Good afternoon!

Today we completed our Unit of Measurement. Students worked to complete their Unit 4 Test. Something that we like to do before we write a test is to relax. Today we used two different relaxation activities from GoNoodle to help us prepare. The first was a new activity called “Flow”. This activity led students through a deep breathing exercise. They were asked to imagine pulling a balloon out of the sky and releasing the balloon as they breathed out. This is the first time we have done one of the “Flow” activities, and it seemed to go very well. We also did our usually relaxation activity, “Airtime”. “Airtime” has students focus solely on their breathing. As the air bubble travels, the class travels across the United States. Today we made it to Portland, Oregon. Did you know that they have a museum of vacuum cleaners?

We also had Health today. Currently, we are having 2 different Health classes. The girls are with Ms. McNeil in 5L. The girls and Ms. McNeil are working with Girls Inc. of Northern Alberta. The program is about 6 sessions long and the topics for each session are: What is a friend, what is a bully, what is cyberbullying, strategies for handling bullies, dealing with difference & stress and anger management. So far things are going well and the girls seem to enjoy being together in a larger group. The boys have Health with me in 5N. We are also working on a Unit on bullying. Last week we discussed the different types of bullying and what makes a bully. Then we split into groups and brainstormed about the following: “What makes a good friend?”, “A good friend shouldn’t…”, and “The benefits of having friends are…”. Students had a lot of wonderful responses. Today we continued to talk about bullying we focused today on social bullying and exclusion. Students watched a clip called “For the Birds” by Pixar and we discussed some of the examples of bullying that we could see in the clip. Then we talked about why social bullying occurs and about peer pressure. We all agreed that it is important to think for yourself, and to do what is right for you. To practice positive social interactions, we also had a team building activity. Students were split into 4 groups. Each group had to construct a duplicate model of a statue that I had built out of snapcubes. The challenge? That each group could only send 1 group member to look at the statue at a time. They then had to return to their group to communicate what they had seen. Students were encouraged to work together, to stay positive, use appreciation statements, etc. Everyone did a wonderful job and it was a lot of fun!

Agenda:

Read 20 minutes

Book Orders – April 30th

Science: Simple Switch Project

L.A. – Bridge to Terabithia – Film Studies Question #12 (Wed.)

Multicultural Potluck – April 23rd

Heath: Girls Inc. Forms