March 18

Well we wouldn't know it by looking outside but Spring Break is just around the corner! Just a heads up that this Thursday, March 22 we have a 12:00 dismissal time and there is a PD day on Friday so students don't return to school until Tuesday, April 3rd.

This week we tested out our insulating devices to see how long they could keep an ice cube from completely melting. Most students were able to keep their ice cube partially solid for about 2 hours. Ask your child what they did to keep the temperature from changing inside their cups. Many students were also able to describe what they would do differently next time (if they were to rebuild their device) to create a longer lasting insulator.

 

 
 
 




Before we go on break we are working to understand a few Scientific concepts related to Liquids. Students are exploring States of Matter (solids, liquids, and gases) and the Water Cycle.  The vocabulary that we are learning about is Precipitation (haha which we are really understanding first hand with the endless snow we keep receiving!), Collection, Evaporation, and Condensation.

The class has been working through a very tricky math problem solving situation this week. They have a budget of $100 to buy flowers to plant their garden. Each type of flower has a different cost and student needs to decide how many of each flower they are going to buy. They are practicing to use different addition strategies to determine how much each will cost them and if they can buy the combinations of flowers they want within their budget. We will continue it tomorrow and I will take some pictures of their work to show examples of what this looks like. 

Awesome week of Learning

Our 3 days of inline skating was amazing! The kids did such a great job persisting through difficulties and despite a few bumps and bruises, they were all flying around the gym by Friday. Here are some pics of their fun experience.

 

 

 

 

We also spent the week planning our Insulator Devices and built them on Friday. Thanks to everyone who donated items to build with! We made quite the mess in the classroom but I was so impressed with the process and learning that took place. Students made a plan of what materials they would need and drew their blueprint plan for what they wanted their device to look like and labelled it to help them with the building portion. Students were so focused and diligent in creating their devices, we encouraged them to share their ideas and look at what others were building. I heard many great conversations among classmates as they asked each other questions and shared their thoughtful processes. They were extremely respectful in sharing materials and supporting one another. We will be testing our devices on Monday to see how long they can keep the cold in for. Originally we were going to use smoothies but logistically it may be too difficult so we will likely use ice cubes instead. Be sure to ask your child on Monday how long their device kept the ice cube frozen/cold. 

 
 

 

Insulators

We need your help! Students in grade two are helping Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Schrattner keep their icy cold smoothie from melting! Our brilliant students have accepted the task of designing a container to help keep her smoothie from melting as quickly. To help them with this task, we are asking families to send in common household items such as: 
   -styrofoam
   - plastic
   - newspaper
   - cling wrap
   - wax paper
   - cardboard
   - bubble wrap
   - anything else you think may be a good insulator! 

Please note, we are not asking families to purchase these items, but rather, gather items they are willing to part with from around the house. We will be collecting items from Monday, March 5^th until March, 7^th. Thank you for supporting our learning! 

Insula