Our November novel study has been a remarkable book called Home of the Brave. It is a narrative about a boy (Kek) who escapes the civil war in Sudan. He finds himself as a young refugee in America adapting to life - he sees snow for the first time, struggles with language and fitting in with other students. Through incredible resilience and perseverance, Kek finds his way. He makes friends with a girl in foster care and an old woman who owns a run-down farm.
This incredible story links themes of Quality of Life that we are learning about in Social Studies with core literary themes in English like resilience, determination, and friendship. Throughout this novel study, I have been reading aloud to the students while they sketched the scenes on mini whiteboards. They also responded to key themes in the novel through a journal response and comprehension questions. Today, we are finishing off this unit by watching The Good Lie. A similar story about the lost boys and girls of Sudan who attempt to find their way in a new country while overcoming the inevitable obstacles that such a journey entails.
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Chemical reactions are super cool! In class we have been making plastic using an Epoxy Resin. Epoxy is created when Resin is mixed with a hardener. The two substances cause heat production. The heat changes the epoxy from a liquid to a solid. As the epoxy was curing, it went through a very viscous stage. At this point, we were able to explore colours and designs. The plastic was used to fill holes for some special charcuterie boards we have been working on.
While this year's Remembrance Day ceremony looked a little different than those in the past, Tuesday at DVG was nonetheless an impactful, powerful day of remembrance. Leading up to Remembrance Day students had the opportunity to reflect on what peace means to them, explore life during both WW1 and WW2, research into Canada's role in both wars, some group reading time in the library, and art projects. We carried out a virtual ceremony in the classroom with powerful student readings, impactful videos, and 2 minutes of silence. All this lead to powerful conversation of what it means to live in Canada and ways in which we, as individuals, can honour the sacrifice made by others. Grade 7s also took on the role of creating a Remembrance Day wall display that serves as a visible daily reminder and showcases student research and art.
Our Grade 7 students have been working super hard in designing, making, and selling cheeseboards. This project has allowed us to make connections between science, math, english, and ADST skills in woodwork and design. The cheeseboard project started as an idea for our class to fundraise money for purchasing a hydroponic grow system in our classroom. We are selling each cheeseboard between $20-70 depending on size and material used. So far we have raised over $1,800 and counting! |
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February 2021
CategoriesMr. StaveleyHello, my name is Jeremy Staveley and I teach grade 7 at Del Van Gorder School. I have a Bachelors of Education and a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies. I also have a certification in Timber Frame construction. I have worked as a teacher in K-12 schools in both the Yukon and Alberta. I have also taught seminars at UNBC and been a guest lecturer at the University of Calgary in place-based and experiential Education. |