Times Advocate, 1995-06-14, Page 12Page 12 Times -Advocate, June 14, 1995
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Reports from
J.A.D. McCurdy School
HURON PARK -The Early Years class have been busy learning about
ways to help mother earth. They are learning how to Reduce, Reuse, and
Recycle! They are composting, recycling paper, cans etc. and reducing
garbage by bringing litterless lunches. They are taking good care of the
tree and flowers they planted to make our earth a beautiful place.
Mercer Mayer is a wonderful children's author. Early years students
have been enjoying learning more about this author/illustrator and reading
this many books (eg. Just Me and..., Little Critter..., There's a Nightmare
in my Closet). They have made scary "nightmare" masks and have re-
enacted stories. They like writing and illustrating their own versions of
Mercer Mayer's stories. What an exciting unit!
Grade l and 2
Spring has been busy in grade 1/2. They have enjoyed making decora-
tions for their classroom. They watched the senior students when they pre-
sented their play about Snow White. They did an excellent job.
The classroom helped plant a Sugar Maple Tree on the playground.
They will water it this spring. This week they had an interesting speaker
who brought all kinds of insects with her. They are looking forward to
paying international games on Friday. They also hope to enjoy lots of
good sunny days.
Grade 3/4
During the past six weeks, the grade 3/4 students have been participating
in exciting nutritional learning experiences through National Geographic
Kids Network. They have learned first hand real-world scientific proce-
dures of collecting data, finding patterns and assessing results. The topic
was "What Are We Eating?" The class joined a research team made up of
schools worldwide. Letters and data have been exchanged by using com-
puters and modems. A nutritional expert in Washington, D.C. has dis-
cussed the investigation results with participants. The Network has also al-
lowed them to have direct feedback from various international research
projects including the arctic study currently being carried out in Russia.
Along with their science and technology studies, they have also been ac-
tively involved in the Green Kids Club. They have cared for the aquarium,
maintained a veri-composter, planted a tree, learned about caring for our
planet and been twinned with pen pals in the Yukon Territory in order to
discover more about the environment and country.
Grade 5/6
The students of grade 5/6 Jtave been exposed to a number of worthwhile
activities during the final term. They took part in a very informative work-.
shop on insects. This presentation exposed them to many important facts
and also provided opportunities for hands-on experiences. On May 5, an
outdoor activity day was held outside in the beautiful sunshine. Students
participated in games from other countries in the world. The games and
the sunshine were enjoyed by staff and students alike. The student of room
12 enjoyed studying an integrated unit on hockey. A number of interesting
activities were included in the unit. The highlight of the program was an
invitation to take part in a Canada -wide hockey draft. The winning school
was to win a pizza party worth $200. Unfortunately the prize was not
claimed by McCurdy. Everyone enjoyed playing the Hockey Game.
Primary -Junior SCC
The primaryjunior self-contained class has just completed a unit on
Fairy Tales. They've studied the "old favourites'; retold them in storytell-
ing; and read new fairytales with a twist such as "The Witch's Story",
` The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," '"The True Story of the
Three Little Pigs" and "once Upon a Golden Apple".
They are now continuing their studies with a unit on Dragons where
they will read about Dragon Love, both old and new. They began their
unit with the film "Dragon Stew" and will be constructing their own castle
for story -telling and reconstruction of Dragon Classics.
Grade 6/7
As the school year winds down there is still much happening in the
grade six -seven class. A number of special activities will highlight these
months as they visit the Toronto Zoo and black Creek Pioneer Village;
they will see West Side Story at the theatre; and they will participate in
Science Quest at the high school. Along with these great sessions they will
be doing school work as well. In math both groups will be doing ratio and
percent as well as some geometry.
A visual novel will be studied as part of media literacy unit in language
arts. Science classes will deal with energy conservation while the class has
been learning about patterns in physical geography. Physical education pe-
riods will involve the study of nutrition, and the participation in three-
pitch softball and track and field.
Grade 7/8
May is a busy month for this class. Two members participated in the
Chess tournament at Stephen Central: Adam Wilson won first and Ryan
Gibson won second. They also were event leaders and team captains for
the school's afternoon of games from other countries.
Tim Angerman, a former McCurdy student gave everyone an interesting
presentation on the history of Yugoslavia, as an introduction to his experi-
ences as a Blue Beret weapons technician in Bosnia during the past six
months.
They had interesting and informative tour of the Bluewater Reycling fa-
cilities as a fallow -up of their Green Kid Club activities.
CLN class
The CLN class has been very pleased to have Chantelle Crabe with them
for five weeks. She is completing the DSW course at Georgian College.
The Grand Bend Alhambra goup has very kindly donated a new dryer to
their room this month. Last year they donated a computer and custom
made adjustable table. The class is very grateful for their support.
Students have been learning to tell time and working diligently in their
booklets.
Library Resource Centre
The Library Resource Centre were very fortunate to have Mary Alice
Downie, author of many books, visit their Library Resource Ccntre in
April. The students enjoyed hearing some of her stories and poetry. Ms.
Downie answered many questions about writing and being an author.
Since her visit, students have been reading more of her books and using
her suggestions in their own writing.
Another focus for all students has been using computers to access infor-
mation and to communicate. The younger students have been learning to
access and run different programs on the computers. They have also been
learning to use CD Rom by reading CD storybooks.
The Exeter community came out in force to help the Ex-
eter
xeter and Area Fire Department raise money on Saturday
morning. The annual event brings In funds to help the
department purchase 'a needed pled of firefighting
equipment.
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Several Klrktof
Brownies flew up toy,
Guides at a recent:
ceremony. At !eft;':
front row from !eft}'
are: Whitney Rohs ..
fritsch, Samantha;
Richardson, Jen*
Martin and Manor,*
Brinke. Back row:
Brown Owl, Ruthanne.
Osgood, Junior Lead
er Heather Harde
man, Erin Robinson;
Lindsey Rundle, Beth;
Armstrong, Diane Da=..
men, Brenna Osgood
and Junior Leader'
Lindsay Holdsworth.
YOU WON'T FIND
BEATER VALUES
ANYWHERE
EXCELLENT SELECTION - FANTASTIC SAVINGS
Timms
FLOOR
MODEL
Very rarely will you find
top quality furniture at pric-
es like these, but we have
to make room for our new
stock. We've drastically re-
duced the prices on sofas,
chairs, sofa -beds, dining
room sets, bedroom
suites... everything! These
floor models and discontin-
ued stock must be cleared
out. Most are one of a
kind, so hurry.
20,0 5�'°
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