Is it October already??

Hi everyone! Can't believe it's October already...I'm looking out my window at a grey, windy, typical Fall day in Victoria - I have to say, I love the autumn weather!

Everyone is settling in well - students, you've made a great adjustment to Middle School and I'm amazed at how easily you've caught on to all the new routines, expectations, timetable, and numerous teachers - well done!

We are fully into the curriculum now - in science, we're looking at the characteristics of living (biotic) things, and the need to classify such diversity. In socials, we've been talking and writing about our Sense of Place (see to the right underneath the globe). I believe it's so important to understand what anchors us to our own place before we can fully appreciate other countries and cultures - we need to know our own place in the world in relation to others. In Language Arts, we've learned how to choose a "Just Right" book, and are trying to find books that take us into "The Reading Zone". As well, we've been looking at the basic structure of a "perfect" paragraph....there may have been cookies involved...

All of our subjects are integrated - we're writing about Sense of Place in Language Arts, and the Diversity of Life in science is a great reflection of what we're beginning to study in Socials.

Our sense of community in the classroom is also beginning to gel - we're working on lowering our noise level and remembering to always listen respectfully to each other. Our class already has a reputation for two things - being the best behaved at lunchtime (well done!) and the noisiest in the library (: We'll keep working on that one!

All in all, it's been a great start to the year. Parents, if you have any particular concerns you would like to discuss with me, please feel free to contact me at the school.

Have a great evening everyone!