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 :)

Grad Photos

Hi everyone,

Our Grade 8 students will be venturing over to the highschool later this week and early next to investigate various aspects of computer programming.  We will be using the program "Scratch", which is available at this website:

http://scratch.mit.edu/

Students will be bringing home information about this mini-trip this week.

Also, students will be having their graduation photos on Tuesday, January 27. They are reminded to wear light coloured  clothing, and boys are asked to wear a tie.  We can't wait to see them all fancied up!

Have a great day,
Miss Skelton :)

Career Day Survey

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, the last link that we had for the survey was not the correct one - that's my fault!  I'm sorry!

The new link is here, and students need to use their login information to access it (this would be the same information that students use to log in to the school network). For best results, this should be accessed through Google Chrome.

https://docs.google.com/a/scdsb.on.ca/forms/d/1w_AW0ljJBV1eZIZiNPc0bFP2A1d2DYdTXrHq0g5ijCo/viewform?c=0&w=1

Career presentations will be filled in on a first come, first serve basis, so students who complete the survey first will get priority over those who wait until the last minute.

Thanks!
Miss Skelton

Grit & Resilience

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, we watched a few videos and had a discussion about what it means to be resilient.  We talked about what resilience means (the ability to face adversity and bounce back or push through), and we looked at some examples of hardships that famous names have faced and who have persevered.  Here are the videos that we watched:

What Students Really Need to Hear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O7v4EJjx-g

Famous Failures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYECIjmnQs

We also watched a couple of videos about the internet's cutest cat, Lil Bub.  She was, as a kitten, diagnosed with osteoporosis, and her owner was told that there was no hope of curing her.  Watch this video to see what courage, motivation, and determination resulted in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Z6jQrjrLg

These videos sparked some fantastic discussions among students and throughout the period, they were encouraged to talk about challenges that they face, strategies they could use to overcome them, and ways that we can support each other both in the classroom and out.  As this was an introduction, responses were fairly surface-level, and as we progress with focusing on the concept of being resilient, our hopes are that students will internalize some of these strategies and start to live them.

Miss Skelton :)

Course Selection for High School

Hi everyone,

Today, Mr. Shank visited our school to speak to our students about their course selection for Grade 9.  During this presentation, our students were given the following information that relates to them graduating from Grade 12 in 2019:

Compulsory Credits to be completed:
- 4 credits in English (1 credit per grade)
- 3 credits in Math (1 in grade 11 or 12)
- 2 credits in Science
- 1 credit in Canadian History
- 1 credit in Canadian Geography
- 1 credit in the Arts
- 1 credit in Health and Phys. Ed.
- 1 credit in French as a Second Language
- 0.5 credits in Career Studies
- 0.5 credits in Civics

Minimum of 40 Hours of Volunteer Hours
- non-profit organizations
- no payment received
- working for a family business for "free" does not count

OSSLT - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
- taken in Grade 10
- can be written as many times as necessary in order for student to pass

Mr. Shank also spoke to our students about the pathways that are available to them (Apprenticeship, College, University), and how their marks help determine whether they go into Academic, Applied, or Locally Developed classes in Grade 9. Students are not required to choose only one of these three choices - they can have a mix of various levels.

More information will be available at the Parent Information Night on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at Bradford District High School. All families are strongly encouraged to attend.

We've been reminding students about how important their learning skills with regards to their decisions for Grade 9.  Students with a good work ethic and typically good learning skills tend to be more successful in Grade 9.  We encourage students who struggle with their learning skills to work on them this year, while they have the support of teachers who know them and can help.  Next year, there will be a lot of change, and trying to revamp work ethic at the same time can be very overwhelming. We want to help our students to be fully prepared for what they face in September!

Have a great day,
Miss Skelton :)

Welcome to 2015!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the rest of the 2014-2015 school year!  We hope that everyone had a great and relaxing break, and is ready to take on the new year!

Before the holidays, we had a lot of fun.  We were busy creating Elf letters, putting together a Holiday Variety Show, and writing short stories.  I will be posting a new page soon with some of the videos and pictures of our December adventures!

Today was a bus cancelation day, and we wanted to thank all families who remembered to call into Safe Arrival (905-778-2011) if their child was staying home.  It makes the jobs of our office staff much easier, and it is very much appreciated!

As of yesterday, students were told they would be having a Math test on Circles (radius, diameter, circumference, area) this coming Friday.  The test will be postponed until Wednesday, January 14.  Immunizations for HPV (girls only) were scheduled for today and have now been rescheduled until February 12.  Also scheduled for today was Mr. Shank's pre-course selection visit. Mr. Shanks is our student transition liaison and guidance counsellor from Bradford High.  He comes over to Fieldcrest periodically to speak to our students about their upcoming transition to high school.  Today's visit has been rescheduled for Friday, January 9, at which time Mr. Shank will be giving students information about their course selection for Grade 9, as well as inviting them to the BDHS grade 8 parents' night on January 15.  Please watch for this information to come home.

Have a great day!

Miss Skelton :)

Spreading Cheer!

Hi everyone!

Hard to believe that it's December already... our students are hard at work creating some holiday magic for some children in Cookstown!

We are the lucky recipients of letters from grade 2 students... who have written to Santa's elves!  We get to respond to these letters as Santa's elves, and today, some of our grade 8 students were able to start brainstorming their responses.  We even have Elf names!  What's yours?

taken from a really cute Facebook post!

Here are some of our students' names... with even more than what's above!  More to come on Thursday, when Miss Skelton's crew gets their letters!

Here are some ideas that we brainstormed for our letters...

The magic that these letters will create for these little Grade 2 minds will be a memory we hope they hold on to for life.  And your Grade 8 student gets to be a part of creating that!  We are so excited to be able to participate in this wonderful exchange - please talk to your child about their letter and help them come up with other, creative ideas that will take little imaginations even further into the wonder of the season!

Have a great evening,
Miss Skelton :)

Mocking Jay!

Hi everyone,

We're going to see Mocking Jay next week (December 1)!  Yahooo!  Please remember to send forms and money in by Wednesday (tomorrow) because I have to get our concession orders and final numbers into the company as soon as possible.  Please review appropriate theater behaviour with your child and remind them that cellphones and/or devices will NOT be allowed, as this is a school function and if there is an emergency, teachers will be present.  No outside food is permitted, so please ask your child to respect this wish.

Thanks,
Miss Skelton :)

Snow-vember

Hi everyone,

What a snowy week we've had!  I hope everyone is staying toasty and warm! A special thanks goes out to all families who have made it in to see us for conferences - it was great to touch base with you!  If you haven't had a conference yet and would like to schedule one, please contact Miss Skelton or Mrs. Davis.

Some of our students enjoying the first big snowfall!

Earlier this week, we postponed the Data Management assessment (Friday) to make sure that students had more time to review.  They will be writing it tomorrow. We've spent the last couple of days preparing for the assessment, which will include:
- mean, median, and mode (measures of central tendency)
- scatterplots
- histograms

Next Wednesday, the students have a History assignment about Louis Riel due.  For this assignment, they will likely need to have a fair bit of access to computers, as the assignment is on Bitstrips.  Please see the assignment that students were given for details.

Next Friday, students will have a Science assessment.  This is a unit test and the following will be included on the test:
- characteristics of living things
- plant and animal cells
- organelles and their functions
- unicellular organisms (specifically, amoeba, paramecium, and euglena)
- cell organization (cells -> tissue -> organs -> organ systems) - this is basically a brief summary of their Organ System Research project
- prokaryotes

Some unicellular humour!

We will be continuing to review various study tips over the next several days in order to prepare students for these assessments.  Please encourage your child to review his or her Science, and to make time for his or her History prior to the night before.

Some helping hints to effective studying!

There are a couple of Fieldcrest fundraisers coming up.  On November 24th and 25th, Don Cherry's will be donating 10% of proceeds to Fieldcrest.  They will be open for lunch and dinner on both days.  If you'd like to make a reservation for the Fieldcrest Fundraiser, please e-mail Don Cherry's at eric.fex1@gmail.com or nikkikim_6@hotmail.com.  You can also make reservations at the restaurant. For more information, please contact us at the school at (905)778-2010.

Have a great night!
Miss Skelton :)

November

Hi everyone,

We have a busy few weeks!  Here are some activities and events that are coming up:
TODAY - students will be sharing their science projects on organ systems with their peers today
Wednesday, November 19 - Data Management assessment
Thursday, November 27 - Girls' Basketball Tournament
Friday, November 28 - Science test - cells, organelles, cell theory, characteristics of living things, unicellular organisms
Monday, December 1 - MOCKING JAY at the Cineplex in Newmarket!!  Paperwork to come home early this week :)

I'm sure there is more to be added - I'll update this as more dates come up.

Have a great day,

Miss Skelton :)

Update!

Hi everyone,

The Gallery has been updated (and will continue to be updated) with some Picassos and Fireworks!

Miss Skelton :)

November

Hi everyone,

It's already the 10th of November!  Grade 8 flies, doesn't it?

Last week, we had a great visit to BDHS - students participated in a mock rotary and visited many of their potential classes for next year.  We were able to see several performances (music, dance, drama) before the day was through.  Students are asked to start thinking about their upcoming grade 9 year!

Progress reports went home on Friday.  Notices are being sent home to remind families about conference dates and times.  If these dates and/or times do not work for you and your family, please let teachers know as soon as possible, as they may be able to fill the spots (vdavis@scdsb.on.ca and sskelton@scdsb.on.ca). If alternate times are possible to coordinate, we will do our best to accommodate you and your family. Students are expected to attend conferences, so please be sure to bring your 8!
Conference Dates:  Thursday, November 13 from 4:00-8:45pm
                                 Friday, November 14 from 8:30-11:30am (PD day for students)

This week, we began Data Management.  Students are asked to make scatter plots based on their class data of the following:

Skelton Data

Davis Data

Scatter plots are due tomorrow (Tuesday, November 11).

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day.  Fieldcrest will be hosting two ceremonies:  Junior/Intermediate from 9:30-10:30 and Primary from 11:45-12:30. Parents and community members are welcome to attend.  Students will be given poppies, and we would appreciate any donations.  These will be forwarded to the local Legion.  A special thank you goes to Mrs. Davis and Mr. Davis for organizing the assemblies.

Have a nice day,
Miss Skelton

In Memory...

Hi everyone,

As you may know, Fieldcrest lost a wonderful teacher a couple of weekends ago in a car accident.  Mrs. Lynda Baynton taught many of our grade 8s when they were in grade 1, and has touched countless lives.  As someone who has taught with her for 15 years at Fieldcrest, I can definitely say that she was more than a colleague - she was also a friend.  She will be dearly missed.

In honour of Mrs. Baynton's love of PJ days, Fieldcrest is having a Pyjama Day tomorrow, Monday November 3.  If students wish to wear pyjamas, they're invited to do so in Mrs. Baynton's memory.

Thanks,
Miss Skelton

Last week of October... already!

Hi everyone,

This is going to be a long post, so get comfy!

Last week, we were busy here at FES.  On Friday, we had a couple of visits:

Mr. Shank from BDHS visited during our middle block with some grade 9 students to speak to our grade 8s about their upcoming year in high school. There will be a "Grade 8 Day" at BDHS on November 5th, and on that day students will be visiting the high school and participating in a variety of activities and classes.  They will do a simulated rotary, see some performances, and play some get to know you games with other grade 8 students from our region.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

We also had a visit from Constable Rob Enright and Special Constable Karen Markus to talk to students about responsible technology use.  More information can be found on our Tech page.

Please be aware of the following dates and assignments/events:

Tuesday, October 28 - AM recess - Intermediate Girls Basketball tryouts
                                    - History tests should be signed and returned

Wednesday, October 29 - rough draft of their fairy tale character monologue due for Miss Skelton's students in Drama; Mrs. Davis's students will have theirs due on Monday, November 3.

Thursday, October 30 - Language Assessment - more information to come
                                      - Deadline for all citrus orders - for more information, please contact Miss Skelton or Mrs. Davis

Friday, October 31 - Math Test (angles and angle relationships) - reminder for students to visit Gizmos and complete the Angle Relationships activity (students have their login and password information)
                                  - Dance-a-thon!!  All paperwork and donations are due.  Permission can NOT be given over the phone, and students will not be permitted phone calls.  All forms and money will be accepted throughout the course of the week.

Wednesday, November 5 - BDHS visit - students will be heading to Bradford District High School to participate in a mock-rotary and meet some of their potential grade 9 teachers.

As usual, there will be more added soon!

Hope you enjoyed the weekend,
Miss Skelton