Welcome

Hello and welcome to the start of the new school year!

This is a very exciting year as the new school opens it's doors to the students from grade 7 to 12. I am happy to be teaching in such a modern and well designed school. It was great o meet some of the parents at the orientation last week and I look forward to continuing to get to know my students and their families over the next few weeks.

There will be a newsletter coming home this week which will have a contract on the back that needs to be signed and returned. Each of my and Ms.Fenlong's students will be getting a timetable on the first day to show how their classes will be laid out. This being our first year at this school there will inevitably be changes and minor tweeks along the way as we work out how to best run the school. One thing to note is the changing gym time as we are sharing the facility with the high school and they run on a different schedule than us which leads to some interesting planning.

I will be doing my best to try and update this blog weekly so that you are aware of what we are doing in class as well as highlighting some of the student's personal achievements.

I look forward to a fun and educational year!
Mr. Brooks

South Branch Science Fair

You are invited to attend the 2nd annual South Branch Science Fair! All parents and relatives of South Branch students are welcome to view the science fair projects in the gym on Wednesday April 18th from 12:00 - 2:30 pm. Students will be presenting in the afternoon and awards will be given out at 2:50pm.

Come out and see what your young scientists have discovered!

Geometry Make Up Assignment

As most of you know from signing the students' portfolios, some students did not do as well on the last geometry test. I have created a make up assignment to help raise their mark for that unit of Math. Some students will be assignment only Part A which is the angles section while others will be assigned Part B which is the construction sections. Unfortunately there are some who will be assigned both. Students are allowed to use their notebooks and textbooks to assist in completing this work. This assignment will be sent home Monday and is due next Friday and is not optional if it is assigned to the student.
Many thanks
Mr. Brooks

Tattoo Assignment

Tomorrow the students have this summary/opinion writing assignment due. They have been given a number of classes to work on it. It was assigned earlier in the week so hopefully they have used their time wisely and are ready to hand it in tomorrow.

Timeless Art or Painful Trend

Purpose

This assignment will allow you to demonstrate that you are able to do a number of reading and writing skills effectively; ask questions to better understand a reading, create jot notes, to summarize the main points effectively, and to clearly state and support an opinion on an issue.

 Focus Questions

      1.    Do you think tattoos are simply a modern trend or are they a traditional art form?

2.    Is it okay for teenagers be allowed to tattoos without parental consent?

 Tasks

     1.    Create 5 good questions you might have based on the article title and class briefing. BEFORE

2.    Use a highlighter to find the main points and important information of the article as it relates to the focus questions.

3.    As you read the article write down at least 5 good questions that come to your mind. DURING

4.    When you are done the article write down at least 5 questions you now have regarding the topic. AFTER

5.    Go over your highlighted reading and create a set of jot notes (organize with subtitles).

6.    Write a short precise summary of the article using your jot notes.

7.    Write a short opinion for focus question 2.

 Assessment Notes

·         All of the tasks are to be handed in so they should be typed and organized by task number and title.

·         Your questions will be assessed by how thoughtful and detailed you are (you need to think and connect when questioning).

·         You jot notes should be neat and organized into subheadings with only the important facts stated in your own words.

·         The summary needs to be short, include all the important information, and in your own words (refer to summary writing notes and feedback from previous exercises).

·         Your opinion piece needs to use the information provided and further research to back up your position on the question.

Sunny Summer Monday

Hope everyone had a good March Break and is enjoying this small taste of summer. The next few weeks are going to be a busy time for the grade 8's. This week they should be completing their experiments for the science fair and recording their qualitative and quantitative observations. Today in class I demonstrated my own science fair experiment and went over the steps to model how to conduct and record and experiment. Template 3 (Observations and Results/Calculations) is due next Monday. Later this week they will get Template 4 and 5 which are to be used to write their Conclusion and Application and to start designing their backboard display for the project.
In English we are still working on Summary writing and tomorrow the students will be getting their next article about tattoos that they need to demonstrate good questioning before/during/after and then summarize the article from jot notes. The second novel study is due on April 2 (TWO WEEKS) and they will be getting some time during the week to work on it in class. I will be checking on Thursday to see how well they have been following their time lines that we planned out in class when the novel study was assigned.
In Gym we have started running once a week as part of our fitness program. I am encouraging each student to set personal goals for themselves when jogging and to pace themselves so that they can build up their endurance. I am out there jogging with them and was only lapped by two students today (kinda sad...one of them even lapped my twice). We will be tracking how many laps we complete to see how far they have run by the end of the year. Again I encourage them to set their own goals but goals that challenge and push them a little more each time.
A great number of students still have not returned their portfolios with parental signatures. Please return signed so we can add to them.
Enjoy the great weather!
Mr. Brooks

Homework Completion

Just a quick note regarding homework. Please check the website and your child's agenda for assignments and daily homework. We are having difficulty getting work done on time in the classroom. Many students today did not have their 2 paragraph summary completed, they had been given class time and had a snow day to complete their work. We do still do agendas at the end of the day and most days I do sign them for a certain group of students who have difficulty completing their work on time regularly. This is the start of term 2 in which we have a number of large projects that require good time management and task completion. I would really like to see more students take the responsibility to complete their work on time and to the best of their ability. As parents any assistance you can give to help keep the students on track is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Mr.Brooks

Term 2 Portfolios & Science Fair

Hello
Well term 2 is well on its way. I have started a new portfolio for the students and have changed how it will be used. I have had the students attach a table of contents to the front and we will be listing all the items that are being kept in it, the date they were added to the portfolio, and there is a signature spot as well so you don't have to sign each individual item. This will help you know what items should be there for your viewing. I will send items home in the portfolio when there is more than one item to be signed. When we have one item being sent home I will just send it home on its own for a signature and we will add it to the table of contents at school. Most students are very good at returning their portfolios but a few have habitual "misplacers" of things. Today I sent home a Math quiz and a Science quiz for signage. Both quizzes were not surprises and the students were told what to study. Some did not prepare for it very well and should try to be more prepared by completing their homework, listening in class, and studying beforehand.
This week there is a Math test on Thursday (yes a test not a quiz). Math club will be tomorrow at 1 pm and a list of those who must attend will be posted tomorrow on the board tomorrow. As always all are welcome to come in for some help.

Today we started our science fair projects. Students in both grade 8 classes have been given three pieces of the puzzle so far. A news letter went home on Monday and today they received the partner/topic and template number 1. The newsletter should be signed and bottom returned. Topic/partner and template 1 is due on Monday. Please check the website for more information and copies of all the templates being sent home. The science fair will be on April 18th and all students are expected to participate. It really is the best part of teaching science as I find it amazing what some of the students come up with and produce at the end of the project.
Many thanks,
Mr. Brooks