We are a busy place! Here are a number of short summaries of the things our students have been up to…and if you follow us on Twitter, you may have seen many of these things and more! There has been so much going on that we will have to post a few over the next few days. Here is the first one.
From Mr. Little – On May 1st, I had the privilege of attending an equity conference with 4 of our grade 8 students. We joined students from across the board to learn about and discuss equity in our school system. Being able to listen to the student perspective was enlightening for me as an educator. Many students across our board feel that students are treated differently because of the colour of their skin, their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, and their ability. It was very powerful to hear students talk about being put down on a daily basis, and feeling that no one was there to speak up for them, and that teachers often didn’t take these issues as seriously as they should. It reinforced my belief that as educators, we have to speak up for all our students and take the time to really listen to their perspectives so that they can feel their reality is being valued. We all came home with new learning!
Mr. Gladman, Ms. Pivetta and Ms. Rubinoff’s classes are collaborating on a critical thinking design hub challenge, just like the Juniors had done the week prior. Students are working together to design a new space inside or outside of the school where students and staff feel invited and included. By doing so, students are developing agency in their own learning. 
Our Dance a Thon prizes continue to roll out to the winners and everyone is having the best time! Eve from Mrs. Koshy’s class won a Zentangle session from the dance a thon fundraiser with Mrs. Liberman and chose a few friends to join her. In this session we created a bookmark with the coloring techniques using patterns. Each student created their own and it was laminated on the same session. The group enjoyed the Zentangle session while listening to music, eating snacks and enjoying each others company.
The boys who won the raffle for “Cooking with Koshy” made their pizza lunches and ice cream sundaes! We had a great time!
In Math, both grade 8 classes investigated the volume of the cylinder, as part of Measurement 3 D Curriculum. They compared the volume of 2 cylinders which they created by using same size-different colour paper. Students determined which container held more popcorn. It was a very engaging activity and students got to eat the popcorn when they finished their investigation.
Mrs Kerzner and Ms Ali’s class- The summer weather hasn’t felt that warm yet, but with summer comes the bees to pollinate the gardens. These cute bees will be heading outside soon to pollinate our Bakersfield gardens! Stay tuned!
