The Adventure Begins Here

And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings.

- Meister Eckhart

Welcome to School Year 2024-25!

The start of a new school year often brings with it a sense of renewal and a chance to start fresh. It's an opportunity to set new goals, make new friends, and approach learning with a positive attitude. We can also look at it from the perspective of gratitude, one in which we look at the blank page of a new year as something to be thankful for. 

The first day of school welcomed the 5th and 6th graders with an inquiry into gratitude.

They also had an opportunity to create a Tiny Gallery of Gratitude where they share snapshots of things that they are thankful for -- whether it's in the form of a friend or something that makes them happy.

The children had a gallery walk to see if they have similarities with their classmates this year, and to look for new things that they didn't know about their friends. It was quite refreshing to see that they can still learn something new about each other despite being together for a few years.

We discovered that we are truly grateful for our diversity in Grades 5/6.

Since we are all different, we recognize that we also learn differently. The children had the opportunity to share who they are as learners through a series of visible thinking prompts that we read and reflected on individually and as a class.

It was clear from the reflections and questions of the children that we all share the same goal: 

to have a fun and meaningful learning experience this school year. 

We also recognize that we play an integral role in making this goal happen.

The second day of school allowed the children to tune into what it means to be a good friend.

We read a short book called Big Friends by Sarah Davies that highlights the dynamics of friendship. After this, each child was asked to design a paper doll that reflects the best version of themselves.

We talked about how our words and actions affect who we are and how we perceive ourselves and asked each child to tear the paper dolls of their friends for every unkind word spoken or action done.

The reactions of the children were clear indicators of the impact of the activity's message: 

that our choices have an impact on those around us.

We used everything we learned about each other in the past two days to create our essential agreements in Grades 5/6. These underscore the things we value as a class and the promises we make to each other to create a memorable year for everyone. 

Have a wonderful weekend to all of you.

Your homeroom teacher,

Pam

 

Grades 5/6 Timetable

TIME	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:35 am	Unit	Unit	PE 5/6	Unit	Unit
9:25 am	Unit	Unit	PE 5/6	Unit	Unit
10:15 am	Break/Snack
10:45 am	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang
11:35 am	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang	Unit Math/Lang
12:25 pm	Lunch (25 mins) // Recess (25 mins) [50 mins total]
13:15 PM	JFL/Kokugo	JFL/Kokugo	Music 5/6	JFL/Kokugo	Music 5/6
14:00 PM	Unit IT	Music 5/6	Unit	PE 5/6	JFL/Kokugo
14:45PM	Unit	Art	GFL 5/6	Art	GFL 5/6
15:30 PM	Dismissal