Thank You Ms. Ryan!

At the end of our 2015-2016 school year, Ms. Ryan retired after teaching at ICS for over 30 years. Ms. Ryan’s tenure at ICS saw several generations of students and she even taught  children of her former students.

To say thank you to Ms. Ryan, we had a special Ms. Ryan Day on her last Friday. In the morning, we went to church because Ms. Ryan had a very close relationship with God and regularly took her students to Mass every Friday. During lunch period, the whole school was allowed to go out to Chaldecott Park and play on the fields and playground – a testament to Ms. Ryan’s wise philosophy that children are meant to have fun! At the end of the day, we held an assembly to sing a song for her, and present her with two gifts.

The first gift, from primary, was a book called  “101 Things To Do When You Retire” – we are certain she will be able to keep very busy with the variety and number of suggestions she received! The gift from intermediate was a memory book of days spent with Ms. Ryan – art lessons, science lessons, and special activities that Ms. Ryan shared with us. To round off Ms. Ryan Day, there was cake for everyone. Ms. Ryan will always hold a special place in the hearts of the ICS students, staff, and community at large and we wish her all the best.

Written By a Grade Six Student

Ellen Schwartz Visits Grade Six

On Tuesday May 24th, Ellen Schwartz, a New Jersey born author who now lives in Burnaby, came to Grade Six to talk to us about some of her experiences in writing and to share her latest book, Heart of a Champion, with us. During her visit, Mrs. Schwartz assigned us some writing in which we would need to compose a scene inspired by one of the many paintings we have learned about in our art history studies. When we completed writing the scene, Mrs. Schwartz read and edited each one. She visited us one week later to individually conference with us. Since then, we have been working on using that scene in a story… stay tuned for the final results!

We anxiously await the start of the 2016-17 school year because Mrs. Schwartz will be back at ICS to lead a Writer in Residence Program with our Intermediate students – how lucky we are to have such an opportunity! To learn more about Ellen Schwartz, visit her website at:

http://www.ellenschwartz.net/

Written by a Grade 6 student

Vancouver Children’s Festival 2016

On Friday, June 6th the Grade One and Grade Two classes went to the Vancouver Children’s Festival at Granville Island to watch Splash’N Boots live in concert. They had us all singing, dancing and laughing during the fun-filled show. After the show, the students spent the afternoon exploring the various activities at Sutcliffe Park. It was a fabulous afternoon shared with friends in the warmth of the sun.

Grade Six Responds to Picasso’s Work

On June 15th, the Grade Six class of ICS went to visit the Vancouver Art Gallery to look at the Picasso Exhibit. I asked some classmates what they thought about his work . . . One person said that Picasso “puts his emotion onto canvas.” Others said things like “He has a very unique style that no other artist bothers to use.” I personally think that Picasso’s work is unique and fun to look at, but I wouldn’t like to actually own one. Another question I had for classmates was “Why do you think Picasso was inspired by African masks and statues?” Almost all of the responses were like this one, “Because they had different shapes and forms that Picasso seemed to like.”

At the end of the exhibit, we were all able to recognize that Picasso was an extraordinary painter with an extreme set of skills. Having the chance to look at his work was an amazing opportunity. At the end of the day, after seeing many Picasso paintings, I asked around the class to see which one was most appreciated. People said Guernica because it showed the emotions of all the villagers who lived in Guernica.

Reflecting on Guernica . . .

Bust of a Woman (Dora Maar), 1938

Learning about Picasso and the Spanish Civil War

Written by a Grade Six Student

Parent Appreciation Tea

“Thank You Thank You” Performed by Kindergarten

“Together We Are Canada” A Poem performed by Grade Three

“Hey Jude” . . . Performed by Grade Six

On Wednesday, May 25th, the ICS staff and students held a tea for the parents of our school community. The tea was to show our great appreciation for our parents who contribute so much to our little blue school, we wouldn’t be able to do all the great things we do in our school and parish community without them. The parents were treated with tea, coffee, and yummy pastries baked by the staff and served by the Grade Seven students. Throughout the tea, each grade performed for the group of parents with a song, a poem, or another fun way to show gratitude. There was also a slideshow with pictures of school events and other school privileges that the parents of Immaculate Conception School students make possible. Our school is very grateful for the great contribution that the parents make, we hope that they enjoyed the tea and that they feel appreciated.

Our Living Rosary

On Wednesday, May 18th, our school community came together to pray a living rosary.

A living rosary, is like a rosary but instead of using beads, we use a chain of people who have formed a circle. Each person represents a prayer or a mystery. There are five decades in the rosary, each containing an Our Father, a Glory Be and ten Hail Marys. This living rosary is very special because we want to celebrate Mary. May is the month of Mary and Mary is the patron saint of Immaculate Conception School.

Written by a Grade Six Student

Spring Miracles!

This Spring, the Kindergarten students witnessed the process of metamorphosis in butterflies! It was very exciting to watch as our tiny caterpillars grew into larger ones, and then changed into chrysalides.

We eagerly waited for the butterflies to emerge from these chrysalides! The transformation was magical for our student and teacher scientists. Along with Father Paul, a Grade 6 student documenter and two expert parent-gardeners, we released 24 butterflies in Father’s garden and prayed for safety in their travels.

Throughout the process, we posed many questions and posted these on our Wonder Wall. Some of these questions were:

• What do caterpillars eat?
• How much do caterpillars eat?
• Why do caterpillars shed?
• Do some butterflies have pink and purple on their wings?
• How does the caterpillar change into a butterfly?
• Why does the caterpillar turn into a chrysalis?

To find the answers to our questions, we read stories, engaged in learning activities, asked experts and enlisted the help of our Grade Four buddies. What an amazing learning experience!

Let the Games Begin!

On Thursday, May 12th, the ICS track team took part in a track meet at Swangard Stadium hosted by St. Joseph’s School. We participated in a number of events: the 800 metre, 100 metre, girls, boys and mixed 4×100 metre relays, long jump and shotput.

There was also 60 metre race for grades 3, 4 and 5, as well as a 200 metre, 400 metre and medley relay for grades 6 and 7. We did very well, especially in the 800 metre race. It was lots of fun and a chance to be outside, running, jumping and throwing. I know everyone looks forward to our next track meet on Thursday, May 19th at Vancouver College.

Written by a Grade Seven Student

Grade Four School Gardeners!

Last week, we harvested our lettuce to make salad. We shared our salads with the school. We harvested arugula, head lettuce, carrots, kale, basil, pea shoots, and kohlrabi for our salads. The classes thought our salad was amazing!

Many students asked for seconds and one student asked for our dressing recipe. One girl said she didn’t like salad before she tried ours, but now she does now.

We also learned about bolting. Bolting is when the plant gets too hot or too dry and it thinks it might die, so it makes seeds. Sometimes bolting makes the vegetable taste different.

We had a fun time in the garden and making salads. We are really grateful to our garden buddies who volunteer to garden with us.

Written by Grade Four Students

Grade Five Field Trip to Westminster Abbey

In April we traveled to see the Benedictine Monks at Westminster Abbey. We learned that monks teach the high school kids how to train to become monks as well as seminarians. We also learned that Benedictine monks were the only order of monks that existed in the Middle Ages. Our class also took part in the prayer service. At the prayer service, we listened to a very spiritual hymn. Inside the church were beautiful stained glass windows, which our class drew. Afterwards, to stretch our legs out, we took a walk through the forest, which led to a sunny field where we could look down and see the Fraser River. We started to walk back, and saw a statue of our Immaculate Mary. We also walked to the church to see the old graveyard. Our class picked flowers and laid them on the gravestones. Our class had a wonderful time at Westminster Abbey.

Written by a Grade Five Student