Math Games and Mini-Lessons

Ms. Brown's class is working on multiplying and dividing decimal numbers. To reinforce these concepts, math games and mini-lessons are being used. During my visit today I observed students engaged in a math game/activity in which students rolled dice to create decimal numbers and turning over cards that indicated if they should multiply or divide by 10, 100, or 1000. This allowed students to have the opportunity to practice this concept. While pairs of students were working on this, Ms. Brown engaged some students in a mini-lesson to support their understanding of this concept. Having students in a small group allows her to support the needs of her students more effectively. Improving students' math conceptual understanding is a provincial, board, and school focus. We are continuing to learn, as a community (e.g., students, teachers, families), ways to develop a deeper understanding of math. Way to go 6A!

Science Innovators at Boxwood!

On Saturday, April 2, 2016, 150 students from 37 schools from around York Region participated in the York Region Science and Technology Fair. Two of our students, won the "Environment Award" for their project, An Innovation For Efficient CO2 Reduction. They were awarded the Gold Medal and a Travel Award which means that they will represent York Region in the Canada Wide Science Fair (CWSF) being held at McGill University from May 15-20th in Montreal, Quebec. Special thanks to Ms. Breckenridge for supporting these students. The Boxwood community is very proud of the efforts of these young gentlemen!

Grade 4s Learning to Read Music!

During my school walk yesterday, I saw an innovative practice to support students to understand and read music. I visited Ms. Turcotte's Grade 4 Music class (Mr. Miron's class) and saw them using Boomwhackers! They are lightweight, hollow, colour-coded, plastic tubes, tuned to musical pitches by length. They are used as musical instruments in the percussion family. Boomwhackers produce musical tones when struck together, on the floor, or against nearly any surface. This is a fun, active tool that helps to instill the fundamentals of music within our students. I saw students learning how to play different notes and creating and playing their own compositions. I saw students enjoying themselves while learning! Great tool! Special thanks to Ms. Turcotte for using this innovative tool with her students.

Our Director Visits Boxwood!

A focus in Boxwood Public School is to increase our student's conceptual understanding of mathematics using the Comprehensive Math Program. We understand that it is important for students to apply a growth mindset towards mathematics, have the opportunity to collaborate and learn from each other, and engage in meaningful problems. A learning approach that is being used to achieve these goals is to implement Three Part Math Lessons in our classes. Today, We had a special guest at Boxwood, our director Mr. Jay Parappally. He got an opportunity to see the work we are doing first hand in Ms. St. Jean's grade 5/6 class. This class demonstrated the effectiveness of the Three Part Math Lesson. Students were collectively working on a problem in a situation that students were curious to solve. Students were speaking to each other about math, justifying and representing their thinking, and applying their math knowledge. After, the class engaged in a Bansho (a strategy for students to communicate and consolidate their ideas). This is another example of the practices that we use to support increased student achievement in our school.

Boxwood Wins Lego Mechanics Challenge

Today four of our grade 8 boys participated in the York Region Skills Challenge. They competed in the grade 7/8 Lego Mechanics Challenge at Seneca College. They were the champions from last year. We are excited to report that they have repeated this accomplishment and are the 2016 champions! We are so proud of their efforts. Special thanks goes out to Ms. Calverley and Ms. Breckenridge for supervising this club and providing an opportunity for our students to explore and create with Lego.

Way to go champs!

Camp Couchiching Information Night

On Thursday February 24th, we had a representative from Camp Couchiching come to Boxwood to speak to some of our grade 8 parents about their facility. We are learning about the accommodations, food and activities they provide. Camp is a great way for students to engage in experiential learning! Our students are looking forward to a great camping experience.

Artistic Descriptive Writing at Boxwood!

Take a look at this amazing descriptive writing piece done by one of our talented students in Ms. Breckenridge's class. The task was to describe this thought provoking art piece. Simply fantastic and so proud.

`A thick pollution filled the air, her luscious locks spread across the sky. The remains of the ruined building fell into form; a body of rubble, cracked and tarnished. Her chiseled face, smooth and unblemished. In contrast to all else around her, she stood out, as glacial beauty such as her’s usually does. The construction’s windows were her eyes, gazing hopelessly at the destroyed land around her. There were shallow pools of water all around, a moat to the shattered castle. Behind her were factories still intact, emitting an opaque smoke, as well as a pungent odour. The hills of debris delivered a sense of forlornness, it’s grimy surface so rough and so rocky. She was the portrayal of glamour, washed away by the strains of time and the mistakes of humankind.