Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Love, Splat

In anticipation of Valentine's Day, we read one of Rob Scotton's loveable tales of Splat the cat. Splat has made the 'purr'fectly adorable Kitten a valentine and he's determined to deliver to her at school.  Although, Splat's not so certain that Kitten is quite so smitten.  Splat's arch enemy Spike competes for Kitten's affection when he shows up to school with a valentine of his own. Feeling defeated, Splat tosses his valentine in the trash.  Who will win Kitten's heart in the end?


The students made their own Splat with black paint and chalk pastels.  Using toothpicks they gently dragged the wet paint away from Splat's body to create his fuzzy fur.  Heart shaped doilies were added for a finishing touch.

Our Love, Splat art is headed to the VSB lobby for the month of February.  The students are very excited to have their art displayed and enjoyed by others.  They wrote artist statements to accompany their work.  Stay tuned for photos of the finished projects and the display!





Saturday, January 18, 2014

Extra Extra! Read All About It

Last week the class finished up their Holiday Newspaper stories.  To celebrate their hard work and great writing they swapped newspapers and read about each others holidays over 'coffee' and doughnuts.  It was a lot of fun.  Thank you to my friend and colleague Ms. Quon for sharing this great idea!






Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Compaigni V'ni Dansi - Louis Riel Metis Dancers

On Tuesday afternoon we enjoyed a performance by Compaigni V'ni Dansi, a Vancouver based traditional Metis and contemporary dance company.  Master jigger, Yvonne Chartrand and dancer Eloi Homier performed several jigs for us including the Red River Jig, the Seven Step Dance, the Belt and Sash Dance, the Heel and Toe Polka and the Orange Blossom Special. Musicians, Keith Hill and Sandy Scofield, played the fiddle and guitar.  Sandy sang a beautiful song in Cree and we also heard the fiddle spoons, an instrument made of two large spoons (wooden or metal) that clack together.  The sharing of stories through song and dance is an important oral tradition in Aboriginal culture.  We were lucky to have Yvonne and Eloi teach us some of the dance steps.  We practiced together in a large circle.  It was a fun afternoon.  You can learn more the Louis Riel Metis Dancers by following this link:  www.vnidansi.ca/

Yvonne and Eloi dancing the Red River Jig 
The Belts and Sashes Dance
The Seven Step
The Metis Flag has two sides which represent both First Nations
and European ancestry 
Sandy drumming and singing
Keith playing the fiddle
 

December Shenanigans

It was an action packed last few days of school before winter break.  Sing-a-long in the gym + popcorn movie party + gingerbread houses + falling snow = serious excitement!  The gingerbread houses involved a lot of kids and supplies (900 graham crackers), a lot of icing (tub-fulls), a lot of candy (I mean A LOT of candy), a lot of fun and a lot of helping hands (thank you PAC and parents).  The children enjoyed planting paper white bulbs a few weeks earlier and watching them grow. We discussed how bulbs can be forced indoors when it's too cold outside.  Hope you enjoyed the fragrant blooms over the holidays!







Best Monday Morning EVER

When I arrived at school on Monday morning, the first thing I saw when the lights flickered on was this wonderful letter from the class.  After being away sick for a few days (super not fun) I couldn't imagine a warmer welcome back than this.  I told the kids it made me so happy that my cheeks were hurting from smiling.