Day 30 X Block Day

Hello parents and students.  Happy Friday!

Classes were shortened today.  Today we covered the following topics:

English 9
Persuasive writing
Riddles

English 10
Louder Than a Bomb


Leadership 8
Team Building Activities
Finished the Birthday Board

B Block English 10 Food Hamper

Please bring in your items for the food hamper!  You also need to bring in $1 or $2.

Thank you!

Day 29

Hello parents and students.  Another wet day out there today.  When is this rain going to stop?  In class today we covered the following topics.

Leadership 8
Finished up the Birthday Board

English 10
C Block-
Handed in Narrative Essays
Completed a creative write- persuasive paragraph
Started Louder Than A Bomb

B Block-
Edited Narrative Essays
Writing time provided to finish final copy for hand in tomorrow.

English 9
Compare and contrast essay practice- block and point by point model
Read the short story "The Most Dangerous Game"

Tomorrow is an AG/X block day.  Please have all overdue assignments handed in by tomorrow.

Thanks

Day 28

Hello parents and students.  In class today we covered the following concepts:

English 10
C- block we completed an editing conference and wrote our final copy of our narrative essays- NARRATIVE ESSAYS are due tomorrow- Final copy, all nicely polished.
Homework: finish final copy of Narrative Essay for hand in tomorrow

B Block- most students were at the party program- you need to come to class with your rough copy of your narrative essay because we are editing them.
Homework: rough copy of essay completed and ready for our editing conference tomorrow

English 9
We continued to revise our essays.  They are due tomorrow- final copy- typed or written neatly
Mini lessons on: run-on sentences, sentence fragments and capital letters.

Homework: make corrections to Essay 1B and hand in Essay 1C (final copy) tomorrow.

Leadership 8
Birthday Board

Thank you and have a wonderful evening!

Mr.Tobacca

Day 27

Hello parents and students.  Today was a work day and everyone had on their tool belt.  Thanks for the hard work today.

These are the following activities covered:

English 10
*(Writing Time)Rough Draft of Narrative Essay- please have it completed for our next class together because we will be revising them.
Handouts' and narrative essays were handed out to support your writing- please use them as a model to help you write your narrative essay!

English 9
Reflected on the format of our essays- Think/Pair/Share
Revised our essays looking for wordiness and abused words
Introduced to Run-On sentences and how to correct them
Homework: For those students who still have not completed their rough copy of their essay it is mandatory that you have it in class tomorrow!

Leadership
Finished our Shackleton video- tomorrow we will respond to the video and start the birthday board.

Thanks for a great day!

Mr. Tobacca

Day 26

Hello parents and students.  Welcome back.  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  It looks like this will be my last week with you.  Mr.Steven plans to return on Monday next week.  Just a reminder that all overdue work will be due this Friday Nov 30.  Mr.Stevens will not be marking any of the missing work that I did with you.  You have had lot's of time to turn it in, so please get it in this week preferably before Friday.  Thanks!

In class today we covered the following concepts:

English 9
Revised our essay 1 A- compared it to another student paper and made changes
Editing conference happens tomorrow- please bring your good copy of your essay
Homework- good copy of Essay 1 B- revisions made from last hand in and today's lesson

English 10
-Reviewed narrative essay writing- anecdote, reflection, bait
-B block brainstormed their narrative essay ideas.
-Read a narrative essay called "The Dare" by Roger Hoffman
-Writing time provided
*Homework-C Block- come to class with a rough copy of your essay for editing tomorrow

Leadership 8
-Worked on an idea chain
-Stall street journal
-We will be starting the birthday board on Wednesday

Friday Day 25

Hello parents and students.  Sorry for the late post.  I was travelling to Victoria to visit family and was late on posting today's blog.  Anyway here it is.

On Friday we did the following activities in class.

English 10-
C  Block- discussed narrative essay writing- anecdote, reflection, bait
-Read a narrative essay "The Chase"- identified the anecdote, bait and reflection
-Brainstormed ideas for our own narrative(working with the writing process- pre-writing stage)
Homework- have your brainstorm done for Monday's class- thank you

B Block- compare and contrast writing time- please have your compare and contrast complete for Monday's class for hand in.  Please and thank you

English 9
-Handed in Essay 1 A- I will be checking only the format of the essay, providing feedback and sending it back for editing and corrections
-We looked at compare and contrast writing- discussed 3 models 1. block model 2. similarities to differences model 3. point by point model
-Reviewed how to develop a thesis= topic + your opinion
-Watched "All I Need" by Radio Head and contrasted the lives of the two boys shown in the video
-Practiced a response to the video
Homework: please have your paragraph completed for Monday

Leadership 8
-Viewed "Shackleton"
-We will continue with our word chain on Monday
-Birthday board on Wednesday

Thanks for reading today and have a wonderful weekend!

Mr.Tobacca

Day 24

NO CLASSES- PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Day 23

Hello parents and students.

In class today we covered the following topics:

English 10
Compare and Contrast Rough Draft
Editing Conference
Homework: Final Essay for C block class due on Friday

English 9
How to write a conclusion
Homework: Rough draft of essay due on Friday

Leadership 8
Worked on data collected from the assembly
Shackleton Video

Thanks for a great day and I look forward to meeting with parents tomorrow!

Day 22

Hello parents and students.

Today in class we covered the following topics

English 10
Review on Intergrating Quotes
Compare and Contrast Outline
Rough Draft

English 9
Supporting Paragraphs- transitions, intergrating quotes
How to write an introduction

Leadership 8
Good vs Bad Leaders

Day 21

Hello parents and students of Vanier.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that everyone is all rested up for another week of learning.  Term 2 is underway and I have started to crack down on those students who are already falling behind.  If you are not doing your work in class or your homework you will now be working in our study support program at lunch.

Today we covered the following topics:

English 9
Essay Writing- paragraph vs essay
-Student essay examples
-How to write a supporting paragraph
-Research

Poetry projects were due on Friday please hand in your project ASAP

English 10
-I ROBOT

HW- starting thinking about how you are going to put your notes into a supporting paragraph

Leadership 8
Made banners and prepped for our up-coming assembly

Tomorrow we will discuss good vs bad leaders

Day 20 X Block Day

Hello parents and students.  Today was a short day, but we still managed to fit everything in.

English 10
-Continued to watch I-Robot and compared it to the short story "ATTOTW"

English 9
-Research Time- time provided for get notes to support thesis
-Introduced to our writing process rubric

Homework: come to class on Monday with at least two pages of notes (quotes, examples) to support your thesis statement.  Make sure that you cite your sources so you are able to create a Bibliography/Work Cited at the end of our unit.

Leadership 8
Finished Ice Breakers
Prepared/Brain Stormed Ideas for upcoming Assembly

Have an awesome weekend!

Mr. Tobacca

Day 19

Hello parents and students.  In class today we covered the following topics,

English 10
Reviewed compare and contrast writing methods.
-Read the short story "Stains"
-Discussed integrating quotes
-Practiced our quote formula- lead in,"direct quote" (pg#) Explanation
-Discussed "All The Troubles Of The World"
Started viewing I-Robot- we are going to write a compare and contrast essay for ATTOTW and I-Robot

English 9
Reviewed integrating quotes- lead in "quote" (pg#) explanation
Poetry Cafe- shared poems and wrapped up our poetry unit by sharing poems and songs

Leadership 8
Ice Breakers- the students planned and led their own ice breakers
Discussed our approach to an upcomign assembly.
Thanks for another great day!

Mr.Tobacca

Day 18

Hello parents and students.  In class today we covered the following topics:

English 10
-Viewed the music video "All I Need" by Radiohead
-Created a T-Chart
-Discussed Block and Point by Point Compare and Contrast Writing Models (handout given and learning support link on our blog)
-Wrote supporting contrast paragraphs for both writing models.

English 9
Read the short story "Stains"
Discussed integrating quotes
Practiced our quote formula- lead in,"direct quote" (pg#) Explanation
Work time to prepare for our Poetry Cafe tomorrow

Homework- every student must come prepared with one poem to share with the group.  Poetry projects are due on Friday.

Leadership 8
Students lead their ice-breakers
Peer/Self Evaluation

Thanks for a great day!

Mr.Tobacca

Day 17

Hello parents and students.  I hope everyone had a nice extended weekend.  Welcome back!  I look forward to a hard working group of students in term 2.

We are currently just finishing up our units of study in English 9 and 10.  We will now be working towards essay and grammar skills over the next 2-3 weeks.  It is important that students stay committed to completing work outside of class.  I encourage parents to support their child's learning by checking our blog and making sure that they are up to date on their work.

In today's classes we covered the following topics:

English 9
Final Poetry Presentations- last chance for anyone who has not presented
Finished our slam poetry documentary

Tomorrow we will be starting an essay writing unit.

English 10
Ended our CIDN Novel study
Watched our Movie Trailers
Finished reading "All The Troubles of The World"

Tomorrow we will discuss how to integrate quotes into our writing and we will be working towards a compare and contrast essay over the next week.  Come prepared to concentrate and work.

Leadership 8
All About Me
School Culture
Ice Breaker Research

Homework- please be prepared to present your ice break to the class tomorrow.

Thanks and have a great evening!
Mr.Tobacca

Day 16

Happy Friday!  I hope that everyone had a wonderful week of learning at Vanier.  Today was an X-Block day so the classes were shortened, but we did still cover some important concepts.

Leadership 8
- Introduction- who is Mr.Tobacca, class expectations
-School Culture

English 10
-CIDN Unit Test
-Read the short story "All The Troubles of The World"

English 9
-Slam Poetry- "Louder Than A Bomb"

Homework: have a poem ready to share for our Poetry Cafe on Thursday- work on your poetry assignment which is due next Friday.

Have a wonderful weekend!  See you all on Tuesday!

Day 15

It was another great day of learning in room 801.  Thanks for a great set of classes.

In class today we covered the following topics:

English 10
Editing our movie trailers in the library- please drop your finished project in my folder in the U Drive.

Homework: study for your CIDN unit test tomorrow!

English 9
Today focus was on Remembrance Day and why we remember
1. Finished SIFTing The Cremation of Sam MaGee
2. SIFTed Why Wear A Poppy by Don Crawford
3. Analyzed- In Flanders Fields

Homework: start putting together your poetry assignment and thinking about a poem or song that you would like to share for our Poetry Cafe.

Leadership 8
-Finished out team building activities- hoola hoop challenge, toxic waste cross, WW3
-Discussed critical thinking and personal leadership
-Met our new teacher for term 2 Mr.Tancon

Day 13

Hello parents and students.  Today we had a busy day of learning.

In class today we covered the following:

English 10- continued to work on filming and editing our CIDN movie trailers in the library- tomorrow is our last day to work on our movie trailers

English 9
We continued to focus on FORM
Poetry Term Presentations x3
Limericks
Ballads- The Creation of Sam Magee
Went over the expectations for our final poetry project.

Leadership 8
Team Building Activities
-lava walk, speed ball, duct tape challenge
-team building debrief

Day 12

Hello

In class today we covered the following topics:

English 10
1. Filming our movie trailer for CIDN
2. Setting up a drop box and using Movie Maker

Leadership 8
Team Building Activities
1. Flag Raising Ceremony
2. Tower Building
3. Riddle Challenge

English 9
1. SIFTed a poem
2. Presentations
3. Poetry Quiz
4. Haiku vs Tanka

Thanks for a great day!

Mr.Tobacca

Day 11

Hello parents and students.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Welcome to another week of learning.  I'm super pumped to be sharing a number of fun activities with you this week.

In today's classes we covered the following concepts:

English 9
-Continued to work on our poetry vocabulary with a poetry crossword
-Poetry Terms Quiz #1- moved to Tuesday PLEASE STUDY!!!
-Reviewed what was taught last week 1.Rhythm (metric pattern) 2. Melody (Rhyme, Alliteration, -Assonance, Onomatopoeia) 3. Imagery-(Simile, Metaphor, Hyperbole, Personification)
-Continued to discuss Form
-SIFTed Starry Starry Night

Important Note: Poetry Final Assignment Handout went out today.
Homework: start thinking about your final assignment.

English 10
-Silent Reading- you must finish your novel by Friday this week
-Storyboarding Video
-Storyboarding

Tomorrow we will be in the Library working on our CIDN movie trailers.  All members must be finished their storyboard before you can start filming.

Homework: Finish your storyboard and catch up on your novel readings.

Leadership 8
Started our team building unit!
Debriefed team work skills demonstrated at the Volleyball tournament
Made teams, team flags, team names and team contract
Team Challenge #1 Stranded In The Desert

Thanks for a great day!

Mr.T

Day 10 X Block Day

Hello parents and students.  Thank you for another great week.  I would also like to thank everyone for their hard work this week.  Today in class we covered the following:

English 10
Silent Reading CIDN
Handed in Compare/Contrast Writing- was due today
Finished our Socio-Gram- due on Monday please finish

Homework: read to chapter 179 for Monday and complete Socio-Gram for hand in.

English 9
IA-Poetry Crossword- poetry terms review (Quiz on poetry terms on Monday please study)
3 poetry term presentations- great job on the presentations!
-Discussed Form- reviewed 1.Rhythm 2.Melody and 3.Imagery
-Think outlouds for "Starry Starry Night"- identified couplets, rhyme scheme.
-Listened to the song by Don Mclean- made a connection to Tupac
-Monday we will SIFT the poem

Homework- finish Poetry Crossword, study poetry terms for quiz on Monday- simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopiea, alliterations, cosnance, assonance

Leadership 8
Reflected on the leadership qualities of Shackleton- written response
Observed team work skills at the Sr. Boys Volley Ball tournament to connect to our team building skills unit we will start on Monday.

Have a wonderful weekend.  See you all on Monday!

Day 9

Hello parents and students. Happy November, this month has flown by.  Term 1 is almost over and I encourage you to get all your work in before its too late.

Leadership 8
Finsihed our Shackleton video and reflected on his leadership qualties.
Graffiti Board- what were Shackleton's leadership qualities?
English 10
IA: Compare and Contrast writing (due tomorrow)
Quiz #2
Started Socio-Gram
Homework: Please read up to Chapter 155 for tomorrow.
English 9
IA- poetry presentations x 3
Imagery- reviewed simile and metaphor
 Introduced to hyperbole and SIFTing a poem

Thanks for a wonderful day!

Mr.Tobacca