Happy Wednesday Everyone! You worked hard today, good work on your maps! Remember your homework tonight is to observe your surroundings on your way home. Also - tomorrow is our Terry Fox Run - please bring your twoonies and loonies for cancer research. And - dress in comfortable clothes and wear your sneakers because you'll be running in the afternoon! It's also Bike to School week - remember to ride your bikes if you can, or walk. If you take the bus, can you get off a block early and walk? (Check with your parent or guardian first). Parents - parent/teacher interviews are next Tuesday and Wednesday, so please make sure you phone the school (250-598-3336) and book a time. It's very important to me to be able to meet with each and every one of you. Especially with the late start this year, it's important we share information about your child, with each other. And, I have a blog! Please google Advisory 62 is Awesome and you will find the classroom blog that has important dates, updates on what we're doing, reading lists and so on. It's an effective way for me to communicate with you.

Welcome back students! It's hard to believe that it's already close to the middle of October, and we're still just getting to know each other. But, even though we got a late start this year, we're also off to a good start - I think we will have a great time, and learn lots together. You all have interesting stories to tell me, and I've really enjoyed listening to you introduce each other, reading your "The Most Important Thing About Me" poems, helping you get settled into your new classroom, lockers, and the school. A couple of reminders for this week: remember that the Terry Fox Run is on Thursday afternoon (wear sneakers!), and you can start bringing in your twoonies and loonies if you would like to contribute to cancer research. On Friday, band students are in band for blocks 3, 4 and 5 - you will have a wonderful introduction to your instrument, and Mini X students, you will be busy with Ms. Walzak and me....please wear comfortable clothes that can get a bit dirty, we will be doing some digging in the Naturescape! Please make sure you look at the different headings on my blog - there are dates to note, recommendations for good book titles, some interesting links and even some information on me. Share the blog with your parents and guardians - they will want to know what we do in Advisory 62 too!

Hello Students - and congratulations on the wonderful concerts last week, and report cards you should be proud of! Hard to believe we've finished Term 1, and are into Term 2, although the transition is seamless, as knowledge just continues to build, brick by brick. Remember that your "Museum Boxes" are due on Thursday - I will assess them over the holiday. I'm looking forward to your sharing them with each other as soon as we get back. I also want to mention how proud I was of all of you during our VOCYL presentation last week. Everyone was inclusive, and clearly, by the personal sharing of stories we heard, everyone felt safe. As the year goes by, we become more and more of a community - well done. We will be cleaning out lockers on Thursday - think about bringing a bag to take home PE strips for washing, and anything else that can go home (empty sandwich containers etc...) Let's make this last week count - we'll keep working hard...and the time will go by even faster!!

Oh my. It's been a month today since I last posted on the blog! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long - and yet so much has happened. It's been a bit of a challenge for me this past several weeks - I know you are in such good hands with Mr. North and learning all the things I want you to learn - and I have to say, Mr. North is way better than me using the computer!! - but, I've missed teaching you. Still, it's been great to be able to work one-on-one with some of you, and I'm really enjoying our reading conferences. Having taken so long to post, I have to go way back to our field trip to Goldstream, and properly thank our drivers - to Jacob's Mom, Nik's Dad, Uncle Bob, and Mr. North - thank you! It was a wonderful morning with a fire, bannock, and an invigorating hike where we learned all sorts of traditional uses of plants from Mark Albany, our First Nations counselor and keeper of traditional knowledge. I've heard many connections to this field trip since, during your science lessons. Watermark was an interesting experience as well, and thank you again to Mr. North for organizing. It was a sad documentary in many ways, and I hope that it will help all of us appreciate and look after our water sources - we are so lucky in this part of the world. We've been swimming - that was fun! - and we go again on December 6. Lots more will be happening in the next month - and I can't believe it's only a month until Winter Break. Keep your eye on the Upcoming Dates, and I'll try really hard to keep it updated. One of the highlights for me will be the concerts for the many of you in band, strings or choir. PLEASE REMEMBER THE FUNDRAISERS FOR THE RED CROSS TO HELP THOSE IN THE PHILIPPINES AFFECTED BY THE TYPHOON! There is another bake sale this week, and a special surprise Thursday afternoon - listen carefully to the announcements! And finally, CONGRATULATIONS TO MR. NORTH ON THE BIRTH OF HIS BABY BOY - do you think he has a name yet??

Goldstream tomorrow!

Hello students, parents and guardians. Just a reminder that tomorrow is our morning for Goldstream - I'm looking forward to it! I'm sorry I wasn't there today to remind you about all sorts of things, but I know you were in very good hands with Mr. North. Keep your eye on the weather in the morning. It will probably be foggy, and that means cool, especially amongst the trees, where we will be. So dress warmly - you can always peel off a layer if it gets warm. Please bring a healthy lunch as well - we may eat it at the park, or back at school, depending on the time. Thank you to the drivers: Nik's Dad, Omar's Uncle, and Jacob's Mom, along with Mr. NOrth and I. Nik's Grandpa has also offered to drive. We just couldn't do these trips without family support, so I am very grateful. I am looking forward to hearing about your day today, and Goldstream tomorrow. And next week....Watermark! Missed you today, Mrs. Kilpatrick

Happy Sunday, and a plea for drivers!

Hi everyone (students, parents, guardians, Grandma's and Grandpa's...)! First off, I want to thank all of you who made it to the parent/teacher interviews. It was a pleasure to meet so many of you and gain valuable insight to your children. As many of you heard from me, this is still very early in the year - we have spent most of our time together getting to know each other, learning "the ropes" at Lansdowne Middle School, setting classroom expectations, and now we're well and truly into learning the curriculum. My practicum student, Mr. North, is teaching Language Arts - students, this is a good time to share your learning and teach your family what you know about text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self. Mr. North is also teaching about the United Nations in Socials - I think you will find many text-to-text and text-to-world connections as you continue in Social Studies. A reminder: this Thursday morning, October 24th, we will be going on our field trip to Goldstream Park. Thank you so much to Nik's Mom and Grandpa for volunteering to drive! With Mr. North and myself driving, we are very close to having enough seats for everyone - but I do need one more driver/vehicle. If you are able to do this, could you please contact me as soon as possible at my email: kkilpatrick@sd61.bc.ca. I will send home a note this week about what you need to do students, to be prepared. One of the most important things, is being punctual. We will be leaving the school between 8:45 and 8:50 and cannot wait if you're not there. You will need to pay attention to the weather and dress appropriately - and that for sure means dressing for warmth. Proper footwear will be important - we will be doing some hiking. Layesrs - sweaters, jackets, and perhaps rainjacket, will also be important. A tuque or hat is always a good idea at this time of year. And, you will need a nice big lunch (because you will work up an appetite!). Depending on the weather we may stay at Goldstream before eating our healthy bag lunches, or we may head back to school just in time for lunch - but either way, please bring your lunch as usual. I think that's enough for now! I will continue to give you reminders at school and on the blog. Hope everyone is enjoying the cool fall weather - Bogey and I just got back from a little walk, and it's beautiful outside!