Hi everyone,

It's hard to believe that June is already upon us!

Students have an Algebra assessment tomorrow (Monday) and on Friday, they received a review package. Here are the solutions to those pages:

This Thursday is our Grad Trip - parents are reminded to review safety expectations with their child(ren) with regards to how to act when in busy public areas. We want to reinforce safety on this trip, then fun :)

Also, students have been asked to send in baby photos for a presentation at Graduation.  These WILL be returned to you.  If you wish to send them in a digital format, please email them to sskelton@scdsb.on.ca.

Thank you!  Hope you have a great start to June!
Miss Skelton :)

Where did April go?

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since we've posted!  Here's a brief update about what we've been up to:

In Language, students have been completing group Literature Circles with a variety of different novels.  On Friday of this week, we will be having a Gallery in the front foyer of the school to showcase culminating posters that students have been working on for their books - if you're able to attend to see the posters, we would love to have you here!  The Gallery will occur during our middle block (11:30-1:00).

In Math, we completed a unit on volume and surface area of cylinders, and have now moved on to our Algebra unit.  Algebra is a large component of the high school curriculum for Math, so we will be spending quite a bit of time on getting the concepts down.

In our rotary subjects, we are doing Fluids in Science and Population Pyramids and Global Inequalities in Geography.  We've just finished a dance unit on Square Dancing - ask your child how to promenade! In Visual Arts, we are beginning to work on mandalas that relate back to the characters in their literature circle novel, and in Drama, students are creating a play based on a Robert Munsch picture book.

As you know, our grad trip is quickly approaching.  If you haven't paid the full balance for the trip, please do so before May 11th.  Thank you! More information about the trip will be coming in future blog posts.

Some of our students will be writing the Gauss Math contest on Wednesday, May 13th next week.

Jump Rope for Heart will happen next Thursday, May 14th.  Please have students return the pledge envelopes as soon as possible.

Track and Field Day is coming up - May 19th is our scheduled date, with a rain date of May 21st.  Students need to have the forms that were distributed yesterday signed and brought back by the middle of next week.

Have a great week!

Miss Skelton and Mrs. Davis :)

Pi Day Celebrations

Who would have thought that 3.1415... would be such a great cause for celebration? We had a fun day today!  Friday?  No thanks... I'll have a "Pi"day, please!

Happy Pi Day!

Our portable door

To celebrate Pi Day 2015, we had all kinds of Pi and non-Pi related activities going on!  We started the day by staying in our "Pi"jamas (ha ha!), and then we went on a "Pi" scavenger hunt. The students had to find Pecan Pi, Cherry Pi, Blueberry Pi, Apple Pi, Pumpkin Pi, and Lemon Meringue Pi!

Lots of different types of Pi today!

Students used Pi to solve for the circumference and area of various circles, using the values found under the Pi symbols around the school.  The feedback from them was very positive!

Working hard to solve circle problems during our scavenger hunt.

After second nutrition break and recess, we had some "Pi"zza... but before we did that, we had to find out the area of each "Pi"zza "Pi"e, and find out what the area of two slices would be.  Then we figured out how much "Pi"zza we would need for the 21 students in our class, and if we would have enough with 5 "Pi"es.  Turns out we did, and had lots left over, too! Not our neatest solution, but your grade 8 student can probably explain what we did here.

"Pi"zza problems!

We finished the day with a movie (rare occurrence in grade 8!) - Life of Pi would have been ideal, but instead, we went with "Pi"rates of the Caribbean.  My 8s were awesome and seemed to really enjoy the movie (it IS awesome... I mean, it's Johnny Depp!). We're hoping to finish it one day :)

Thanks so much for a really fun day to celebrate Pi, and to kick off the March Break.  I hope that everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday!  See you back on March 23!

Miss Skelton :)

Pi Day!

image from http://www.pinkcatstudio.com/

Pi Day is coming up!! On March 13th (the day before Pi Day),  Miss Skelton's class will be celebrating with all kinds of "Pi"-related festivities! It will start with "Pi"zza (pepperoni or cheese), provided by Miss Skelton at 1:55 (the beginning of our afternoon block)!

Pyjamas and Pizza!

What are our students saying about Pi?

Liam says these puns are "pi"larious!
"My hand kills so much from writing, I feel like I'm going to "pi"! - Morgan
Julia's shirt says "pi"nk!

What puns do you have about Pi?

If students wish, they can visit www.piday.org all things pi!

Miss Skelton :)

Class of 2015 Gradwear!

Hi everyone,

We recently had School Tees visit our grade 8s to showcase some of the great products that are available to the graduating class of 2015!

Student order forms may differ (we're not sure why!), but if you would like the most up-to-date form, please click on the following link:
http://www.schooltee.com/orderforms/cn/classof/2015/Classof2015_order%20form.pdf

We did have a question about the baby blue colour of clothing - it IS available, even though it is not listed on the forms.  The reasoning behind this (according to customer service) is that the light blue colour doesn't show the white writing very well.  That being said, if you or your graduate are interested in baby blue, you can certainly get it, as long as you are aware of this minor conflict in colouring.

We have a busy week coming up - students have a History assignment due, they are working on a rough copy for a Visual Arts optical art project, and today they will be receiving a Science assignment that will be due well after March break.

Both Mrs. Davis and I would like to remind students that in order to participate in Friday's afternoon festivities (to be announced!), they must have their History assignment completed.  The Science and Art are continuing after the break.

Have a great day!
Miss Skelton :)

Talk to Yourself...

Hi everyone,

A couple of weeks ago, our class had an opportunity to do an activity.  We began by watching the following video on facing adversary, and developing resilience skills.

We talked about how the little voice that we hear in our head sometimes puts us down.  We discussed these comments that we sometimes think to ourselves, and worked on finding ways that we could change what that voice says.

Our students came up with a fantastic collection of "rebuttals" for their little voices.  Hopefully we can access these positive approaches more and more frequently and develop that growth mindset that we are trying to foster in our classroom.  With practice, our students can rise above doubt and achieve anything they set their minds to :)

Talk to yourself the way you would talk to someone you love.

Let's enable our students to approach situations with more positivity!

To my students:  you've got this :)

Miss Skelton

Career Day

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow is our second annual Career Day at Fieldcrest!  We are looking forward to hosting a number of professionals from our community, who have generously given up their time to come and visit with our students.  Throughout the day, students will have an opportunity to hear our guests speak about their chosen professions, and toward the end of our sessions, they will have a meet and greet with our visitors.  Information may come home about colleges and universities - please don't fret!  We're not pushing them through THOSE doors yet!  Mrs. Reid has been kind enough to coordinate getting some course catalogues from Ontario colleges and universities that students will have a chance to browse through in the afternoon.  Please have a discussion with your child about the careers they learned about and what careers might interest them in the future!

Invite your grade 8 student to take you through his or her "my blueprint" page:
myblueprint.ca/simcoe

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

Miss Skelton :)