Well, another week has come and gone! This week certainly felt more like a whirlwind, considering that there was no school (for the kids) on Monday and we had a fabulous day out at Chestermere on Friday. I have included some pictures that you can access on the right.
We are beginning to move forward in all subjects, now that we have our routines and schedules down. The movement from room to room is beginning to go much better too. In LA we looked at a novel excerpt called "Jeremy and Sarah" about two kids who are sent to their aunt's for the summer when their father gets sick. It deals with some issues around emotions, honesty and dealing with others and led to some good discussion of what the students in the room thought of the particular situations in the story and how they related to their own life. We also wrapped up our first composition, which was supposed to be handed in by Friday (though I expect to see some coming in next week too).
In Science we began working on the different parts of trees, identifying the parts of a water cycle (and how trees are part of that cycle) and looking at how nutrients are cycled through different parts of the ecosystem. We are also having a quick quiz on what we have learned so far next Wednesday. I don't doubt that everyone will do a great job on it.
Social studies we started to learn about the concepts of Freedom, Representation, Equity and Justice - four foundational concepts that will guide our inquiries into the processes of democracy in Canada and throughout history. These are big, abstract ideas and we will make sure we revisit them often. Additionally, the students have been working on a textbook project with Mrs. Hazelton which was also to have been completed and handed in .
In CE this week we only had time to go over our verses, having missed our regular class due to Camp Chestermere. But we had a gripping, inspiring movie shown to us about the struggles children in East Central Africa face with the threat of abduction and enslavement in the rebel army which is fighting in Congo, Uganda and Sudan. Invisible Children challenged the kids to look into the world and see how they, as one person with the power of Christ, can change the world. It was an excellent presentation and led to good discussions back in our class.
And of course who can forget Chestermere. You likely have heard all the stories by now, so I don't need to go into specific details, but it was a fantastic day. The weather could not have been better (there seems to be a trend as far as our outdoor activities and weather so far this year!) and the kids had a very challenging and enjoyable time. Our speaker, Allison, will be around the school at various points this year, working with the kids to recognise their potential to shape their school environment for God's good purposes. And we did a lot more community building this day as well, making it, all-in-all, another excellent experience for our group.
Thanks so much for partnering with us in this journey and please continue to keep us up to date on what we need to know. And we promise to do the same from our end. Have a great weekend!
