Beyond The Desk – Page 94 – The Class Blog for Mr. Hancock's Grade 5/6 Class

The Mystery of Oak Island

May 16, 2011 eoin24 Comments 1 comment

On an island off the coast of Nova Scotia, there is something hidden. Nobody know what or who hid it but something is there at the bottom of a pit that no one can get too. Stones with clues, log floors built every 10 metres, coconut fibres, traps that fill the pit with water from the ocean. . . these are just a few of the things to be found on Oak Island.

As part of our writing today, students took a look at the things that pirates stole or plundered. As we learned, most times it was not gold, silver and other precious metals. Most times it was plain ordinary things that the pirates needed. However, there are lots of stories, myths and legends concerning buried treasure and one of them is about a hole on a little island off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Here is some info and videos. I also included a couple of links to find out more!

The Story of Oak Island

Oak Island – Wikipedia

Spelling for Week of May 16

May 16, 2011 eoin24 Comments 2 comments

Here are the spelling lists for this week:

N-6

Here are the links to Spelling City:

Spring Spectrum Tomorrow!

May 16, 2011 eoin24 Comments 0 Comment

The days are getting busy!

Tomorrow night is the Spring Spectrum. The concert starts at 7:00. However, students should be in the class by 6:45 at the latest so we can be organized and ready to go.

One change from previous years will be that students are to remain with teachers until the end. So before and after they perform students will be sitting with their class.

Could We Have a Little Light Please?

May 15, 2011 eoin24 Comments 0 Comment

Here we are at Monday with only four weeks (approx.) to go. Time is flying so quickly.

In Science, we have been working a lot on learning about the properties of light. We are getting close to end of this part of our unit and will be looking at the properties of sound next. In the next few days will be wrapping up is part of the unit and doing a little review before the mid-unit test. I will have the study guide on the blog before the test to help the students.

There are a lot of great videos and resources for students on light and their properties. Of course, Bill Nye always has some great videos which I have embedded below. I have also put a little quiz for fun. Can you answer all the questions correctly? Be careful, I’m checking your answers! 🙂

Finally, here is our favorite video! (Well, favorite for now. We seem to change fairly frequently!)

Here’s the quiz! Remember to try your hardest!

Can You Shed A Little Light On This? » Create A Quiz @ProProfs

A Fun Video for Knight Time! Get it? Knight Time! Thank You!

May 15, 2011 eoin24 Comments 0 Comment

Good evening!

Just for some fun, I found this video that I thought all of you would enjoy.

Division of Double Digit Numbers

May 13, 2011 eoin24 Comments 0 Comment

In our math program, students have been learning about double digit divison. As you will probably expect, we are learning it a very different way from the way we were taught many years ago.

The Math-U-See program emphasizes place value as a way to illustrate to students why the numbers they are using written down in specific spots. Using place value, students begin to understand how numbers work together to give us the answers. It means there is less mystery about how numbers work together.

However, these concepts can be very foreign to the rest of us trying to help the students as it was not the way were taught. So, to help all of you at home, I have created a video demonstrating the concepts we are learning using an amazing new app that I just got for my ipad2.

Here it is:

If you need further help, please feel free to come and see me! The better we all understand, the better the students will understand.

Spelling List For The Week of May 9th

May 9, 2011 eoin24 Comments 1 comment

Here are the spelling words for this week! Enjoy!

N-5

Here are the links to Spelling City. We had some issues with the ones from last week so please check and let me know if they do not go to the N5 and P4 lists!

Dont’t Forget Your Swimming Suit!

May 9, 2011 eoin24 Comments 2 comments

Today is the swimming fieldtrip! Don’t forget to pack your swim items. We are leaving at 12:30 and returning at 3:00.

Go Team Sydneigh!

May 5, 2011 eoin24 Comments 5 comments

On Sunday June 12 2011, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is having their Annual JDRF Walk for a Cure at the Vancouver Zoo.

There is a reason I am telling you this.

One of the students in my class has juvenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes can be a heavy burden for a child with all the testing and restrictions on the everday life of a child. However, it does not have to mean that your life is completely dominated by diabetes.

I have been extremely proud of the student in my class. Her courage and determination to not let diabetes stop her from having an active, fulfilling life has been a great blessing for all of us. Her energy, humour and faithfulness are a great testment to the possibilities for others.

This year, she has decided to become an ambassador to share her story and experiences to others which I think suits her perfectly.

She is raising money for research in juvenile diabetes. I would like to encourage you to help her out. You can check out her blog at:

Team Sydneigh

Posts for Parents IV: Facebook

May 5, 2011 eoin24 Comments 0 Comment

While this may not be relevent for the students in Grade 4, many of you have students in older grades who may or may not be using facebook. Facebook has become one of the main uses of time on the web. Just like any use of technology, there are many positives uses and aspects of Facebook. However, there are also ways that Facebook can be abused or misused. This is not the fault of Facebook. It is not the tool that is good or evil but rather the way it is used by the people who use it.

As your children get older, their use of sites like Facebook will most likely increase or they will start asking you to let them use Facebook as all their friends are using it.

So, how do we allow students to start exploring the use of these tools and yet understand and protect them from the potential pitfalls that may arise? I recently found a guide for parents on using Facebook that I thought you might find useful in dealing with some of these issues.

fbparents

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