Garden Buddies Get a Head Start!

We really dug into the dirt yesterday as we investigated what soil is and how it’s made.  We found out that while all soil is comprised of 4 main elements: minerals, water, air and organic material, it’s structure varies greatly depending on the proportions of each of these elements.  Simply by feeling 4 different types of soil (forest loam, garden loam, clay soil and sandy soil) the students were able to quickly determine which two soils plants would thrive in and why.  Not only do the forest and garden soils feel lighter, softer, and full of organic material, they also smell better!  Students even noticed little critters happily scurrying about in these two soils. 

Since much of our soil in B.C. is forest soil, we studied the soil layers found under our forest floor, and we also learned that only about 5% of the land in B.C. is suitable for growing crops.  This makes our farmland a precious and yet disappearing resource.  Our Grade 4 students have already participated in the process of making new soil by composting garden refuse so they know first hand just how long it takes to make quality new soil.  We discussed how all life on earth depends upon the health of our soil and how we should treat our top soil like the pure gold it is!

Winter Carnival Proceeds to Support Covenant House

In December, the Grade 7 class went to Covenant House to help sort out donations. Covenant House is an organization that helps youth aged 16-24 who don’t have a home or family to take care of them. All the money collected from the carnival will help Covenant House with their expenses and what they need in order to support the youth they help.

If you weren't able to attend our carnival, or if you want to relive the fun-filled day, keep reading . . .

As I walk through the gym doors, I see a million different colours. Basketballs are flying crazily through the  air and then being chased. Kids are playing games, their pockets stuffed with candy and a cookie in their hands. Everybody is excited and can’t wait to try every activity. The photo booth has Christmas lights strung from a piano bench, the ice fishing station has a green screen and a fishing pole to take pictures with.

People are singing along to the Disney music. Everything looks like a lot of fun and the money that is being brought in is all going towards Covenant Houses’ new building. Right when you walk in, you see a beautifully decorated booth with bowls of multi-coloured icing and rainbow sprinkles. The vibrant reds and greens of the toppings look perfect when layered on top of a tasty sugar cookie. When I look the other way, I see people throwing basketballs and a  line a mile long with kids waiting patiently for a chance to shoot the balls and get a candy cane reward. Behind that, there is another station with kids standing in front of it. They are holding poles with strings and a magnet on the end. As I look closer, I see a kid pull up his pole and triumphantly take a little fish off the end; the ice fishing booth looks exciting.

Across from that, the snowflake booth has little white pieces of paper strewn all over their table and kids are laughing while they cut out different kinds of snowflakes. At the back of the gym, there are tennis balls and soccer balls, tunnels and tables all set up into an obstacle course. Kids are throwing, running, and jumping with others cheering them on. Finally, in the back corner, there are camera flashes and people holding silly props against their faces to give them a moustache or a funny pair of glasses. There is a black background and Christmas decorations around the bench. All of the booths have a fun and exciting look to them and every little detail makes it look like the perfect Winter Carnival.

Fly Me to the Moon!

In Science class, we are studying the solar system and its planets. We have researched and written about many different planets in the solar system. This has been interesting because we have learned that planets are similar but can have so many different features, such as moons, rings and more.

Once we learned a good chunk of information about our planets, we went to the H.R. MacMillan Space Center to learn more about our universe. One highlight of our field trip was shooting homemade pop bottle rockets two stories high. We pumped air into the bottles to create pressure, and then pulled the trigger to release the bottles, which sent them flying.

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Another highlight was the show ‘Planet Hunters’. We learned that to find the materials of a planet's atmosphere, you look at the light that is reflected from that planet. Some colours will be missing in a certain pattern for each element that is there. This field trip helped us to learn about the space outside of Earth’s atmosphere.

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In conclusion, the Grade Six class had a wonderful time being entertained by the HR MacMillan Space Centre staff.

Written by Grade Six students.

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“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky”

Last December 6th, 2017, our Grade 7 class had the opportunity to visit Covenant House’s donation room on Drake St. in downtown Vancouver. There we helped sort through the many donations that Covenant House received for the holiday season. There were so many donations to go through, that we were told to be very picky and only keep the items that we would use ourselves.

Before going to Covenant House, we all had some ideas about what Covenant House was. We thought of it as a place to accommodate homeless youth and help get them off the streets. We thought of it as an outreach program that gives youth aged 16-24 food, clothes, and education and job opportunities.

After about one and a half hours of sorting through donations, we had some new thoughts about Covenant House and the donations that they received. Here are some of the things we learned and thought:

“Right now, Covenant House has 58 beds and they aren’t at max capacity!”

“People donate many things that are of no use or are bad quality.”

“A lot of people are in need and we need to help them.”

“So. Many. Donations.”

“They are very picky when it comes to keeping clothes.”

“Covenant House helps other charities by giving those charities the things that they do not need.”

“I know after visiting Covenant House that they treat homeless people to the best of their ability.”

“Sometimes, it’s good to be picky.”

“Donations affect everyone.”

As we begin the year 2018, let us remember to be generous and think of those in our communities that need our help.
 

The Kindness Project

As part of the Grade One unit on "Helping Each Other as Friends and as Learners,"the students were inspired to share their learning with others.  As a class they came up with the idea of doing a "Kindness Project." For this "Kindness Project," they thought it would be good to share a little kindness with our local community.  Thus, on Thursday, December 21st, the students were divided into small groups and stationed at different places on Dunbar Street. They handed out candy canes to pedestrians and shared a special "kindness" message written by each one of them. The purpose of this “Kindness Project” was twofold: to teach people that we value kindness in our world and to spread some Christmas cheer.

The students shared this small act of kindness with over 200 people on that day.  Examples of some the statements given by the pedestrians were: "We need a lot more of this in our world," "My heart grew so big today," "Each kindness message is important and beautiful."  The students were happy and excited to be a part of something so special.  One of the students stated that "my heart has grown 1000 times bigger today!" This feeling of happiness was shared by all that participated.

Remember that when you share kindness with someone you "make them colourful".

The Grade One students sure made a lot of people colourful on that day and now you can go and do the same!

Grade 6 bakes for Chalice

The Grade Six class held a bake sale mid December to raise money for Chalice. Chalice is a Catholic charity that supports community initiatives in 15 countries through the sponsorship of children and elderly in need. ICS has a personal connection with Chalice, as almost every year, we are visited by Deacon Ron, who works with many of these communities and shares their stories with us through pictures, video clips and artifacts from their communities. We look forward to his visit in January 2018. 

Chalice has been recognized by MoneySense Magazine as one of the best run Canadian Charities for the past six years and we are proud to be putting our efforts into supporting the needs of those less fortunate than us. If you wish to learn more about Chalice, please visit their website: chalice.ca. 
 
The Grade 6s say, most enthusiastically, "Thank you for your generous support"!

UBC Math Department Students Visit Grades Six & Seven

In October, the Grades Six and Seven classes of ICS had some UBC students visit and lead us in an educational math workshop. In the workshop we were separated into five groups, each group had five ICS students and one UBC student .  We were all given a sheet with a lot of difficult word problems, then the groups had to solve as many of the questions together with the help of the UBC student.  We all enjoyed working with the enthusiastic UBC students so much.  

The feedback from Grades Six and Seven was overwhelmingly positive. Read on for some student quotes….

“It was very helpful, and the students helped my group and I understand the questions.  It was a very good experience.”

“I thought it was very generous for the UBC students to come to ICS. And it was interesting how they thought through the math problems.”

“It really pushed us to the limits, and we really had to think of the problem carefully.”

“It was a good chance to practice word problems.”

"It was really challenging.”

"It was fun, some of the questions were pretty challenging.”

“There was a math question that was pretty challenging, and one person got it.”

"I really enjoyed doing the math questions with my group, the UBC student helping us really made us think and understand the question thoroughly.”

Written By Grade Six Students

Kindergarten creates sock gift bags

Thank you so much for all the warm winter socks you recently contributed to our class collection. The Kindergarten students created the gift bags pictured here, which were distributed to needy recipients at St. Albans church throughout December. The guests at the cold weather shelter this past weekend were very grateful for these gifts.
 
Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
From the ICS Kindergarten Class

Lest We Forget . . .

November 11th marks the day World War I ended. Ever since that day we have taken part in Remembrance Day to honour of those soldiers who gave up their lives for our freedom and peace. At ICS, we remembered those soldiers who fought for our country by having a Remembrance Procession and Ceremony as well as presentations by the Grade Four and Five classes on important historical events in Canada’s military past.

We began the ceremony with a video that highlighted the actions of Canada’s military in the past. This was followed by the singing of O Canada and the school motto. Next, the Grade Fours presented poster boards on the many battles that Canada has participated in and the sacrifices made by our soldiers. After that, the Grade Five students gave a presentation about the important contributions that animals have made to the war effort. For example, the United States Sergeant Stubby, a Brindle Bull Terrier mutt that was found and served as the official mascot of the 102nd Infantry Regiment. He served for eighteen months and participated in seventeen battles. There were also many other examples like horses, cats, pigeons, bunnies who played a role in comforting and serving our soldiers.

The ceremony also included many traditions like playing “The Last Post”, laying of a wreath, a moment of silence, and the poem “In Flanders Fields”.

As we acknowledged and recognized in our school, Remembrance Day is a very important day here and around the world. Next year will mark the 100th year since World War I ended and I wonder how Canada will mark this important anniversary?

Written by A Grade 7 Student

Hear ye! Hear ye! The IC Times!

We are excited to announce that we have a new club at Immaculate Conception - the Newspaper club. 

The first edition of The IC Times was published at the beginning of December, under the guidance of Grade 5 teacher Mr Formosa, and the editor in chief is Daniel G (Grade 7 student). Many students, from Grade 4 to 7, contributed articles ranging from culture and literature to what the various classes have been up to in the past few months, and a feature story on Christmas traditions.

Enjoy!