Monthly Archives: March 2013

Gym Sense

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Today our intermediate students started working on their gymnastics unit. We have partnered with Gym Sense Gymnastics to learn a variety of exercises and routines. The focus today was learning about the equipment, understanding safety expectations,  previewing the stations, and practicing following proper transition routines. In future lessons, students will explore how they move through space, work on strength building exercises, practice balance, learn to roll safely, and work safely with their peers on the equipment.

The Gym Sense staff will be joining us for the rest of the week, as well as for two weeks after Spring Break.

For you primary parents out there, don’t despair. We will also be using the small gym for gymnastics towards the end of the week, and then continue for a bit longer after Spring Break. All students will have a chance to participate in a variety of safe gymnastic activities.

If your students had gym today (in the large gym), ask them how gymnastics went. I’d be curious how they respond.

Take care

Classroom Blog – Mme Gagné’s class

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Yesterday I wrote about spending a lot of time in Mme Cusanelli’s class. I also spent time in Mme Gagné’s class. I spent about an hour rushing back and forth between the two classes, as I was so interested in what was going on in both rooms. They are both such nice groups of students (I can say that for all classes), and they put up with me coming and going between the two classes. Fortunately, the classrooms are across the hallway from one another.

Mme Gagné’s students had been working on a project that involved building musical instruments (wind, percussion or string) at home and then giving a short oral presentation about their instrument. The presentations involved four key points about the making of the instrument, and each student played their instrument for the class.

I loved what I saw in this class. The students were smiling and were so proud of their work. I heard about students working on these projects with their fathers and mothers. I saw flutes, guitars, a violin, drums, tambourines chimes and a rain stick. I saw happy children.

Excellent work students. Keep being creative, and keep making music.

Take care.

Classroom Blogs – Mme Cusanelli’s class

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This afternoon I found myself spending a fair bit of my time in Mme Cusanelli’s class. This is a grade 2 class, and they were having fun. Her students were doing fish printing, and I stayed and helped. I took some pictures and even got my hands a dirty by helping out with the printing a bit. Isabelle (a grade 12 volunteer from Handsworth) was a great help, assisting the students with the painting and making the print. Mme Cusanelli worked with students with the fish printing, while at the same time helping those who were making salmon images using plasticine or were doing other activities. She also helped out with my French from across the room at times. Merci.

The class has been studying salmon, and they are in charge of our two salmon tanks in the school. Our salmon have hatched, and are now in the alevin stage. The ones in the library seem to do a better job of hiding than the ones in the front hallway tank, but we know that they’re in there. Our grade 7 helpers continue to monitor the tanks and check the water chemistry regularly.

Fish printing was messy, but in a good way. Each child was able to make two prints, and I suspect that those children who were away today will get a chance to do it soon. If they weren’t making their fish print, they were working on another art project. See images below for an idea of how creative they are.

Take care.