Grant Writing

Our notes from the first four videos

We would like to do the Wild Weather and Climate program at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in May. Our field trip budget is maxed out for the year so we are writing a grant to hopefully receive money from the Alberta Emerald Foundation to cover the cost of the trip.

This week, we watched the documentary series (click here) to learn about organizations in Alberta who got money last year from the Alberta Emerald Foundation. We completed our proposal and feel proud of the work we've done to try to receive this grant.

We found the videos inspiring because:

HUNKS: for their work stopping items for going into the landfill and instead to people in need
Edmonton Land Trust: for their work preventing habitat loss and building shelters for animals (like bee hotels)
Goodwill Impact Centre: for selling items at a low price to people in need and for repurposing items like making accessible bikes for kids with disabilities
Natural Asset Mapping: for mapping green spaces and setting up wildlife cameras to see the health of the habitat
SPUD: online grocery shopping allows people to buy less more frequently to cut down on food waste, as well as having one truck deliver what many cars would have bought. They use reusable packaging and will recycle for you

I liked the video SPUD because it was very inspirational. I loved how they were very sustainable by taking back the boxes and packaging so it can be reused again. ~ Desiree

I liked how SPUD used one car instead of multiple cars to deliver their items so they use less gas than lots of cars going to the grocery store. ~ Sophia

I liked how SPUD uses all recyclable materials. They reuse them. ~ Priya

I like how Edmonton Land Trust has bird boxes, bee hotels, bat boxes and owl boxes because I think it’s inspiring that animals have a shelter to go to. ~D

I’m very fond of how SPUD saved lots of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. ~ Abigail

I like how HUNKS reuses old furniture to save resources instead of destroying it by putting it in the landfill. ~ Silas

Community Walk: The Beauty of Winter

Abby

Yesterday, we went for a "Winter Walk" along the Elbow River. We decided as a class that our focus would be capturing the beauty of winter through photographs and sketches. 

Today, the photographers learned how to upload and edit photos. Here are some examples of our artwork:

Gaby

Jasper

Peyton & Sophia

Peyton & Sophia

Ina

Acts of Kindness

Today, we read this article as a class about a couple who answers real children's letters to Santa:

https://www.vice.com/amp/en_us/article/vv7nem/an-nyc-couple-received-mysterious-santa-letters-so-they-put-on-their-red-hat

The students were very inspired by the article and we thought of ways we can help others in need here in Calgary.

Here was the list of ideas we brainstormed for things we can do to help people experiencing homelessness know that we care:

- Tie scarves, hats, mitts to trees or fenceposts so that people who need them can take them
- Wrap up personal hygiene items and leave them in stockings at main intersections
- Make posters and put them up on lampposts with inspirational messages like, "We Care About YOU" or "You Matter"
- Donate to a Food or Toy bank
- Look people in the eye when you pass them on the street and say, "Happy Holidays" to make sure they feel like they belong
- Shovel the sidewalk so it's easier for people to walk by; shovel a neighbour's walkway

You can brainstorm more Acts of Kindness at home! :)

Number Quiz

Two weeks ago we had a Number Quiz in class. After looking over the quizzes (using purple pen to mark their work), I decided that we needed to spend some more time on regrouping numbers using Base Ten blocks. We also completed some rounding activities.

Today, students were given a second chance at the same quiz. Using blue pen, they made changes to their quizzes to show their improved understanding.

Using green pen, I marked their quizzes for a second time. Some students were able to improve their overall mark and that change has been noted on the front in green.

The quizzes have been sent home today. If you have any questions about the assessment, please let me know.

~ Ms Elder

Vocabulary Development

These are the definitions
we can up with together

In preparation for our work at the Mustard Seed, we are working on some vocabulary development to deepen our understanding of some of the words we're coming across frequently.

Each day over the past week, students listened to a story that relates to one (and often many or all) of our vocabulary words. They were asked to discuss in groups, as a class, and sometimes do a written response to explain which word they felt the story connected with.

Here were the books and the words:

Citizenship:
"You're a citizen of any group, etc that you're in. You're going to belong no matter who you are." ~ Desiree
"You're part of a community (neighbourhood, school). Any body can be a citizen." ~ Priya
"Even animals can be citizens." ~ Abigail
"There are representations of how you can help people to help people get back up again (the turtle that's flipped over)." ~ Desiree

Compassion:
"There was a girl and a man with a monkey. The man didn't have a home. She invited him to a play and party and he came. She showed compassion by inviting him." ~ Charlotte
"The man relied on the monkey to get money. The citizen experiencing homelessness showed compassion for his monkey to help him survive. The girl showed compassion to the man. So it's like a big compassion food chain." ~ Jaxton
"This shows compassion because she was worried about the man and she was wondering if he had a home. She invited him to her performance so he could be warm." ~ Priya

Dignity:

"He called them citizens, not homeless person, and guests. This shows dignity because you want to feel respected." ~ Sophia .  "Uncle Willie called the Can Man by his name, which was Frank." ~ D

Equity: "Sofia was giving Maddi food because Maddi needed food and Sofia had too much." ~ Nikita     "This book also shows compassion because they're helping each other by giving each other food because they need it." ~ Jaxton

Resiliency: "When the girl got hurt at school, she showed resiliency by waiting for her mom. The police showed compassion for the girl." ~ Sophia
"The little girl in the story kept getting bullied at school so the bullies scared her. She fell and the police showed up. The police showed a lot of compassion and asked where her mother is. Her mother showed up but one of the bullies said 'take that dumb flag off the car' and that her mom's car is 'junky.' The bullies were not showing kindness." ~ Desiree
"When she fell and got the scratch, she tried to get her mother's attention when she was driving away but she couldn't. This shows resiliency." ~ Isana

Today, students began creating a Visual Journal page to show their understanding of one of these words. They must clearly show the vocabulary word and its definition in words and pictures. Students are encouraged to make the page interactive.

All classes in the school are doing the same task. Each teacher has chosen the 5 words they want their students to know about a chosen content area. 

Community Walk Wednesday

We will be heading out for a Community Walk on Wednesday afternoon 1-3pm.

Please ensure your child is dressed to be outside for two hours. Snowpants are highly encouraged as we'll be sitting on the ground for part of the time.

Thanks!

No Community Walk tomorrow

Hi All,

There will be no Community Walk tomorrow.  I wasn't able to find volunteers. The weather looks great next week; if you're able to join, let me know. We're flexible about time.

~ Ms Elder

Reminders

Reminders:

Send hygiene items for the Drop-In Centre by Wednesday, December 11.

Winter Celebration Thursday, December 12.
6:00-7:25pm: Drop in to the Art Auction in the Library; Stuff a Care Envelope in our classroom
7:30-7:45pm: Our class performs our West African Dance in the gym.

Thursday, December 12 is "Belonging Day" at Ramsay. Wear your Ramsay t-shirt! :)

Friday, December 13 our class is going on a Community Walk along the Elbow River, 10:45-12:30.
Dress to be outside (snowpants are highly encouraged as we'll be sitting down in the snow to do some observations).

Thursday, December 19 is PJ & Literacy Day at Ramsay. Wear your pjs and bring a stuffy.

Friday, December 20 is a PD Day so there's no school.

Happy Holidays!

Book Talk Project

Yesterday, students took home the information sheet for the upcoming Book Talk project.

Key Dates:

Monday, December 16: Parent signature slip is due with the name of your child's book and their project idea written on it. Sign to show that this is a NEW book for your child and that it is a chapter book (not a graphic novel).

Monday, January 27: Book Talk projects due; Presentations begin


If you have any questions, or for an electronic copy of the information sheet, please email Ms Elder.

Raz-Kidz

For your information, student Raz-Kidz log in information was sent home today so that students can log in and read at home. We have reviewed how to log in in class. If you have any questions or problems logging on, please contact Ms Elder.

Drop-In Centre

In February, we will be attending Seed School (Feb 24-28) at the Mustard Seed. 

In preparation, we are learning about the different social agencies in Calgary. We are keeping track of the population each agency serves and what services they provide. This task fits well with our Data Management program in Math.

For the last week, we have been focused on the Drop-In Centre. We want to better understand how they help their clients because we are donating our Art Auction sales to them, and we are collecting hygiene items to give to them in care packages. (Reminder: Please have all donations in by December 11). 

Students were surprised by all of the ways the Drop-In Centre helps Calgarians. We watched their video and read their 2018 Community Report (click to view). 

To make sure we understand the numbers that are in the Community Report, students are creating info graphics to represent the different statistics. They are working in teams and trying to use a variety of forms of representing numbers (ex: Base Ten blocks, expanded form, words, place value charts, pictures, tallies, graphs). This fits with our Number work in Math and uses authentic numbers in a meaningful way. As we complete our representations, we will begin building a new documentation wall in the hallway outside our classroom where our "What is Art?" work used to be.

Our discussions about homelessness have brought up some deep ideas from the students. We created a list of the different things people need to survive (like, Food, Water, Oxygen, Clothing, and Shelter). But then students also wanted to list the things that every human deserves to have. This was the list we generated:

We believe, all people deserve to:

-       Have a bed to sleep on

-       Have a loving family

-       Be treated with kindness and respect

-       Be supported in the way they need

-       Not be judged

-       Eat healthy and diverse food

-     Have access to medicine, proper health care, mental health support, support with addictions, dental care, rest when you’re sick

-       Access to a bathroom and a shower

Today, we took up some intentional writing and created postcards to put inside the care packages for the Drop-In Centre. We want to make sure that every Calgarian feels thought of this year. No one should feel invisible.