Dear Parents, 

We hope you had a fantastic fall break. 
Here is the weekly update for October 15-19th. 

General:

Our Day 1-6 class schedule has changed over the break. The new schedule is attached to this email and can also be found on the class website

Next week students from all 4 grade 6 classes are going on a field trip to the Jumping Pound Demonstration forest. 
A parent letter and consent form will be coming home on Monday, Oct. 15th. Please read, sign, and return the form as soon as possible. 

Humanities:
Social Studies: Now that students have collected their research, students will choose an engaging and informative presentation method. We will develop a rubric together early in the week and begin to create these presentations so students can educate their classmates on their chosen historical story of change. Students will also begin to examine local government in preparation for a visit from MLA, Linda Johnson on Friday. 

Language Arts: Students will continue to examine characterization and will begin to develop a character for their short story.  We are very lucky to have an expert writer, Cathy Beveridge, guide us in our story development. This will be an ongoing project that will likely take us to the end of the term. 
Students will be receiving their "Their, There, They're" quizzes back early in the week. Please sign them and send them back.


Math/Science:
Math: This week we will be wrapping up the math calculating the oxygen production of the Weaselhead Natural area. Students will have a chance to pair share their ideas and explain their mathematical reasoning. Later this week we will have our 3rd Math computation Quiz. I will be returning students math journals to them early this week. Over the break I looked at their ideas and their ability to communicate them. Before the break students had been working on writing down their thoughts on how to tackle a problem, recording math calculations as they tackle that  problem, communicating why their strategy did or did not work and how to change or modify their thinking for another attempt. 

Friday October 5th: PD Day - No School.

Fall Break: October 8th – 14th. Back to school on Monday, October 15th.

Terry Fox:  Thanks very much for all of your generous donations. CSS was able to raise nearly $6000 for cancer research! Way to go! 

Scholastic Order for 6.4: Will be sent to Scholastic today.

Grade 6 Musical: “Once on a Housetop”by John Jacobson and Mac Huff 

Mr. Bolen and Ms. Drage are thrilled to announce an opportunity for the grade 6 students at CSS to sign up for the musical “Once On a Housetop” that will be presented on December 17th. There will be a 1:30 matinee for students of CSS and a 7:00pm evening performance for parents in the CSS gymnasium. All students who sign up to participate will automatically be cast in the show. Anyone interested in a leading role will be required to audition. Auditions will be held during lunch hours the week after fall break. (October 16-18, 2012) There will be a mandatory meeting at lunch, Monday October 22nd in the Music Room for all those who signed up. “Once on a Housetop” celebrates the many joyous ways that we all celebrate a very special time of year. This annual time of renewal and rebirth acknowledges our similarities and diversity. A group of chimney sweeps lead us on this cultural adventure through song, story and movement. “

Humanities:  

This week in Humanities, students will continue to have time to research their individual for their Historical Change Project. They must answer all of the questions on the assignment sheet and put these details into their Research Log. As well they need have a thorough Research Collector Document, (this can be in a MS Word, GoogleDoc or Pages format) which houses all of the following information:

1. The date of when they are researching

2. Each url address of every website they go to

This project will be due after we return from the break – students should have all of their research completed by the end of this week.

In addition to the research project, students will be starting a Character Sketch for the cross-curricular project we are doing with Math/Science on trees. The final product will have students creating an illustrated storybook about their Weaselhead tree.

Students will also have a “Their, They’re, There” quiz on Thursday before the break.

Math/Science:

Last week we asked our classes "Does the Weasel Head produce enough oxygen for all of Calgary?" In pursuing this question we are learning/reviewing how to measure perimeter and area in a 2 dimensional shape. This week we will use what we learned to calculate the area of the Weasel Head and create a scale for a map of that area. 

In Science most students are finishing up their tree research for their Tree Story. From here students will start to create characters and choose which scientific concepts to convey in their tree story. 

Both classes are starting to use Evernote in Math and Science to organize, document, and share the work we are doing. Please help ensure that your child has created a Math Notebook and a Science Notebook and invited me to Share these notebooks. Students in 6.3 did this Monday, 6.4 will do it Tuesday.

Have a safe & peaceful break!

Hi Parents,
Here is the weekly update for September 24th to September 28th
General:

Terry Fox run is Thursday morning. Feel free to come cheer on the runners at North Glenmore Park. Grades 4-6 run at 9:30am

Pledge forms should be returned by Sept. 27th
Scholastic is due October 1st

Humanities:
This week students will be conducting research for their Inspirational Stories of Change assignment. We will discuss website credibility, bibliography writing, and research strategies early in the week. Students will also brainstorm effective presentation techniques and begin to think about how they can demonstrate their understanding to the class in a creative, engaging, and informative way.

In the coming weeks, students will be writing a creative story based on the tree that they have chosen in Science. We will go over plot and character development this week. The final product for this assignment will be a children’s book. If we have any parents who are experts in the field of writing or illustrating, please contact Ms. P. We would love to have you in!


Math/Science:

In Science we are starting a cross curricular project for our Trees and Forests units. Students have adopted-a-tree and over the course of the next weeks will be creating stories about their tree that also includes scientific facts. 

This week in Math we are looking at calculating the Oxygen production of the Weasel Head area and determining its benefits to Calgary. This problem will be posted on the website at the end of Monday. This question will cover estimation strategies, working with decimal numbers, and continue to develop problem solving skills. We will also be reviewing and building on multiplication and division strategies. Last week we had our second Computation Quiz. Math Computation Quizes will happen about every two weeks. These are intended to see how kids are doing with math operations and word problems. The weighting of these quizzes on your child's grades are small, but it provides me with a quick snapshot of a students strength and areas to work on.   

Jody Pereverzoff
Grade 6 Humanities Teacher

John Cadman
Grade 6 Math/Science

Terry Fox Run - September 27th
Student have received pledge forms. You can also donate online. 

Humanities:
Students have received their first quiz  and I will be returning and discussing the quiz with them on Tuesday. Students will have an opportunity to make improvements to their quizzes and hand it in again – the goal is always for students to learn and understand what we are doing in school, so I encourage every student who did not earn 14/14 on the quiz to take time to ask questions and make the improvements! Students will be taking these quizzes home to share with you as well. Again, please discuss, sign and have your child return as soon as possible. 

Students have also started our new project titled Inspirational Stories of Historical Change. Students are working in partners or individually on this inquiry project. For more details, please find a copy of the assignment on the Humanities Resource site.

Students will have a variety of small homework assignments this week based on discussions we are having in class. Please see student agendas for homework topics. 

Hello Parents, 
Here is the weekly update for September 5-7, 2012

General:
Computers: We are experiencing minor problems with the new Mac Books. Some computers have "re-imaged" themselves overnight. 
Student should get into the habit of backing up their work. 
With this in mind, every student needs their own Memory Stick (thumb drive) so they can save their data.  
Computers may start coming home after Camp Sweet, once all Technology Agreements are signed and returned. 

Everyone is really excited to go to camp next week. 
6.3/6.4 will be going to Camp Sweet Sept. 10-12, 2012
The bus for camp will be leaving Monday, Sept 10th, at 9am sharp. 
If you have any questions concerning Camp Sweet, please contact your child's homeroom teacher. 
Please Complete and Return informed consents and Health Forms promptly.

Technology Orientation - Wednesday Sept. 5 - 6:00pm  ==> For new CSS parents. 

School Council Meeting - Wed., September 5 - 7:00pm

Humanities:

In Social Studies, students will reflect on and assess  their understanding of the four pillars of democracy. 
Students will also begin to explore the values, rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens and they will examine how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects individual and collective rights.
In Language Arts, students will begin to create descriptive paragraphs using the 5 senses. In this writing unit, Students will begin to develop their vocabulary while also reviewing sentence and paragraph structure. 

Math/Science:

In Science students will start to present their chosen forest topic this Thursday. There will be some class time on Wednesday to put the finishing touches on these presentations.
Students who are behind on this assignment should plan to talk to me about working at lunch or spending time at home on this project. 
In Math, we will spend this short week looking at Factors and Multiples. 

Have a great week, 

Jody Pereverzoff
Grade 6 
Humanities

John Cadman
Grade 6
Math/Science



 http://cssgrade6classwebsite.weebly.com

Hi Parents,

Here is the weekly update for August 27th to the 31st.

 General:

SUTP forms have been sent home

Balzac Meat forms are due September 5th

Laptop forms due ASAP

Snack Attack/Fun Lunch forms are due Thursday, August 30th

Volunteers for Camp Sweet – please email your homeroom teacher if you are interested in attending. We will be leaving on September 10th and arriving back on the 13th.

Family Picnic has been re-scheduled for Friday, August 31st t 12:15pm. Same location as before. 

Don't forget to check the class website and your child's agenda binder for what is happening in Humanities and Math/Science.
 Grade 6.3/6.4 Class Website:      http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php
Weekly Update:

Humanities - This week we will continue to examine democracy and democratic values. We will also continue to construct our democratic pillar visuals, while gaining a stronger understanding of how each pillar supports democracy in our society.  Students will then examine our rights and responsibilities as Canadians and the role of government in our society.    




Math/Science - In Math we will be continuing to review content from Grade 5. Specifically we will be working on developing number sense. Topics will include: using whole numbers to 1 million, estimation strategies, mental math, multiplying 2 digit numbers, dividing 3 digit numbers by single digits, using fractions and decimals. This review will be done using problems like the million dollar suit case. See link: http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L252
The Math Program of studies for grade 6 has been added to the Math section of the class website. Please feel free to give it a read. In Science students are working on short presentations about what fascinates them about "Trees and Forests." In this regard we will be looking at what constitutes a "good" source for research and how best to present ones ides in 3-5 minutes. 


Jody Pereverzoff
Grade 7 Humanities Teacher

John Cadman
Grade 7 Math/Science Teach

Here is the weekly update for August 20-24, 2012.

General:

It was great to meet those parents that were able to attend the meet the teacher night this past Thursday. 
We look forward to meeting the rest of you in the coming weeks and months. 

The 6.3 and 6.4 Class website is up and running. The web address it:   http://cssgrade6classwebsite.weebly.com

There is an Outdoor Education Volunteer meeting on Tuesday, August 21st at 6:30pm.

There is also a Camp Sweet parent information session on Tuesday, August 21st at 7pm


The grade 6 family picnic will be this Friday, August 24th, in North Glenmore Park. Please join us at the picnic area on the west end of the park close to the playground at 12:15pm. 

6.3 and 6.4 will be going to Camp Sweet Sept. 10-12, 2012


Please email your child's homeroom teacher if you are interested in volunteering for this trip. 


Students will also be receiving their laptops tomorrow. For the first week or so, this devices will remain at school. We will send out an email when they are ready to go home. 

We are looking for completed Green Demographic forms and student feedback forms. Thanks!

Humanities:

This week, students will begin to examine democratic values and principles. Students will collaborate to come up with 4 key principles that support democracy and they will work in teams to visually represent their understanding of these pillars. Also, students will be completing a creative writing assignment this week to demonstrate their writing styles and skills. 

Math/Science:

Over the course of the week we will be doing some math surrounding Canada's medal count at the London Olympics. 
This will be part review of grade 5 material and an introduction to grade 6 content. 
In Science we will be starting our unit on Trees and Forests. Students will be studying human use of forest and the issues that arise from this. 

Have a great week, 

John Cadman
Grade 6
Math/Science


Jody Pereverzoff
Grade 7 
Humanities Teacher