September
Week of September 25th
Hello parents!
Here is your update for this week.
French Language Arts
- By now, students should be done reading the first half of their French novel of choice. Tomorrow and Wednesday, students will have time to complete an assignment for week two of the small-group novel study, on a green page. Any students who do not finish this during the class time on Tuesday and Wednesday should complete it for homework so they can hand it in on Thursday.
Social Studies
- We’re starting this week with the quiz about why Japan wanted to isolate itself from the rest of the world and how they were able to do so at the start of the Edo period. Following this, we’ll do some quick notes about Japan’s political structure at this time. Should we complete this before the end of the week, we’ll begin to learn about the social structure.
Quebec Trip Info and Forms Packages
- Thank you to those of you who were able to make it out for tonight’s Quebec Trip meeting. If you were unable to do so, I’ve got extra copies of the info package and the forms package available in my classroom. Students can grab them and bring them home throughout the week. The deadline to sign up for the trip is Thursday, October 5th; space is depending on the number of students participation, and spots will be filled first-come, first-served, based on who has signed up on the online portal and who has returned their completed forms package. Please see the info package for more information.
Days of Note
- This Thursday (September 28th), our school will be participating in Orange Shirt Day. To learn more about this day, you can check out the following website: https://orangeshirtday.org/
- On Friday (September 29th), there are no classes, as we are observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Classes will resume as usual on Monday, October 2nd.
Have a great week!
Katt
Week of September 18th
Hello parents!
Here’s your update for this week.
Off the top, TUESDAY IS INDIVIDUAL PHOTO DAY! Photos will be taken throughout the day; thanks to the parents who are volunteering to help out with this event!
Social Studies
- This week, we’re learning about WHY Japan actually wanted to isolate itself from the rest of the world at the start of the Edo period and HOW they were able to do it. I’ll begin by introducing these ideas, and then students will take notes with the textbook to explore the ideas in a bit more detail. Later on, we’ll go over the notes to make sure that everyone is on the right page.
French Language Arts
- By now, students should be finishing up the first quarter of their French novel of choice. Some students are choosing to read on their own and then discuss what they read with their group members, and other students are actively reading with their peers. Once they’re done this first section, they will have a “Week 1” assignment, which will ask them about their book’s plot, character, and conflict. They will also be asked to assess their reading; is the book appropriate for their reading level? Are they enjoying it? Were their earlier predictions accurate?
- Once students have completed their “Week 1” assignment, then they will continue on with their reading and read up to halfway through the book.
Terry Fox Run on Friday
- Like I said in my quick update on Friday, we’ll be teaming up with both École Elizabeth Elementary School and Cochrane High to do the annual Terry Fox run this Friday morning. If you’d like to donate, you can do so using the following link, or by sending some cash to school with your student. https://schools.terryfox.ca/31191
Have a great week!
Katt
Quick Update - September 15th
Hello parents!
Just a quick update for you about three things happening next week…
School Council – Monday, 6:30pm
- If you’d like to be an active member of the parent community at your child’s school, come on out to our School Council meeting on Monday, at 6:30pm. This group is made up of parent volunteers, our school administrators (Ms. Valerio and Ms. Yersh), and a teacher representative (me!). This group tends to be pretty relaxed, and it’s a great way to learn more about what’s happening in the school.
Individual Photo Day – Tuesday
- We will be doing individual students photos throughout the day on Tuesday. The schedule for classes taking photos is usually determined by the PE schedule (so that everyone can have their photos taken BEFORE they do Phys Ed), but I don’t know what that is, so try to have your child be in attendance all day!
Terry Fox Run – Friday morning
- One week from today, we’ll be teaming up with both École Elizabeth Elementary School and Cochrane High to do the annual Terry Fox run. If you’d like to donate, you can do so using the following link, or by sending some cash to school with your student. https://schools.terryfox.ca/31191
That’s it for me! Have a wonderful weekend!
Katt
Week of September 11th (sent September 12th)
Hello parents!
Here is your update for the week.
Social Studies
- Today, I introduced students to the start of the Edo period, introducing some new vocabulary words (such as daimyo, shogun, emperor, and koku), and how three main shogun worked to unify Japan at the start of the Edo period. Students took notes on this using their textbooks (which were signed out from the library for the year), and we’ll go over this tomorrow. Later this week, we’ll have our first summative quiz, looking at the physical geography of Japan. Prior to writing the quiz, students will be given a study guide, a description of the types of questions on the quiz, and time to prepare.
French Language Arts
- Today, students took the time to look at 12 different French novels, which included a variety of genres and different levels of complexity in terms of both plot and language. Students were given some time with each novel and decided which ones formed their “top 3” for a small-group reading unit. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out exactly who will read which book (as some novels were very popular!), and then students will use the rest of their week complete a pre-reading assignment and begin reading.
Have a great week!
Katt
Week of September 5th
Hello parents!
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Katt Hryciw, and the students call me Mme Katt. I teach your Grade 8 student for French Language Arts, Social Studies, and Health. I may also have them for some of their options, such as Art.
As we go through the year, I typically send out a short weekly update each Monday, letting you know what we’re doing in French and Social, if we’re going to be discussing a particularly sensitive area in Health, and letting you know about any big upcoming events such as field trips or important parent meetings. If you lose my emails, I also post them to my page on the Manachaban website.
If, for any reason, you’d prefer NOT to receive these emails (or if you have a preferred email address instead of the one at which you’re receiving this message), just let me known and I can edit that in my list. If you get a new email address throughout the year, please email me directly so that I can update my list, as the office does not typically let us know about each address change.
All that being said, here’s your update for the week!
Social Studies
- Throughout Grade 8, we will be doing three major units, looking at societies which were, in one way or another, isolated, and then forced to change. We’ll start the year with the Japan unit, which will take us up to the end of December. We’ll begin this week with a general intro to the unit, and some map work to begin learning about Japan’s general geography and position in the world. Following this, once we’ve had a chance to sign out textbooks, students will take some notes about Japan’s geography.
French Language Arts
- Tomorrow, we’ll use some French time to do a get-to-know-you activity, and then students will have some time to write a “Dear Mme Katt” letter to let me know anything that they feel I should know about them and / or their needs as learners. These activities give me a chance to hear their spoken French and check out their written French, whilst also getting to know them a bit better! Later on, we’ll do an informal non-fiction reading assessment, so that I can better understand their individual needs for when we do a small-group novel study.
Head’s Up – Mme Katt away!
- My cousin is getting married in Ottawa this weekend, so I’ll be away on Friday and Monday. Mr. MacMillan will be subbing for me, and he’ll keep both the 8-1 and 8-2 classes occupied with the lesson plans I’ll leave behind! This isn’t typical for me, but this is a COVID wedding that we never got to celebrate at the time it was originally scheduled, so it’s worth the trip! With that in mind, your weekly update will come out on Tuesday next week, once I’ve been back for a day and had a chance to see what the students completed.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
Have a great week!
Katt
