We are off to a great start after this first full week back at school!
This year students were each given a student planner in which we write what we learned, upcoming dates and events, homework, and any other notes as need. I ask students to share these planners each week with parents as a way to talk about their time in school, recall and explain what they have learned, and to keep families informed. Please sign the planner page each weekend for Monday the following week!
In English we did some reading fluency assessments then jumped into our first unit on paragraph and essay writing. Each morning the class starts with a writing exercise as a warm up, then we go over the lesson followed by an activity. We looked at the use of formal writing in academia, how to rewrite informal into formal text, looked up some useful vocabulary words to use in our writing, and started looking at the classic 5 paragraph essay.
In Maths each year group is working with different topics; years 7s Sequences, Year 8’s Ratio and Proportion, and year 9s Straight Line Graphs. Our split groups have worked out really nicely as we are able to complete each lesson step with plenty of time to work 1-1 as needed and fast finishes get about ten minutes of fluency practice on our computer based math practice program. Everyone has homework reviewing each step covered this week.
Our first IMYC unit is Brainwave and this year we are looking at the mental health, the brain-body connection, staying positive and building relationships. This week the class looked at research and
evidence behind wellbeing and what it means to be happy. It introduced the PERMA (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments) model of wellbeing so that students understand the key elements of wellbeing and how they can be achieved.
We also looked at the concept of character strengths, as researched and evidenced by psychologist. Students examined the definitions of each character strength before identifying their own signature strengths and learning how to use these strengths for better wellbeing. It was so great so see everyone beaming with smiles after this lesson!
We followed through on this theme in PSHE by looking at Mental Health assumptions and being educated on the topic can help fight stigma and offer support to friends, family, peers, or even ourselves.
In Geography the class identified the five elements of the study of geography and did a group activity to flex their knowledge and label a world map with a key set of locations. This class is just once a week, but we will continue to explore each aspect of geography. For homework, students are tasked to use their in class notes to complete the worksheet in the homework; a good practice to review lesson materials at home.
We also are covering the design process in Design, Technology, and Innovation. This process oversees the steps designers and engineers use when developing new inventions or products. This week students came up with as many questions as possible for different scenarios and brainstormed those questions to come up with innovative solutions. Then, in groups, they were tasked to do the same with a different prompt and choose a final idea from their brainstorm session and plan the idea on paper with models, labels, and supply list.
Finally, in PE we had fun with team building games! We are getting used to working together as a large group with new faces, and maintaining our manners in the physical activity space. On Fridays we combine with Mrs. Temple’s 5/6 class which proved to be a lot of fun
Check out the HFS Newsletter this week for information of club sign ups!
Homework:
Math review packet for each year group (try to complete by Monday to be ready to move forward!)
Reading passage with comprehension questions – always use full sentences in answers! Due by Friday.
Geography review packet using in class notebook (green in color). Due by Friday.
Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Leah