Friday 1 July 2016

A Fond Farewell!


Year End Field Trip: we had a blast! The weather held off long enough for lots of fun times at Confederation Park, and lunch before heading inside to the Eileen Dailly Pool.






Unknown Austrian girls visiting from the set of The Sound of Music. Lovely hair!





Well folks, it's time to say goodbye, but not before thanking parents for entrusting me with the education of your child for a year. We have shared many experiences together, learned lots, laughed lots, and grew up lots.


A heartfelt thank you too, to all parents and students for your many gifts and expressions of appreciation. You are a very generous community!


Lastly, now's a good time to Unsubscribe from Mr. Clarke's and Mrs. Startup's blog. I suggest you do it now while you're thinking about it!

Here's to a happy and safe summer for you and your family... and again, many thanks for your outstanding support over the year!


Wednesday 15 June 2016

Wednesday June 15, 2016



Year End Gr. 5 Trip!

Mark your calendars... The Gr. 5s in Mr. Clarke/Ms. Startup's class, and the Gr. 5s in Ms. Reichert's class will be going on their year end trip on Friday, June 24 to Confederation Park and the Eileen Dailly Pool for the day.


Assuming the weather is cooperative, we'll leave Brooksbank shortly after 9:00 a.m. to head to Confederation Park, where there is room for picnicing, playing soccer or Ultimate, or just relaxing on a blanket and chatting with a friend. We'll have our lunch early so we can pack up and walk over to the Eileen Dailly Pool as we have reserved the 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm time for our school. I have asked the children to indicate if they are beginning, intermediate, or non-swimmers. If your child is a non-swimmer, you should contact Mr. Clarke.

By the time we dry off and get changed, it'll be time to drive back to Brooksbank for dismissal.





Look for a letter from us to come home Thursday or Friday of this week in your child's backpack. We will be looking for parent drivers (you are welcome to stay for the day or just drop off and pick up at the end of the day).

Thank you! We're looking forward to the day.



Tuesday 14 June 2016

Tuesday June 14, 2016

Reminder:

• Decimals/Fractions quiz (W)

• good copy of C.S.I. on "Lucky" (W)




Thanks to Charlotte, Capri, Raya, Riya, Laleh, Naomi, Caleb, Dylan, Diego, and Lucas M for their Genius Hour presentations today. They were fabulous!

 

What did we encounter today?

• How to build your own website
• Photography
• 3 Original piano tunes composed and performed
• a working Lego crossbow
• a projector for phones
• rocketry

...and I've heard there will be more to come! Next opportunities will be Friday and Tuesday afternoons.

We were lucky, too, to have Ms. Russell join us for the Genius Hour portion of the afternoon. She is gaining valuable experience in a variety of schools in Surrey, but drove back just to see us. So nice!

Monday 13 June 2016

Monday, June 13, 2016

Komagata Maru incident, 1914
For those students that haven't handed it in yet, today's reading assignment on the Komagata Maru apology by P.M. Trudeau needs to be completed as soon as possible.

The results from the 12 times tables quiz are now posted on FreshGrade.



We have a math quiz on Wednesday covering:
1)     convert decimal tenths and hundredths to fractions 
                    eg:   0.3 = 3/10 and vice versa (fractions to decimals)     eg: 83/100 = 0.83

2)     money eg: 25 cents = $0.25 = 25/100 = a "quarter"
                    eg: 5/100 = $0.05 = 5 cents = a "nickel"

3)     given a blank 100s grid, shade this fraction of it (eg: 0.24, or 35/100, etc)



Genius Hour update: For those who wish to, and are ready, they may present at Tuesday afternoon's Genius Hour from 2 - 3 pm.

Thursday 9 June 2016

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

We had a wonderful presentation in our class today as a follow-up to our "Working Waterfront" field trip to the harbour last week. Today we had a rep from Vancouver Pile Driving who came and explained the work they do in building bridges, docks, cruise ship and ferry terminals, etc.


We went right past their drydock and dock space when we toured the harbour last week, but it was great to learn more about this company and the kind of work they do.

Their representative is a civil engineer, who explained how everything they need to build with, from steel pipe, to gravel, to concrete arrives at their site in North Vancouver by truck, and is then unloaded by a gantry crane so that the building materials can be barged to where they need to be, or in some cases so they can build a structure right in their own dry dock.



One of the more interesting projects VanPile built was the floating bridge across Kelowna Lake in 2008. The William R. Bennett bridge is a floating bridge, with all the concrete floats built by VanPile, and anchored to the bottom of the lake with cables and anchors, and a minimum number of piles. These steel piles were driven down to a depth of 30m to 50m below the bottom of the lake to ensure stability.


Students got to ask questions afterwards, and there was a good deal of excitement evident from the number of questions the representative had to field! We were fortunate to be able to learn such unique perspectives about our North Shore shoreline. 

...And we were given Vancouver Pile Driving ball caps!

All decked out with our VanPile ball caps!

Thank you to the Working Waterfront Alliance!






Monday 6 June 2016

Monday June 6, 2016

First, we welcome Ms. Sager to our classroom. Ms. Sager is a student teacher from Switzerland who will be at Brooksbank for the next 3 weeks. The Swiss government runs this program which allows Swiss teachers to work in an english-only school as they learn our system, and improve their fluency with the english language.

New homework:

1)  Write a blog post on your experience with Genius Hour (T)

2)  12 times tables timed quiz (T)


Good luck to all Swangard athletes on Tuesday!!

Wednesday 1 June 2016

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Reminders:

It is fun day tomorrow at Brooksbank, and the theme is Super Heroes. All intermediate students have been placed in Colour groups and within that group on a numbered team. Here's the list:


Students should dress for the weather (check it before leaving the house in the morning), and bring a good lunch and snack as they will be active.

We had a great field trip today to experience the Vancouver's "Working Waterfront" from aboard the M.V. Harbour Princess. Thanks to the many parents who made it possible by driving us to and from the waterfront. Much appreciated!!
Our charter boat for the day: The "Harbour Princess"

Lots of room ... very comfortable on board.

A lovely day for a field trip!


So nice to see Vancouver's working port facilities from the water!

Tuesday 31 May 2016

Tuesday, May 31st

Reminder:

Harbour Tour tomorrow.
Students should not arrive late to school.
Parent drivers: Please be here by 9:00am tomorrow.
**Students/Parents are reminded to bring/wear warm clothing for our Harbour tour. 

Missing homework:
Students need to hand all missing homework in to Ms. Russell by tomorrow. The following should be handed in if it isn't:
1. Chapter Prediction (Number the Stars)
2. Number the Stars Assignment 1 (Comparing your life with Annemarie's/Ellen's lives)
3. Chinese Immigration Graphic Timeline (Comic)


Thursday 26 May 2016

Thursday, May 26

Reminders:

1. Harbour Field Trip Forms

2. Double Bar Graphs Quiz on Thursday, June 9th:

You will need to know how to draw and label a double bar graph, as well as answer questions about the data displayed in the bar graph.

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Tuesday, May 24th (Genius Hour Presentations)

GENIUS HOUR PRESENTATIONS BEGIN TOMORROW!

Students should practice their presentations at home, so they are ready for their presentation day. They are given approximately 3 minutes for their presentations. Remember to bring in your creation and everything you need for your presentation!

**Students are reminded to dress their best on their presentation day**


Below is the order of the presentations:


Wednesday, May 25th: (11:20-12:10 and 1:00pm-2:00pm)

Bruce
Jackson
Caleb
Alaina

Ry
Lakshmi
Lucas M.
Ronik

lunch

Charlotte
Sian
Matteo
Diego

Lucas W
Stryder
Chloe
Miles


Thursday, May 26th           1:15pm-2:30pm

Brook-Lynn
Mobed
Tom
 
Riya
Laleh
Bella
Naomi

Break


Capri
Dylan
Colin
Raya

Aidan
Mia
Ella

Thursday 19 May 2016

Young Scientists

Science this week! How do you separate homogeneous mixtures?









Thursday, May 19th, 2016

Homework:

1. Practice for Genius Hour Presentation (Wednesday and Thursday are presentation days)
     -Practice keeping your presentation to 3 minutes.
     -Practice projecting your voice and looking at your audience.

2. Read Chapter 9 in Number the Stars (Tu)
3. Graphic Timeline for Social Studies (Tu)
4. Math: P. 268 #1 (Th)

Forms:

Some students still need to hand in their Harbour Tour forms. A big thank you to all parents who have already signed up to drive! We need a couple more drivers if you are available on Monday, June 1st from 9:00am until around 11:30am.


Tuesday 17 May 2016

Tuesday, May 17th, 2016

HOMEWORK:

  • GENIUS HOUR PROJECTS (including journals) due Tomorrow (Wednesday)
  • 2 Harbour Forms
  • Math Quiz on Comparing Fractions for students who want to rewrite (Wednesday)
Example math quiz question:
Compare the following fractions by dividing:


              9/18                                            5/6

*Remember: We need the fractions to the have same denominator, so we can compare them. 
 
             9/18                                             5/6          

(Divide both the                                        (We don't need to do anything to this fraction.)
numerator (9) and
denominator (18) by 3
to get the same denominator
as (3/6)
        
              =3/6                   <                       5/6
        
          So,  9/18                  <                    5/6


SOME PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

Compare the following fractions by dividing:

              1. 6/14               3/7
            
              2. 4/12              2/3


Sunday 15 May 2016

Friday, May 13th, 2016


Homework:


  • Number the Stars novel: Read Chapter 5 (due Monday, May 16th)
  • GENIUS HOUR PROJECT (creation and journal of learning) due Wednesday, May 18th 


Forms:

  • 2 Forms for Working Waterfront field trip (Harbour Tour)
  • Snack Form for Fun Day (due Thursday, May 19th)


Thursday 12 May 2016

Thursday, May 12th, 2016

Homework:

  • Comparing Fractions Quiz (Friday)
  • Harbour Poem (Friday)
  • Number the Stars Assignment #1 (Friday) 
  • 2 Forms for Working Waterfront (Harbour Tour) Field Trip
  • Snack Form for Fun Day (due May 19th)
  • Math: Choose one survey question for the class, along with 3 or 4 answers to choose from

  • ***Genius Hour Project: May 18th***

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Wednesday, May 11th, 2016

Homework:

Comparing Fractions Quiz (Friday)
Harbour Poem (Friday)

Salmon Release Writing (Friday)

***A reminder that Genius Hour projects are due next Wednesday, May 18th. ***

Salmon Release May 11th

What an amazing day we had yesterday at Hastings Creek. We released 114 salmon fry yesterday! Our salmon fry will soon be migrating down the rivers to the estuaries. Photo credits to Ry's dad!








Tuesday 10 May 2016

Tuesday, May 10th, 2016

Homework:

  • 8 Times Table Quiz (Wednesday)
  • Genius Hour: Students should be well into researching and planning their creation. Genius Hour projects are due on May 18th.  Students will present their learning the following week.

  • Comparing Fractions Quiz (Friday)
Example of a quiz question on Friday:

Compare the two fractions by using multiplication and division (in order to get the same denominator). Use the symbols <,  >,  or =  to compare the fractions.

Question:  4/5   ____   6/10



Wednesday 4 May 2016

Wednesday May 4, 2016

Homework:

Genius Hour Question to be written in journal (Th)

Required:
•  500+ mL salmon container for releasing salmon fry

•  Return the signed Salmon field trip permission form.

Reminder:
If you're interested, return school supply forms for next year asap.




Request:
We will need parent drivers next Tuesday May 10 in the morning. Would you be available to drive? Please let Mr. Clarke know asap if you are.

We'll transport students (and salmon) at 9 a.m. to a site 10 minutes from Brooksbank. Kids and fish get dropped off. Parents can stay, or leave and return to drive students back to Brooksbank at 11 a.m. It would be great if you can spare the time to help us out! Please indicate on the form your child brought home if you might be available to drive. Thanks!

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Genius Hour!

Hello Division 4 Parents!

You may have heard your child speaking about Genius Hour or talking about having to create something for school. This May, Division 4 students will have the opportunity to learn about something THEY choose to learn about! The Grade 5 BC curriculum recognizes that each student has their own interests and passions and that time is needed for students to explore those interests. This is the idea behind Genius Hour.

Genius Hour or the idea behind it is practiced in many elementary and high schools. Its origins likely come from the Google company which allows its engineers to spend 20% of their working time on projects they are interested in.

What does this look like for us? Over the past month, students in Division 4 have been brainstorming areas they are interested in learning about. Last week, students were to come up with a question that they wanted to explore. Most students crafted a question but some are still trying to pinpoint that question. After coming up with their question, students have 3 tasks:
1. Research. Students need to choose a question that requires them to find things out. Students should keep a journal of their learning. Their journal can be a written journal, written and photo journal, or video journal. Journal entries are due the Friday of each week.
2. Create. Students will need to create something. Some students want to create a robot, learn how to bake a certain thing, learn how to draw a dress, etc.  
3. Present. Near the end of May, students will present their learning and bring in their creation. Students may present with a demonstration, PowerPoint or explanation of their creation. Students will be given 3 minutes to share their learning.

Most of the research and creating will need to be done at home though students will have opportunities to ask questions and share their learning in class each week. Students should lead and direct all of their learning though parents are welcome to assist and supervise (if needed). 


Sincerely,

Julie Russell

Monday 25 April 2016

Monday, April 25, 2016

Homework:

Social Studies Quiz this Wednesday
(students have been given photocopies of the relevant textbook pages, and today they played a version of Jeopardy which reviews what will be on the quiz too. They can play that game by clicking on the link below:

 https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=71CDB77EF6E545BC!7987&authkey=!ACVuC3DqJe9iBQw&ithint=file%2cpptx

Math: practice 7 times tables

For Mr. Chan:  Harbour Card due Tuesday

Salmon: we will be releasing the salmon back into the wild in a couple of weeks. Clean 500 mL containers (such as yogurt containers, or similar) need to be brought in for that purpose.



Sunday 24 April 2016

Welcome to Brooksbank!

As a class it seemed like it was about time for a party. Shortly thereafter we received word we would be getting a new student from Brazil in our class along with an older brother in Gr 7 and a sister in Kindergarten. Thus, the party became a Welcome! party.

Along with student-donated food and pink lemonade to drink, the class was decorated, 4 rap songs were written and performed (all original works on the theme of welcoming the family to Canada and Brooksbank while they said farewell to Brazil),  a fun "test" using the Plickers app was written by two students so knowledge of both Canada and Brazil was tested, and finally the class showcased their dance they had first performed at the Intermediate Dance Festival at Centennial Theatre.

Why have a party?

"At Brooksbank Elementary we believe that our students’ levels of engagement and sense of belonging are correlates and determiners of their academic achievement." 

This is the opening sentence of our School Plan for 2015/2016, which continues our school-wide focus on belonging, established two years ago. 

And so we welcomed Diego, Pedro, and Giovana in high style. Our students were such good ambassadors, showing compassion, creativity, and a lovely welcoming spirit!






 

Thursday 21 April 2016

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Homework:

Math: p. 263 1-2 (you don't need to do 2. c)

L.A.: Run-on Sentence Writing (half a page)

Don't forget to bring food for the party!!!!