tomatosphere 2012

The students from divisions 8 and 9 planted tomato seeds in the library today as part of the TOMATOSPHERE Project.  Every year, thousands of students in Canada and the USA participate in this project by planting two groups of seeds and watching and recording their germination rates. One group of seeds is the "control" group and the other is a treated group. Each year there are different treatments and the purpose of the project is to investigate seed treatments that will be successful in traveling in space and potentially to Mars in case there is a need to plant and grow food there to sustain a human population that might live there in the future. More information about the project can be found HERE.

We will be watching with anticipation to see when those first seeds germinate!
~Ms Novakowski

pete the cat: number three

The third Pete the Cat book was released at the beginning of May and the early primary classes have enjoyed listening and singing along to this new book that has Pete losing the buttons on his shirt one by one!

This story focuses on the big ideas of subtraction and not getting upset about losing things like buttons!

The songs from all the books can be found HERE.

Division 10, in particular, enjoyed dancing and singing along to this new story!

~Ms Novakowski

internet safety with professor garfield

One of our school goals addresses being socially responsible with technology - using technology safely and making sure that our students know how to keep themselves safe as well as they become digital citizens.

This week all the primary classes watched a short video about internet safety. The cartoon character Garfield was the star of the show and Professor Garfield taught the students to be "surf smart" and to not share their YAPPY (Your full name, Address, Phone number, Passwords, Your plans) when they are online. The video we watched can be found HERE.

The students in division 7 also had time to use Garfield's Online Safety app on the iPads. The students read informational comics and then played question and answer games to apply what they had learned.

~Ms Novakowski

aboriginal celebration

As a final celebration of our school-wide aboriginal culture studies, classes have been taking part in a "feast", pretending to enter a Coast Salish longhouse and sit around a fire to share food, songs and stories. The students listened to a Coast Salish blessing and drummed along with the vocals and drumming in the song. I was able to borrow a traditional animal skin drum and some of the classes were able to give that a try. We also passed around some traditional foods - smoked salmon and both fresh and dried berries. The students shared what they had learned about how the Musqueam and other coastal peoples had harvested and preserved foods for the winter season. Some classes listened to a story and thought about the lessons it taught about aboriginal culture and other classes shared what they had enjoyed and learned during our study.

Taking part in a sharing circle was a way to celebrate and share what we had learned!
~Ms Novakowski

spuds in tubs update

On Wednesday morning, two students from division 10 helped me add a last scoop of plant food to our potato plants. They are looking so healthy and strong...it looks like a potato jungle in the front of our school!

We were a little worried when we moved our tubs outside about whether they would be disturbed or damaged but so far so good! The students are wondering how many potatoes we might be able to harvest in June!
~Ms Novakowski

radish update

The students came back from the long weekend and were amazed by the growth of their radish seeds! Radish seeds are so fast to germinate which makes them great to use with young students.

Next week we'll need to decide whether to transplant them outside or let them be!

~Ms Novakowski

comparing genres

Divisions 4 and 5 are writing "fractured" fairy tales in their classrooms. Fractured fairy tales are a genre of literature utilizing traditional fairy tale elements but with a "twist". Examples include Snow White in New York, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Frog Prince Continued.

Last week in the library, both classes brainstormed traditional elements of a fairy tale such as royal characters, magic and settings such as castles and forests. We then read the pacific northwest aboriginal story called The Storm Boy and discussed the elements of some of the aboriginal stories the students were familiar with.

The students were able to identify themes such as transformation and journeys as well as the importance of animals in aboriginal stories. The students also noted the importance of the stories to convey cultural knowledge which reflects the oral tradition of aboriginal cultures.

~Ms Novakowski

growing radish seeds

Some students from divisions 3, 6 and 7 helped me plant some radish seeds in the library.

We created a great little growing contraption re-using 2 litre plastic bottles. I used an utility knife to create a slit halfway up the bottle and the students then used scissors to continue cutting the bottle in half. A small hole was drilled through the lid of each bottle and a piece of cotton twine was threaded through the hole and knotted so that the knot and a small length of twine was on the inside of the lid. We filled the top part of the bottle with potting soil and inverted it into the bottom half of the bottle and watered it well. We planted the seeds and added a little extra water to the bottom of the bottle, making sure the twine coming out of the lid was in the water. This allows for the water to "wick" and keep the soil in the upper layer moist which is really important for seed germination.

Hopefully we'll be eating some radishes before the end of June, and if not, we'll enjoy a radish sprout snack!
~Ms Novakowski

aboriginal storytelling experiences

This week our primary classes began some storytelling experiences using both natural materials as well as some toy animals. The students were asked to use the natural materials (collected from my backyard and local beaches) and create a setting for their stories. Most students chose a forest or beach setting while others chose a river or a combination of outdoor settings. The students were then asked to create a story that reflected something that they had learned about aboriginal culture and stories.

The students were highly engaged and animated. Some students worked on their own while others chose to work in small groups. It was exciting to see their learning come alive in stories!

It was a great story-full week in the library last week!

~Ms Novakowski

Chocolate Lily Picture Book Award voting

All of our primary students voted for their favourite Chocolate Lily Picture Book Award nominees. The students' two favourite books (with only one vote separating their totals) were Stanley's Little Sister and The Little Hummingbird.

Provincial votes and the winners will be release later in May. The Chocolate Lily picture books are now available for circulation and the primary students are enjoying being able to take them home to read.

A special thank you to the PAC for providing funding to purchase these excellent BC picture books for our library collection.

~Ms Novakowski

Red Cedar voting

On Thursday, May 3 at recess, the intermediate students who had read at least 5 of the books nominated for the Red Cedar Book Awards arrived in the library to vote for their favourites and to have a "Red Cedar (Velvet)" cupcake!

When the votes were tallied, our students' favourite fiction title was The Prince of Neither Here nor There, followed by After the Fire, Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom and Faerie Rebels: Spell Hunter. In the information book category, our students' favourite book was Whispers from the Ghettos followed by You Are Weird: Your Body's Peculiar Parts and Funny Functions.

Much thanks again to the PAC who provide funding so that we purchase multiple copies of these outstanding books for our school library.

The Red Cedar Gala will be held at the end of May and we are looking forward to hearing which titles are the provincial winners!

~Ms Novakowski

creating book commercials

The intermediate students have continued to explore different ways to create "book commercials" for their favourite books. After writing a draft of their commercial (focusing on persuasive writing and developing voice in their writing), the students have used both video and apps on the iPad to represent and share their writing.

please note: The Hunger Games is considered a "mature read" in our library system and is only available to our grade 6 and 7 students with consultation with a teacher.

~Ms Novakowski

learning about Musqueam culture

Two weeks ago, I packed up the Musqueam kit we borrowed from the Richmond Museum. It has enabled us to help our students understand some of the traditional indigenous knowledge that is important in our area. We learned about how natural resources were used to create clothing, shelter, tools and cooking implements. The students were fascinated by the artifacts that highlighted the importance of fishing to the Musqueam peoples. The intermediate students also looked at historical photographs from the kit.

The students in division 4 and 5 were asked to synthesize what they learned or investigate a question they had and represent their learning on the iPads. The students in divisions 1, 2 and 3 developed inquiry questions based on their observations of the artifacts and photographs and were given a chance to investigate their questions using the iPads.

There is aboriginal content in the fine arts, science, social studies and language arts IRPs (curriculum guides) for our province. With the local signing of our Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement with the Musqueam First Nation, it is important that educators in Richmond schools develop an awareness and understanding of the local aboriginal culture for all of our students. This year, all classes (K-7) participated in a variety of experiences in the library related to Musqueam and other BC aboriginal cultures. More information about the Musqueam First Nation can be found on their website.

~Ms Novakowski