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