Traveling in Africa

This photo and write up has been forwarded by Joel who is a Grade 4 V.L.N. student studying in Africa this year.

I went on a 10 day trip to three different African countries. We traveled to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Kruger National Park in South Africa. On our way to Zimbabwe we saw elephants on the side of the road. In Zimbabwe we stayed by the Zambezi River. We went to Victoria Falls while there. At Kruger National Park we saw elephants, lions , a leopard , cape buffalos , kudus , impalas , warthogs , lots of birds , vultures , crocks , hippos, mice, squalls, rhinos, hyenas, eland, giraffes, and zebras. When we went to Swaziland we fished, went to a school, and we stayed there for one night. I had fun on the trip.

April Fun!

It's poetry month! The April Newsletter told you about Shel Silverstein and the enjoyment he gets from writing poetry. I decided to take a fun poem of his, change it a little, and then have you add a rhyming couplet (two lines that rhyme) to the poem. At the end of April, everyone who posts a rhyming couplet to the blog will receive a little prize.


Here's the beginning of the poem, followed by two examples of rhyming couplets:

No Schoolwork Today

"I can not do schoolwork today,"

Said little Peggy Ann McKay.






(here's an example of a rhyming couplet to add to this beginning)

My nose is clogged and I cannot breathe.
Just listen to my chest; you can hear me wheeze.

(here's another example of a rhyming couplet to add to this poem)

Penicillin, Sudafed, Tylenol too
With all this medicine, what's a body to do!

Now it's time for you to think of a fun, rhyming couplet to add to this poem and then post it in the comment section.

Spring Break!

Hi Everyone,
Spring break is here! The school is closed from March 17 to March 25. Hopefully we will have lots of sunny days to get out and enjoy the many signs of spring. Take a photo or two of some of the more splendid signs of spring and send them to me to post in our blog. Have fun!

Venice and Its Working Boats

Josh took a trip to Venice recently. There he saw all types of working boats. Here is his report.

1. Gondola: A gondola is an old fashioned Venice boat. It has one big oar and is a long narrow boat. Right how it is used for tourists. Before it was used like a taxi to get people from one place to another.

2. Vaparetto: A vaparetto is a Venetian type of bus. It's back is like a usual bus with lots of seats. But it is a boat. It's used to carry people from one stop to another.

3. Garbage scow: Garbage scows are like garbage trucks. They have an arm which picks up the garbage cans, like the ones in Vancouver, and empies them into the boat. They are green and they don't smell very good.

I also saw boats which ar ambulances, police boats, fire boats, and taxis (actual taxis-not gondolas).

2008 --- Here We Come!

It's the beginning of another new year. A chance for a fresh start. An opportunity to set new personal goals. Many people make new year's resolutions, and within a couple of days, maybe weeks, maybe months, they are forgotten.

Here's the situation. You are 'Doctor Advice'. Walter is your friend. He comes to you and says that he really wants to stay focussed on his resolution for the entire year so that he can make progress all year long. Walter asks you, "How do I keep my resolution from just being lost after a short time? What should I do to make sure I remember my resolution all year?"

So...Doctor Advice, what would you tell Walter to do?

Post your suggestions for Walter on this blog.

Holiday Time!

The holiday season has arrived, and not a moment too soon. I'm sure all of you are as ready for some fun and good family time as I am after working diligently since September. Various cultures hold celebrations at different times of the year. Some of you have the wonderful opportunity to see what happens during the holiday season outside of British Columbia. What a great experience! It would be excellent if you could share with us what is happening this time of year in the area that you reside or visit. Whether you live locally or abroad, it would be great to learn a little about a celebration that you participate in. There's a lot we can learn from each other.

Josh is visiting Italy this year and has forwarded some photos and the following write up.

Thank you Josh for your contribution!

Above is a photo Josh sent from Trento, Italy. He tells us the following: Trento is cold and damp. It has a big Christmas tree in one of the squares. There is a Christmas train that goes around some of the squares. There are lights that hang across the streets.

Holidays in Italy

When we got to Florence, we went to the Dome first. It is the largest dome made out of bricks in the world. They have a tower and a square---quite a large square. The square was full of people. The Dome's steps are on the inside. They are made of rock. There are 462 steps. There are lots of ventilation drafts as you go up. You can see out and take pictures through them. It took one hour to get to the top. Once you are at the top, you can see the whole of Florence, Italy.

Happy Halloween!

There's a chill in the air. The ground is littered in leaves. Excited children dressed in strange and unusual ways are parading through the neighborhood. It must be Halloween!

If you participate in Halloween, do you have a favorite costume or a funny or scary story to tell?

If you are overseas, do children there participate in a special day or event during this time of year?

Photos from Adam in Spain & Joshua in Italy!

Adam is a student in our class who is fortunate to be living and learning in Spain this year. He is visiting many historic sights and has forwarded the following photos taken at the Bode and Altes Museums to share with us.

The following photo shows the Bacharach fortress located on the Rhine. It is now called Burg Stahleckhostel and, as the name suggests, is used as a hostel for tourists.

Joshua is a student in our class who is currently in Italy having a fabulous time. He has sent three photos taken in Venice, Italy and has this to say about them.

1. This is Piazza San Marco where they have Carnivale and lots of pigeons.


2. This is a flying lion, a symbol of Venice.

3. This is the Rialto Bridge with a gondola going under it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving! What does Thanksgiving mean to us? A long weekend... A time to get together with friends and family...A time to eat turkey...A time to stop and give thanks for all the good things we have...

Thanksgiving probably means a little of all of these.

What do you know about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada? How did Thanksgiving start in Canada? Why do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October while Americans celebrate it in November?

I would like you to take some time to learn about the history of Canadian Thanksgiving. You can go to the website http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/thanksgiving/canada/

for information. Then I would like you to post one new fact that you learned that you found most interesting about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Italian Lizard

Joshua is in Italy and has submitted this photo and comment for the class blog.

This is a lizard. It is in Bolzano, just north of Trento. The lizard was up a mountain sunning itself on a fence it had crawled up on padded feet. We had to get close up to the lizard to take the picture and it just stayed there. This type of lizard is all over the place.

Summer Memories

Kiersten writes: I went to a farm to go horseback riding. Can you guess where I went. Here are 5 choices: Washington, North Vancouver, Tennessee, Hawaii, Fiji.

Welcome to the 2007/08 School Year!

What a great September! The summer weather is still with us. I'm sure you are all participating in a lot of outside activities and having a lot of fun. At the same time, we've begun our school schedule and have all begun to work on this year's program.

Given the hot weather and the energy in the air, it's easy to look back at our vacations and all the wonderful new memories we've collected. So, on that note, I decided it would be great to start this blog with photos of 'summer memories'. What I'd like you to do is to search through your summer photo collections and choose a photo you'd like to have posted on the blog. With the photo, please email a few sentences telling us about the photo. I will then post your photo and comments on the blog for you.

I've started our 'Summer Memories' collection by posting this photo taken during my vacation. I would like you to try and guess where this photo was taken and then post your guess on the 'Comments' section of this blog. After your guess, write your first name only.

Ready? Alright! Where do you think this photo was taken and why do you think that?

Cellphones----good or bad?

Cellphones, cellphones, and more cellphones! It seems that almost everyone has a cellphone these days. Those who don't have one, want one. Many children, teenagers and adults feel that a cellphone is absolutely necessary. Without it, they feel they are unable to do the things they need to do in a day. Meanwhile, researchers continue to warn people about the dangers of too much cellphone use and use at inappropriate times.

What do you think? Are cellphones a necessity or a luxury? Are they dangerous to your health? Who should have cellphones? When should they be used? When should they not be used? Do we need rules for regulating cellphone use? If so, what rules would you make? Do you have a cellphone? If not, why not? Do you want a cellphone? What would you use it for?

Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about cellphones.

Science World Fieldtrip

What a great day at Science World!
It was great to see so many students and parents. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
Sampling a Purdy's chocolate while learning about cocoa and the manufacturing of chocolate, to testing my ability to relax and move a ball through 'Mind Power' ,to going to the Omnimax and seeing the force of nature, to examining live insects at the Eureka Lab...I had a fabulous time.

Those of you who were able to join us, I'm sure you had an enjoyable experience also. I'd like you to share one thing that impressed you on the field trip. It may be one fact that you remember from watching the Omnimax film, or it could be something you learned at the insect or chemistry workshop, or it could be something you discovered at one of the galleries.

Those of you who were unable to join us, I'd like you to share an interesting fact or observation about a special place of interest that you may have visited recently. You may be overseas and visited a tourist attraction or you may tell us about something interesting in your neighborhood, perhaps a statue in a local park.

Books...Television...Computers...?

Here it is, the year 2007 and the world keeps changing and changing. We have no control over the speed in which things change. First it was books. Then we moved onto televisions. Now computers are everywhere. As you get older, you will have more and more decisions to make as to how you want to spend your time. I'd like you to rank the three(books, television, computer) in the order in which you spend your free time, from most to least. Also, a brief explanation telling why you spend your time in this way would be good.

As always, I'll start.

During the school year, given the 3 choices (books, t.v., computers) I spend more time watching television. This is partially because I'm a big hockey fan so this means watching games on television. In second place would be using my computer. I spend so much time on my computer at school, it's not as appealing to me after school. I spend the least of my time with books. This is because it takes me some serious time to find something I really want to read. Once I find something to read, I want to have the freedom of reading whenever I want throughout the day until I finish it. This usually means that I save reading until the summer.

So, that's me. What about you?

Happy New Year!

2007---Here we come!
A new year, a new start, and, a chance to make some New Year's Resolutions. What is a resolution? It's a commitment to try and make changes for the better. It gives you an opportunity to start fresh with renewed energy. So, now, let's do it. Let's decide what each of us wants to change for the better and how. When you've decided, post your New Year's Resolution.

What's my New Year's Resolution?

My first resolution is to deal with things sooner rather than put things off. I want to make a decision and follow through within a reasonable period of time---sooner rather than later.

My second resolution is to take at least thirty minutes a day to do some form of exercise. It's time to get moving!

Alright! It's your turn. What's your New Year's Resolution?

Fun Times!

One of my favourite times of year is Christmas. I love Christmas for lots of reasons. First of all we have holidays so I have time to relax and sit in front of the fireplace on cold evenings maybe read a little and sip hot chocolate. Secondly, we always get together with our family and friends and talk, and eat, and talk, and eat some more. Everyone is happy and the children are excited. The seasonal music adds to the whole holiday feeling.
What about you---what time of year or what celebration is one of your favourites. What is it that you like most about it?

O.W.L. Presentation

Wow! What an excellent presentation! It was great to see that many of you were able to attend the presentation by the O. W. L. (Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation) society, and had the opporunity to learn about the fabulous work that they do. I know you all enjoyed seeing a live owl and a Mexican hawk. Ted Williams, the presenter, shared a wealth of very interesting information. Additional photos taken at the presentation can be viewed at http://www.gvdes.ca/~jmattu/fieldtrips/owl/owl.htm

Let's start this year's blog by sharing one thing that you learned from attending the presentation. Those of you who were not able to attend can also add to this by looking up information about Canadian hawks and owls and give one interesting fact you learned through your research.

This is a 'live' blog in that you are able to add your comments here directly. So, decide on an interesting fact about hawks or owls that you'd like to share. Then add your fact by clicking on 'comment'. Only give your first name when you leave a comment. I look forward to reading your interesting facts.

Cruisin' the Fraser

What a great experience!
The elementary GVDES students rode down the Fraser on a paddlewheeler! It was a wet, soggy day, but this did not dampen the spirit of the participants.

Enjoy the video!

Connor Meets Manatees

This photo of a manatee was taken by Connor when he was in Florida. Connor writes that he went out on a boat, and with a wet suit and a mask on, jumped into the water to swim with the manatess for over an hour and a half!
Another unforgettable experience for one of our classmates!