Our Learning October 4-8:

Items to note:

-On Monday we will be going on our next Nature Explorer´s field trip from 9-11 am. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately to be outside for these two hours. 

-We will be having a math test on Thursday for our learning on equations and solving for missing variables.

-Rubix cubes have been a popular activity/toy lately. We have discussed as a class that rubix cubes need to stay in our backpacks until our recess times. If you know that your child is bringing their rubix cube to school, please remind them to use this toy responsibly and during their recess breaks. Thank you for your support with this. 

-Please return the grade 6 immunization forms once completed.

-We have been asked by our school administration to share the following information with you. Please note that we are not using the language of ¨at home learning this year.¨ As you know, regular attendance is the key to a child’s success at school. We do ask that parents keep their child at home if displaying any cold or COVID-related symptoms to keep everyone safe and healthy.  With regards to homework, as per our District-wide re-entry plan: ‘If a student is self-isolating or ill, teachers will support students to work from home as per typical practices when a student is ill and must remain at home, but is still able to complete schoolwork. Learning will be provided asynchronously (not through real-time/live classroom streaming).”Basic literacy and numeracy tasks will be provided.¨  The same applies to family holidays.  

- Meeting with Mayor DiManno on Wednesday to help us learn about municipal government.

Our Learning:

Math - we will be wrapping up our learning on writing equations and solving for missing variables with our chapter test scheduled for Thursday. On Friday we will be working through released government exam questions (Provincial Achievement Tests) on our first two math chapters which cover the patterns and relationships portion of the grade 6 curriculum. This is a great opportunity for students to see the style and types of questions they will be asked in June when they write their Provincial Achievement Tests. 

Social - we will be pausing our learning this week on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to learn about municipal government due to the fast approaching municipal election on October 18. The role of municipal government, how it is organized along with how we, as grade 6 students, can participate in democracy at this level of government. On Wednesday, we will be welcoming Mayor DiManno virtually into our classroom to teach us about her role in municipal government. We are looking forward to this presentation. We will also be developing two campaign questions based on our understanding on the role of municipal government and our analysis of current issues/concerns for residents of Banff that we feel are important for the candidates running for either Town Council or Mayor for Banff. These two questions will then be shared with all of the candidates. We look forward to their responses either written or video, so we can help to make an informed decision when we take part in our class´ student vote for the municipal election on October 18. 

Science -  We will be working on the curricular outcome of interpreting growth patterns of a tree along with distinguishing years of growth through identifying impacts to the tree that have affected growth such as fire, drought, reduced sunlight and insect attacks. 

Writing - we will be finishing a writing activity based on our Truth and Reconciliation work we started last week. Afterwards, we are going to put our new skills on using openers and dress ups to support our first research assignment. Students will be researching the teeth of an animal of their choice and answering the question, what if you had animal teeth. They will need to share interesting facts as well as make a human connection to having this type of teeth. This activity is inspired by the collection of Scholastic books - what if you had animal ears or what if you had animal eyes?

Thoughtbook - We will be working through an activity exploring human activities that either threaten or enhance forests as a part of our science curriculum. 

Weekly homework - we will be working on long division this week for our weekly math homework. Students are often intimidated with long division but we connect it to our multiplication skills to help us.