

Did you know that school lunches are a major source of waste in Ontario? In fact, the average student’s lunch generates a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8,500 kilograms of waste per school per year.

In an effort to engage all students and families in small environmental initiatives that can make a big impact,  St. Cecilia is participating in the week-long Waste-Free Lunch Challenge (WFLC) beginning on October 20-24.

The Waste-Free Lunch Challenge is a province-wide initiative run by the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO).  Parents and Guardians are invited to visit the WFLC’s parent website at www.wastefreelunch.com to download various resources.  Here, you can download resources and watch instructional videos about how to shop for and pack a waste-free lunch.

Thank you for doing your part, by helping  your child pack waste-free lunches for our event and helping us fulfill a number of goals:

• Celebrate and learn about Waste Reduction Week using a “3Rs” approach to reduce, reuse and recycle so that less waste is created from school lunches.
•  Reduce the cost of waste disposal so the school’s resources can be put to better use.
• Encourage fresh and nutritious lunches (many pre-packaged lunch items contain significant amounts of sodium, preservatives and fat).
• Broaden the understanding of materials that we can recycle, how recycling works and promote recycling in school and at home.
• Help you reduce the cost of lunches: a waste-free lunch can cost as little as $2.50 per day, whereas a regular lunch containing pre-packaged items can cost $4.50 or more per day.

Co-creating criteria and rubrics

The last 2 weeks the Grade Fours and Fives have been busy co-creating our criteria and rubrics for Karaoke. It is important to have the students' input when creating the evaluation since they become more responsible for their learning. This process engages them to be in control in the assessment process and therefore more aware of the expectations. The Grade Fives modified the final rubric I presented to them today, so there will be another version for the next Karaoke. The rubric is not set in stone, but can be modified at any point with consent from all students. It is interesting to see the difference between Grade Four and Five expectations.