Winter Break!

The first term has just flashed by and we are heading into our winter break. Take the next two weeks to enjoy the company of your family and friends and have fun with various indoor and outdoor activities. See you in January.

Wish you a fabulous winter holiday!

Field trip to the Port Moody Station Museum

The Port Moody Station Museum is a very important and interesting historical site. It is a direct link to B. C.'s past. Without the railway, who knows what Canada would look like today.

To learn a little about the importance of the railway, take a few minutes to view the video titled 'Forging the National Dream'. After viewing the video, go to the comment section and write one fact that you learned from watching the video.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

What a super day! We had a wonderful turnout for the 'Meet your Classmates' event where a local entomologist visited us with her collections of bugs. 'Live and in person', we saw mealworms, a tarantula and a scorpion.

The scorpion was the highlight of the show when he decided that he was hungry. He hunted down a cricket and promptly began eating it while many excited students stood and watched in awe. Students had brought glass jars which they transformed into 'bug catchers' to collect their own bugs. We then ventured outside for the 'bug hunt'. All students experienced success in collecting a wide range of bugs.

After all this activity, hunting can be exhausting, everyone was eager to launch into lunch.

It was a great day and everyone had a fun time.

Name This Insect!

Here I am! Do you know my name? I live in B. C. I love living here because you have just what I love to devour! I am not well liked because I turn what is big, tall, green and alive, to red and eventually a dull, weak and dying grey. Enough clues. Guess my name. Then do a little research and tell one fact about me.

Photos from Student Sailing the World

Maia is a student in our class who is sailing to various parts of the world with her family this year. She has sent these photos to share with us with the following description: These pictures are of a humpback whale I saw on my offshore passage from Neah Bay, Washington to Coos Bay, Oregon.

The 2009-10 School Year Begins!

Welcome to the new school year! Here in Vancouver we've enjoyed a fabulous summer and spent lots of time enjoying the outdoors. I hope all of you had a super summer and are re-energized for this school year.

Today as I look at the brilliant sunshine, I think about my summer and lots of great memories spring to mind. What will I remember most about this summer?

I will remember ....

floating on my back in the ocean watching bright white, puffy clouds gliding by in the dark blue Hawaiian sky.

Now, take a few minutes to think about your summer. What will you remember most about your summer? Please share your memory with us by posting it in the comment section. You may begin your sentence with 'I will remember...'

Earth Day: What can we do to make a difference?

It's is great to see everyone becoming more aware of the importance of our Earth. In fact, not only is the awareness increasing, people are actually starting to make changes in their day to day lives to improve the long term health of the Earth. All of us are taking on the responsibility of making a difference. April 22 is designated as 'Earth Day', a day to re-commit ourselves to the well-being of our Earth.

Making a difference begins at home. One of the major areas to make a difference is in our consumption of energy. As we become more and more technologically advanced, we are inventing more and more electronic gadgets. We are also realizing and becoming more advanced in saving energy. I would like you to go to the following website http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/energy/energy_efficient/index.cfm Here you will find a quiz on being energy efficient. By taking this quiz you will learn how you can help reduce your use of energy and greenhouse gases. After you have played the game, post a comment telling one thing that you can do to make a difference in saving energy.

Friday, the thirteenth!

It's Friday the thirteenth. For most people, it's just another day. However, there are others that feel when Friday falls on the 13th day of a month, it is best to be on guard, because it may be a day for bad luck. This is called a 'superstition'- an idea or belief that has no basis in fact.

There are many, many superstitions that have been passed on through the years from one generation to the next. Have you heard of these:

* a rabbit's foot brings good luck

* at the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold

* if you blow out all your birthday cake candles in one breath, your wish will be granted

Think of a superstition that you have heard, and post it in the comment section.

January, 2009: Happy New Year!

A new year begins! What does this mean?

To some people it means, just another year. To others, it means a fresh start. Some like to think about the past year and then decide what changes they'd like to make in the new year. Many people like to make new year's resolutions---goals they'd like to meet in the new year. However, not very many people are successful in sticking to their new year's resolutions.

Why do you think some people are able to keep their resolutions and others are not? Is there something different about these people? Do some people have certain qualities that help them keep their resolutions that other people don't have? What are these qualities? Maybe it has nothing to do with the people. Maybe it has everything to do with the resolutions they make. Are some types of resolutions easier to keep than others? What makes some easier than others?

Is it a good idea to make new year's resolutions? Why or why not? What do you think?

Discuss the questions above with your family members, then post your thoughts about resolutions in the comment section. By the way, did you make any new year's resolutions for 2009?