May 29

Wow! What a morning we had at the Aboriginal Learning Centre today. They have a beautiful learning and community space that they welcomed us to today and we learned so much.  We were met at the doors by the staff of the school and later learned that their school was designed to represent a tipi, which is the Blackfoot traditional home.  They like to think of their school as a home for anyone to come to visit.

We headed outside to play three Aboriginal Games: The Buffalo Jump; The Stick Game; and Run and Scream (yes a favourite!)
For the Buffalo Game, one student had the chance to be the buffalo. The students needed move the buffalo over the line or into a corral without touching it.  They quickly realized how important it was to work together

We then played the stick game. For this game we needed to pass a pouch to each other using only a stick.  We called the name of a friend who had to catch it. This game is good for hand eye coordination. 

 Lastly, we played RUN AND SCREAM!  What did we do...? Just that! Students needed to run as far as they could while screaming and needed to stop once they were out of breath.  We know that the running for this game would help us get faster and more agile for hunting, but we aren't sure why the Blackfoot would scream at the same time. This is something we will investigate.

 We then went back inside for a tour of the school. It is so warm and welcoming. We learned about the entrance and the design and we had a chance to practice some of the 69 Indigenous languages of Canada.  The welcome sign with these languages is made to look like a canvas of a tipi, with the foothills at the bottom and the stars (Big Dipper, Milky Way, and Little Dipper) at the top.

As we walked through the school we learned about some of the artifacts of the Blackfoot people. For example, we learned that the yellow purse below would have taken approx. 6 months to bead.

We also went into the centre of the school and heard the story of the design of the room.  It had doors facing each direction and windows that faced east so the sun could be seen rising and west so the sun could be seen setting.  It has wood around it to bring in the natural component and is a central space in the school for both community members and students. 

During our snack, Shirley, one of the teachers volunteered to do a grass dance for us. She invited us back another time to even learn the dance from her.  We were mesmerized by her beautiful colours and the sound of the drums. 

Lastly, we practiced saying Hello, my name is in Blackfoot "Oki, nee-dahn ikoo" and had the chance to tell the story of where out families came from. We looked at the artifacts including the large buffalo hide, the bear, and the traditional drum. 

This was a day that we will come back to over and over this year as we learned so much about the Blackfoot people and the land on which we live. We have so many questions and so you may hear some of them as we delve a little deeper into Calgary's history. 

Thank you once again to all the volunteers who came with us today. 

Coming up:

• Fun Lunch Wednesday
• Grade 2/kindergarten assembly Friday AM
• Volunteer Appreciation Friday PM

March 7

Our field trip was a great success today!  Although chilly, the only complaint I heard from students was that our time at the Bird Sanctuary was too short...

Getting ready to go!

We are off!

We made our way down to the Bird Sanctuary first thing this morning. We arrived right on time and we were first in the classroom.  Here we reviewed some key words like adapt and migrate and talked about how we as humans adapt to the environment. Here are a few of our students showing how they adapt:

mittens, rubber boots, sunglasses, and windbreakers...

We then had the chance to do a few different stations to learn about how animals keep warm and cool in the different seasons and how they have adapted. We had the chance to touch replicas of bird and coyote skulls, coyote, rabbit, and muskrat pelts and use magnifying glasses to take a closer look at feathers.  We also learned about how animals blood helps them survive in the winter.  Ask your child how frog's blood is different from human's blood.

 

 

Next, we headed outside for a short walk.  We were all a little reluctant as we knew it was chilly, but we had dressed for the weather and the sun was shining just right which made it an enjoyable walk.  We stopped along the way to see the chickadees and magpies, look at the animal tracks, and see a beaver dam.  This led to many wonderings that we hope to answer through our science and social studies investigations.

It was a busy morning that left many of us sleepy and hungry.  I hope you all sleep well and come back refreshed tomorrow!  Thank you to all the parents who were able to volunteer today. We always appreciate you giving up your time for us :)

Coming Up:

• Fun Lunch tomorrow
• Book exchange tomorrow
• Early Dismissal next Friday - March 17

Jan. 11

What an exciting day we had at the Glenbow Museum today! For many of us this was our first visit to the museum.  We could feel the energy when we arrived as there was so much to see and do.

We split into two groups today.  We each did the same programs, although at different times.

We did the museum tour. This was a chance look at the different galleries, sketch some interesting artifacts, and ask some questions to learn more.  We saw everything from samurai armour to rocks and crystals.  We quickly learned the importance of keeping our hands, bodies, and pencils off the artifacts in order to best preserve them.  It was interesting to see how different students were attracted to different artifacts and galleries.

The other part of the day was spent learning about the historical figures of Calgary such as James Mcleod and John Ware and how they helped shape our city into what it is today. We had the chance to wear special gloves and touch a variety of old artifacts.  We had to use our prior knowledge to guess what the artifacts were used for in the past.

For lunch we had some time to chat with our friends about the excitement of the morning and then we had some free time to explore the different exhibits.  We saw the tipi of the Blackfoot people and even had the chance to go inside.  Some of us also went through a railcar, learned about sending telegrams, or went into a small shack used by Japanese beet farmers.

We came back to school with so many questions, which will be our basis for our inquiry into Alberta and Calgary's past.  With such an exciting day, I am sure many of us (parent volunteers and me included) will sleep well tonight!

Coming up

• Storytelling presentation tomorrow
• Mrs. Jordan away Friday
• Early Dismissal Next Friday
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Jan 10

Our field trip tomorrow!! Despite the predicted cold weather continuing, this field trip will only be cancelled if there are complications with the busses or if we are missing any volunteers. At this point we have exactly enough. If you were unable to volunteer on this trip but are interested in doing so in the future I would suggest you apply for your police clearance now (if you don't already have it). Apparently this process can take up to 6-8 weeks but it is good for 5 years so it would be all ready to go if you are able to help out in the future. We have 2 more planned field trips in the next few months as well as swimming lessons in the late spring. 

For this trip, students will need to bring a lunch with them in a smaller bag. We are leaving our backpacks at the school due to limited space for storage at the museum so they will just bring their lunchbags with them. Also please ensure that students do not bring money or other personal items like toys with them. Photos are not permitted so please leave personal electronic devices at home so that we don't have to worry about losing items. I'm hoping we'll have an awesome trip!

Coming up:

• Field Trip tomorrow
• Debbie Miller Storytelling Thursday
• Mrs. Jordan away Friday
• Early Dismissal January 20th

Jan. 3

Happy New Year!!  I  am excited for what 2017 will bring to our classroom and our learning!  We had an excellent start to this new year today.  The students came to school excited and smiling and eager to learn.  It was nice to see all of the students and hear all about their winter break.  I know the students were so happy to see each other too!

Today you should have received field trip information and consent forms for our field trip to the Glenbow Museum next week.  We will spend all day on January 11 at the museum doing two different programs that connect directly to our social studies curriculum. This is a great opportunity for both students and volunteers as most of the class has not been to the museum before!

Please read through all the information carefully, sign the forms and send back by Friday.  If you are able to volunteer, please email me or send back the purple forms ASAP.  We will need two volunteers from our class in order to go.  Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about driving there or your police clearance.

Coming up:

• Glenbow Field trip - January 11
• Mrs. Jordan away Friday January 13 at Learning Leader Meeting

Dec. 15

We will be going on a field trip to the Glenbow Museum on January 11 which is quite soon after the break. We are just finalizing all the forms now but thought we would put the bug in your ear early. In order to go on this trip we will need quite a few volunteers so please let me know if you would like to attend and if you have a police clearance on file already (unfortunately it's too short of a window to just begin the police check for this trip but we have 2 more later in the year as well). Due to the cost of busses and the maximum capacity already being met by just the students and teachers, we are asking for parent volunteers to drive themselves down to the museum and meet us there.

Our trip to the museum will be focussing on the program:

Our Community Our People: Who Built Calgary

(Social Studies)

Who were the individuals that helped build our first communities? Whose ideas led to the creation of our unique city? Based in the Mavericks gallery, this program allows students to explore with artifact handling and photographs and discover the pioneering men and women who first settled the West and began building our great city ... Calgary!

Students will also have the opportunity to explore other exhibits in the museum with a guide. Please email me at smjordan@cbe.ab.ca  if you are interested in volunteering for this trip. Thanks so much!!

Coming Up:

• Pyjama day tomorrow! Wear your PJs, slippers, and robes!
• Carolling tomorrow at 8:30. Our class performs!!
• Report Cards go home tomorrow
• Early Dismissal tomorrow
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