Author: Kristina McDougall

What an October we have had! Our Wax Museum turned out well, and we enjoyed presentations of some famous people all morning! Well done students, and thanks to those who came out to see them.

Some lovely folks from TRACKS (TRent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science) came to visit, and shared some teachings around Medicine Wheels.  We learned, of course, out in Burnham Woods with the fall colours all around us.  Do you know what the colours mean?  Your child does, now.  We also learned about the hemlocks in the woods, how to identify them, and how they got there.  Do you know what a drumlin is?  We do!  We also know how Canada geese fly — and many details about the sounds they make and the turns they take on their great migration.  Group work in nature…

The Grade 5s learned about all of the different early humans, and worked in pairs to present their findings to their classmates. We learned that sometimes it’s tricky to work with a partner on something. Deciding, communicating, reading, researching, summarizing, drawing, compromising… working with a partner is trickier than it looks. It’s always great practice to share what we learned with others by doing informal  presentations with others!  Other cultural classroom learning has involved researching Early Civilizations, Structures, and of course learning about and presenting party platforms for the recent election.  Busy month!

Joe has once again started up the Ukulele club, where UE students who are interested can learn basic chords and strumming patterns in a medium – sized group.  We have some returning members, which really helps, and everyone is really enthusiastic!

Please join your child November 6th at the Open House to see exactly what we do all day here.  There will be a time right after school that Wednesday where you can come in with your student and have them show you what they are accomplishing!  If Wednesdays are difficult, another night is alway a possibility.  Just email the teachers!  Life does get busy but coming to see your child’s work lets them know you are invested and involved.  It’s hard to make the time, but “The Hard Thing is the Right Thing to Do.”

Here are 5 reasons you should get involved in your child’s education (though there are many more than just these):

• Cognitive gains – Studies of parents highly involved in the educational process showed that their children were more likely to improve in their academics.
•  Increased confidence – When students feel supported at home and school, they develop more positive attitudes about school, have more self-confidence, and place a higher priority on academic achievement.
•  Better behaviour – Kids develop better social skills and show improved behaviour when their parents are involved at school.
•  Improved  community – Research shows that parent involvement can help improve the quality of schools, raise teacher morale, and improve a school’s reputation in the community.
•  Parents benefit too – When parents become involved in their children’s education, they become more comfortable in the school building, gain confidence in their parenting skills, and feel more capable of helping their children learn. They’re also more likely to continue their own education.

Today we spent all day at King Edward Park in Peterborough. We played large group games like Capture the Flag and Circles, and also had some time to play our choice of games. There was bocce ball (kind of like bowling), grounders in the play structure, and badminton. Some folks were brave and enjoyed the splash pad when the sun came out. It was a terrific day of getting to know each other!

Here in U.E., we have just finished our non-modified CAT testing (Canadian Achievement Test). Your child’s results will be given to you on the first week of June 2019. Modified CAT testing will be from May 6th 2019, to May 10th 2019. If your child is in the modified CAT test, make sure they get a good sleep on the week of testing. Studies have shown the average child at this age needs 10 to 11 hours of sleep. The CAT test is a standardized test that goes all around Canada. Unlike EQAO, the CAT test is not just provincial.

Some events that are coming up are the art show and showcase. The art show is a great way for kids to show their art. Kids are asked to bring in 3 pieces of art, or art that your child has made at school. The art will be placed all around the school. It will go from May 13th to May 17th.

Showcase is essentially a talent show. Kids will perform a class performance, and have the option to do an individual or group performance. Showcase will take place on May 24th 2019 in the evening.

This week: We are learning how to solve conflicts in class by doing lots of persuasive writing, debating, and meditating. We are doing debates in class like “Is UE better than LE”. The hardest thing, we are finding out, is to think of arguments FOR something you don’t agree with, or AGAINST something you do agree with.  It helps you think of the other side of an issue or problem, though. We went to Trent for gym on Wednesday, and it is still so fun! Joe reminded us this gym about showing sportsmanship while we play games. We play games like octopus, dodgeball and circles. We sometimes have choice in the gym time to join in a competitive game and a ‘chill’ game, because some of us really care about winning and others just want to have fun.  Jimmy Chapman the breakdancer is coming today to KMS and teaching us some sweet moves.  At recess, some kids sled down the big hill beside the school. Some people crash in the bushes and stumps.

Next week: In UE in the second term the kids get to come to the interviews, and do all the talking!  We did some self-assessments this week on our learning, and the teachers have said that overall we did a great job reflecting and writing about how things were going for us academically and socially in the classroom.  We can’t wait to share with you at the interview!  Next week we get pancakes on Tuesday because it’s Pancake Day.  All of the pancakes are made by the Lower Elementary students.  Yum! and Thanks!  We also have games day and then big clean up because we have interviews. We clean first, and then play games, because as Joe says, “Work hard, then play hard!” We also have the last Trent day of this year on Wednesday, so don’t forget your gym stuff!

Have an excellent weekend…

by Evan and Fiona

Hey there, long time no blog! Sorry, what with snow days and holidays, we have gotten out of routine. However, we are back to share what is going on in UE lately!

First of all, check out the photos. Yes, we do work here! We want to share a couple of stand-out pieces of work we are proud of as well as telling you how we are doing with both social and academic things in the class this year. So make sure to sign up for a time slot — it’s a STUDENT LED one, because that’s what we are all about here at KMS. Student led!

Many of us worked on our family trees – check them out in the hallway. Sohun did an amazing family tree of Greek Mythology — check it out beside the office!

There seems to be a lot of PERSUADING going on this term. We have learned all the tricks to persuade someone, in Ads, in arguments…so we have been applying that to paragraphs and now essays. The grand finale? DEBATING! Our teachers say that there is nothing more worthwhile than CIVILIZED ARGUING. That’s debating. First one will be on Monday, if you want to come and watch it.

We are all on an Energy Diet these days. Ask us what electricity actually IS, and how it is made! We have started work on that. We are currently (haha, energy joke there) learning about all the ways Ontario makes electricity. We really need to use less to save the planet from greenhouse gases, and global warming, so we are doing a NO POWER HOUR at school for the next…well, maybe forever!

That’s all for now, and have a great weekend!

This week we had some awesome fun hitting the bunny, green, blue, and black hills at Brimacombe while at top speed.  Some hit some epic air and some hit epic wipeouts.     : )  Our class loved the cafe at Brimacombe as much as the hills, which is really saying something!  Also this week we received sad news that our beloved fish Carl sadly passed away. 😭

Next week on Wednesday we are going to Trent for gym. Remind your children or child to pack their gym clothing and make sure not to do it for them because at KMS we encourage the children to learn independence. Also next week on Friday January the 25 we are going to go cross country skiing at Kawartha Nordic.

Have a fun weekend in the snow!

by Grace and Hunter