RMH

Fun with Fairy Tales

All students will be exploring the fairy tale genre this month.  They will be reading fairy tales from around the world including Jack and the Beanstalk, The Seven Chinese Sisters and The Frog Prince.  Students will also have a chance to explore fractured fairy tales, a concept that is seen everywhere in popular culture right now.  Take for instance the popular show Once Upon a Time, or the Broadway play Wicked. 

After reading some fractured fairy tales, students will write their own tales to share with our class, and parents at our end of year event.  We will also explore drama, as students participate in various games that ask them to step into the shoes of different fairy tale characters.  We are excited about having the opportunity to use our costumes/props and our very active imaginations to transform our classroom into some of the magical spaces present in these wonderful tales.

Plants and Animals

This month, during our All Ages sessions, students have been learning about plants and animals.  Beginning with plants, all students learned about the parts of a plant, everyday uses of plants and how to classify plants.  The end of our plant study culminated in a field trip to Toronto’s Allan Gardens – a beautiful site which served as the venue for students to apply their plant knowledge.  Students enjoyed chatting with the gardeners, and discovering unique plants that cannot normally be found in Canada. 

The highlight was definitely observing the turtles in the cool temperature section of the gardens. Our study of animals has been quite varied due to our wide range of ages.  Primary students are busy at work right now putting together animal projects.  They are researching an animal of their choice, creating a clay model of that animal, and then making a diorama habitat.  Intermediate students are busy working with the compound microscope to examine animal cells.  They will be making a 3D model of a cell to finish off this unit of biology.  To check out the variety of work that has been completed, go to our art gallery.

Preparing for the end of the year

It is hard to believe our first school year at our new RMH Toronto location is coming to a close.  The month of June brings many special events.  Students will be presenting their recent work in a School Fair at the beginning of the month, and again at the end of the month at a special awards night.  We will be studying the Medieval time period in June during our All Ages sessions, and going on an exciting field trip to Medieval Times. 

In addition, students will be completing various culminating tasks depending on age and ability.  For primary students, this means a focus on reading, particularly sight words.  We look forward to seeing how students’ reading skills improve over the month.  For junior/intermediate students, this means brushing up on multiplication/division, and completing a final media literacy assignment on fashion designing.  For secondary students, this means writing exams. 

Some students will be writing exams for the first time, and so we will be working on teaching effective study skills this month.  Of course, the end of June would not be complete without the distribution of report cards.  What an exciting and busy month we have ahead of us!

See photos:  http://rmhtoronto.org/node/892