October Newsletter Archive
This is from Friday, the 17th October
We hope everyone enjoyed Monday off and just a reminder that next week will be a short week
as well. There will be no school on Friday, October 24th for students.
The Grade 8's had a small, alert and very cute visitor this morning, October 17th as our Roots of
Empathy baby Kai and his mother Marissa had their first visit to our classroom. It was a fun and
successful visit with students learning all about Kai's abilities at 3 months of age. Thanks to the
students who have returned their Roots of Empathy forms. There are a few students who have
not handed in their forms. Those students have been given new forms today and are asked to
return them to Ms. Gapka by Wednesday, October 22nd.
We had a Leadership Club meeting at lunch this Friday and were happy to announce that we
have enough tickets so that all Leadership Club members will be able to attend WE DAY on
Wednesday, October 29th. Students will be learning the WE dance and making buttons to take to
WE DAY in preparation. Permission forms were handed out today, October 17th and will need
to be returned by next Wednesday, October 22nd.
Weekly Update in Science:
This week, we concluded our study of plant and animal cells and organelles by presenting
researched information to the class, comparing a cell to a school, writing a brief quiz, and
examining plant and animal cells under a microscope. Cell research and comparing
plant/animal venn diagrams were submitted for assessment. Next week: More microscope
practice and the processes of diffusion and osmosis!
Weekly Update in Math:
Grade 7:
All addition/subtraction worksheets re: decimals were due on Friday! We concluded our
week with decimal problem solving and a travel tax activity. Next up: multiplying with decimal
numbers.
Grade 8:
A reminder that our first Math test on Square Roots and the Pythagorean Theorem is on
Monday, Oct. 20th! Grade 8 students should be studying their math reviews/journals this
weekend!
A note on Social Studies:
Students learned more about our distant family tree this week in our Early Humans unit and
were able to compare and contrast 3D interactive skulls from modern day humans (Homo
sapiens) with chimpanzees, Lucy (A. afarensis), Homo erectus and Neanderthals. Any parent
who is feeling morbidly curious can check out the website here: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/natureonline/life/human-origins/modern-human-evolution/3d-hominid-skulls/ . There is also a mystery
skull interactive website where students worked as a class to match a fossil skull fragment and
try to match it to a known early human ancestor found here:
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/mystery-skull-interactive . There was no
homework this week in Social Studies.
Great games to our Grade 7/8 girls and boys volleyball teams this week and good luck on the
upcoming games next week!
Have a great weekend everyone!
The Junior High Team
This is from the 11th October
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We hope you've had a great week! It's flown by at Darwin and we hope you have a restful long
weekend. Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday, October 13th and Happy
Thanksgiving!
It has come to our attention that some parents have not received the previous weekly emails. The
previous weekly parent emails will be posted on the Darwin website soon and you are certainly
welcome to email Mrs. Daoust at [email protected] if you missed any and would like the
previous emails sent directly to your … email.
Mr. Coates: Grade 7&8 students received a note about the upcoming Winter Camp in January.
Students are requested to return the camp form along with a cheque for $25 before
October 31st if they are attending Winter Camp. If students are not attending Winter Camp
please indicate NOT ATTENDING on the form and return the form to Mr. Coates. We are also
running a camp fundraiser (Mom's Pantry) from now until October 31st. Students may pick up
fundraising packages from Mr. Coates at any time. Please note the deadline for all Mom's Pantry
orders is Friday October 31st. Fundraising forms will not be accepted after October 31st.
Ms. Gapka: Roots of Empathy: The Grade 8s had their first Roots of Empathy lesson today. The
focus of the lesson was to introduce information on the development of a baby's brain and help
students understand that babies learn through their senses. Baby Kai and his Mother,
Marissa will be visiting our classroom on Friday, October 17th. Some students have yet to
return their release forms. Forms are attached to this email.
We Day: We have been given 24 tickets to attend WE DAY on October 29th. Unfortunately, not
all Leadership Club members will be able to attend due to the limited tickets. Students will be
notified if they will be attending WE DAY late next week.
Ms. Ross: There's been a lot of beautiful music coming from the band room this week! The
Grade 8's are learning the two main themes from Jurassic Park by John Williams and had their
first playing test today. The Grade 7's have mastered everyone's favourite classic Hot Cross Buns
and are well on their way to learning the first 5 notes in their band book. Keep up the practicing!
Mr. Mackay: In ELA the students are putting the finishing touches on their Digital Citizenship
presentations. They have been doing regular vocabulary exercises; writing and posting stories of
places they have visited; Mad-lib grammar; sentence combining and Directive Detective puzzles.
In November they will begin their first thematic unit on Mystery.
Ms. Newediuk
Math Land: Grade 7's have begun practice for adding and subtracting decimals. Worksheets
and problem solving will be due mid-next week. Up next: Multiplying decimal numbers!
Grade 8's have begun applying the Pythagorean theorem to sample problems involving right
angle triangles. A reminder to all grade 8's - your Square Roots/Pythagorean TEST will be
Monday, October 20th! Test reviews will go home Tuesday the 14th in preparation.
Science Updates: This week, we dived into the microscopic land of cells by creating a
collaborative poster to demonstrate the function of each organelle. Next week, we will
compare/contrast plant and animal cells and prepare to use the classroom microscopes to view
sample cells! Vocabulary index cards are due.
Mrs. Daoust: Students in Social Studies this week presented their word wall vocabulary on our
Early Humans unit. We discussed the importance of art in pre-historic life and theories on why
art was important to early humans. Students viewed a 3-D version of Lascaux a famous cave in
France with 17, 000 year old paintings and etchings and then created their own wall of cave art
based on scenes they had viewed. Next week the cave art will be displayed in my room.
Presumably, our cave art will not be on Darwin's walls for another 17, 000 years. There was no
homework in Social Studies this week.
That's it! Have a wonderful, delicious weekend.
The Junior High Team