Buddy work continues to be an important part of our weekly life here at Cleveland. Mme Gordan’s Kindergarten class worked with Mme Zwart’s grade 4/5 class making models of methods of transportation.
Methods of Transportation
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Monthly Archives: January 2012
Sunshine and School Days
Today was quite a beautiful day, weather wise here at Cleveland. The sun was shining, and people seemed happier.
It is quite amazing how the weather can affect our moods. We don’t seem to be as tired as we do on overcast, grey days. The children come in from lunch drier, and we do not seem to have as many playground issues on these sunny days as compared to the number we get on rainy, cold days. We still have some challenges, but there are definitely less on days like today.
Many classes put on their coats and go outside at the end of the day to run off some energy, or to enjoy the sunshine.
I will try to do the same, now that the last school bell for the day has rung.
Enjoy the sunshine.
Take care.
What To Write About?
I am having trouble this evening thinking about a topic to write about, so I decided to just write some thoughts and see what comes out.
Anxious children – we seem to have a few children who are demonstrating anxiety about school or other life issues. This is a very serious topic, and one that could be a topic of many blogs. Families and school personnel can work together to help these children become more resilient and handle the challenges that school and life brings. Patience, loving kindness and support will all help to ensure that all children can be successful here at Cleveland.
Playlists – What’s on your playlist? For the winter break, I went and did a bit of driving (5000 km in 2 weeks – with some golf too). Prior to the trip, I made several playlists, some of which included songs that I had not really paid to much attention to. I still like my Neil Young, Tom Waits or Peter Gabriel, but I enjoyed listening to songs from Armistice (Cry City Lights), Okkervil River (Unless It Kicks), Black Mountain (No Satisfaction) and moe. (Okayalright).
Litter – We have a lot of litter, and we have asked the students for help. We have some garbageless lunches coming up. Please talk about litter with your children and try and help us make this is a litter-free playground.
My French – I think it is getting better, but I still have a ways to go. I have been able to help children with their French work recently, and I am trying to spend time listening to lessons on grammar and verbs.
The start of our day – At the start of our school day today, the sun was shinning and lit up one of our cedar trees (see photo).
Doodling – Have you ever sat in a meeting and started to doodle? Many people think that you are not paying attention. One researcher (Sunni Brown) says that doodling is good for learning. Listen to her TED Talk – Doodlers, Unite.
I know hear one of our evening rental groups coming in to use the gym. That may be a sign that my day has been long enough, and it is time to go home.
Take care.
What’s Going On in Primary
Another busy day yesterday, and my focus was on visiting the primary classes. Our primary students have been as busy and as active as the intermediate students, and they are doing a variety of interesting and fun learning activities.
So, what have the students been doing this week? Many things: printing, Vincent Van Gogh art, French vocabulary, listening centres (I liked Petite Bête, Grosse Bêtise), les sportes d’hiver, read aloud in the library, dancing (following and creating patterns, square dancing), singing, math vocabulary, time, art that is “a little bit abstract”, grammar, book exchange, using dictionaries, singular and plural, New Year’s resolutions, math facts, words with short u, using agenda books, fishing for vowels, matching shapes, …
Some classes start their day with a question. Yesterday the students in one class were asked, “What are the words for cube, cone, cylinder and sphere in French?” I love it when children are asked to find something out on their own, and are provided with the tools to find answers or solutions to problems. Sometimes we are too quick to give answers, and this does not foster the ability to learn for themselves.
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” ~ William Butler Yeats
I look forward to seeing the many “fires” that we can ignite in our students.
Take care
What’s Going On…
This week I wanted to focus on classroom visits and seeing our students learning and working. I have been in every class over these past two days. Some visits are short, and some times I stay a bit longer. I appreciate being made to feel so welcome in every class, and having the opportunity to witness teaching and learning every day.
Our 9 intermediate classes (grades 4 to 7) were busy with a variety of learning activities. I witnessed students working individually, in pairs, in small groups or having whole class discussions. Students shared with me what they were working on or what they were learning. This is another wonderful part of being a principal – having students share their learning with me.
A sampling of the current topics in the intermediate classes include: angles, the human body, passé composé, colour, movement verbs, early explorers, fractions, spelling, decimals, percentages, early people, the human eye, creative dance, Roman numerals, Africa, Rome, floor hockey, food chains, food webs, water cycle, chalk pastel art, volleyball, creative writing, historical fiction, yoga, combat des tounes, novel studies, ecosystems, book talks, using hands to measure the height of a horse, music on the Internet, multiplications drills, classification of jobs,…
Quite the list.
Learning is happening here at Cleveland. Are you asking your children what they are learning? If they answer “nothing”, dig deeper. There is a lot of learning happening every day.
Take care.