Fly Me to the Moon!

In Science class, we are studying the solar system and its planets. We have researched and written about many different planets in the solar system. This has been interesting because we have learned that planets are similar but can have so many different features, such as moons, rings and more.

Once we learned a good chunk of information about our planets, we went to the H.R. MacMillan Space Center to learn more about our universe. One highlight of our field trip was shooting homemade pop bottle rockets two stories high. We pumped air into the bottles to create pressure, and then pulled the trigger to release the bottles, which sent them flying.

Another highlight was the show ‘Planet Hunters’. We learned that to find the materials of a planet's atmosphere, you look at the light that is reflected from that planet. Some colours will be missing in a certain pattern for each element that is there. This field trip helped us to learn about the space outside of Earth’s atmosphere.

In conclusion, the Grade Six class had a wonderful time being entertained by the HR MacMillan Space Centre staff.

Written by Grade Six students.

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“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky”

Last December 6th, 2017, our Grade 7 class had the opportunity to visit Covenant House’s donation room on Drake St. in downtown Vancouver. There we helped sort through the many donations that Covenant House received for the holiday season. There were so many donations to go through, that we were told to be very picky and only keep the items that we would use ourselves.

Before going to Covenant House, we all had some ideas about what Covenant House was. We thought of it as a place to accommodate homeless youth and help get them off the streets. We thought of it as an outreach program that gives youth aged 16-24 food, clothes, and education and job opportunities.

After about one and a half hours of sorting through donations, we had some new thoughts about Covenant House and the donations that they received. Here are some of the things we learned and thought:

“Right now, Covenant House has 58 beds and they aren’t at max capacity!”

“People donate many things that are of no use or are bad quality.”

“A lot of people are in need and we need to help them.”

“So. Many. Donations.”

“They are very picky when it comes to keeping clothes.”

“Covenant House helps other charities by giving those charities the things that they do not need.”

“I know after visiting Covenant House that they treat homeless people to the best of their ability.”

“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky.”

“Donations affect everyone.”

As we begin the year 2018, let us remember to be generous and think of those in our communities that need our help.
 

The Kindness Project

As part of the Grade One unit on "Helping Each Other as Friends and as Learners,"the students were inspired to share their learning with others.  As a class they came up with the idea of doing a "Kindness Project." For this "Kindness Project," they thought it would be good to share a little kindness with our local community.  Thus, on Thursday, December 21st, the students were divided into small groups and stationed at different places on Dunbar Street. They handed out candy canes to pedestrians and shared a special "kindness" message written by each one of them. The purpose of this “Kindness Project” was twofold: to teach people that we value kindness in our world and to spread some Christmas cheer.

The students shared this small act of kindness with over 200 people on that day.  Examples of some the statements given by the pedestrians were: "We need a lot more of this in our world," "My heart grew so big today," "Each kindness message is important and beautiful."  The students were happy and excited to be a part of something so special.  One of the students stated that "my heart has grown 1000 times bigger today!" This feeling of happiness was shared by all that participated.

Remember that when you share kindness with someone you "make them colourful".

The Grade One students sure made a lot of people colourful on that day and now you can go and do the same!