Back to Vancouver, Maganés!

We're back!  What an amazing experience we've had!  Out of all the exchanges I've participated in, this one was by far the best.  People kept telling us how awesome and polite JQ students were.  I was proud as a peacock!

I've been following this blog and it seems like the word of the day totally applies to what we're going through at the moment.  This post will help you understand how I felt once I got home yesterday morning.  I'm sure I wasn't the only one feeling this way!

J'étais maganée.  Tellement maganée que je me suis couchée à 13:00 et je me suis réveillée à 06:00 ce matin.

I hope you have a great weekend. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow and I look forward to seeing the sun again. Our last week in Montréal was very wet!

Here are some pictures for you.  I am pleased to present to you Division 3 students! Which one is the intruder?  If you can find the name of this little guy, you will be eligible to win a prize.  Do not write it on the blog but on a post-it note instead.  The deadline to give me your answer is Tuesday May 10.

Vous nous manquez!!!

Leçon de français #1:

Je te manque (ou encore pire "je manque toi") ne correspond pas à "I miss you" ou "We miss you".

Alors voici, les amis de la Division 3, ce qu'il faut dire la prochaine fois que nous allons nous voir.

We miss you = Vous nous manquez

We missed you = Vous nous avez manqués

So there you go. Wishing you were all here with us in Québec.

Vous nous manquez!!!

Quelques photos pour vous... What do you think happened in picture #1? I'm sure these 2 will have lots to say when they return. :-)

Ville de Québec - Le boulet de canon!

Va dans Google Maps et recherche l'adresse suivante: 58 Chemin St-Louis, Québec.

Si tu vas te promener dans la rue (Google Street) et que tu regardes au pied de l'arbre qui est devant cette adresse, tu trouveras le boulet de canon dont nous parlions en classe. L'arbre est juste à côté du bâtiment en rénovation.

Le vois-tu? 

Ville de Québec - Place Royale et Parc de la Cetière

Voici un endroit que nous visiterons sans doute lors de notre passage dans la ville de Québec, le lundi 2 mai.  Comme les 6ème année suivront sans doute nos péripéties de loin, j'ai pensé partager ceci avec vous.

Visite ce site, tu en apprendras beaucoup sur l'histoire de cette partie de la ville.

Les cartes virtuelles qui s'y trouvent t'aideront à mieux visualiser les lieux. 

A voir:

-Parc de la Cetière

-Place Royale

-Les rues faites de pierres

As-tu hâte? Moi oui!

Musique: Mes recommendations + Cute Videos

Si tu recherches de la musique à écouter en français voici quelques-uns de mes groupes de musique (ou artistes) préférés.

1. Malajube. Leur site internet est le suivant. Tu pourras même y télécharger** une de leurs chansons gratuitement. Elle joue beaucoup à la radio en ce moment. Je suis certaine que les Québécois l'ont entendue jouer à la radio aussi.

**Mon ordi (Mac) ne me permet pas d'ajouter mon adresse de courriel pour le téléchargement si j'utilise Firefox. Si tu as des problèmes, utilise Safari.

Voici un article qui viwnt de paraître dans le Devoir à leur sujet. Au cas où tu te cherchais quelque chose à lire en français... 

2. Marie-Pierre Arthur. Elle a une voix magnifique. Son style plus lent ne plaira pas à tous par contre.  Si tu visites son site internet tu pourras entendre une de ses chansons gratuitement. Marie-Pierre a travaillé avec des grands noms de la chanson francophone: Stefie Shock, Ariane Moffatt, Karkwa, Mara Tremblay et Edith Butler.

3. Mon groupe préféré de tous les temps: Les Cowboys Fringants! Va visiter leur site si tu ne l'as pas déjà fait, ça en vaut la peine. A visiter absolument lorsque tu seras sur leur site:

-Audio (des chansons qui ne sont pas parues sur CD)

-Bibliothèque (quelques histoires de chansons intéressantes)

-Vidéo (pas besoin d'en dire plus!)

And last but not least... Not one, but two videos!!!

Goal Setting, Québec Exchange and French Resources

Good evening!

There are many items I'd like to share with you today so I hope you take the time to read this entire post.

In the interest of making the blog readable I am alternating the use of the masculine and feminine forms.

Goal Setting

Now that Goal Setting conferences are done, it's time to think about working on these goals.  From experience, I've noticed that students easily forget about them once conferences are over.  BUT the big part of the work is yet to come!

Something to keep in mind:

1. Goals need to be SMART.

Specific  

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely 

There are many websites that can help you understand each of these key words.  Here's one that may prove to be useful should you have some questions.

2. Goals and strategies are not set in stone.  If a strategy doesn't work well, it's important to talk about it and brainstorm new strategies.  If a goal is not specific enough (something I noticed with a few students this term), it will need to be changed as well.

Some examples of goals that are not specific enough:

-I want to get an A in (insert subject area).

-I always want to do my best in school.

-I want to work harder in school.

If your child is having trouble with his goals, please encourage him to come talk to me.  It's also important that you discuss his progress at home as well.  The more you and I work together with your child, the easier it will be for him.

3. Even though students may find this exercise difficult and frustrating, they are better off than most of us at their age.  I was never taught this in school... What about you?

4. Starting next week, everyone will be required to do a self evaluation at the end of the week.  You will need to look at it, sign it, and return it by the following Monday.  This should help us all stay focused and in touch.

5. Some ideas for working on goals at home...

Quebec Exchange

Tickets have finally been purchased!  Grade 7 students will be traveling to Montréal on April 27 (flight leaves at 10:00 AM) and coming back to Vancouver on May 6 (flight arrives at 9:35 AM). Grade 7 students will not be attending school on Friday May 6 as they will need to rest to be ready for the week ahead of us.

Our friends, les Québécois, will be here on May 12 and leaving on May 19 (if my memory is right!).

****Important Announcement****

We are in desperate need of families (about 25 families) who will be willing to host two students from Québec.  Pairing up students will not take place until we have enough spots for everyone to stay.  The longer it takes us to find families willing to help, the longer it will take for your child to find out who she will be paired up with.  Any Grade 6 student willing to have a French Canadian buddy stay with her will also be involved in the activities taking place here while les Québécois are here.  Let me know if you can help.

French Speaking and French Resources

Making sure students speak French in class is a constant battle.  Starting Monday, a new system will be in place.  Please remember that Speaking French in class is part of my classroom expectations. A student who constantly (or sometimes) speaks English to his peers is not exceeding the expectations of the French Immersion program for French Language Arts.

Many parents have shown interest in getting a magazine subscription for their child. Here are some good sites to get you started:

1. Bayard Jeunesse

 -Les Débrouillards

 -Okapi

 -Géo Ado

 -Je bouquine

 -Phosphore (15-25 year-olds)

2. Rogers Magazines

 - Full Fille 

French TV Shows

We are also very lucky to have access to French CBC's shows on the internet. Les Parents and Le Club des Doigts Croisés are two TV shows your child will enjoy.   

That's it for today! Have a great evening everyone! I leave you with a short movie to watch...

The Brick Thief

Another Thank You! More News!

Thanks to those of you who responded to my previous posts. It's heartwarming to see that many parents are reading this blog.

I've started calling a few of you this evening but I honestly don't know how I will be able to finish this task. So... If you know other parents from Division 3, please remind them of this blog and let them know of these following items:


1. All students need to have one pair of indoor shoes. Indoor shoes are indoor shoes, they should never be used to play outside. It may seem like a silly thing to ask but believe me, it's really helpful to keep the classroom nice and tidy. Gym shoes are also needed (these can also be left at school) and everyone should be wearing warm boots to play outside at lunch and recess. It's cold out. Almost as cold as Québec!

2. Speaking of Québec, there will be a mandatory Québec meeting on Tuesday November 30. All Grade 7 parents must attend (one parent per family ok) and if Grade 6 students wish to host, Grade 6 parents must also be there. There will be many papers to fill out so make sure to bring a pen with you. I believe your child's care card number may be needed so make sure to have it handy. Another piece of information required will be your child's full name, the one that appears on the passport.

Classroom news:
1. Classroom meetings have officially started. After many weeks spent rethinking the format, I've finally come up with one that will work for everyone in the group. A great book that I use for inspiration is this one:

 On the agenda last week, students discussed their concerns with the guitar. Perhaps some of you didn't know this but there is a guitar in class that everyone is allowed to use. Up until now, there have been no real rules as to who could use it and when.  Little did I know that many students were annoyed with the fact that some played it while others were trying to work. It was never really loud enough that I felt the need to say anything but some spoke up and we all took turns listening to each other.

After discussing the issue we came to a vote and the rule is that the guitar can only be played when students are coming back from recess and lunch as well as during free time.

Another issue that will need to be discussed further is 'how long' each person is allowed to play the guitar. It's obvious that there are more students who want to play than there are guitars available. So if you know of any good deals let me know and I will consider getting one or two more.


2. I just discovered a great book: This is Compassion. I borrowed it from our school library and together in class we read some of the stories. As students were reading their story the entire class was silent. I could have heard a pin drop! 

If you'd like to order a copy of it to see for yourself you will be able to find all the information needed on this site.



I leave you with a few pictures of our "Grande Allée". One of them was taken by a student a few weeks ago, and the other was taken yesterday morning as I entered our beautiful site near the forest. I don't think I need to specify which of these two pictures was taken yesterday. Our living conditions are not easy but I have to admit living near the great outdoors is still a lot of fun!

 

And last but not least, here is a cool art project some students may be interested in doing at home. I know Taylor will love it... Anyone else interested in trying? :-)

Mandatory Meeting - Québec

It's official! Grade 7 students will be travelling to Québec in the spring!

A letter was sent to you electronically. If you haven't received it, I've included a copy of it on this blog. Don't forget, it's mandatory.