Islands of Personality

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” 

-Maya Angelou

This week in Grade 5/6 we explored big ideas about growing up, feelings, identity and what lights us up.

How Our Bodies Begin to Change 

We continued our health unit by learning about the endocrine system and how hormones kick off puberty. Students shared short research reports explaining why physical changes happen and why every person’s timeline looks different. We kept conversations respectful, fact-based, and age-appropriate.

Inside Out and Emotions 

We watched selected scenes from Inside Out to help us think about how emotions change during this time of life. The movie gave us a vivid way to talk about how happiness, sadness, fear, anger and surprise can all show up at once — and why that’s okay. Students reflected on moments from the film to their own experiences and noticed how emotions and physical changes can both affect who we are.

Islands of Personality: Creative Self-portraits 

Inspired by the film, students began creating “Islands of Personality.” Each island represents parts of a student’s identity — interests, values, strengths and emotions — and gives them the freedom to choose how to represent themselves. These islands are already turning into thoughtful, imaginative self-portraits that will be part of our Exhibition.

Haikus and Art About Change 

Everyone wrote six haikus focused on change: two about physical change, two about emotional change, and two about social change. The haikus helped students practise expressing big ideas with few words. Many paired their poems with visual art pieces to bring the emotions and images to life.

Starting our Exhibition Unit on Passion 

We also began inquiring into our Exhibition Unit, centered on Passion. Students shared things that excite them, topics they want to learn more about, and ways they’d like to make a difference in the world. Those passion ideas are being woven into the Islands of Personality so each project shows not only who students are now, but who they want to be.

What’s Coming Next

We are  all excited to officially invite you to our Grade 5/6 Puberty Fair on 20th November, Thursday, from 11:00 am -12:00 pm. The students will be sharing what they learned throughout the unit and what they discovered about themselves in the process. 

Have a wonderful weekend to all of you.

Your homeroom teacher, 

Ms. Pam