June 26th

What an amazing year and party last night! It has been a delight meeting you all and being able to teach you every day! I will soon be changing my blog over for my new school but you have my email if you need me or if you want to say "hi". Please keep in touch, I am glad to have met all of you. Commenting is open once again. Be responsible please. Mrs. Cosburn

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May 25th

One month from today, we will be celebrating at the Grade 8 grad! Time sure does fly. There is never a dull moment at Winona the wonderful and although we are 9/10 of the way through the year, we still have lots to do. In English class, CASI is a distant memory now and we are questioning, reflecting and challenging the media and ourselves. For the most part, students are enjoying this unit sharing information about themselves and giggling about ads that are quite out of date. We will be continuing this unit until the Camp Arrowhon trip. In homeroom, we are wrapping up our presentations on Confederation and continuing our understanding of the western expansion. Before year's end, we will be looking at the causes of WWI and what was happening at the turn of the century. In French, we are continuing to improve our grammar and language comprehension through reading, worksheets and our Art biography. Whew. It was a hot week, but a great one! Enjoy the weekend.

May 8th

Most English classes worked on CASI. 8-5 will start theirs tomorrow. 8-8 will be attending a dance performance at Oakwood in the morning and our "All-City" friends will be leaving us for the last time :) Then it will be on the musical rehearsals. Although time is flying, there is still a lot of work for us to do before school ends. Most of this work will be homework and some projects. This will allow students to plan their time accordingly. There will be less detail on the blog and students prepare for high school and continue to use their agendas. The blog is meant to be a "Back-up" and a way for parents to check-in. It is NOT meant to replace the use of agendas. Homework: -Math sheet (both sides) for tomorrow -Father of Confederation (en francais)-Thursday ( you're welcome for the extension) -French sheet (both sides)-Friday

May 4th

May the 4th be with you ;) Miss.Posedowski finished her official placement today. However, since she is so awesome, she will be returning on Monday to continue her teaching and learning. We will be working together to support the Grade 8 students. 8-8 FRENCH Titanic comic strip is due Monday. Your Father of Confederation project is due Wednesday. You may do a different form of media as long as your presentation is in French. Upcoming work: Art Project History Project (The West) French Biographie Yes, this seems like a lot BUT you don't get a lot of homework and this will allow you to manage your time at your convenience since we are all busy at different times. These next few weeks will fly by since time flies when we are having fun :) Bon weekend!

April 24th

8-5,8-6,8-8 English- students used their inferring skills to imagine details about passengers on the Titanic. For tomorrow, students are to bring the true information about their assigned passenger to class. Point form is fine. Useful websites: http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ http://www.titanic-passengers.com/ or if your person was very prominent at the time, you may find information on Google. DO NOT USE Wikipedia as it is unreliable. Ethan, this means you. :) In French/Art, students started their comic strip on the Titanic. We reviewed the choice of format, what different types of bubbles mean etc. Students are to write their sentences in French first, have a peer edit them and then show them to Mrs. Cosburn before starting their good copy with the comic drawings.

April 19th

8-5 Students worked in pairs to peer-edit their rough copies of the movie review. Good copies are due on Monday.

8-6, 8-7, 8-8 We talked more about the history of the Titanic and some personal history and connections. Students studied newspapers from April 15th, 1912 and compared the "news" to actual historical facts and the difference between those papers and today's media.


Good copies for 8-6, 8-7 and 8-8 are due tomorrow. Please type them in 12 point font and double-space your work. If you have printer issues, please email your work to yourself and print it at school tomorrow.

In History, we continued our study of the events and factors leading up to Canadian Confederation. We are pleased to see some much interest and curiosity from the students of 8-8. Good work.

For tomorrow, students are to write out 10 sentences using the impératif. Please use 10 different verbs and a variety of pronouns. Don't actually use pronouns but you should have 3 "nous", 3 "vous", 3 "tu" and 1 of your choice.
This is due tomorrow. Please apply what you have learned in French class when composing your sentences.

April 18th

After a busy couple of days, I hope that the next few are calm and full of student productivity.

Most English students were working on their rough draft/peer editing their movie reviews.
Make sure to follow the outline distributed by Miss Posedowski and to remember the success criteria. The good copies for 8-6, 8-7 and 8-8 are due FRIDAY.

8-5's will be due in Monday.

Please remember that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances but since you don't get much English homework, these expectations are not unreasonable.


In History, we continued our discussion of British North America and the colonies.

Please complete your chart outlining the 2 reasons for each "to join", "to not join" about each colony for tomorrow.

Nous sommes des auteurs is also due.

April 16th

8-6 Students began their work on a movie review for Titanic. The worksheet is due tomorrow.

8-8 Students discussed the movie and positives and negatives about it. Worksheet is due tomorrow.

8-5 Students discussed the movie Titanic and what makes a great movie review.

8-7 Students also began with a discussion/rating of the movie Titanic. Worksheet is due tomorrow.

Overall, the students seemed to really like the movie and the historical facts but some students felt that there was too much emphasis on the love story.

In History, 8-8 began its study of British North America and life in what is now Canada before Confederation in 1867

Grad photo re-takes will occur April 24th

Nous Sommes des Auteurs (avril) is due on Thursday of this week.

FRIDAY, April 13th

After reading 8-8's March writing about superstition, chance, fate and karma, it seems fitting that we enjoy a Friday the 13th.

This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. We will continue our exploration of this piece of history next week with Ms. Posedowski at the helm (pun intended).

There are many websites dedicated to its history. Check out twitter @TitanicRealTime for some tweets from 1912 as if they were traveling today. If you want more information on the movie go on IMDB, look up The Titanic and read the trivia section. For all things Titanic, explore EncyclopediaTitanica.org

8-8 did some French today and some Geography. We will start our study of Confederation next week.
Please continue to review your adjectives and verbs en francais :)
We are far from finished.

Bon weekend!

April 11th

All classes but 8-7 have finished their epic journey on Titanic. It has been quite an eye-opening movie for some.
We will be continuing our study of this tragedy and this historic during the next couple of weeks.

8-8 We reviewed the material for tomorrow's adjective test and had a not so surprise quiz on the imperative. We also worked on the inversion and how to ask a question.

Speaking of imperative, it is imperative that students continue to review/work/listen/read in French daily outside of class time.

April 10th

Students are getting a bit teary but holding on as we witness the end of the great Titanic :(

In French, we reviewed some adjectives at today's French Club at lunch. We had a quiz on adjectives and worked on some reading comprehension.

Tomorrow, all students are encouraged to wear pink to raise awareness against bullying and to honour victims of bullying.

April 5th

Most students were able to contain their tears and we continued our journey back in time to 1912. We are at the point now that the great ship Titanic has hit the iceberg and the detail is amazing and very informative.

In French class, we did some reading and comprehension and had a not so surprise quiz on the imperative. Some students need to review more thoroughly.

In terms of the upcoming adjectives quiz, students should review the endings to the masculine and feminine adjectives particularly those ending in: eux, t, d, n, c, ier, eau and e.
Also remember the story about Michael Jordan liking pickles etc.

French club will meet on Tuesday at lunch.

On Tuesday, we will welcome Ms. Posedowski to Rm 23. She will be with us for 3 weeks, teaching English and Social Studies for 2 weeks.

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

April 3rd

In English class we started watching "The Titanic" to gain some insight into life in 1912 and information about the great ship.

8-8 We took up the "adjectif" homework sheet and did some review for the quizzes next week.
Students received their proofs of grad photos and grad comment sheets for the yearbook.
We also reviewed conjugated verbs+infinitive.

NSA is due Thursday :)

April 2nd

English students continued their reading of their novel of choice. Students were quiet and focused and seem to be enjoying their books.

In French class, we enjoyed 2 more presentations and talked about 2 upcoming tests.

Please start your review tonight (with the review sheet) so that you can enjoy your long weekend.

March 29th

English-Today was reading response day. Most students had their books already in class and read quietly.
A reminder that it is your repsonsibility to leave your novel in class and to be prepared. We will continue this on Monday.

8-8 Students reviewed "y", "en" and "où". We continued our presentations and reviewed expectations for tomorrow.

We will be attending a Blue Jays game in May and the forms are due Monday, April 2nd!

March 28th

All English classes continued reading about The Titanic unless they were smiling prettily for their Grad photos.

In French, we reviewed où and its placement in sentences and read an article about healthy eating in French.

A reminder that Friday is a special day at Winona when all students will enjoy a presentation from the Junior Achievement team.

March 23rd

Today was our last day with Mr. del Sol. We will all miss him terribly.

Monday marks the return to "normal" :).
Students in 8-8 will be focusing a lot on French and English students will continue our study of homophones.
Please be prepared.
Reading Response resumes Thursday, Day 7.
Make sure you have a book that you LIKE in class.

Friday March 30th, ALL students will be participating in a Junior Achievement program about economics and making smart decisions.
Each homeroom will stay in the same room all day.

March 22nd

This is important for parents and students adressing an unfortunate trend.

http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/cinnamon-challenge-poses-serious-risks-lungs-173232366.html

The weather is changing, please dress appropriately!

Mr. del Sol's time with us comes to an end tomorrow. We will all miss him a lot.

Students in 8-8 are still expected to be reviewing their French daily.

English students, please ensure that you have your Reading Response books in class for next week.

Looking for something to do?

Winona still needs a design for its Eco-superhero and a yearbook cover!

Remember to include the year 2011-2012 on your yearbook cover.

I am sure that Mr. del Sol would appreciate any early essay submissions. There will be no more class time so why not hand your work in tomorrow?b

March 9th

Hope you all enjoy a well-deserved break!
There is no homework unless you haven't finished the rough draft of the essay or adjective sheets (8-8).

March 7th

We are busily working towards March Break. Students cleaned out their lockers today, we continued our Geography presentations and our work on Notre Dame.

Many students will be absent tomorrow.

For the first day after March Break, it is expected that 8-8 students will have the 4 adjective sheets completed in addition to the VANDERTRAMP worksheet. We will be continuing our review of the passé composé after the break and moving on to the futur simple.

Students who are not going on the music field trip tomorrow or early vacation will have time in class tomorrow to work on their French grammar.

March 6th

8-8 Students completed their second quiz on the past participles and we reviewed some grammar.

We continued our reading of "The Bite of the Mango".

We had a good class discussion.

Students are steadily improving in French. The effort you are putting in at home is paying off.

There is a dance this Friday afternoon. If students don't want to dance, there are other activities available at the school. There is something for everyone!
Students are expected to stay at school and participate in these activities.

Clocks SPRING ahead this weekend, we lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of sunshine!

March 5th

More students are working diligently on forming a thesis and supporting arguments. Some students neglected to complete the 1st part of the assignment and unfortunately this will make it overwhelming to write the final essay. keep up with your work as Mr. del Sol is doing an excellent job of breaking it down into manageable pieces.
You will need to write many essays and use MLA referencing in the future.

The 3-D Guernica Art pieces are coming along beautifully.

We had a very successful meeting of the 8-8 French club today at lunch.

There will be another Passe Compose quiz tomorrow. Regular and irregular p.p #51-99.
Bonne Chance!

This just in...

Our very Winona Skills teams placed FIRST and THIRD today in their competition at the Science Centre.
Way to go to all team members! Very well done!

March 1st

In English class, students worked through a mock debate learning how to present an argument/thesis statement in preparation for some writing next week.

For homework, 8-7 students need to come up with a thesis statement, 3 sources (MLA format) and an outline of their 3 arguments for Monday.

8-8 students started presenting their Geography presentations. We will continue tomorrow and do some more Art.

All the best at Kiwanis tomorrow and congratulations to the skills team for all of their hard work.

February 29th

Happy Leap Day!

Students in 8-5, 8-6, 8-7 and 8-8 enjoyed two speakers from CDI (Child Development Insitute) who shared some insight and information about various mental illnesses.

In French class, students completed a quiz on the participe passé part of the passé composé.
Please keep reviewing.
We will continue working on this and will moving on to the "DR and MRS VANDERTRAMP" verbs.

Feb 27th

In 8-6 and 8-7, we enjoyed yet another excellent presentation.
Students then continued their work on their reading repsponses.

8-8 Students did some reading and we reviewed the passé composé again.
Verbs reviewed today include:
The present of être and avoir
Passé Composé of: parler, danser, travailler, marcher, finir, rougir, choisir, bâtir, rendre, pendre, battre.

This is homework. Continue to review these REGULAR verbs and to practise your spoken French at home by reading out loud, watching tv, dvds etc. (every night)

Way to go!

A special shout-out to MB who "legit booked it" to shave 5 seconds off of her personal best today at her swim meet!
Congratulations!

Anyone else do something this weekend that they are proud of? Please share.

Feb 24th

Monday, Day 9, will be Reading Response as usual.
Please ensure that you have a novel in class to read. It is your responsibility to sign a book out from the library on your own time.

Feb 23rd

8-6 Students worked on their pamphlets.

8-5 had a work period in the computer lab.

8-7 and 8-8 worked in class.

All pamphlets are due tomorrow.

Keep reviewing the passé composé...

feb 22nd

8-7 Students had another work period for their pamphlet.

8-8 Students also had another work period.

All pamphlets are due Friday!

Feb 21st

8-6 Students worked on their group pamphlets.
8-7 Students had a work period in the computer lab for the pamphlets.
8-8 Students started presenting their monument presentations. Way to go!
Students have been working very hard on these.
The passé composé sheets from the weekend were due today. I will collect the rest tomorrow and the ones that were *ahem* re-done.

Keep up the great work!

8-8 will be attending "Elephant Song" tomorrow afternoon.

Feb 16th

We prepared for our upcoming viewing of "Sanctuary Song" through elephant education, facts, noises and a dramatic reading (and in 8-5 singing) of a scene!

Students in 8-8 worked a bit on various assignments, attended a mass band rehearsal and a meeting about Camp Arrowhon.
It's been a short week but a busy one!

Lots of work due next week including French homework.

Bon weekend!

Feb 15th

Students continued the work on their pamphlets in English class.

Tomorrow, we will be reviewing the story of "Sanctuary Song" in preparation for our excursion next week.

8-8 worked on their "Nous Sommes Des Auteurs" in class as well as their Art. We will be filming stop motion movies next week.

Science- Science Fair Project outline is due next Wednesday, Feb 22nd and your partner choice. You may choose to work with someone in another class.

Please keep handing in your optional attendance sheets, permission forms and $10.00

Feb 14th

The students were very excited today but were able to settle down to form groups in order to create a pamphlet about a specific mental illness. Students MUST bring their research to class tomorrow for their work period.

8-8 students worked in the computer lab on their Paris or Geography (Industry) project. Most students are done and were playing games during their work time so we will not be returning to the computer lab for these assignments.

Permission forms and $10.00 are now late. Please bring them in ASAP along with your course selection sheets.

February 13th

English classes continued their exploration and discussions about mental illness. We had a good discussions about stigmas and their effect on people being ashamed and not getting the support that they need.

In French, we reviewed due dates (see below) and students presented their Famous Canadians.

We will start "Nous Sommes Des Auteurs" tomorrow and it will be due on Tuesday, the 21st of Feb.


Paris Project-Tuesday Feb 21st.

Geography Project-Thursday Feb 23rd.

February 10th

We took up the answers to the case studies as we continued our learning about mental health.

Homework is: An example of stigma you notice on the weekend. This can be on tv, movies, internet or in real life.
Students in 8-8 also continued their Art sculptures.
Course selection sheets are due as are permission forms and $10.00 for Sanctuary Song

Feb 9tn

All classes continued their discussion about mental health. They studied 2 case studies and worked on some questions in groups. We explored the idea of stigmas. Students in 8-6 and 8-8 who did not finish their homework on stigmas must complete the assignment on ignorance due TOMORROW. As promised, I am not posting it since you must take responsibility for not completing the original assignment.

February 8th

All English classes participated in an introductory lessons/discussions about myths/facts about Mental Illness.
It was a really great opportunity for students to learn about labels that sometimes get put on people and why certain people feel stigmatized.

For tomorrow, remember to be ready to talk about the idea of stigma. If you are able to bring in an example from a story/experience/book etc. , that would be great.

8-8 started a really cool Art project.

February 7th

All English classes read their Reading Response books quietly. It's nice to see students so focused and reading books that they enjoy.
8-8 worked two period in the computer lab this afternoon on their Paris projects.

Feb 7th

I collected the poetry anthologies from all English classes. They look great and I can tell that students worked very hard!

8-8 We worked on French adjectives and changing masculine to feminine.
This work is due tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon, 8-8 will have a double work period in the computer lab for the Paris projects.

Feb 3rd and Poetry outline

Poetry Assignment
6 of the following 8 poems.
please choose 6 different types

-acrostic, cinquain, colour, haiku, diamante, I wish, limerick,shape (concrete)

AND

1 free verse and 1 of your choice NOT included in the above list. You must include the name of the type of poem and its characteristics as well as your original poem of this type.

You must include illustrations.

8-7 Students worked in class on their poems.

8-8 Students presented their "Famous Canadians" oral presentations en français.

8-6 We had the last of the persuasive arguments presented today.

Bon weekend à tous!

Geography Project

Success Criteria
Your final project should be submitted on a bristol board.

You must:

-choose a Canadian company
-state what kind of industry it is (primary, secondary etc)
-explain what makes it that kind of company
-make timeline of the company
-write a BRIEF history
-state its Canadian importance
-research and present its reputation/social importance/eco info
-find out whether or not there are other branches/locations/franchises

You may wish to include other interesting or relevant information

Due FEBRUARY 16th

Feb 2nd

Happy Groundhog Day!

8-5 We worked on homophones and descriptive paragraphs. We talked about silly English headlines.

8-6 Students learned 2 more homophones and we reviewed the Poetry Assignment Requirements.

8-7 Students copied new homophones down and we too talked about how English doesn't make sense sometimes.

8-8 We talked about different types of governments and economies. Students have a project on a Canadian business due on Feb 16th.
Outline will be posted seperately.

January 31st

8-5, 8-6, 8-7

Students presented their Place Descriptions.

8-8 Students had their last Lit. Circle discussion and read quietly. Some students went to Skills Team.

Optional Attendane sheets are due tomorrow by 3:00pm sharp!

January 30th

8-5, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8
English-Students worked on their homophones in class. They are due tomorrow if they were not completed in class.
8-8 We started reading "Notre Dame de Paris" and reviewed the requirements of the character sketch due tomorrow.

Poems are due on Feb 6th for all English classes

Character Sketch for 8-8 is due tomorrow.

We will be back in the computer lab later on in the cycle.

Don't forget to submit your camp and high school forms to avoid disappointment.

January 26th

8-5 Students worked on their poetry and anthology and some students shared their descriptive paragraphs.

8-7 Students worked on their poems, their character sketches and descriptive paragraphs.
Character sketch (essay) is due Monday.

8-6 Students had a work period.

8-8 Students worked in the computer lab on their Paris projects and then some students went to Ms. Gesner's room to work and we continued presentations in Room 23 last period.

Poetry anthologies are due on Monday, February 6th for all classes.

Poetry Assignment
6 of the following 8 poems.
please choose 6 different types

-acrostic, cinquain, colour, haiku, diamente, I wish, limerick,shape (concrete)

AND

1 free verse and 1 of your choice NOT included in the above list. You must include the name of the type of poem and its characteristics.

You must include illustrations.

In English class students read their Reading Response books.

In Homeroom, we brainstormed some acts of green we could do and argued constructively :)

Tomorrow is a work period in the computer lab for 8-8 with your groups for the Paris project.

January 23rd

8-6 We had our last Lit. Circle session today. Booklets are now due. Please hand yours ASAP if you didn't have yours with you today.

85, 8-7, 8-8 Students read their Reading Response books in class.

8-5 Some students want to hand in their character sketch late. Your assignment must be accompanied by an essay outlining the importance of deadlines.

8-6 Your character sketch is due Wednesday.

8-8 upcoming assignments:

Paris project (group)-due week of Feb 13th
Poetry anthology due Feb 8th.
English description (oral)-this week

January 19th

Activity Day is tomorrow.

Even if you are staying home with your parents' permission, please have your parents call the school.
For those of you auditioning at E.S.A tomorrow, all the best!

8-7 Students had their last Lit.Circle discussion and handed in their booklets.

8-8 We shared our arguments and worked on a French project.

8-6 We had good discussions about students' arguments.

Ski Trip-tomorrow at 6:30am.

See you there.

January 18th

8-5 Students worked on their descriptions. Their character sketch is due tomorrow.

8-6 Students worked on their descriptions and we had some good arguments.

8-7 & 8-8 Students enjoyed a poetry workshop with Ronna Bloom.

www.poets.ca

8-8 We learned about different Econonomic Systems

January 17th

8-5 and 8-6 had an amazing time with poet Ronna Bloom. The creativity and courage were wonderful!

www.poets.ca

8-6 We returned to room 23 and did Lit. Circles, great job!

8-8 We worked on Art, did our Daily Physical Activity and had some good discussions.

Famous Canadian is due Wednesday.

8-5's Character Sketch is due Thursday.

Activity Day is Friday, all students are expected to participate in an activity.

Jan 16th

All English classes continued work on their descriptions.

8-5 students have a character sketch of the main character from their Lit. Circle book due on Thursday.

8-8 Famous Canadian sheet and portrait are due Wednesday.

Optinal attendance forms are due Thursday.

Activity Day is Friday!

Jan. 13th

A lucky or unlucky snow day!

Students in English class worked on their descriptions and 8-8 students took the next steps on their path to high school.

8-8 Nous Sommes des Auteurs- due Monday

Famous Canadian- due Wednesday

Deadlines are tight and rigid so please make sure all of your paperwork is filled out and submitted on time to avoid disappointment.

Bon weekend à tous!

January 12th

8-5 We had a really great Lit. Circle session in the library. Today was the last day for 8-5 and students were able to discuss their books as a whole.

8-7 Students worked on describing a place that is special and familiar to them.

8-6 Lit. Circle. This was a do-over from Monday since students were unprepared. Today, groups had very interesting and in-depth discussions about their books.

8-8 We continued our study of Paris in the computer lab and in homeroom.

Marcy will be visiting 8-8 tomorrow to discuss high school stuff.

January 11th

8-7 Students read their reading response books.

8-6 Students read their reading response books. You have Lit. Circles tomorrow!

8-5 Students read their own books and then listened to a book being read aloud by me.

8-8 Students did some reading in English and then we went to the computer lab to do some research for 2 assignments.

Marcy will be coming in to meet with 8-8 on Friday to hand out packages for high school. Open houses are now occurring. Check with your chosen school so that you don't miss it!

January 10th

8-6 We took up our test and students read.

8-7 We had a really successful Lit. Circle session in the library.

8-5 We started reading and writing a descriptive piece

8-8 we did some Art, took a walk, shared some arguments and worked on our January writing.

Good work everyone!

January 9th

We are back into the swing of things.

8-6 will have Lit. Circles on Day 10 (thursday) of this week.

8-8 We read aloud from our book we are reading.

8-5 Lit. Cirlces. Too many students were unprepared!

8-7 Students read their Reading Response books and worked quietly.

8-8 Students worked on their New Year's resolutions on French. We also tried some dictations to keep us on our toes.
Finally, students worked on their Art we started before the break.

Your project on a famous Canadian is due on Wed. 18th of January.