OUR AMAZING TEACHERS
Highlight on Middle School
We would like to take this opportunity to recognize our teachers Ms. Solilo and Ms. Moss, who teach middle school grades at The Oxford School. They have shared a glimpse into their exciting online learning experiences so far with grades 4, 5 and 6.
Mrs. SOLILO - Grade 4/5
Our amazing group of Grade 4 and 5 students have been busy establishing new, at home learning routines. I am so proud of the way we have worked together to meet our individual needs. We have supported each other through some rough patches of being overwhelmed as well as many great celebrations and accomplishments. Our most recent learning tasks include structured spelling and grammar practice and conquering a variety of fraction and decimal concepts. We are also exploring some personal interests with our self selected novel study and a research biography project about an influential Canadian. Just as impressive we have established at home recess! During these past few weeks we have been missing our social interaction time so we thought it would be great to set two “recess” breaks a week where any of our classmates who are available can log into our scheduled group Hangout chat. We enjoy seeing each other, meeting each others’ pets and sharing what we have been up to, in a socially appropriate way during this time away from class. Social interaction with our peers is vital to our mental well being. It has been great to see that we are not alone. School is a place for learning, building friendships and sharing experiences and we are so blessed that we can still do all of these together even though our building is closed temporarily.
Mrs. Moss - Grade 5/6
The grade 5/6 class has done a fantastic job of transitioning to online learning over the last 6 weeks; we acknowledge that it didn’t happen overnight, but are thrilled with the routines we have established at this point. While our classroom may look different now, our heart, perseverance and determination are stronger than ever. We have continued to keep up personal connections with activities such as weekly Zoom sessions, where we play trivia and Scattergories, create our own celebratory spirit days where we work in our house colours, and tune in for Thursday “movie nights” that we enjoy from the comfort of our own couches.
Academically, we have successfully completed many new units online and the outcomes have been nothing short of amazing. There is still so much learning, effort and hard work happening at home. Teaching and learning online has forced us to become creative and adaptive, and we have been able to cover so much content with interactive Google Slides activities and educational learning videos. We finished a novel study, completed an entire order of operations math unit, and are starting a fractions unit.
In science, we have started a unit on the solar system. Up to this point, we have covered planets, the sun, and most recently, the moon and moon phases.
As a teacher, I am trying to create fun, meaningful experiences for our students to try at home. Take a minute to enjoy “Moments with the Moss’s - Episode 8: Oreo Moon Phases,” where we learn about why the moon looks different from one night to the next and what causes these phases. Watch the video below, print the optional PDF (download here), and grab a package of Oreos. Science never tasted so good!
For more information on the moon and moon phases, check out the following links:
Outer Space: “Time to Shine” Moon Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i235Y2HRksA
Why Does The Moon Change?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXe0yxzYkjo
Moon Phases Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkvlrWpsnuQ