daw.com - May 22

There is a lot of information to get out with this blog so please read it very carefully.  You might also want to have a calendar ready so you can keep track of everything.

Middle school enrichment forms are due in to me by Monday.  Students took these home last Tuesday so please take the time to complete them and return.  I will look after getting then to the MS counselors.

Monkey King is finally hear.  After writing scripts and rehearsing for the last 7-8 weeks, students in 5HD will perform this coming Thursday, May 28 from 1:00-2:00 in the Theatre.  Throughout the day three other classes will also perform. The last four will perform their part on Friday.

Students start to have lunch in the MS/HS cafeteria on Monday.  This will continue for two weeks.  The most important part of this is that students are now responsible for making sure their lunch card has enough credits on it.  They cannot purchase a lunch if there is not enough money on the card or they loose it.  The MS/HS cafeteria does not extend credit or allow students to sign for a meal.  I have covered this and also taken the students through the cafeteria to show them where they can re-up their lunch cards.  If in doubt, best to send students with RMB100 to add to the card on Monday.  Students who bring their own lunches have access to microwaves in case they need to heat something up.

We have finished the first drafts of our research reports and this coming week we will complete the final drafts.  So far things are looking pretty good.  I hope everyone rises to the task of completing this on time.  The final draft is due into me on Wednesday.  After this we will write an essay on Ocean Fishing.

We are also in process of our Poerty books.  Next week we will finish the teaching, learning and free writing of poetry and then the following week each student will publish their own book in preparation for the Poerty Cafe on June 8th at 9:00am-9:45am.  Coffee, tea, orange juice, banana bread and Chocolate muffins will be on the menu as well as an assortment of recitations.  Hope you can make it.

As we head to the end of the year, I would like to ask all of you to let me know if you are planning on leaving school early.  This is to make sure that all materials are taken home, yearbooks are issued and everything is ready for your student to move to Grade 6.  Please take the time to shoot me an email and let me know.  I appreciate this a great deal.

There is only 10 days left for students to complete their impact project.  Most are well along and really taking this to heart.  We will then spend 3 days preparing the presentations for the Impact Fair on June 4th from 10:15-11:35.  Groups will be assigned rooms to present in so you will need to stay in touch with your student about where they will be presenting.

This week sees the end of our Book Clubs with meetings on Mon and Wed.  Final blog/journal entries will also be this coming week.  I hope you have time to read through their blogs as there is some good things there.  Students are also preparing their first video blog on a class book I read to them.  Should be interesting.

Library in on Monday and while not the last time this year, it is time to start clearing out​the books signed out to our students.  If students have an unreturned book they will have to pay for the replacement.  The library will issue an invoice to be paid at the business office.  Students who have a clear account and are returning to ISB next year will be able to sign out books for the summer starting June 5th.

In math we will do a Crypto competition next week.  As we are learning the basics of algebra, and have done a lot with computation, this is a perfect game to have a class competition with.  There are prizes for everyone.  For more information, ask your student about the game.

If any students have a birthday this summer but want to celebrate it early with the class please let me know ASAP.  There is a lot going on in the next two weeks so I need to stay planned with everything to make sure nothing is forgotten.  Thank-you in advance.

I continue to be very impressed with the devotion my students are showing to their learning right to the end.  They should be commended for this.  In the mean time, if anyone has any questions please let me know.

Harold Daw

daw.com - May 18

We had another great week of learning this past week as we move towards completing the grade 5 year.  All students have now completed their research and this week we will work on the first draft of the report.  We have been busy learning about paraphrasing and report writing in preparation for this week.

Our next unit in Math is on Geometry and Volume.  We will learn about the various forms of 3-dimensional geometry as well as look at ratios of circumference to diameter of circles.  Curves and circles are always interesting to learn about as they form a whole section of geometric learning.  We will also continue with coordinate graphing as students learn to graph the results of equations.  The final assessment for Unit 9 will be in this week’s Monday folders.  As I have done all year, please sign it and return by Wednesday.

I have some dates and times for you to put on you calendar.  Parents are invited for all these culminating events.

May 28^th – 5HD performs Monkey King in the theatre at 1:10-1:50

June 4^th – Impact Fair in the grade 5 rooms 10:10-11:35

June 8^th – poetry Café from 9:00-9:45 in the classroom

I hope to see as many of you as possible at these events.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Some of the groups for the Impact Fair have been moving quite well.  Not surprisingly, some have found it more difficult as they are turned down at outside agencies and have to regroup and rethink their projects.  The process is quite educational for the students and they are working through some of the obstacles that are coming up to the best of their abilities.

This week the forms for Grade 6 electives come home.  They need to be completed and returned by May 25^th please.  If you have any questions it would be best to contact the MS office and talk with one of the counselors.  Ms. Bertha Knox has been assigned to our room and can answer your questions much better that I will be able to.

Homework returns to normal for the next three weeks now that the research for the report has finished.  Please offer any assistance you can to help students continue with the work assigned as we reach for the end of the school year. I know at this time of the year it gets harder for students to remain focused but it is important as there are plenty of things to finish off the learning for this year.

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Harold Daw

daw.com - May 8

​I have just noticed that my blog from last week did not get posted.  I am not sure why but I will double check this weeks post to make sure it is up and running.

Sports day was great - fabulous weather and air quality let us get the most of being both outdoors and in the swimming pool.  Students had a lot of fun with the activities and sports that they were involved in.

Last week was CASTA and I was very proud of my class and where they are with their performance of Monkey King.  They got a rousing round of applause from their peers and parents who attended.  Remember, the actual production of Monkey King is May 28-29.  When I have exact dates and times I will be sure to let you know.

Students are well along with their Impact Projects.  Plans were due in this morning and all projects have been approved.  One thing to remember is that there must be a parent from the family in attendance for any off campus activities related to the Impact project.  This is both a safety and legal requirement.  If you or your husband cannot make the trip, they the student may not go that day.  This is all afterschool and weekend trips related to the Impact project.  Please help me make this happen for your students.

Now that Impact actions are beginning, students need to keep a record of the work they do through both reflections and photographs.  If they need a camera, I can help with that but any kind of smart device most likely also has the capability of taking pictures and movies to document their work through the unit.  The impact fair, where students present their plan and action will be on June 4th during the morning.

Homework for the coming week will primarily focus on research projects.  So far students have had time in class and at home to start their research.  All further research will be done as part of the homework.  Final research notes are due into me next Friday morning.  The following week, students will write their report.  They have had lessons on paraphrasing, citing references, writing a paragraph, introductions and conclusions and also in presenting a report.  With all of this I have high expectations for some really outstanding reports.  There are some neat topics being researched right now.  I have attached the action plan and rubric to this blog post for you to know what is expected.

We should complete our math unit this week - most likely toward the end of the week.  It has been a good unit on Area, Volume and Capacity.  Every student should be able to define these three as well as know how to calculate them.  We also did coordinte geometry including negative numbers along both the X and Y axis.

Reading is always something that students need to work on.  It is a life time skill that requies a lot of time and effort to master.  I am always worried that students are not doing enough reading and not reading at their level.  Both of these are important to make sure that comprehension happens.  The library has a system where students can sign out books on their smart devices all year long - including ove the summer.  The app is free and so are the books they sign out.  I believe we have over 900 books in this electronic library to sign out at any time.  It is called Follet Shelf and is worth a look into if your student is looking for things to read. I am sure that Mrs. Gockley would be very helpful in this regard and I can help as well.

Grade 6 transition has started with a visit to the grade 6 classes last week and a visit from Mrs. Knox about the program of studies.  The forms for electives and languages will go home on May 11th and have to be returned by May 18th.  These forms will all go through me as it is easiest to collate them this way.  withdrawl from ISB.

The grade 5 teachers have also started to look at how to best group students into the MS classes and this will continue for the next week or so.  If you have a specific requirement for this, you need to contact the MS office and ask for the form that indicates your preferences.  This needs to be done very soon as we are already in process for next year.  Likewise, if you know you will not be here next year, please contact admissions to find out the process for ​

There is still a lot happening in classes for the next four weeks.  Please help me keep your student focused and prepared for all that we have to do to complete this school year.  They have all done so well and I am hoping this will continue.  If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Harold Daw