Family Movie Night

I'm excited to tell you about my grade 9s plan to have a Family Movie Night at 6:30pm, December 13 in the multipurpose room. We will be showing ELF for FREE! We will have a concession as well, so you can buy some goodies and munchies for the film. Come in your PJs, bring your kids and enjoy a special evening on us. We will be collecting donations and the proceeds from the concession will go towards Free the Slaves. https://www.freetheslaves.net/ My 9-2s are SO excited about this project!



If you want to help out, that would be great too :)

Crash course!

Free the Slaves

My 9-2s are fundraising for Free the Slaves, they have tonnes of ideas, stay tuned to what we decide on. Here is the organization that we will be helping:

http://www.freetheslaves.net/

Jumpstart!

Hey everyone! My 9-1 class is fundraising for Jumpstart (with Canadian Tire). This organization helps kids get involved in sports when they can't afford it. 100% of the funds raised goes directly to the kids who are being helped. The 9-1 class has elected to keep the money in the Comox Valley to help local kids. We are having a bake sale on Dec 4,5,6. Please support my kids.

Thanks and have a super week!

SS 11 videos we've watched recently

Rick Mercer's rant on the treatment of Canadian veterans.

The real story of "Keep Calm and Carry On."

Report cards are coming, report cards are coming!

My eyes are square and blurry as I try to meet the deadline for uploading my report cards on Tuesday morning.  The report cards will be handed out to students on November 18, please watch for them.  Parent-teacher-student conversations are on the 21st.  If you wish to speak to a teacher, call the school and make an appointment.  Of course, you can email me any time to chat about your child.

Humanities 9 videos we've watched recently

Iqbal, Freedom Heroes

Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, speaks with George Strombo.

Happy Halloween!

We survived another Halloween...always an interesting day as a teacher...

SS11: We are finishing up our WWII research projects, which are due on Tuesday. Some amazing topics!

Humanities 9: We are in the middle of our Global Awareness novel study. Poems based on writing about the documentary "Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children" are due on Monday.

SS 11 update

We are completing the Interwar Years...ending with a big question: Which period, World War One or the Interwar Years (1919-1939) were the most significant in terms of political, economic and social change in Canada? The Interwar Years test will be on Wednesday, October 23rd. Have a wonderful weekend!

Humanities 9...some important info coming up!

Here is a letter I am sending home on Monday for my grade 9 parents...please have a look! Also, check in with your child about their interim report if you haven't seen it already.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We have begun a novel study in Humanities 9 called “Global Awareness.” We will be learning about youth from around the globe and how their lives are so much different from our own. We will be looking at some really tough issues, including child slavery, poverty, child soldiers, child prostitution, AIDS, and human rights. Last week each student chose a novel to read from the following titles: 

Sold  Garbage King  Three Cups of Tea  Throw Away Daughter  A long Way Gone  Iqbal  I am a Taxi  Chanda’s Secrets  Bitter Chocolate 

The Breadwinner Each student is required to read one novel from the selection over the next 5 weeks. I find most students read 3-4 novels because the books are so interesting. On October 28 and 30 the school will be showing the documentary “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children” in B block. This is a film about the use child soldiers around the world, particularly in Africa. This film features Romeo Dallaire, the UN Commander during the Rwandan genocide.  In the film there is some mild swearing and discussions about war and soldiering. If you do not wish your child to see this film, please contact me as soon as possible and I will arrange an alternate learning experience. You can see the trailer for the film on YouTube. This film will also be shown at the Stan Hagan Theatre at NIC November 5 at 7:30pm if you wish to see it yourself. Entry is by donation.

On November 8 at 7pm in our Multi-purpose room we will be hosting a guest speaker, Michel Chikwanine, a former child soldier from the Congo. He was brought here by the Girls Go Global group from Robb Road School. A $10 donation for entry is suggested if you chose to go. Michel is the narrator in the film, “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children.” If you have any questions or concerns about this unit or anything in Humanities 9, please contact me directly.

Yours in learning,
Chantel Parsons Humanities 9 teacher

Humanities 9 Global Studies

Watch this video to see what we discussed today.

Happy Long Weekend!

And happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving! :) Humanities 9 We have begun our novels for our Global Awareness novel study. Some pretty deep stuff. Stay tuned for our guest speakers, documentaries and projects! Socials 11 We are now very depressed, looking at the Depression Era of the 1930s. All work pre-1930s should be handed in now. The 1920s and 30s test will be next week.

SS 11 Update

Last week we completed The Great War. Tests will be handed back today. We are now studying the 1920s...thinking about "Who missed the ROAR of the 20s." Here's a video that is kind of off topic, but explains socialism and current wealth distribution in the US...since the 1920s are leading to the Great Depression...this is kind of relevant.

Update on Hum 9

In Humanities 9 we are just about finished the unit, "Who do you think you are?" I have received some amazing writing from both classes, which makes a teacher like me giddy with joy with the awesome writing possibilities this year. There are some things we need to work on in our writing: -paragraphs...using them -dialogue technique and rules -capitalizing letters appropriately This week we will be writing about a family dinner...should be fun :)

Things I learned this week

I learned a lot this week about my grade 9s, the most connected generation the world has ever seen. They can work their iPods and cell phones with their eyes closed, in the dark, under water, while watching TV and eating a sandwich...yet these students cannot email an attachment, save data on a USB stick, or figure out PowerPoint. I take it for granted that they know these things considering how connected they are. So, back to basics in the modern age... :)

SS 11 video from today on Shell Shock

Happy Friday!

Wow, Friday already...thank goodness! Humanities 9 Today we did an activity where we analyzed our handwriting to see what our personalities are like...not sure about the science behind this...but it was fun. Today the "Eleven" stories were due. Socials 11 We watched a great video summarizing The Great War...see below. It was a bit of a work block as well. Next week will be the chapter 2 test on the Great War. We will also be writing postcards from the trenches next week...stay tuned! Have a great weekend!

update

The formatting here is messed up and I can't figure out how to fix it so that I can have seperate paragraphs...help?! Humanities 9 We are working on the unit: Who do you think you are? Yesterday we looked at a funny story about "Charles", a naughty kindergarten boy who gets himself into all sorts of trouble. We will finish the questions today and the assignment will be handed in by tomorrow at the latest. Mind maps should already be handed in. Socials 11 The chapter 1 test was yesterday...everyone did very well! We need to work on more specific evidence in our written responses. Today is political cartoons and then we are off to explore the "M.A.N.I.A.C." causes of The Great War.

Meet the Teacher Night...TONIGHT!

Hey, it's meet the teacher night. The night where I talk as fast as I can for 8 minutes and then send the parents off to find their next class in 2 minutes or less! Yes, it's fast paced but it's fun. I hope to see you all here!

Welcome to a brand new school year!

Welcome to the Kingdom of Fun.  As promised, I am a terrible blogger...but the weather has been so nice, I've been outside getting the garden planted up for winter...instead of being inside on the computer.  Stay tuned to this blog and *hopefully* I'll have some updates for you. :)

Here's some shots of my summer...my pretty amazing summer!  I spent 2 weeks sailing to and around Haida Gwaii on my friend's sail boat.  It was a trip of a lifetime.  Being a history nerd, I was in my glory.  I can't wait to share the stories and photos with my BC First Nations 12 class!

War of 1812

Here's some War of 1812 videos to go along with the GIANT floor map we'll be using this week.  Pretty cool stuff.

And the Canadian band, the Arrogant Worms' music video:

Global Awareness

The Humanities 9 classes have been studying Global Awareness through a novel study, it's some really eye opening stuff! Child labour, poverty, AIDS, slavery, prositiution, it goes on. Most students have already felt deeply the emotions and empathy that go along with this powerful unit.  Here's a documentary I showed in class today on cotton farming in India:

I showed this documentary on child labour in the chocolate industry, it really got my students thinking about their shopping choices:
http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the_dark_side_of_chocolate_2010/

Humanities 9 Presentations!

The Humanities 9 classes will be doing some awesome teaching presentations next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (March 18-20).  Then on March 21 is the Revolutions test (aka Celebration of Learning).  And finally on March 22 the students stories will be due...we've been working on these stories for a couple of months in our writer's workshops.

A note about cell phones...they aren't needed in any of my classes.  I ask the students to keep them out of sight when they are in my classroom and they are not to use them in class.  However, high school students can be very clever in their usage of cell phones under desks, inside purses, hidden in binders, etc.  If you find that your child is texting you during class, please know that it is against my classroom rules.  If there is an emergency, I will allow your child to leave the classroom to call you.  Thanks!

Photos!

The car factory...and Industrial Revolution experience!

Liam...the scariest factory supervisor I've ever met!

Zaccheus Jackson, spoken word artist...amazing dude.  He came to share his art with our FNS 12 class, a fun lesson!

Update!

Humanities 9

We are studying the concept of REVOLUTION and asking ourselves, does a revolution have to be violent to create change?  We did a quick overview of the French Revolution, the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.  This week we will each be choosing one revolution to study and make notes on, either from the list above or a whole new one (Cuban Revolution, the Velvet Revolution, the Green Revolution, the Arab Spring etc).  Next week we will be preparing a presentation to the class on our revolution.  The week before spring break we will be presenting our revolutions to the class and having the revolutions test on March 21.  So far, some awesome learning is happening!

FNS 12
This class is fantastically full of questions and comments and stories.  Lots of sharing, debates and discussions have been happening in class.  We've had 2 guest speakers in so far, Zaccheus Jackson, a spoken word artist  and Kathi Camilleri who took us through the Village Experience today.  Wonderful learning and respect is happening in  this class.  It's a joy to be with these students. 

Chapter 2 test is coming up soon and lots more guest speakers are booked! Stay tuned.

Vote for Keisja Cox!

A student of mine, Keisja Cox is currently in the top 20 in a CBC radio Searchlight contest.  I think we should all support her!  Go to http://music.cbc.ca/#/Searchlight-All-Points-West and scroll down until you see her name and hit "VOTE".  It's a beautiful song she wrote and recorded.  You can vote every day too!

Welcome BC First Nations 12!

Good afternoon!  Wow, what a great long weekend.  I hope everyone enjoyed BC's first Family Day.

A huge welcome to my BC FNS 12 class, I'm so excited to teach this class again.  We have had a fabulous start, this class is fantastic.  Lots of great questions and engagement.

Here's some videos I've shown that answer some questions that come up early in the course.

This is Wab Kinew, an Aboriginal rapper and all around cool guy...check him out.

This is the first in a 4 part series:  Aboriginal History - Did you know?

I haven't given a whole lot of homework yet...stay tuned, there will be some coming soon.  We are starting Chapter 1 this week...all about the LAND!

Humanities 9
Read pages 245-246 in text.  Notes from Thursday were due today.  Check out this video:

Socials 11
Continue working on your Geography Unit Review Package.  I tried to show this video in class today and had computer troubles...so check it out here, it's really good!

This video was shown on Friday...shocking stuff about the cotton industry in India.

Humanities 9

Read the text page 232-234. Think about the big question, "Were the lives of Aboriginal people better or worse after contact?"  Maybe think about the Idle No More movement as well...lots going on out there.

Watch this:

Socials 11

Intro to the final unit:  Geography.  Geography is more than just mapping!  We looked at the demographic transition model and  a short video on people in Brazil...lots to think about in terms of standards of living in our world today.

Humanities 9
We have been working on a timeline for Chapter 8...we will continue to work on it on Monday.  I showed a new technique for notemaking, "concept mapping", these notes were due today.  In our Friday writers workshops we have been developing a character...today we began to tell their story!  Rough drafts are being worked on as we speak!

Check out this video I showed on Wednesday about the French in colonial Canada:

Socials 11
We have finished the Government Unit.  Today we had an open-book-take-home test, which is due on Monday.  The Review package for the unit is due on Monday too. 

Next week we will be starting the Geography Unit, looking at standards of living, populations, the environment, pollution, etc.  It's a great unit.  Zac Whyte will be a guest speaker  on Tuesday and Thursday.

Here's an interesting video on the single transferable vote that BC tried to pass in a referendum a few years ago:

Happy New Year!

Welcome back everyone!  I love a new year, it feels like we get to hit "reset" and we all get to start fresh!

Humanities 9

We are looking at Champlain's role in the creation of New France and the conflicts the French had with the Iroquois.  Here's the video we watched today (I finally found the easy way to insert videos!):

Socials 11

Yesterday we passed a Bill in class:  the "Work Wednesday Bill".  It was approved by the House of Commons and the Senate and it was signed by the Governor General.  So it is law now, "The Work Wednesdays Act", Wednesdays will be for work! Here's a short video on how Bills are passed in Ontario (essentially the same process as BC and Federally):



Today we are looking at political parties in BC, the Political Spectrum, and the very cool www.apathyisboring.com

Good times.

Socials 11 Provincial Exam is January 28th in the afternoon!