There are 17 different kinds of penguins.  Some penguins live in Antarctica where it is cold.  Some live near the equator where it is warmer.  Here are our Top 5 facts about penguins.

1. Penguins eat fish, squid and krill from the frigid ocean water. They preen their feathers so they don’t get wet when they swim.
2. Male Emperor penguins toboggan on their bellies with the egg in their brood pouch.
3. Penguins regurgitate food to feed their babies.
4. Did you know that penguins used to fly thousands of years ago?
5. Penguins trumpet to talk to each other.

We found it interesting to learn about penguins.  We hope we inspired you to learn more about penguins too.

-Room 22

I think you must be wondering what’s an owl pellet? If you want to know, keep reading.  Owl pellets are something that owls regurgitate from what they ate.

Owl’s eat their prey full and then throw up the things that their bodies can’t digest.  Owls eat small rodents such as rats, mice, and voles.  You can find many different bones in an owl pellet and fur.

Some people think that owl pellets are gross, but it is really interesting to see the bones of animals an owl has eaten, as well as the animal’s skull and teeth.

Tim, Le & Chloe

On behalf of the students in Room 26

Recently, our third floor community has been having some meaningful conversations about how we can better our relationships with each other and lead healthy lives, during our Genius Hour portion every Day 5. 

During this time, we have also been working on teamwork activities and learning about how to be active leaders.

In our other school subjects, we have been really enjoying our Art & Science classes. In Art, we have been working on looking at the work of Lawren Harris, and his involvement with the Group of Seven (a famous painting group which included Emily Carr!). In this unit, we chose one of his works and are working on recreating his outdoor landscapes. We are enjoying the painting aspect of this activity.

In Science, we started a new unit: Optics! Though we have really enjoyed our Circulatory System unit, Optics has been really interesting so far, and it makes us think about how we perceive things. We like to learn about light, reflection, and vision.

In Social Studies, we are learning about Ancient Greece. We each got to pick a topic relating to Ancient Greece, and we are becoming experts on our topic! We will get to present our learning in a creative and exciting way and inform our classmates about our learning as well. Some topics we have picked and are excited for are: Theatre, Food, the Olympics, Fashion, Women’s Rights, Pottery, and much more! 

In Math, we have been learning about integers. The Grade Sevens are happy learning about subtraction and addition of integers, the Grade Eights get to explore multiplying and dividing integers.  Though sometimes visualizing and modelling integers can be difficult for us, we are steadily moving forward in our learning and are looking forward to progressing further. 

In ELA, we are reading a book which we are really liking. It’s called “The Outsiders”, and it is by S.E. Hinton. It’s about two rival gangs: The Socs and The Greasers. So far we are only about four chapters in, but we’re already guessing about what might happen next and exploring the characters in the book. Mrs. Desrosiers has told us that when we finish the book, we’ll get to have a “Greasers Day”, where we will eat food and dress up! We’re really excited for this opportunity, and a fun way to celebrate our learning!

Also in ELA, we’ve been working on writing essays! This is a first for some of us, but most of our Grade Eights have some experience. We learned about transitional sentences and how they can better our writing. We also figured out how to write a thesis statement, which felt very professional!

Overall, we’ve had a really great month in Junior High and we are looking forward to how the coming weeks will play out. Thanks for reading!

-Miriam & Lily