At a Glance Week of Sept 21-25/15

Good morning! After a restful weekend, I am still not 100%, however I am on the mend. I was away ill on Friday and missed Picture Day, which I was very sad about. Photo retakes day is scheduled for October 27^th. Please remind your child that we will be retaking an class photo that day.

This week in our classroom, we will be learning about the following:

French : What is Informational Text? - Definition, Characteristics & Examples

-We are currently working on a project called “Projet Passion”

-Students chose a topic to write about and present, any topic that interests them

-Due date is Oct 14^th, after Thanksgiving long weekend

English: Living On One $ - Viewing/Representing/Writing

-Documentary about living on one dollar/day

-Students are learning to write an opinion text

Math: Patterning and Square Roots + Pythagorean Theorem

-Grade 7’s have learned about the rules of divisibility

-We will be moving on to algebraic equations

-Grade 8’s have learned square roots of numbers and perfect square numbers

-We will be moving on to determining the length of line segments

Science: Parts and Functions of the microscope

-We have learned the parts of a microscope along with their functions

-We will review what those parts and functions are this week

-We will have a quiz on Friday, September 25^th

Social Studies: Remembering 9/11

-Inquiry research project

-Students created 5-7 research questions and have been doing research on 9/11

-They are currently creating presentations to show their findings and answer their questions

Health: Who I am? Identity

-We have discovered who we are as learners

-We will move on to defining identity and talk about what shapes our identity

Thank you for your continued support. Should you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to email or call me.

Kindest Regards, 

Two Weeks for Terry Fox 35th Anniversary

Palliser Heights will again be participating in a school run/walk in support of the Terry Fox Foundation. The run/walk will take place on the afternoon of Monday, September 21st. We will begin with a brief assembly at 12:50 pm to discuss the significance of the event and will follow this with outdoor activities. All classes from K-8 will be participating by running/walking around the school yard or heading down the paths of Spring Creek Participark. It is early dismissal day, our walk/run will be finished at 2:20pm.

Please see the letter sent home with your child (youngest only) for details about donations.

**N.B. In case of rain or bad weather, the event will take place on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Cell Phones

Just a reminder that, turning off cell phones and placing them in the lockers is part of our Entry and Exit Routines at Palliser Heights School. There are moments in our school day that I will give the students access to their devices to use for listening to music. They are not to be using their cell phones at any semi-unsupervised or unsupervised times of the school day.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mme Rogers

FLASHLIGHT FRIDAYS!!!

Last Friday we had our first ever "Flashlight Friday" and our class LOVED it!!

What is FLF?

We shut all of the lights off in the classroom, close the blinds, find a cozy spot anywhere in the room and grab our novels and ready for 15-20 minutes with our flashlights!

They were so excited they could barely stand it, but they got right to reading!

They even BEGGED for more reading time.

It was so awesome to see them spread all over the room enjoying their books.

Flashlight Fridays will be great motivation for reading!

**Reminder**
Picture Day
Friday September 18th, 2015

Safety Day 2015

On Wednesday September 30, 2015 Saskatchewan Association of Agricultural Societies and Exhibitions (SAASE), Moose Exhibition Company, Progressive Agriculture Foundation, Community Initiatives Fund (CIF), Ministry of Agricultural, SaskPower, Farm Credit Cooperation, and Prairie South Schools are hosting Safety Day 2015 at the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds.  There will be 500 urban grade 7 and 8 students attending.  The day is designed for students to be exposed to safety hazards in which they may encounter through 10 interactive stations.  Curtis Webber will keynote an inspirational message.

TIME	DESCRIPTION
9:00 A.M – 9:30 A.M.	Grade 7 Arrival and Check-in – Golden Nugget
9:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.	Grade 7 Keynote – Golden Nugget
10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.	10 Interactive Safety Stations – Convention Centre
12:00 A.M. – 12:20 P.M.	Grade 7 Lunch – Convention Centre
12:30 P.M.	Grade 7 Departure North East doors of Convention Centre
12:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.	Grade 8 Arrival, Check-in and Lunch – Golden Nugget
12:30 P.M. – 1:00 P.M.	Grade 8 Keynote – Golden Nugget
1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.	10 Interactive Safety Stations – Convention Centre
3 P.M.	Grade 8 Departure North East doors of Convention Centre

**Lunch is provided– hotdogs, snack and a drink.  In case of a student has food allergies please ensure they bring their own lunch.  Grade 7 will eat in the Convention Centre.  Grade 8 will eat in the Golden Nugget.  

**All media releases signed prior to event. Everyone who attends event needs a waiver signed. Please return media release forms to Mme Rogers by Sept 18th, 2015.

Celebrate National Seniors Day

Every year on October 1st, Canadians pay tribute to seniors - the men and women who have helped make our country what it is today and who continue to enrich our lives.

We can all think of a senior who has made a difference in our lives. They are our mentors, teachers, grandparents and loved ones. They have contributed generously, building our families, communities, workplaces and country.

National Seniors Day is a great opportunity to create a strong connection between generations. As a class, we will be visiting Chez Nous Senior Citizens Home on October 5th from 1:30pm - 2:30pm.

Any parents wishing to come along with us, please contact me as soon as possible.

Thanks for your continued support!

Mme Rogers

At a glance...

Week of September 14th-18th

French Language Arts:

-We are starting to learn how to use three reading strategies : Activating Background Knowledge, Making Predictions and Asking Questions
-We have started a weekly dictée (spelling test). Dictée will be done during period 2 of each Day 5. Students will have the dictée to study at least 15 minutes per evening.
-We will also be starting to create our interactive notebooks for French grammar.

English Language Arts:

-We are starting to learn about narratives. 
-Our focus will be First Nations and Greek narratives.
-Some of the elements of narratives that we will be studying are:
1. Title of Narrative:
2. Main Characters:
3. Personality of Main Characters:
4. Distinguishing Features of the Main Characters:
5. Purpose of the narrative:
6. The Lesson or Moral of the Narrative:

Science:

-We have started our unit on Cells, Tissues and human body systems
-This week we are looking at the parts of a microscope and looking at specimens under the microscope

Math:

-Gr 8's: Square roots and the Pythagorean Theorem

-Gr. 7's: Patterning

Phys. Ed.:
-Circuit Training
-Metabolic Bursting
-Resting Heartrate, Training Heartrate, Recovery Heartrate

At a glance...

Week of September 8th-11th

French Language Arts:

-We are starting to learn how to use three reading strategies : Activating Background Knowledge, Making Predictions and Asking Questions
-We have started a weekly dictée (spelling test). Dictée will be done during period 2 of each Day 5. Students will have the dictée to study at least 15 minutes per evening.
-We will also be starting to create our interactive notebooks for French grammar.

English Language Arts:

-We are starting to learn about narratives. 
-Our focus will be First Nations and Greek narratives.
-Some of the elements of narratives that we will be studying are:
1. Title of Narrative:
2. Main Characters:
3. Personality of Main Characters:
4. Distinguishing Features of the Main Characters:
5. Purpose of the narrative:
6. The Lesson or Moral of the Narrative:

Science:

-We have started our unit on Cells, Tissues and human body systems
-This week we are looking at the first microscopes and how today's microscopes function.

Math:

-Gr 8's: Square roots and the Pythagorean Theorem

-Gr. 7's: Patterning

Welcome Back!!

The first day of school has always been a nervous, awkward yet exciting time for me. Now that I am a teacher, it is most definitely more exciting than anything else. I missed my students so much over the summer and I was so happy to see them all today. Everyone was very excited to chat and see their friends. 

Today, we sorted out some supplies, went through some classroom procedures and spent some time designing a licence plate that is unique to the child. Those will be on display on September 9th, 2015 during our open house. I will have more details on the events at the open house later this week. 

I sent home a homework contract, a middle year's contract, the health forms and the responsible use form. These are all to be signed by you and sent back to school tomorrow.

Please note the following:

Changes to Physical Education Guidelines 

Please note the following changes to the Physical Education Guidelines with respect to jewelry.  The changes will take effect for the 2015-16 school year.

• For elementary and high school extra-curricular sports, schools are to follow the guidelines set out in the SHSAA Handbook.
• For curricular physical education programs and intramurals, jewelry is to removed prior to participation. Unobtrusive plastic retainers may be allowed in place of piercings in all sports.
• Jewelry that cannot be removed for medical, religious or cultural reasons must be taped or securely covered.
• Students in grade K-4 will be allowed to tape small (stud) earrings when removal is not possible.

Please note:

1. If the wearing of the jewelry presents a safety concern, alternate activities will be assigned.
2. For jewelry that cannot be removed, proper documentation may be required. For example, proper medical documentation from a family physician.

Thanks for a wonderful first day! Looking forward to learning together this year!

Mme Rogers