last reminders: We need clipboards back from the following students (by #): 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25.
Textbooks from Joaquin, #22
red pyramid novel from Zofia, #1
Thanks!
Great fun at Kitty Islets (McNeill Bay) today at really low tide with naturalist Margaret Lidkea!
last reminders: We need clipboards back from the following students (by #): 6, 8, 10, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25. Textbooks from Joaquin, #22 red pyramid novel from Zofia, #1 Thanks!
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Field trips: Many thanks to the parents who helped coordinate rides and drive students to & from our Swartz Bay put-in for the very successful overnight camping expeditions. It was a pleasure seeing the students genuinely work hard and stretch their outdoor abilities!
Our next field trip comes next Tuesday June 14 when we head to Sidney for the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre marine mammals program. PLEASE help as we need 6 more drivers for our trip to Commonwealth Place pool in Royal Oak on Friday June 17, departing at lunchtime, returning at 2:30-3pm to the school. Thanks, Gillian Johnson, for volunteering to drive 4 students. Email me a.s.a.p. to help. L.A. missing Literature Circle Roles from The Red Pyramid novel study (which is a problem since I am compiling marks for Term 3 Reports): Paige, Nathan, Brandon, and Sela. Hand in a.s.a.p. Everyone invited!! to our End-of-Year Breakfast & slide show on Monday June 20 9AM to 10:15AM at the Monterey School multipurpose room. This is an all-call for parents who might be Breakfast Chefs and who have a plug-in electric griddle for pancakes or a waffle iron. Do you have a favorite pancake or waffles recipe that you could share on this final fun morning? Please look for the potluck breakfast form and news from the students as to what breakfast we will bring. Our amazing sea kayak instructor/guides Doug and Sarah will be there and we look forward to thanking them formally on that morning. I know many parents have work commitments but if you can make time for the Breakfast you are warmly invited! Please note that next Monday May 30 is Curriculum Completion in the afternoon. Students without outstanding work will be dismissed at 12:20pm. Students have brought home their green MOSP logo T-shirts today. Horray! Help! we need drivers for our Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre Field trip coming up on Tuesday June 14. So far we have one parent driver who can help. Seats in vehicles for 19 of 27 still needed. Please email me, or send in the permission stub (see letter on the May 10 post). Homework Notes: French Fashion Shows should wrap up this Friday. See photos above for students still to present. The number of pairs without costumes and scripts ready today was depressing. Math House projects: After checking in with each student today for the following: (1) house model built; (2) 3D drawing of model; (3) calculations of area, cost of roof/floor/siding materials, remainder spent on furniture, all tallied, the following students have "something missing" DUE TOMORROW (by classroom number) : 7, 8, 10, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 02? Kayak Reflection #5 (Nature poem & Diamante, following our last kayaking day trip) MISSING from these students (by classroom number) : 27, 25, 24, 22, 18, 16, 12, 8, 6. (Two assignments had no names on the work.) Unless I hear of special circumstances, these students will be added to Curriculum Completion next Monday May 30.
Good news! MOSP sport logo T-shirts are in. After some helpful volunteer students attach order forms to shirts, they will be handed out to students next week. `:-) Please review the equipment list for the camping trips coming up in JUST 3 WEEKS! If any concerns about the gear please contact me well in advance of the trip. I will be bringing in my camping gear and giving students a look at how to pack for this expedition.
After our kayak trips conclude, we continue to have educational field trips in MOSP. We will need parent help as volunteer drivers for our trip to the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre. Please sign the bottom of the field trip letter below.
We are now getting a busy part of MOSP from the kayaking perspective. Green Group students had a successful full day of kayaking yesterday. Reflection #5 will be a collection of Nature Poetry; each student received an assignment sheet and 'Nature Poem' & Diamante samples. This short writing assignment is due this Thursday May 12. Blue Group's will due the following week on Thursday May 19. Our overnight kayak expeditions are only a few weeks away. thanks to following students for volunteering their family's tents: Brianna/Jocelyn Claire Sebastian (confirmed; thanks) Sela Alex M Zoe Finn Nate Zofia Could we please have all tents in this week so we can work with them next Tuesday May 17. Math: in-class: construct a 3D object (a cone) and find its surface area (side + base; green construction paper) Students whose work is missing (by classroom #) : 4, 28, 22 Math Houses: Many students need to work a little more efficiently to complete construction of their house models. We should be at the stage of costing out roof, siding and flooring materials (use the green assignment--Mi Casa es tu Casa--hand-out to find the "STORM Building Store"). The photo above shows who is still building their model and who has moved on to the steps of Calculating building costs/drawing the 3D model/"buying" furniture to use up their budget exactly. L.A.: The Red Pyramid Literature Circles novel study: have your 4th Lit. Circle Role ready to present this Friday May 13. Students without 3 Lit. Circles Roles completed (by classroom #) : 4, 9, 24, 2, 26, 3, 6, 14, 18, 22, 12, & 28. French: Fashion Show presentations--be ready with script, costumes, etc. to present starting this Friday May 13. Pairs each narrate their partner showing their clothing; you may read from a script in French. Both students speak; both students perform. After your performance hand in your script to Mr. Brown. Pairs are:
Above: students learn from Mr. Mark Albany on our BCTransit trip to Pkals (Mount Doug Park) for our First Nations walk on Friday April 29. Several academic projects are now in 'full swing': Math 'mi casa es tu casa' House construction/budgeting project: All due dates have been moved 7 days forward because I have been giving more in-depth lessons on calculating surface area of cones, cylinders; drawing 3D shapes and budgetting: Model completed: Monday May 9 Calculations: Wed. May 11 finishing touches: Wed. May 18 Please have house construction materials at school because we will start to use class time for 'construction work time'. Students without their model/house drawing/calculation pages at school ("I have nothing to do, Mr. Brown!") can expect to work on arithmetic review (eg. pages 32-33 of Mathpower7). Green cone problem (in-class): calculate the surface area (sides + base). due tomorrow (Thurs May 5) Language Arts: Use your Lit Circle Roles package (copy available in link below) and your novel The Red Pyramid by R. Riordan, to do your assigned role for your Literature Circle group. Next meeting Tuesday May 10. Writing: Kayak Reflection #4 from our 'sunny Willows paddle' in April, still missing from (by student number): 3, 7, 18, 24, and 28. French: Pairs of students will narrate their partner's fashion runway appearance, and then switch roles. Must be scripted in French; please use the sentences format as shown, 'Le défilé de mode--partner presentation' hand-out. Show starts on the morning of Thursday May 12. Have your bling ready!! Social Studies: the following 'What-in-the-world' assignments (from April 1 due date) still missing or 'not yet meeting expectations' (by student's classroom number) : 6, 14, 17, 24, 26, 28. Students may work on them on our next Curriculum Completion Day, if adult support is needed. Ancient Egypt: I will be checking complete 'timeline for Ancient Egypt' worksheet this Friday May 6. Calling All Tents for Camping!!! Please help if you can supply a tent for MOSP trips to Portland Island in June. I will be organizing tent groups for Green Group and for Blue Group in the next few weeks. Certain students will be assigned to bring the tents in. A 'tent etiquette' session will take place on a nearby green space once tent groups are made (2-3 tents for girl groups; 2-3 tents for boy groups for each trip). MOSP T-shirt orders (17 orders) have gone to our silkscreener design shop. Your shirts should be ready in a few weeks ("late May"). Thanks for supporting the fundraiser! :-)
This Thursday April 28 school will be dismissed at lunchtime. From 3pm to 6pm the class will be open for students to show their guests their learning. Please see the document below for the outline of Student Led Conferences. other news: Wednesday morning: our classroom goes to Oak Bay High to be audience for the Fine Arts & Performing Arts final rehearsal (show Wednesday evening!) Friday: all day: First Nations Walk with Mr. Mark Albany at Mount Doug Park Beach (access near Ash Road). Bring $5 bus fare. School starts early! 8:15 departure from Monterey to our city bus.
Gorgeous, beautiful weather in Victoria makes for a perfect paddling opportunity last Monday. Please support our MOSP fundraiser by buying logo GREEN T-SHIRT or yellow bandanna! Order form on the post below. orders due next Friday April 29! We've been busy with academic work, too. Please note: Ocean Studies reflection #4: please write about your kayaking day using 'linking language' or comparative prepositions to compare/contrast last Monday with another kayaking day of your choice. due after the weekend on Tuesday April 26. Math: The Math House project started today. Parents please sign off students' green assignment sheet (see the copy in the link below). Students are also required to have a 30 cm ruler, glue sticks and scissors for the model making that will occur soon. Math house 3D model + calculations due Wed. May 11, with part due dates each week. Science: Please have plankton pages in MOSP Observation Book. Due this Friday April 22. French: Clothing vocabulary: please have the blanks filled in on "Les Accessoires" worksheet (see 'clothing-fill-in-the-blanks' file below) Date Reminders: Friday April 22: Swimming at Oak Bay Rec. 1pm-3pm. Bring snack and water for afterwards, coins for lockers (optional) and written note for dismissal from rec. centre at 2:30 (optional). Monday April 25: ProD day - school not in session Thursday April 28: Student-Led Conferences, 3-6:30pm; students dismissed at 12:20pm (lunch time). Friday April 29: day field trip BY BUS to Mount Douglas Park for First Nations Walk with Aboriginal Education teacher Mr. Mark Albany. See letter, sent home today.
Please support this MOSP fundraiser by buying a T-shirt and bandana and wear the Ocean Studies swag with style! At the students' request we have added a name on the back at an extra charge. You can download a MOSP-wear Order Form below. Please return to our classroom by Friday April 29.
We hope all students and families have had a wonderful break with Easter & Spring Break blended this year! A big thanks to the adult helpers who came on Ms. Cook's successful Plankton exploration day last week at Pearson College! Many exciting things will be happening in our classroom from April onward. Kayak Overnight Expedition: Our trips offshore will be an important focus for the Ocean Studies classroom in Term 3. Sea Kayaking: Please note that in 2 weeks students will be kayaking for 1/2 day on the morning (Green group) or on the afternoon of Monday April 18. Green Group, please meet at the launch site at Turkey Head (Oak Bay marina parking lot) at 8:30 AM and be prepared to walk back to the school with Ms. Thornton after eating a packed lunch. Blue Group: please bring a pack lunch and be prepared to walk to the launch site at lunchtime; as an option you may have your families pick you up at Turkey Head at 3:00pm, or walk home from there--given you have a written note from parent guardian ( and if the kayaks have been put away by then). Which group? Green Group: Blue Group: Nate Alex McC Brandon Joaquin Finn Ethan Henry Sebastian Annika Brianna Natalie Sela Zoe Tate Gabi Sophie Raphaella Seoyoon Kayla Claire Zofia Alexa Jocelyn Alexandra Emily Sydney Paige Andrea Green Group paddles for a full day, 8:30 - 3pm at Oak Bay on Monday May 9. Blue Group, same, on Monday May 16. For our overnight expeditions on Friday June 3-Sat. June 4 (Green Group) and Sunday June 5-Monday June 6 (Blue Group) our offshore destination will be Portland Island, in the Gulf Islands National Park, off Swartz Bay. We will launch and return from the government wharf at Barnacle Road/Dolphin Road, a service lane to the right (east) of the BC Ferry terminal (maps and directions to follow). On those dates we will help make carpool arrangements. Please look for an equipment/clothing list to come home soon. We will also be working out a tent-sharing arrangements; if you have a camping grade tent (rainproof, separate complete fly, 3 person size) please consider lending it to this school trip. We recommend practice setting it up, and look for more information from me soon. First Nations walk with Songhees teacher Mr. Mark Albany on the morning of Friday April 29. Students will take BCTransit. Please send a bus pass if your child has one, otherwise bus fare will be paid out of our MOSP funds. Please dress for hiking in any weather. Next year's Ocean Studies Classroom: for the next 5 mornings I will be asking a team of 4 or so students to help us promote our MOSP in Grade 6 classrooms during Advisory (the 1st 20 minutes of each day). It is optional. Please have your son/daughter let me know is he/she wishes to be part of our teams visiting Ms. Rud, Mr. Barnes, Ms. Baird, Dr. Connelly and Mr. Gybels classroom (in that order, each morning,Tuesday April 5 -- Tuesday April 12) Math field trip! Working with my colleague at Victoria High School, Dr. Robert Ammon, students have a unique opportunity to work with Gr.9 math students who will visit our classroom on Tuesday April 12, block 1. We visit the same Grade 9 math class at Vic.Hi the next day, morning of Wed. April 13. Transportation will be provided by the high school both days. The trips take place within our schoolday schedule. Academic Notes: What-in-the-World (current events) assignment on Concussions/SanJose shipwreck/Air Pollution in China / GM Foods: Most students successfully completed this assignment (perhaps making good use of the Spring Break to do careful work and research. Bravo!) The following students (by classroom #) have not yet handed the work in: 14, 28. The following students have not yet completed the work to "straight ahead" level (the work does not yet meet expectations at a minimum level) (by classroom number): 6, 17, 24. Please hand in complete work before the next Curriculum Completion afternoon. Social Studies to look forward to: Ancient civilization study of Egypt; Nautical chart interpretation for the Gulf Islands area. Math: area of circle models + 3D models in a House Project... P.E. next Oak Bay Recreation SWIM afternoon Fri. April 22 will include capsize/recovery training with single kayaks in the pool (following up on our pool session, last November). We welcome Mr. Andrews again. Parent supervisors for the walk to/from the pool (and who wish to join us for the kayak pool session) are most welcome! Low Tide study: We continue our outdoor field work on the seashore of Oak Bay with a lowtide transect study at Cattle Point on Monday April 11. Leaving at lunch time and returning at 3pm students will look for which animals live where on the rocky seashore. Parent volunteers enthusiastically welcome! See the document below for more details and to let us know what you prefer for dismissal.
Students have furiously been creating projects in iMovie on school iPads or laptops (MacBook Airs). We have 14 entertaining 'Infomercials' on various products Grade 6 students have made and are selling at the Monterey Young Entrepreneur Fair this Wednesday March 9, open to the public 4:30-7pm. Classes will visit the booths in the afternoon so students may bring cash tomorrow (see blue handout). MOSP students have volunteered to also bring treats (or sell healthy treats from Mr. Brown) at a MOSP fundraiser table. Please see the document below "YE Snack Vendors' for more info. Field trip, shortly after the Spring Break to Pearson College for an amazing day with marine educators, including a plankton and marine inverts. sampling. Ms. Cook has arranged for a bus. (Phew! It's a long drive! But parent chaperones are most welcome.) We're really looking forward to this field trip. Students will bring home a BLUE field trip letter. Please return the bottom portion ASAP. For a .PDF copy please download from the link below. Students wish to have a contest to bring in ALL the manilla report card envelopes by this Friday Mar. 11. Please return them this week...details to follow... Skating this Friday afternoon. Dismissal can be at Oak Bay Rec Centre with a paper note this Friday mar. 11
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Mr. Mark BrownKayaker since 1989, professional sea kayak guide in coastal B.C., Costa Rica and Belize in the 1990s, I started a family in 2000. Settling in Victoria and transitioning from environmental education to public school teacher, I joined Monterey Ele. School and participated 'on the ground floor' as we transformed to middle school in 2007. In 2013 I moved from Gr. 6 to Gr.6/7 and in 2014 created MOSP. I bike to work, love Japanese cuisine, and can be found playing with our 2 middle school and high school age kids, or swimming while armed with rubber ducks... Archives
June 2016
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