Hello, folks! Here’s hoping the Victoria Day long weekend provided you with some time to have some fun and get some rest. We’re in the final swing of things as May only has two weeks left and then, BOOM! It’s June. Here’s what’s happening:

AVI3O – Grade 9 Art: Students will finish their printmaking this week. Some of the relief blocks are looking awesome. It will be great to have them printed, matted, and framed for everyone else to enjoy. This will be followed with the Independent Study studio unit. For this assignment, students will have to:

• Choose an art style or art period, (i.e. post-modern, cubism, modern photography, etc.)
• Choose a medium for their work, (i.e. acrylic, clay, watercolour, etc.)
• Create an artistic statement: What do they want to accomplish?
• Design and complete a piece of studio work covering the above points
• Provide a self-reflection/art criticism for their piece

Finally, students are reminded to check with me this week to ensure all other work is completed and caught up. This includes the Art History Presentation Project from a few weeks back.

ENG1D – Grade 9 English: We are about halfway through “The Merchant of Venice” and I am confident that most students are understanding the play. First, let’s talk about resources. I am encouraging students to take some time to ensure they understand the plot, conflict, characters, and themes that are revealed within the play. To help, remember to check out Sparknotes – “The Merchant of Venice” and No Fear Shakespeare – “The Merchant of Venice”. We will continue having class discussions about each act. Students are responsible for creating notes as we forge ahead. There will also be a short quiz this week on Acts 1 and 2.

NBV3E – Grade 11 Aboriginal Beliefs and Values: The class is enjoying “The Rez Sisters”, which is what I expected. We are in the middle of the play now, which is the point where students start connecting with some of the characters and their actions. We have covered some pretty deep, powerful, and emotional topics. We are going to continue working through the play and I will be providing students with some short activities to help build an appreciation for the messages that the playwright, Tomson Highway, is trying to communicate.

The final culminating project for this class will be handed out next week. This project involves creating and organizing a series of events for National Aboriginal Day. It has several parts to it, so I want to ensure students have a fair amount of time to complete the work.

That’s it for this update. Progress Report #2, the final one, will be provided to students on Friday, May 22. Otherwise, if you have any questions or contacts, please let me know!

Enjoy your week.

ENG1D Grade 9 English students have begun conquering Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” For most students, this is the first time a play of this size and difficulty has been tackled. Students in the class, though, are doing an awesome job.  

The unit involves class discussions covering interpretations and analyses of what’s going on, a study of plot, characters, and themes, and an understanding of plays. 

Should be good!

A quick update for this week!

AVI3O Grade 11 Art Students have completed, (or are VERY close to completing) their sculpture works. The display cabinet outside of the art room looks awesome with the sculptures that are displayed. The masks that are almost done are looking awesome, too. In the meantime, students are working on an Art History Presentation Project.

ENG1D Grade 9 English Stduents have completed their Poetry Books. These are being assessed and evaluated and I will add some pictures and copies of poems to a gallery on the page soon. We have also started our study of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”. Students will begin learning how to make sense of Shakespeare by doing an analysis of sections of text to make meaning. Here are a couple of resources for students:

• ENG 1D – Merchant of Venice – Introduction PowerPoint
• No Fear Shakespeare – “The Merchant of Venice”

Students will also learn some background information in this unit, both in terms of Shakespeare’s life and our modern world. The first project is on Global Genocide Issues. The project can be found here: ENG 1D – Merchant of Venice – Genocide Project

NBV3E Grade 11 Aboriginal Beliefs and Values had a session with Lisa Tobin, the Addictions Counselor for the ThunderBird Friendship Centre, yesterday. This is in the midst of our study of “The Rez Sisters,” where we are about a quarter of the way through the play.

As always, have a great week and let me know if you have questions, comments, or concerns!