Gung Hey Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!

We had a very special celebration for this “Year of the Rooster”!  The biggest excitement was “waking” the Dragon and Lions for a parade with our Grade 5 Buddies!  The Dragon and Lions go on display outside the Library every year, but it has been a few years since they got to parade down the halls!  You can read about our wonderful Dragon on the Nestor Website. He was constructed by Nestor teachers back in 1998 and his wonderful body was made by Parent Volunteers in 1999 from material donated by every student in the school!  The big Lion was an older Nestor tradition and the little Lion was a gift from one of Mrs. B’s parents who brought it back from Hong Kong.

Our other excitement was a marvelous homemade Chinese lunch made by Lucas’s Dad and Fiona’s Dad (visiting from China!).  There were THREE kinds of dumplings and a delicious rice with all kinds of extra veggies and goodies in it!   They worked from early in the morning until lunch time to prepare it for us.  Lucas prepared a special Slide Show for us, to explain some of the traditions behind this special occasion.

A special THANK YOU to Kaylee’s Mom for providing this video!

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What was YOUR favourite part of celebrating Chinese New Year?

 

Happy New Year Kits

What would YOU put in a “kit” to help someone remember how to have the BEST NEW YEAR ever?  Here are our ideas!

 

What do YOU think was the most interesting idea?

 

Christmas Yule Logs

Yet again my class has been lucky enough to participate in the Yule Log craft.   In old times, it was an English tradition to bring in a gigantic log to burn for all of the 12 days of Christmas.  Kindling from this Yule Log was kept to light the fire of the next year’s log.  Our creations recreate the magic of a wondrous sparkly log hidden out in the forest.

My best friend, who was born in England, shared this tradition with me when my son was little. Many students have come back to tell me that they still have their original log, or have “recreated” their log, from their Grade 2 Christmas craft! Seventeen years ago (amazing!) I was lucky enough to have the Nussle family join my Grade 2 class.  It is hard to believe, but my dear “Christmas Lumberjack”, Mr. Nussle, has been supplying the logs every year since then!  Both his daughters are quite grown up!  The Yule Logs the students take home have a lot of history behind them!

Another Nestor  tradition is our special “Nestor Christmas Song – One Little Candle”  which was created by Nestor students and their Music teacher, Ms. Coffin, and which appeared on television by winning a contest by McDonald’s!  Enjoy this video, where the students sing our special song while working on their Yule Logs! It’s a double bonus!

Here we are in action!

 

Where did you put YOUR Yule Log?

 

Christmas Craft Fair

Once again our Wonderful PAC organized a special Craft Fair so that the kids could buy secret presents for their families.  We saw Miss Susan helping out with the wrapping too.  There was lots to choose from, so everyone went home with something special to show their love!

Gingerbread Houses

What smells like Christmas, looks like Christmas, and TASTES like Christmas?

GINGERBREAD HOUSES!

We had to postpone our activity one day… because the houses didn’t come until 3:30pm!   (So we made paper Christmas stockings for our Christmas Cards instead!)

It was the NEXT DAY when we really had a lot of fun making our own individual houses!  The gingerbread pieces were pre-cut with special slots, to make them easier to put together.  Of course that doesn’t mean there weren’t some challenges and a few caved in roofs from time to time!  It was very handy to have several parent helpers.  Everyone brought candies to decorate, and showed their “Christmas Spirit” by sharing!

 

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When did you EAT your Gingerbread House?

 

I Love Hamsters!

I love hamsters!

Our new little hamster will need a good name! He has soft brown fur with a white tummy and three black stripes on his head. He is a male “Teddy Bear” hamster, so he will grow fluffier. His eyes are brown and he has dark tips on his little ears. He is about 4 months old. He is very curious but still quite nervous. He seems very calm UNTIL you let him run around! Then he is sooo lively! He made little squeaks when he first came home. He also made a BIG squeak when I surprised him by turning on the light when he didn’t expect me.

Here is a video of our scampery new hamster in action!

 

Remembrance Day 2016

poppy

 

Poppy Poem… Author Unknown

Poppy, Poppy, what do you say?
Wear me on Remembrance Day.
Poppy, Poppy, what do you tell?
That many soldiers in battle fell.
Poppy, Poppy, what do you know?
That peace on earth should grow and grow.

Poppy, we are but children small,
We are too little to do it all.

Children, you may do your part.
Love one another is how you start.
Play without fighting,
Share your games and toys.
Be kind and thoughtful to all girls and boys.

We ALL have a part in making the WORLD a Place of Peace.

Our school had a special Remembrance Day ceremony.  Each class created its own wreath. These wreaths were placed, one by one, on stands at the front of the Assembly.  We had presentations of songs and poetry by students and the choir, and we were fortunate to have a Pinetree Secondary student, Colin, play “Reverie” on the trumpet to begin our minute of silence.

In our class, we learned how the Poppy came to symbolize the great sacrifices made in war times.  We  read “In Flanders Fieldsand were proud to learn that its author, Dr. John McCrae, was a Canadian soldier

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The Veterans Affairs Canada sent us bookmarks and newspapers about Animals in War.  Animals can sometimes be heros too!  http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.cfm?source=activities/kidszone     

A very IMPORTANT part of Remembrance Day is thinking about how WE can make the world a better, kinder place.  “Make the World a Little Bit Better” is a song by Charlotte Diamond that gives us some good ideas like “if I listen to you, and you listen too, soon there’ll be others like me and you“.   We got together with our Gr. 5 Buddy Class to make a Postcard Display of ways we can appreciate our  Veterans or the Unknown Soldier. We read the poem “Poppy, Poppy” and wrote our favourite ways that “Children Can Help“. 

Here are our ideas  (with the most popular ones are at the top):

   Children can…
be thoughtful
share their toys
be kind to others
be nice instead of bullying
can help people when they need help
play together
listen when someone is talking
be helpful and friendly
love each other
be responsible
wear a poppy
help when someone is sick
encourage others
be happy
line up nicely

Remembrance Day
is only one day…
please keep the spirit alive all year!

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“The Elders Are Watching” Earth Care Artwork

“You promised you’d care for the cedar and fir, the mountains, the sea, and the sky. To the Elders these things are the essence of life. Without them a people will die.”

This excerpt comes from the book and video “The Elders Are Watching”  (author- Dave Bouchard, artist & narrator- Roy Henry Vickers).  It reminds us how we are responsible for taking care of our precious Earth.  After watching the video, we made our own artwork using pictures from the Roy Henry Vickers Gallery for inspiration.

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What was YOUR favorite part of the story?

Happy Hallowe’en!

It’s a spooky time trying to take attendance when none of my real students seem to be in the room!

The costumes were fantastic and our “Canada Food Guide Party” was Nutritious, Delicious, and Educational!  The Witches’ Brew was SPOOK-TACULAR, with the favorite ingredients being “Jack o’Lantern Sneeze Juice” and “Slippery Worms“.

What was YOUR favorite part of the Hallowe’en Party?

Hallowe’en Pumpkin Relays

One of the highlights of the Hallowe’en Stations morning is the PAC Pumpkin Relays activity!  There are fun races like: “Pumpkin Bowling”, “Eyeball Balance Race”, and “Creepy Critter Pick-up”!

Here are a few shots of one of the activities!

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Which race was YOUR favorite?