Lost & Found + Goodbye

My motley crew (I mean that in the best way possible) this time last year. Stay tuned for more pictures from the dog days of this school year including snaps from their stellar off Broadway rendition of "Jai Ho" yesterday. I think about 15 kids are missing from this picture LOL.

Hello,

Thank you to all the boys and girls of Room 204 for making the 2009-2010 school year such a happy time for us all. I will miss each and every one of you. Next year, I'll be in Room 108. It will be a different school year and one that I'm very much looking forward to. I plan on working with the Grade 6 kids again next year with the Blogger Club and perhaps some other fun clubs along the way. I had a hoot baking with the girls after school recently and I've been asked if we can do it again. Sure. Why not? My door will always be open and I'd love to have some willing volunteers be helpers next year, or perhaps help as mentors for primary students - Blogger Buddies?

Congrats to Phoebe for winning the Mole contest and to Sibghat for being runner up. Grace, you were an awesome Mole. Hardly anyone suspected you. Congrats also to the students who received Academic Achievement Certificates yesterday: Grace, Phoebe, Nathan, Nicolas, and Sibghat. Several students came very close to receiving one of these certificates. I hope that next year will be your time.

Thanks to all of the wonderful parents of Room 204. I couldn't have asked for a more supportive group of parents. Room 204 was large and loud, but the students are all kind and caring. These values come from home and you should be very proud of how your children represent your families when they are at school. Thank you for the thoughtful cards and gifts. I'm overwhelmed.

Yesterday after school, I took a few items to the lost and found. They included a lunch bag (possibly Mathew White's), a hoodie (possibly Ayden's), and a red water bottle. Quentin, I left your green water bottle and Clairlea water bottle together in the office with your name on them. Please pick these items up ASAP.

Have a terrific summer everyone.

Ms. Hawkins

For Sibghat & Ayden

Here's the song you sang in the Gardening Club.

Belated Pizza Reminder

Sorry for the late reminder that tomorrow is our pizza party. No need to send a lunch. Can you believe the year is almost over? Sniff... Sigh... Weeeeeee!

Tour de France 2010

We're all caught up in World Cup madness right now. Sadly, Australia won't advance, so my father is likely crying in his Vegemite. England did go through, so my husband's excited in that deadpan understated English way. How are your teams doing?

Here's my favourite thing to do in the summer: flop back on the sofa with a cold drink, put my feet up and watch the Tour de France. The scenery is stunning, even if you don't like cycling. The race begins July 3rd in Rotterdam this year. Here's the Tour de France 2010 link for those interested. http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html I follow the Cervélo Test Team. Cervélo is a Canadian-based manufacturer of beautifully crafted speed bikes.

Huge News and Updates

Hello there. Well, we've almost made it (please don't start singing that Shania Twain power ballad). I have a few announcements of interest.

First off, we found out today that Clairlea is now a Gold level EcoSchool. YEAH!!!!! We've worked so hard this year, but I wasn't sure if we'd actually qualify. I'll be blogging about it on the Clairlea Green site, so please stay tuned for more news. Children from four junior classrooms were on the Green Team this year and their hard work will be recognized this week. The majority of students from our class are on the Green Team and several were also in the Gardening Club. Thank you, thank you, thank you! These kids kept the recycling program running at our school and we couldn't have done it without them.

Secondly, a note went home with students today regarding the water situation at Clairlea. Our water has been tested and it is now completely safe to drink. I am still encouraging our class to bring a refillable water bottle from home, to reduce the amount of little plastic bottles filling up our recycling dumpster.

Lastly, I forgot to mention that our class won the Jump Rope for Heart pledge contest. We raised the most money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation in the entire school. Woo-hoo! Thank you for your generous donations. Our prize is a pizza party, which will be on Monday (the second last day of school). I'm ordering cheese pizza for the class. No need to pack a lunch that day. I'll supply drinks and chips.

That's all for now.

Best,

Erin Hawkins

Below, find pictures from our fabulous field trip to the Bata Shoe Museum last Friday. Thanks again to our wonderful parent volunteers. The kids were great and the Museum people were warm and friendly.

You'll also find a pompous song and video from Spandau Ballet to help us celebrate our Gold EcoSchool status. LOL.

One big, happy family.

"Gee, I wonder if this boot is big enough to hold a baby..."

Yep

"I wonder how many of my feet can fit in Shaq's boot..."

"At least two."

J.C. holds a Finnish bark shoe. I think an insole may be required.

Ahhhh. Strangely snuggly.

Sandal from Zimbabwe made from old tires.

I haven't seen this level of excitement since the last Justin Bieber video was released.
"Quick, pass the chew toy before he starts nibbling on the priceless wooden clog from Korea!"

"Mmmmm. You can smell the craftsmanship."

Are these available in a size 9 - ladies?

In a moment of confusion N.E. began petting the boot, before realizing it wasn't one of his cats.

M.R. shows us a fur boot from the Athapaskan people.

King Tut! Are you stalking Room 204?

Greco Roman, with a little Canada thrown in.

We have it so good with our footwear these days.

"Which crusty leather shoe do you like the best?"

E.C. wonders how many people were accidentally impaled on this shoe.
After the museum, the kids frolicked in a pretty field down at U of T.

Naturally, dancing ensued.

Rockin' the Crocs.

Happy Father's Day LOL

What is my dad doing in this picture? A. Trying to saw his own arm off with an umbrella. B. Trying to teach someone how to play violin with an umbrella. C. Giving someone a cranky face because they didn't appreciate the frog concert. D. Telling a visitor from Toronto that illegal parking at pumpkin farms in St. Catharines is punishable by arm amputation with a gigantic umbrella. You be the judge. Happy Father's Day Pops!

Hope all the Room 204 dads had a swell day.

I had a super busy weekend. Celebrations included a birthday party for one of Duncan's friends and Father's Day festivities. Oh yeah, my husband and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. We visited my parent's in St. Catharines today and I finished reading the very fine editorials by the Fantastic Fives. When I got home to Toronto, I realized that I ran out the door without my teacher bag. D'oh! My father knew how important it was for me to get the editorials back to the students, so he is generously sending them priority post to the school. I guess dads never stop being dads. I had a swell picture of my dad smiling in his "Go Australia" wear today. Alas, I left my camera in my teacher bag too, so you're stuck with this weird picture of him at a pumpkin farm last fall. It's the only picture I had of him by himself and he's scowling. He's actually a very funny man the rest of the time. Honestly. LOL

Bye for now!

Erin Hawkins

P.S. Pictures from the Bata Shoe Museum field trip coming soon. It was a wonderful field trip and the kids enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

World Cup Fever Room 204 Style

Clairlea's gone World Cup crazy. Our class loves soccer (aka the real football). Mr. Knierim has been hooking up the Clairlea Jumbotron in the gym lately so that kids can catch some of the games. Thanks! Below, find some of our great kids showing their World Cup colours.

It's a Knock Out

Thomas protested that the photos of his jousting with RJ at the Fun Fair made it look like RJ had the upper hand. Well, being the fair, sensitive, warm, fuzzy teacher-in-need-of-a-raise-and-an-extra-long-holiday that I am... I've tried to show the other side of the story. Note that in the second photo, RJ's helmet had been knocked off by the Dancing Machine. I do what I can. - Ms. Hawkins

In this photo, Thomas righteously knocks RJ off his pillar. What you are seeing in this photo is Thomas going in for one last jab after slightly losing his balance. Sweet!

Bata Shoe Museum Field Trip

Not recommended by Dr. Scholl (or Mr. Church!)

Hello,

This Friday, we're going on a field trip to the Bata Shoe Museum. Please sign and return the permission form, along with $5.00 and two child TTC bus tickets. We still need 3-4 parent volunteers. I will put the names of interested parents in a hat on Wednesday and I'll send a note home notifying parents whose names were selected. Thank you in advance. This will be a fun, educational trip and the museum is very easy to get to via TTC.

* Wednesday is the deadline for forms, money, and TTC fare.

Lastly, I'm asking all parents to review the importance of resolving conflicts peacefully (using words not hands or feet). Reinforcing this at home will embolden students and encourage them to do the right thing, including speaking out against bullying. Please also remind your child that he/she can turn to a teacher if they feel they are being bullied. Thank you.

Erin Hawkins

This Week in Room 204

Last Friday, just about every student handed in the final draft of their editorial. I am in the process of marking them and students should have them back soon. Overall, I was pleased with the writing. We've come a long way this year.

This week, we will begin wrapping up Social Studies and Science.

In Language, students will be orally presenting his/her Social Studies Media Text. We will also be rounding out the year with a fun creative writing assignment, which will lead to a storyboard of a TV/film pilot episode.

In Math, we will be investigating whole-number rates.

Homework: Literature Circle Roles due this Friday.

We've almost made it to the end...

Erin Hawkins

What Colour Can Do

Thought this may interest followers of Fantastic Fives. Music by Icelandic singer/songwriter Jonsi from Sigur Ros.

Here's the blurb: Dulux Walls - Global film for the Let's Colour Campaign by Euro RSCG London

Let's Colour is a worldwide initiative to transform grey spaces with colourful paint.

This 2 minute global film was shot by multi-award winning director Adam Berg over four weeks in Brazil, France, London and India. Every location is real and they remain transformed by a palette consisting of 120 different colours. The people in the film are not actors, they are real people who rolled up their sleeves to transform their community with colour.

Read more about the Let's Colour project here:
www.letscolourproject.com/blog
www.letscolourproject.com

What Fun at the Fun Fair

The weather may not have been perfect, but it didn't really rain and the kids just had a blast at the Fun Fair anyway. Thank you to all the hard working parents on the School Council as well as other parent volunteers, student volunteers and my colleagues who came out today. Thanks as well to the families who came out and supported the Clairlea Fun Fair. I saw many familiar faces (including lot's of students and parents from our class). I spent the first half taking Duncan around to the stations, and then I worked the last half at the Bouncy Tent. Duncan had a tummy ache when we returned home. Hmmm. I wonder why?

Here's Duncan making a hat in in the Thomas Room. Whoever came up with this idea for an activity room is a genius in Duncan's mind.
RJ and the Dancing Machine duke it out. I laughed my sides off. The Dancing Machine is insanely scrappy and knocked the hockey champ off his perch a couple of times.
Dancing Machine does a face flop after the hockey champ tips him over.
Dancing Machine battles back. Hey, I wouldn't mess with either of you on an inflated surface.

"Take that!"

Duncan does his best to knock J. M. from Miss Lowen's class off his perch. It's hard to beat a big Grade 3 kid when you're in Junior Kindergarten. Sigh!
When Duncan realized he didn't have a leg to stand on, he devised another method. He turned the inflatable lance into a battering ram and finally managed to toss JM off his perch.

Below: Victory dance.

After School Special

Cheers to the always wonderful girls of Room 204. After school they made fruit smoothies in the library (the staff room was abuzz with Fun Fair action). The girls took care of everything and with a little supervision had the blender going and the drinks a-flowin'. Mmmmm. So nice to hear them laughing and even singing together. I think Megan could easily get a job on the Love Boat working the blender.

Ms. Hawkins

Next week - cookies!

Social Studies Project Update & More

Hello,

I have extended the due date for the Social Studies Media Text/Presentation until Monday. I've been hugely impressed with the media texts that have already appeared on some of the student blogs.

Below, you'll find pictures from today's Blogger club where Mathew W. shared some tricks of the blogging trade from Be Funky. Bravo Mathew! Nicolas has told me he'll post a tutorial of what Mathew covered on the Blogger blog. Thanks Nic.

Don't forget Mrs. Brathwaite's last dance practice for "Wavin' Flag" tomorrow morning in the gym. All students are welcome. Clairlea will dance en masse to this catchy song at the Fun Fair on Saturday. I joined the dancers this morning for a little while. It was a lot of fun. I still can't dance. I tried. Really. Thanks Mrs. Brathwaite!

Tomorrow afternoon, girls from our class are welcome to join me after school to make cookies and smoothies. Speaking of girls, if you're in the school, do check out fantastic display in front of the office created by the Girls' Empowerment Group. The display celebrates inspiring girls and women. Hopefully a Junior Girls' Empowerment Group will begin.

Bye for now,

Erin Hawkins

This Week in Room 204

Way to go Dimitri, Ethan, and Quentin for your athletic prowess displayed yesterday. Dimitri came in third in shot put. Woo-hoo!

Sorry for the delay. I was having computer issues at home, which I believe hubby has resolved. I'm typing this at school.

Language: This week, students are working on the second draft of their editorials. I read all editorials over the weekend and writing journals were returned with descriptive feedback, along with a check list of strengths and areas of need. Overall I was pleased with the quality of writing and the fact that many students are beginning to develop a unique "writer's voice." I hope that by the end of the week students will be close to writing their final drafts. Perhaps we can share some of these on the blog.

Math: Last Friday, students were given a combined Geometry/Measurement test. These tests were sent home yesterday. Students who failed or came close to failing were asked to have their test signed by a parent. Please make sure you ask to see the test. Most of the students did very well on the Geometry portion, but many children had difficulty differentiating between area, volume, and perimeter. I have reviewed all three extensively over the last two days and I sent home extra work sheets which are due tomorrow. Please ensure your child returns them tomorrow. It would also help most children to go over area and volume with a parent. I will mark a question as incorrect if they do not indicate the correct measurement (e.g. meters cubed for volume or meters squared for area).

We are continuing on with Ancient China, learning about modes of communication and government in Social Studies. In Science, we are still working on Matter.

Homework:
1. Social Studies Multi-Media project - due Friday.
2. Lit Circle Role - Due Friday (A few groups opted to increase their chapter readings each week. Please gently prod your child to remind them if their chapter count was increased this week).
3. Volume, area, and perimeter sheets due Wednesday.

Don't forget the Clairlea Fun Fair is this Saturday. It's still not too late to buy your All-Day Pass. There will be all kinds of great activities for kids to enjoy, so spread the word and bring friends, neighbours, etc. I may be looking for a Fun Fair babysitter for Duncan when I'm working the slide, which I want to call Montezuma's Revenge - but I think it's called the Big Kahuna. Ahhh. Memories of Pulp Fiction.

P.S. Some of our students are moving in on the Mole. Expect things to heat up soon. Tomorrow - a math group challenge. They know their area and perimeter. Or do they?

Do exercise extreme caution if your family is planning to be involved in alpine game show activities this summer. Statistically one out of every five men don't survive. The results can be devastating. See the cautionary Youtube clip if you don't believe me.