Dear Parents and Adults at Home,
April 22nd is Earth Day!
Surrey's biggest eco-event of the year is this Saturday, April 19th at Bear Creek Park! Check out the details for this and the many other free events around the city during Surrey's Environmental Extravaganza - April 19th - June 8.
'Walk and Wheel to School' Week - April 21st to 25th
The students are orchestrating a 'Walk and Wheel to School' Week throughout our community. The teachers will be keeping track of the number of students walking or wheeling (biking or skateboarding) to school each day during the week of April 21st to April 25th. Our students will be calculating the percentages for each classroom and displaying them in bar graph form for all in the school to see.
We are also collecting dead batteries for recycling. A recent report said certain batteries — including lead-acid, lithium, nickel-cadmium, silver oxide and mercury — contain toxic heavy metals. Let's keep them out of the water table by keeping them out of the trash.
There are many ways we can all make a difference! The following is a clip from the Website of the Week: David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.
We've done the research. These are the most effective ways to conserve nature and improve the quality of life everywhere on earth (these simple changes can make a big difference):
Transportation: Boy do we get around – cars, trucks, buses, boats, planes! All that transportation accounts for almost half of noxious air pollution, more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions, one quarter of common air contamination and almost one-fifth of water toxicity. Not surprisingly, cars are the worst offenders – they contribute the most carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, cause urban blight (with all those jammed, ugly freeways) and pollute our water and air through exhaust and road runoff. Yuck!
We have an epidemic of respiratory ailments such as asthma in this country – all aggravated by contaminated air – and at least 16,000 premature deaths per year directly linked to air pollution.
No one's asking you to stay home and lock yourself in a closet. Get out in the world! Just try to lighten your footprint. Here's how.
Go here to fuel up on more information.
Food: There are so many humans on the planet, simply feeding ourselves has led to all kinds of environmental havoc – air and water pollution, loss of soil and reduced biodiversity. It's time to clean up our act.
We don't all need to become overnight vegans or live the 100 Mile Diet (although those are great ideas). But we can have a huge effect on climate change by simply changing a few of our food habits. Here's how.
Hungry for more information? Check this out.
Energy: You've probably heard that Canada is the largest consumer of energy in the world on a per capita basis, and the second largest producer of greenhouse gases (after the United States). We have just over 30 million people, but we use as much energy as the entire continent of Africa, home to 700 million!
Canadians have home heating issues that most Africans don't, but we have to think of the whole planet as one big community and do our part. Wasting energy hurts nature and your wallet because energy efficiency means lower bills as well as less pollution. (Where will you spend the money you save?) Here's how.
Plug in here for more energy facts.
Public Action: As individuals, we can green our homes, schools and offices and have a huge impact. But we also need policy movers and shakers to step up to the plate – with incentives for fuel efficient technologies, legislation banning toxic chemicals and strategies to protect endangered species (to name just a few things).
You can make a difference at so many levels in your community – by hosting meetings, organizing letter writing campaigns to legislators and media outlets, and drumming up support for action on all levels. Here's how.
Social Studies: Planning for the Future
In preparation for Earth Day and 'Walk and Wheel to School' Week, the students have begun work on an environmental awareness ad campaign. Individually or in small groups, the students have chosen a simple message around an environmentally-minded issue. They are designing an advertisement/poster based upon the following criteria:
1. Does the ad hook the viewer?
2. Is the message clear and simple?
3. Are the images and words large enough to view from a distance?
4. Is the message vivid and bright?
5. Is there evidence of planning?
6. Is this the students' best effort?
Novel Study: The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
We are finishing up a series of post-novel activities and group discussions. These activities and discussion topics can be found on the website http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/GeoMatters/hstapresent/Breadwinner/Breadwinner.htm. Or you can follow links on my website, www.linktoschool.blogspot.com. Under Novel Studies, click on the link, Breadwinner Novel Study.
Math: Fractions, Percents, Ratios and Rates
We are approaching the end of this unit. The test should be some time during the second week of May. I will keep you posted. Please see below for the math homework details.
This Past Week's Homework Assignments
Read at least 20 minutes each evening
Health and Reading Log update
Reading Comprehension:
Black Group - Ask About: pp. 57-61
Blue Group - Art and Music: pp. 52-61
Next Friday's ID test (April 25) will be on Birds #8 and Africa #31-36 in the Study Guide (Students receive a bonus mark on each of their tests if they have their tests signed by a parent and returned).
Math - Fractions: pp. 296-297, 300-301, 304-305
Website of the Week: David Suzuki's Nature Challenge
These are the most effective ways to conserve nature and improve the quality of life everywhere on earth (these simple changes can make a big difference).
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChallenge/
Don't forget to check out my website at linktoschool.blogspot.com . It has many links to other great educational sites and safe, kid-appropriate search engines.
Important Dates in 2008
April 17 Masabe Cultural Company Performance at the Bell Centre - Buses depart at 9:30 am and will arrive back by 12:30
April 21-25 Walk and Wheel to School Week
April 21 Cultural Event - Comaigri VniDansi @ 1:00 pm
April 22 Earth Day - Classes will Rotate from teacher to teacher participating in various eco-conscious activities
April 23 Interim Reports go home
April 29 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
May 2 Pro-D #5 - District-wide - No School
May 19 Victoria Day - No School
May 28 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
June 20 Celebration Assembly @ 1:00 pm
June 23 Year End Assembly @ 10:30 am
June 24 Sports Day
June 25 Grade 7 Graduation @ 10:30, Final Report Cards sent home. Last day of school for students, early dismissal @ 1:30 pm
June 26 Pro-D #6 - No school
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to phone, email or drop by the school.
Sincerely,
Michael Link
Forsyth Road Elementary
10730 139 Street
Surrey BC V3T 5L4
Phone: 604-588-8394
mikewilliamlink@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment