Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Jonathan's Birthday!

image from:  http://www.mosta2bal.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2383

Another thing to celebrate:  The Junior Girls Soccer Team moving on to the next round of playoffs!!

Way to go AMG!

The Grade 8s had an excellent presentation from the Ambassador Program.  Funded, in part, by the City of Toronto, this program is described on the City of Toronto website http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=5b6662ca69902410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD as

"... high school students in a school re-entry program for high-risk youth provided in partnership with several community agencies, including Toronto Public Health.
These students relate their life experiences with substance use, violence, abuse, family difficulties, etc., to youth in a peer setting. Their message encourages youth who are having difficulties to seek help rather than turning to drugs or dropping out of school."

This group of young people are models of resilience.  They have faced countless struggles and hardships and, with support and friendship, have re-directed their lives in a manner that is more true to their spirit and what they want out of life.

Here is a lovely picture of the group, with their mentor, Geoffrey, and our school Guidance Counselor, Ricardo.

Reasons to Smile:  Inspiring Souls

An attentive and engaged audience

   On the level of thinking about other possibilities and making changes, Kailey, our Special Needs Assistance -- and resident thinker and cool person --shared this acronym with me:

Sometimes we may shout out things or say things to one another that can be hurtful.  Keeping this word,  THINK,  in our minds before we speak or act is important.

On a more academic tip, and just as important as the social and emotional nature of what I wrote above, the groups of students are rearranging a series of sentences into a coherent paragraph.  This relates to the narrative paragraph we are working on:

 The Grade 7s got back their Area of a Triangle test and reviewed it.  Now, the students are able to do Rewrites, in an attempt to improve their grade.  I reviewed what is supposed to be on a Rewrite form using an example of an error I commonly saw on the test:

By demonstrating an understanding on your mistake, and earning back one mark, your mark can increase by 8.3%!

HOMEWORK:  Rewrites for Grade 7 are due on Thursday, by the end of the day.