Playgrounds!!

We were learning about 3D and 2D shapes. We had to make a playground with a partner. They had to have 3-2D and 3-3D shapes. -Matt D

It took us a while to build it but we finished and Ms. Clarke put the people's names in a bin and then she picked one out and whoever's name it was, got to take their playground home. -Nick

At the end we had to explain what our 2D shapes and 3D shapes were and tell the class what each piece was. Then we had to fill out the criteria. -Dyaln W

Here are some pictures of our playgrounds:

Our Caterpillar Adventure!

Yesterday we got caterpillars. We got containers and Ms. Clarke mixed the food. Then we put the food in the containers and poked holes with a tack in the lid. Then we got a paint brush and we put two caterpillars in each container. -Karys

Today when we got to school, the caterpillars were getting a little bigger. Danika took a picture of the caterpillars for Instagram. We are learning about Instagram. When we started doing Instagram Jonathan and Karys took pictures. -Anna

Today before the announcements we had to write in our Butterfly Journals about what they looked like and what they are doing. You have to draw a diagram and we're going to count how many days we keep them for. -Kayla

Some of our caterpillars are small, and some are a little bit bigger than others. Some have already shedded their skin, but some haven't. -Maddy

Yesterday when we got the caterpillars we were all excited! There were 86 caterpillars but some died. There were more caterpillars than last year. -Matt D

Right now they are all larvae. Next they make a chrysalis/pupa. Then they slowly start to come out of their chysalis and then they sit on their chysalis to let their wings dry. Then they will lay some eggs and die. Then it happens all over again. -Dylan W

When they are all full grown, we are going to let them go free. -Nick

Kicks for Kids!

On the way to school on Tuesday, I was listening to Hot 103.1 and heard someone talking about the West Broadway Youth Outreach's program, Kicks for Kids. WBYO runs a variety of programs for kids in their neighbourhood. Right now they are training for the 5ish Fun Run on June 1. Some of the kids don't have proper running shoes so WBYO is asking for donations of new or gently used runners for kids and youth. I shared this information with the Kids of Room 9 and they thought it was a good idea to help! I am, as always, very proud of them. -Ms. Clarke

Yesterday the Kids of Room 9 picked a job for Kicks for Kids. The jobs were posters, letter, and announcements. The posters had pictures of shoes and a title on it. We're going to put them on the bulletin board and all around the school. -Anna

Today we made posters. Next week we are going to hang them up. -Claire

The announcements are going to go on Monday. We are going to start collecting shoes on Monday. Last night Ms. Clarke went and got 4 pairs of shoes to start us off. -Cali

Our goal is 50 pairs of runners. On the posters we had to have something about WBYO and about the dates and the sizes (we'll take any size). -Dylan W

A Trip to the Marsh!

Today we went to Oak Hammock Marsh. First we got on the bus. When we got there we went inside and learned about AMPHIBIANS and REPTILES. We learned about a lot of animals. At the end we played a game. -Dylan R

The game was called Hot Frog. We passed a stuffed animal snake to the next person and the next person passed it to another person. The stuffed animal frog could jump to the next person or across. The frog couldn't touch the snake. -Anna

Then we went upstairs and looked at some stuff that you can find on the trail like eggs, skat (poop), nests, fur, feathers, owl pellets, sticks chewed by animals, and bones. Then we went outside and started to look for some clues for different animals. We got to use magnifiying glasses. Some people found nests, underground holes, ground squirrels, birds, feathers, fur, footprints, and tons and tons of skat. -Dylan W

We heard frogs and saw two dead ones. We heard different kinds of birds like red-winged blackbird, and the yellow-headed blackbird, black-ringed gull, Canada geese, and ducks. -Cole

After we went inside to wash our hands for lunch. After lunch we went outside and went critter dipping. Abby (our group leader) told us all of the different critters we could find in the marsh. These are some of the critters we found:
-snails
-phantom midges
-blood worms
-shrimp
-water mites
-damsel flies
-dragonfly nimphs
-and the first tiger beetle of the year! -Maddy

Gabby found a tiger beetle. We were on a floating dock so then everyone went to go see the tiger beetle, and the docked was tipping. Grace almost went for a swim! Her feet got wet but she didn't go for a swim. Ms. Clarke and Mr. Lapage we worried that she was going to fall in so they tried to balance out the dock. -Cali

When we were finished critter dipping, we went inside to take bathroom breaks and after we got all of the people, we went outside and we got on the bus. On the way, me and Anna saw some ducklings in the pond. -Claire

Thank you to all of the parents that helped out on the field trip! My dad, Jackson's mom, Matt G's mom, Kayla's mom, and Mr. Lapage! -Katrina