Day 323 - In the name of Science

One of our Grade 4 classes was working on simple machines today. Their first task was to create a catapult to launch marshmallows at their teacher. They had to figure out the technique that would get their marshmallow to the target. Miss C. reminded her students that safety must come first as she placed on her own safety goggles. The kids had a great time and were quite innovative. Luckily for Miss C., none of them hit their mark but they got pretty close. Those who achieved the most distance and accuracy demonstrated their technique for the other students. The experiment was followed by a discussion of the 3 classes of levers and then they built various simple machines with Lego kits. It's a hands-on learning experience I'm sure they won't soon forget.

Day 243 - Ready or Not

Well, the school is clean, shiny and ready to go for the first day of school. Teachers and staff have been busy over the last week preparing for tomorrow. Our janitor was busy all summer and thanks to him everything looks shiny and new. Today teachers were putting the last touches on their classes and the photocopy machine and laminator were humming all day. Here's hoping everyone has a good night's rest before the big day. Here goes another year!

Day 234 - Colourful Computers

Started work at the board last week. There were various sessions for teachers new to our board. It's called "Teacher Induction". On Thursday afternoon Michelle and I gave a session on available technologies. I brought in our mini computers from school. We've been using these ones with the younger kids because they have touch screens. It's also helpful to have the colours so the kids can identify them easier. I thought the laptops lined up in the case might make an interesting shot so here it is.