monday, june 20

today is the last day of classes! yay!

tomorrow there is NO SCHOOL for students. we will see you, however, bright and early on wednesday, thursday, friday, and next monday.

:-)

tuesday, june 14

it's that time again... term four officially ends on monday, june 17, so I will accept any missing assignments until then. please check your marks on d2l and address any blanks/zeroes/mistakes before monday.

7-09 many of you have not yet handed in your ever after venn diagram and questions, and/or your short story. please get those in asap.

8-04 and 8-hec several of you are missing your conquest news articles. please get them in asap. any groups who did not present their song presentations, you must do so in order to receive a mark for figurative language and worldview. please see me about setting up a time to explain your presentation.

grade 8s tomorrow we begin presentations for our final socials project. you must be ready to go tomorrow, or you will receive a zero.

grade 7s we will continue to work on our final projects until monday, june 17. let's stay on task!

:-)

monday, june 6

7-09 here are the questions from friday:

1. what were some of the differences between "cinderella" and ever after?
2. how did those differences affect the story?
3. why do you think the makers of ever after decided to make the changes they did?

also, 7-09, please bring in your field trip forms and money for heritage park by friday, june 10.

8-04 and 8-hec we will begin our final project on wednesday; please be ready to use your brains!

everyone: the end of term four and the school year is fast approaching. please check your marks on d2l and let me know if there are any errors. also, you must resolve any zeroes by monday, june 20 or your term four progress report will suffer!

;-)

tuesday, may 31

almost june... yikes!

grade 8s your aztec/spanish newspaper articles are due thursday, june 2, and your plot diagrams for slumdog millionaire are due on monday, june 6. we will begin our final projects next week :)

grade 7s the good copies of your stories will be due on monday, june 6. we will also begin working on our final projects on monday, june 6.

;-)

lead up to the end...

8-04 and 8-hec we will continue to work on our non-linear graphic plot representations of slumdog millionaire this week and for the first bit of next week; at that time, we will finish off our news stories. please have your rough copies ready to type for tuesday, may 31. pretty soon, we will begin working on our final projects :)

7-09 we will continue to work on our short stories into the beginning of next week. if you have not already completed writing your rough copy, you must do so on your own time.

also, good luck to natalia at nationals!!!

:-)

monday, may 16

7-09 please have your "short" stories ready for peer editing tomorrow.

8-04 and 8-hec you will each have one period during which you can work on writing your news article; for the second period, we will begin peer editing.

:)

tuesday, may 10

remember that thursday is tabloid day, which means that you will be outside for the WHOLE day. the weather forecast is for sun and 20ish degrees, so make sure to wear and hat and sunscreen, and to bring a water bottle. it will be fun!

7-09 please have the rough copies of your stories ready to peer edit on monday.

8-04 and 8-hec we will continue to work on our cortés and moctezuma news articles on friday; we will see where we are from there...

8-04 please have your favourite haiku ready to hand in on friday :)

:-)

tuesday, may 3

it's great to be back from trips week!

7s your poetry café will be moved from wednesday to thursday. feel free to bring a snack to share to class on thursday :)

8s your aztec codices brochures are due tomorrow, may 4. please have them ready to hand in at the start of class.

:-)

monday, april 18

a reminder to students and parents that progress reports go home on wednesday, april 20.

because tabloid day has been postponed until may 12, we will have regularly scheduled classes on thursday (day 1). because of this gift of extra time, category "a" of your novel studies will be due on thursday, not wednesday, and all classes will have extra class time to work on their projects this week.

7s we will be having a quiz on the lead up to confederation on wednesday.

8s we wil be having a quiz on the background of spain and the aztecs on wednesday.

:)

monday, april 11

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend in the sunshine (yesterday, at least) :)

grade 7s, we will continue working on our "lead up to confederation" poster presentations in both of tomorrow's classes. please be prepared to present on wednesday.

grade 8s, please be finished researching your spain/aztec topic so that you can organize your presentation tomorrow. we will be presenting on wednesday for sure, so be ready!

we will be having quizzes after the presentations, so I would like each group to come up with 2 or 3 quiz questions about their section of information. you can create multiple choice, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, or true-or-false questions.

also, a general reminder that category "a" will be due next wednesday, april 20.

:)

term cut-off

happy friday!

today marks the cut-off for term three; any and all assignments missing up until this point, including category "c" of our independent novel study, will contribute zeros to the upcoming progress reports.

category "b" of the novel study, which was due today, will be on the end-of-the-year report card.

have a great weekend!

:-D

thursday, april 6

almost the weekend... :)

reminder to all students and parents that term cut-off is tomorrow, friday, april 4. all missing assignments must be handed in tomorrow, or you will have zeros contributing to your progress report :(

also, category "b" work is due for grades 7 and 8 tomorrow.

:-)

monday, april 4

welcome back! (most of you...)

this friday, april 8 is the cut-off for all missing assignments in term three. if you have any missing assignments, you will get a maximum of 50% on them provided that you hand them in by friday; if you don't hand them in by friday, you will receive a zero on your progress report.

7-09 your friendly letters are due tomorrow - if you didn't finish in class (probably because you were off task or chatting), please make sure to complete the planning, rough copy, and good copy (by hand) for homework.

reminder to all that assignments for category "b" are due this friday.

on wednesday we have early dismissal (12:15) because of grade six orientation.

:)

thursday, march 24

tomorrow is our "hats for humanity" fundraiser - for a minimum donation of $2.00, you can wear an appropriate hat of your choice ALL DAY LONG! woohoo :D

please show your parents your marks breakdown on d2l, have them sign the bright green sheet, and bring it back for sure tomorrow (or else I will have to call your parents to confirm that you showed them your marks on d2l...).

also, a final reminder for grade sevens and eights that category "c" work is due tomorrow, friday, march 25.

almost spring break!!

:-)

d2l mark check reminder

this is a reminder for parents/guardians and students to look at the marks breakdown on d2l, sign the bright green sheet, and return it to me by the end of the week.

also, friday is the hats on for humanity fundraiser. for the low, low donation of a toonie (minimum), you can wear a hat for the entire day.

;)

d2l mark check

I have sent home a little slip of bright green paper for all students to have signed by a parent or guardian, and then to return to me this week. because we are nearing the end of term, and because we have the lovely distraction of spring break coming up, it is crucial that parents and students are up to date regarding missing assignments, etc. thus, I would ask that all students log on to d2l, show their parent/guardian their mark breakdown, sign off on the green slip, have their parents sign off, and return the slip to me by the end of this week. it will only take a moment, but has the potential of saving a lot of confusion or heartache in a couple of weeks...

:)

marks update

I have just changed any missing assignments on d2l from blank spots to zeroes. as I mentioned in my last post, we are fast approaching the end of the term, and many of you have neglected to hand in missing assignments. please make sure to complete and hand in all missing work BEFORE spring break (obviously, if you and I have spoken and you have a legitimate extension, that is a different story...).

I know the weather is improving, and that school work pales in comparison to all of the fun things spring brings, but we still have the end of term three and term four to go - let's make the most of it!

:-)

friday, march 18

we are approaching both spring break and the end of term three. if you are missing any assignments, please get them in before spring break, so by friday, march 25. if you hand in any assignments that were due up until now after spring break, you will receive a maximum of 50% on your assignment. make sure to check your progress report on d2l so that you know if you are missing any assignments.

:)

thursday, march 17

happy st. patrick's day!

7-09 please have the plan for your friendly letter ready for monday's class (and keep working on your novel study).

8-04 and 8-hec continue to work on reading your novels and completing category "c."

we don't have regularly scheduled classes tomorrow, so I will wish you a happy weekend now...

;)

wednesday, march 16

friday is pajama day!!! 8-04, we must turn out in full bedtime gear if we want to keep winning intramurals! so jammies it is! (I'm hoping all the exclamation points make you enthused!!!)

a reminder to all students - we are in midst of a novel study, so it is crucial that you bring your novel to each and every humanities class. even if we aren't working on the novel study during a given time, if you finish early you can always work ahead or catch up.

all grade 7s and 8s category "c" of your respective novel studies is due on friday, march 25, and because of spring break, there can be no extensions and I will not accept late assignments.

:-)

monday, march 14

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend...

8-04 and 8-hec we will be heading out for vertigo theatre during second period on wednesday. please make sure to be clean and presentable (as always), and to bring a bagged lunch (no concession or microwave). also, please be on your best behaviour at the theatre, and on the bus there and back; remember, you are not just representing yourselves, but also your family and tom baines as well.

7s and 8s everyone should be well into their novels at this point, although you do not need to be finished reading in order to complete category "c" of your novel study.

for all grades, category "c" is due next friday, march 25; category "b" is due on friday, april 8; and category "c" is due wednesday, april 20. there can and will be no extension because of the nature of our schedule and how little time we have left this year. make use of your planning calendars to stay on top of your assignments.

:)

wednesday, march 2

I hope to see all of you with your parents at parent-teacher-student conferences tomorrow or friday :)

grade 8s we will continue to work on our comic timelines next week - please remember that they are due for sure for sure on thursday, march 10. at this point, you should definitely be planning/drawing out your good copy.

grade 7s we will be working on our political cartoons on monday - they are not for homework over the weekend.

enjoy your four days off!

;)

monday, february 28

a reminder to all that parent-teacher-student conferences are this thursday and friday. kids, please attend with your parents if possible - after all, why would we want to meet about you, but without you? :)

grade 8s your comic timelines will be due next thursday, march 10. please make sure to stay on top of the work so that you don't feel rushed as the due date approaches.

grade 7s we will be enjoying your radio plays today (and maybe tomorrow), and beginning to look at the american revolution and the war of 1812 in the coming days.

another three-day week...

:-)

another short week...

hi kids :)

tomorrow is an integration day, so after the grade 8 awards assembly, all grade 8s will be heading out for the cabane à sucre field trip (woohoo!). grade 7s will be participating in a shortened rotation through workshops in blue pod, then attending the grade 7 awards assembly, and then engaging in a an activity in the learning commons in the afternoon. it will be an awesome day!

attention all students - you will hand in your reading response journals on monday, february 28. please make sure that you indicate where the new section begins in your rrj, and also make sure to complete all entries in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner.

grade 8s, we will begin viewing our worldview minutes this week, and we will begin a new project on the meiji era of japan next week.

for grades 7s, we will hopefully begin listening to our angélique radio plays this week.

a final reminder that parent-teacher-student conferences are next thursday and friday.

:-)

this week in humanities...

grade 7s, I would like for you to create a new reflection for your e-portfolio. please do this on your own time. and yes, it is homework.

also for grade 7s, we will continue to record and edit our radio plays both tomorrow (tuesday) and wednesday.

grade 8s, we will continue working on - and hopefully finish working on - our worldview minutes. if we are having any technological issues, you must have your rrj novel, and be working on that. no rowdiness or time wasting!

:)

reading response journals

make sure to stay on top of your reading response journals... these are not new, but it seems that some of you are having issues remembering that we respond thrice (three times) weekly. your rrj only becomes a burden if you don't keep up with it, right?

we will continue working on our projects next week - monday for grade 8s and monday and tuesday for grade 7s.

and the countdown to five-day weekend begins!

;)

8-04 life skills journal reflection (from last week)

just in case you didn't get it down...

1) Reflect on your citizenship in group work.

2) How is your life similar and different from those of Jackie, Christine, and the guest from the Seven Steps program? Please explain your answer.

=)

wednesday, february 9

8-04, keep bringing non-perishables for the food drive! remember, we have a box to fill!

7-09 please have your second rough copy completed for tomorrow so that we can begin finding music and sound effects, and begin recording.

8-04 and 8-hec you should be finished filming by now... and now the fun starts - editing and voice overs, etc.

for grades 7 and 8, please remember that "book attendance" starts this friday - you must bring appropriate reading material with you to class for reading period on friday. you may not go to your locker or the learning commons. if you are not prepared to read when class starts, your book will be marked "absent."

also, for both grade 7s and 8s, we want to present our radio plays and short films next tuesday, february 15, right before you head off on your five- day weekend...

:-)

give from the heart

come on, 8-04, let's do this! let's fill our own box(es) for the food bank! woot woot!

:D

for monday

so, everyone should have their rough copies completed at this point.

grade 7s, we will begin recording on monday or tuesday, depending on how the peer editing goes.

grade 8s, we will begin filming on monday - make sure you have your props, sets, and costumes (if any) ready to go for monday!

also, reminder to all students to stay on top of their reading response journals - if you are behind, catch up now.

:)

rough scripts

hi kids... I hope you are all enjoying your loooong weekend.

just a reminder to all students that the rough copies of your scripts (radio play for grade sevens, and worldview minute for grade eights) will be due this friday, february 4. we will be doing a structured peer edit, so if your group is not ready, you will be impeding the progress of other groups as well...

:)

end of term two

please be advised that my term deadline has now passed. your marks are completely up to date on d2l - please check your marks to make sure they are accurate.

:)

wednesday, january 26

hi kids!

grade 7s - you should be beginning to plan out you radio plays... if you haven't finished your annotated bibliography yet, you will need to do some work at home.

grade 8s - remember that this week is for researching and taking notes on the topic for your "worldview minute." the better organized you are, the smoother the filming process will be once you begin.

:o

tuesday, january 25

***a gentle reminder to all grades 8 to have their paperwork for the vertigo theatre field trip in as soon as possible***

another gentle reminder for all students - term one ends this friday. any missing assignments are due by wednesday, january 26 or you will have zeros on your progress report...

grade 7s and 8s we are all back on the regular reading response schedule - three per week. yay!

:)

monday, january 24

a note for all students: friday is the end of term two (and semester one); however, my term cut-off is this wednesday, january 26. if you are missing any assignments, please hand them in by this wednesday or you will receive zeros, which will adversely affect your upcoming progress report...

grade 8s: please complete the renaissance/edo japan chart/venn diagrams for wednesday.

grade 7s: as we work through the angélique project, you will be reflecting periodically on the process of researching, planning, writing, and recording your radio plays in your d2l eportfolio. in particular, I would like you to focus on your responsibilities and privileges as a citizen of our classroom.

please consider the cbe "citizenship" end statement when reflecting on your work in the group: "each student will be a responsible citizen by being an informed and involved member in his or her local, national and global communities."

ask yourself, "how am I an informed and involved member of my community?"

:-)

torture and truth: angélique and the burning of montréal

please use the links under "7-09 - to do" to find the primary and secondary sources you want to evaluate for your annotated bibliography. please choose diverse primary and secondary sources in order to create a well-rounded representation of the trial against angélique.

:-)

vertigo theatre paperwork

this is a reminder for all grade 8 students: please hand in your completed acknowledgment of risk forms and your $20 payment (cash or cheque made out to "Tom Baines School") by Monday, January 17. it will be serious fun!

:D

primary and secondary sources quiz

grade 7s: please click on the primary and secondary sources quiz link under "7-09 to do" to complete the sources quiz. you will be required to determine which sources are primary and which are secondary. remember that primary sources are first-hand accounts or representations from the time period being studied, while secondary sources are syntheses of a variety of primary sources. please take the test until you score 100%.

:)

monday, january 10

I hope everyone had a great weekend! the marks on d2l have been updated. you have until this friday to address any blank spots or zeros; as always, please take a look at your marks for errors.

* 7-09 we are lucky to be attending the presentation of a visiting author tomorrow during period 6. please head straight to the learning commons after fifth period - you don't need to come to our classroom.

* grade 8s we will continue to present our mini-lessons over the next couple of days; once we have learned from all of our classmates, we will begin working on our Japan unit.

:-)

tuesday, january 4

happy new year!!!

* 7-09 please have your shoelace paragraphs ready to hand in on friday.

grade 8s we will continue to work on our mini-lesson presentations, which will begin on thursday.

:)