Good afternoon, Ian Bazalgette Community.
Please see important information for this week, and the School News.
Halloween
This coming Thursday marks both Halloween and Diwali, the festival of lights. Both occasions are opportunities to "light up the darkness" in fun and safe ways, while recognizing that school continues to be a place of learning.
The student leadership team is planning to host a costume contest at lunch hour in the gym on October 31. Participation is optional and all are welcome. Categories will be announced to students in class on Monday.
To honour our commitment to a safe, inclusive, and caring learning environment, students who wish to dress up are reminded to avoid the following things when choosing a halloween costume:
- face masks
- props imitating weapons
- costumes that portray cultural stereotypes or demean someone's identity in any way (for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8 )
- anything overtly sexual, extremely gory, or hateful
Thank you for your support!
CBE Fall Break
Just a reminder of the upcoming Non-Instructional Day, November 8, & the Fall Break, November 11 – 13 (inclusive).
If your family has planned to extend the Fall Break to include school instructional days November 14 & 15, please let us know by sending us an email with the following information as soon as possible:
Student’s Full Name:
Grade:
Students Leaving Early from School Procedures
Please familiarize yourselves and your student with the procedure for students leaving school early.
- Parent writes and sends a note with their child.
- Student is fully responsible for showing the note to the teacher and leaving a few minutes before parent is to pick-up.
- Student goes to the office, hand in the note to staff, and sign out.
- Student waits quietly for parent to arrive for arranged pickup.
- Parent arrives, rings buzzer, identifies themselves, reason for arrive and name of who they are picking up. Waits outside for student to be sent out.
- Student meets parent outside of school.
Breakfast Offering at the School
We are excited to announce that starting Monday, October 28, our school will be offering a free breakfast each morning starting at 7:40-7:55 am in the bistro. This will provide students with a nutritious start to their day, ensuring they are ready to focus and learn. Breakfast will only be available before school at the time designated.
Additionally, due to concerns about excessive waste and garbage in the classrooms, we will no longer be offering snacks in the classrooms during the day. This change will help us keep our learning spaces clean and focused on academic activities. Snacks will still be available at lunch through our lunch offerings.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Dressing for the Fall Weather
With the incredible weather we have been having it is hard to believe it is Fall. However, we know that Fall weather is approaching, and students need to be prepared for changing weather. Please ensure your child is dressed in layers to support the outdoor learning and lunch opportunities we offer each day. This is a great time to remind all students to swing by the lost and found to find those items they left outdoors during a warm lunch break.
School Fees
School fees for Term 1/Semester 1 option/complementary course fees have been applied to the students accounts in MyCBE.
Please pay as soon as possible.
More information about school fees can be found here. For information about Fee Waivers and the requirements are located here.
Remembrance Day Assemblies
We will observe Remembrance Day at Baz on Thursday, November 7.
Two assemblies will be held on this day in the main gym: Grade 7/8 classes at 10:00am, and Grade 9 classes at 11:00am. Community members are welcome to attend either assembly.
Slide Show: We are still accepting photos of family members who have served their country to add to our veterans' slide show. Please send a digital copy of your photo to Ms Shurvell at ajshurvell@cbe.ab.ca, along with their name and relationship to your Baz student.
Colour Guard: We are also looking for students who are part of a service organization such as Scouts, Police Cadets, or Military Cadets to make up our colour guard procession for the assembly. If your student is a member of one of these, please have them sign up with Ms. Shurvell in room 210.
Steven Pike
Principal
Ian Bazalgette Junior High School
Ian Bazalgette Newsletter Oct. 28 - Nov. 1
See Related Information for more links.
School Student Fees
The availability of rich learning opportunities that your child will experience this year depends on the collection of school fees. All applicable fees are available to view and pay online through MyCBE Account. Payments may also be made in cash, debit card, or credit card in person at our Main Office. Families that would like to set up a longer-term fee payment plan are encouraged to contact our Main Office (slditlof@cbe.ab.ca). Term 1/Semester 1 option/complementary course fees have been applied to the students accounts in MyCBE.
Please pay as soon as possible.
Student Photos/ID
Our photography partners at Lifetouch will return on November 4 for student photo. retakes.
Student Services
Career Fair at James Fowler | Oct. 30
See James Fowler's website for more information.
Parental Requests for Medical or Psychological Assessment Forms
Parents’ requests for completion of rating scales, assessment forms or other health, learning or psychology related forms must be accompanied by an Obtaining of Dependent Student Information and Releasing of Dependent Student Information forms as well as a Consent to Email form. Please send all requests to Student Services (talmiller@cbe.ab.ca) and once the appropriate forms are received, the documents will be completed by teachers and returned to the appropriate people. If you completed these forms last year you will still need to complete them again this year, as a new form must be signed each year.
Forms can be picked up in the main office or email Tanya Miller (talmiller@cbe.ab.ca) to request them to be sent via email.
What's Happening In… ?
Research on best adolescent learning has shown importance must be given to creating curricular learning tasks that bring independent ideas and facts together under larger unified concepts - showing how what we learn applies to the world. This year, we will be trisecting the year under three conceptual lenses, using Niitsitapi values (Blackfoot Nation; Piikani, Kainai, Siksika) as guiding thoughts. These big ideas include being aware of the environment though observation, that our universe often contains balance, and that we should aim to transfer what we know to others.
- Kakyosin | Be aware of your environment; be observant
- Aoahkannaistokawa | Everything comes in pairs (balance)
- Pommotsiiysinni | To transfer something to others
Grade 7
ELA
READING – Grade seven students will continue novel studies from one of three novels; Front Desk, The Barren Grounds and The Shape of Lost Things (the Grade 7 classes are studying different novels). One set of classes will explore characterization and how the main character’s perspective affects the meaning and the plot of a text. Another set of classes will continue to use group discussion and critical thinking skills to explore their novel. All students will engage in word work this week and a list of Word Study Sort will go home for review this week.
WRITING – Students will also continue to develop their expository essay with special focus on the paragraph structure. They will continue self-edit and peer-edit their drafts using a checklist and rubric.
SCIENCE
Students learned about the different processes of the water and carbon cycles. Ask your child about the different parts of each cycle. This week, students will further develop their understanding of bioaccumulation and biomagnification by engaging in a simulation activity.
Our school has been given a wonderful opportunity to attend a National Geographic Live Student Presentation to Nalini Nadkarni: Roots to Canopy on November 18. Students will be bringing home a Parent & Guardian Letter as well as a Consent and Acknowledgement of Risk Form on Monday. This form will need to be returned to your child's science teacher by Thursday.
MATH
Students will continue to work on integers and descriptive vocabulary to help design integer tasks.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Students are currently learning about the social and economic structure of the Anishinaabe, Mi'kmaq, and Haudenosaunee. Students will be completing a mapping assignment where they identified traditional territories of the three groups along with an understanding of how geography influenced their lives before European Contact.
Help Rooms
ELA
English language arts support for all grades on Monday and Wednesday, in room 211.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies support Mondays at lunch in the portables. Students can use this time to work on completing their work, ask for clarification, catch up on something they may have missed, etc.
MATH
Math support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 202.
SCIENCE
Science support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 110.
Grade 8
ELA
READING – A set of grade eight students will begin the novel, Refuge by Alan Gratz. They will explore oral discussion strategies to build our understanding of the plot. These strategies include questioning, summarizing, and describing visual imagery. Another group of grade eight students will use critical and creative thinking skills to complete the wordless novel titled The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Students have been challenged this past week by having to construct a narrative from only images. At the end of the week, they will work on creating a visual reflection on the story of immigration told in the novel, The Arrival. Group discussion will precede this activity.
WRITING - Students will continue to develop their expository writing skills. They will use a flow chart to ensure their paragraphs are structured appropriately. They will engage in peer discussions before attempting each supporting paragraph. Each student will self-assess their writing with an outcome-based rubric and then have a one-on- one writing conference with their teacher.
SCIENCE
Students have been learning about viscosity and flow rate. This week they will further investigate the relationship between density and buoyancy. They will also look at calculating the density of different substances.
MATH
Students will continue to review and explore multiplying and dividing integers.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Grade 8 students are currently working on their medieval cartoons where they will be using their knowledge of medieval times to create a cartoon. Students will be exposed to exemplars before attempting this activity on their own. They will end the week completing a quiz centered around the major areas of study in the last month.
Help Rooms
ELA
English language arts support for all grades on Monday and Wednesday, in room 211.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies support Mondays at lunch in the portables. Students can use this time to work on completing their work, ask for clarification, catch up on something they may have missed, etc.
MATH
Math support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 202.
SCIENCE
Science support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 110.
Grade 9
ELA
READING – Grade nine students will continue to work on reading comprehension activities such as providing evidence-based responses around the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. This activity was left incomplete this past week.
WRITING - Students will continue to work on supporting paragraphs of an explanatory essay and will be supported by flow charts to help with structuring and graphic organizers for managing content. Table discussion of peers regarding content for supporting paragraphs will precede writing. Students will fill in graphic organizers as a group and then work individually on writing each paragraph. Students will engage in word work activities and complete a vocabulary graphic organizer.
SCIENCE
Students are investigating the physical properties of the elements on the periodic table. We're working on assignments related to researching and understanding the functions and uses of elements on the periodic table. We are also going to be doing a polymers lab on October 31.
MATH
Students will begin exploring polynomials by reviewing important vocabulary and previously learned concepts.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Students will continue to develop knowledge of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) through guided note taking, class discussion, political cartoons, and multiple case studies. Students will examine different perspectives on youth justice and are striving to develop their own opinions on whether the justice system is fair and equitable for youths in Canada.
Help Rooms
ELA
English language arts support for all grades on Monday and Wednesday, in room 211.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Social Studies support Mondays at lunch in the portables. Students can use this time to work on completing their work, ask for clarification, catch up on something they may have missed, etc.
MATH
Math support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 202.
SCIENCE
Science support for all grades on Tuesday and Thursday, in room 110.
Complementary Courses
What’s happening in Computer Science?
Q: What do you get when you cross a computer and a life guard? Answer:
A screensaver!
In their fourth week of October, Computer Science students continued to design their “Nightmare before Christmas” image build. Students began sharing their projects with peers and teacher. Students learned to save and upload their files within the google accounts, they will then transition into Adobe Animate to convert their builds into animation.
Looking into November, students in Computer Science will continually complete independent work in the following four areas: 3D printing, Coding, Designing. Students will be learning how to 3D print and create their own gadgets. Students will experience guided design projects based off the processes that real-world professionals go through every day.
What’s happening in Foods?
This week in Foods, we continued our Baking Unit. We discussed gluten, the gluten free diet and celiac disease. Gluten is the protein found in various wheat products, such as durum, kamut, spelt, rye, barley and
triticale. We discussed gluten free products as well. Gluten free products include: potato, rice, soy, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, nut, or bean flour, sorghum, chickpea, arrowroot, and corn flour, to name a few.
This week in the kitchen:
Students made Cinnamon Crescent Croissants. They blended a buttery mixture of cinnamon, brown sugar and cinnamon and they topped their dough with this delicious spread. The room smelled amazing, and the students had fun making this quick and easy recipe!
What’s happening in Drama and Leadership?
Drama
This week in Drama students will be working towards finalizing their puppet projects. Students will finish writing and editing their story scripts and begin rehearsing as a group to establish a cohesive performance.
Leadership
This week in Leadership we will be wrapping up our Public Speaking presentations and preparing for upcoming school events. Students will sign up for jobs for Halloween and for the Remembrance Day assembly, as well as for maintaining bulletin boards and displays around the school.
What’s happening in Construction?
Grade 7
Grade 7s are completing their second set project.
Grade 8 and 9s
Students are working on their design and create projects. Grades are being uploaded weekly as projects are wrapping up and students are completing their self-reflections. This year’s favorite project is chess boards and pieces, followed closely by the ever-popular cutting boards.
What’s happening in Art?
Grade 7
Grade 7 students will finish up working with oil pastels and begin to learn about perspective and value working towards creating an optical illusion art piece.
Grade 8 & 9
Grade 8 and 9 art students will begin planning their collaborative mosaic art painting project by choosing their group members and beginning to decide the art piece they would like to work with.
Physical Education & Intramurals
Physical Education
We are continuing to have some PE classes outdoors. All students need to dress appropriately for the weather.
Classes will continue working through Handball, Cricket, Field Hockey, Floor Hockey and Golf units.
School Intramurals
Basketball Intramural Sign-up will be posted this week! We are looking to have a girls’ league and a boys’ league to promote more students getting involved.