02.02.20

02.02.20 - Happy Palindrome Day!

This Week

February is African Heritage Month.

In Room 206, for the month of February, we will focus on celebrating achievements and legacies of Canadians of African descent across many areas of life: law, engineering, health, science, writing, sports, activism, education, and journalism. 

As always, if you or your family has anything to share, I most welcome whatever your bring to the table. 

Phase 5 Strike Action

Provincial Strike Day is Thursday. Clairlea teachers will be walking outside Christina Maria Mitas' Constituency Office on Lawrence Avenue East

TDSB Strike Day is Friday. I believe we will be in the Clairlea neighbourhood, stationed at the back parking lot. 

As always, thank you for your support through coffee, donuts, muffins, hot chocolate, bathroom and warm up places, words and emails of support.

Please visit https://etfocb.ca/ to remain informed on ETFO action.

The Week That Was

This week, we built elevators and moving sidewalks to support students with disabilities at Clairlea. As we are all Engineers and Scientists in Room 206, we work hard to understand how our knowledge of small machines, such as pulleys and gears, can be used to make positive change in our world.

We know that Clairlea needs an elevator or a moving sidewalk 😃, so here are a few of our designs. More pictures to come as our Engineers are still busy fine tuning their structures, and drawing and writing up their designs.

Engineers George and Nicholas made a wheel out of yoghurt container lids that lifts the elevator car. The elevator car has a drop-down ramp that allows a wheelchair to roll on. Their LEGO wheelchair (not shown) has a motorized computer screen!
So 21st Century!!

As you can see, the "Transporter" allows students (or people with heavy suitcases and backpacks) to travel effortlessly through the building. Our Engineers, Ewan and Nayab, designed and built a sidewalk that actually moves in a forward and reverse rotation, effortlessly. The LEGO bricks provide stability and you can see handrails for mounting and dismounting.
Hello, TTC! We're doing it in Room 206! 

In this compact and clever design, our Engineers designed an elevator car that actually rotates forward and backward to help people get on and off. 

This design is rather excellent because our Engineers, Nazara and Sanjna, attached the wheel and pulley system to the projector cart, thereby allowing more height to their design. The cable system runs through the top of the cart to allow maximum leverage.

Universal Design - What you can't see in this picture is the "Emergency" and "Floor" buttons that allow students with a limited range of functional ability to travel effortlessly throughout the building. Engineers Selena and Eirini thought of everything! 

Engineers, Gabriella and Hibbat, built a "double car" elevator that transports people and animals because really, what's a school without horses on the second floor?

See you all Monday. 
C. Vincent

Week of January 27 / 20

Hello everyone

Today, I have sent home each student's Math portfolio for you to sign. Please return so that I may continue gathering and filing Math written assessment to share with you.

As you know, student marks and learning skills have been submitted by teachers to the office. TDSB has decided not to have Administrators input marks and learning skills into report cards. Therefore, no Term 1 report cards will be sent home. However, I will be in school on Friday, February 14th from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm should you wish to meet with me to discuss your child's progress.

Please check your child's backpack for the Parent / Teacher Interview Form to request a 15-minute timeslot.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns. I can be reached via email at carol.vincent@tdsb.on.ca

January 20 - 24

Hi everyone

Please see below these pictures and update for rotating strike information.  

The Week that Was

We have had a busy and good week.

One of the best ways to get kids to read is for them to share what they are reading.  I like to use book talks regularly. Kids grab their books, sit in our circle and volunteer to share what they are reading, why they like the book or simply recommend their book to certain readers in the class. Sometimes they don't particularly like their books, and that's ok too. Also, this allows me to see genres or authors they like and I can order books, accordingly. Some of their favourite books come from home, some are picture books I have in my personal collection and some are books from our class library or school library.

We ended the week with our first STEM (I'm going to add the A and make it STEAM because they will be doing some drawing around this activity).

The Dash & Dots and iPads are always a huge hit with this crew. In Friday's activity, the kids were using metres as their unit of measurement and programming their robot to move to a specific destination, turn around and travel back home. The linear movements and roads were easy and the kids who were working on winding paths had to come up with some pretty good strategies. Either way, they all complained that there is never enough time and why can't we do this for longer and it's not fair that we only get two periods. THANK YOU to Mr. Farquharson who gave up his prep period to allow them even more time with the robots! 

Inclusion in the Classroom

Many parents ask how having students with a variety of abilities in the classroom lends to teaching and learning.

In this activity, I have students in partners measuring in millimetres and centimetres and we are recording the measurements on the whiteboard for the whole class to see and compare. You can see L is recording the measurements on the whiteboard and she is practising listening and writing single and double digit numbers as her math activity. Writing on the whiteboard is also part of L's occupational therapy requirements and building fine motor skills.  While I was present, the kids very much stepped in to help L with writing numbers. We are a TEAM!

Rotating Strikes

Pending an offer of agreement within the next few hours, it looks like teachers will be starting rotating strikes on Monday.

Teachers will be outside the school by the parking lot starting at 8:30 am on Monday. There are two shifts - morning and afternoon. I'm in the morning shift. Please come by and show your support.

Negotiations include the four key areas below.  Please visit https://etfocb.ca/ for more information.














See you all on Tuesday.

Jan 6 - 10, 2020

Hi everyone!

We had a busy first day back after the Winter break.

First, thank you to all for your thoughtfulness for the many gifts I received. In addition, I took a large, overflowing bag of warm woollen socks down to the Adelaide Resource Centre for Women at 67 Adelaide Street (at Jarvis) and the wonderful folks there were so thankful for them.  Thank you to each and everyone who contributed socks or cash for the purchase of socks. As I sit here updating this blog, I can hear the wind roaring outside. Many girls and women will be on our city streets tonight or heading to one of the very few shelters our city provides for women. Thank you for your generosity and know your kindness was so needed and well received.

In our Class
We are in the process of finishing off some of our first term units and starting units in Science (Pulleys and Gears) and Social Studies (Regions of Canada).  Our Math unit is in measurement and in writing, we are working on some shorter pieces to help with writing strong paragraphs and working on transitioning from one paragraph to another.

Throughout this term, we will be looking at our impact on the planet and focusing on individual action plans. We are becoming knowledgable about climate change and our impact on our planet. Now, what are we going to do about it - sitting talking about it is just not enough. We need to be acting.

Reminders 

• Pizza lunch is on Wednesday.
• Homework duotangs were sent home today. They are due Friday. For those who need extra time over the weekend, Monday is fine, too. 
• Reusable water bottles, please. Many students are not bringing them in and this results in wasted time running to the water fountain as our classroom water is not drinkable.
• Indoor shoes are essential, please. Our floor and carpet gets very dirty when students have to wear boots indoors. 

Looking forward to a busy and productive January.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or issues. I can be reached at carol.vincent@tdsb.on.ca or 416 396 6165.

Happy 2020!

Ms Vincent

December 16 - 20

Hi all

We have a very busy week planned, with concert prep, cookie decorating, a visit to Mr. Bonin's class, movie afternoon, as well as a final goodbye to Mr. McGilvray! 😢

Thursday, 19th is our Holiday Concert

• please plan to be in Room 206 between 5:30 - 5:45 pm
• Concert starts at 6:00 pm and we are the first act on!
• You can wear whatever "festive" means to you

Friday, 20th

• movie afternoon
• you are welcome to bring treats (keep it small and simple). I will be providing chips, as we watch our movie.

Used Cutlery and Dishes

• We are looking for used cutlery and dishes to set up class sets. The idea here is to start phasing out our use of plastic cutlery and paper plates. If you have any at home you'd like to donate, send them along. 

Looking forward to our last week together before we break for the holidays! 

December 9 -13

Pizza Lunch

This Wednesday, December 11.

Holiday Concert. 

See attached schedule of who, where and when. 

Details to follow as preps continue.

Grades 1-3 Concert 

Act 1 -- 6:00-6:30:  Galati, Oliver, Sanchez, Janke, Diop, Bonin

Act 2 -- 7:00-7:30: Hawkins, Demeter, Mestechkin, Rampersad, Phinnemore, Primary Singing Club

Thursday, December 19:

Kindergarten Concert (daytime)

Act 1 -- 6:00-6:30:  VIncent, Vlachos-Daskalakis, Mitkovski, Junior Choir

Act 2 -- 7:00-7:30:  Trott, Hassanle, Camara, Francis, Band

Clairlea's Holiday Eco-Market

Here's how it works.

·  Starting Monday, December 9 until Friday, December 13, all students, staff and families are encouraged to donate items from your home that you no longer use. For example, soaps, candles, jewellery, mugs, purses, wallets, dishes, toys, books - the list is endless!! Clean out your cupboards, closets and shelves! All donations must be in good condition, please. 

When

·  The Holiday Eco-Market runs on Monday, December 16th and Tuesday, December 17th, during recess and lunch times. Students can come to the Holiday Eco-Market to purchase gifts at a fraction of the cost of buying gifts in a store.  Plus, re-gifting keeps so much out of landfills and recycling plants. 

Looking forward to your donations! 

Thank you for supporting our Holiday Eco-Market! 


Used Cutlery and Dishes

We are looking for used cutlery and dishes to set up class sets. The idea here is to start phasing out our use of plastic cutlery and paper plates. If you have any at home you'd like to donate, send them along. 

Teacher Gifts

Room 206 students and parents are tremendously generous gift-givers and I am ever so grateful!  What I'm proposing this year is this: rather than buying gifts for me, I would prefer parents or students to purchase one pair of woollen socks that I will then donate to shelters. 

Woollen socks can be bought at Dollarama for a reasonable cost. I know there are many woman living on our streets so think about smaller sizes, too. While there are lots of fabulous socks everywhere, woollen ones are best as they still keep feet warm when they are wet, easier to wash and they last the longest compared to other socks. 

I will set out a loose change jar, so if parents or students would prefer to donate loose change, I am happy to purchase woollen socks on their behalf. 

I'll start this conversation on Monday as we continue to talk about the importance of eco-markets, and recycling. 

As always, thank you for your support.

Lots going on, this week! 

Dec 1 - 6

Hi everyone

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Housekeeping

Please ensure you all have the following:

• indoor shoes / slippers. We have a carpet that is getting very dirty and our floors do NOT get washed regularly. Please ensure you have something to wear inside the school other than the shoes/boots you wear outside. 
• a change of socks and pants. The field / play area is always wet and muddy this time of year and as we move gradually toward OPAL initiatives (Outdoor Play and Learning), you need to be dry and comfortable inside after recesses. Do you know that some TDSB schools do NOT keep their students inside during inclement weather? I have been to PD sessions at other schools, and / or noticed some schools in my home area, where it can be pouring and all the kids are outside in raincoats, rain hats and boots playing and sloshing around in the rain and mud. The BEST learning happens outside in all kinds of weather. Clairlea isn't quite there yet, but we do get wet and muddy outside at the best of times, so please make sure you have a change of clothes with you - or waterproof splash pants for over your indoor clothes to keep you dry. 

Reminder

This Friday, December 6th is a PD day. No school for students. 

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, December 18th - Clairlea Reads. We had a fabulous session last time, building and designing and making scenes and settings from loose parts. Cannot wait to see what our next lunchtime session looks like! 

Friday, December 20th - "Festive Outfit" Day.  For Room 206, this means any outfit that puts you in a fun, happy, celebratory theme. Let's talk about this at school. 

We have a full week of learning. Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.