Battle of Seven Oaks

Murray Peterson a local historian came in to talk to the class about the differences between 1850 and today. He discussed how our world has changed and how in some ways it has stayed the same. Here is a list of some of connections the students made about this discussion:

1850 - 2013

no iPods or technology in the 1800's

no cars - they used kayaks, canoes, or walked

buildings - they used to live in teepees, and log cabins

recycling is different

clothing - no zippers - back then buttons

population - now there is 7 billion

More mega cities today

food - how we get the food, how we make it and how we prepare it

back then winter was the vacation time - easier to get around on the rivers

summer was time for working - hunting, gardening, prepping for winter

Murray also talked about the "Battle of Seven Oaks" and how pemmican was a valuable asset in the 1800's. So much so, that people were willing to go to war over the control and the sale of pemmican.

Explorer Idol

Today we watched "Explorer Idol" by Canadiana Musical Theatre. This theatre group comes to us from British Columbia and presented a fun filled, rock and roll view of the various explorers who discovered Canada.

"Before the world was mapped, explorers set out to discover new worlds - to boldly go where no one had gone before. If they succeeded, they became the idols of their age - lauded by kings, queens and commoners alike. Explorer Idol introduces six of the greatest Canadian explorers. With music styled after "The British Invasion." William Bligh, James Cook and George Vancouver are the house band. It's a life and death contest to find out which of the six historical celebrities can discover the elusive Northwest Passage first. The explorers were: Jean Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Captain Cook, David Thompson, Alexander Mackenzie and John Franklin. A final vote found David Thompson to be Canada's Greatest Explorer."
You can visit the Canadiana Musical Theatre website here.

Click here to watch a preview video that gives you a taste of what it is all about.

7 Billion People

Mme Eyjolfson has been talking about how the world has changed since the time of the voyageurs in the 1800. The world population at that time was 1 billion. In October 2011, the world population reached 7 billion. Today our class watched a National Geographic video which tells a little about how the world has changed: population, where we live, mega cities, technology etc. We also discussed that the life expectancy of a person in 1800 would have been 40-50 years old and today it is 75-80 years old.

Please click on the following link to watch the video: National Geographic video

Here is a cool website that talks about the world's population: Population

Atlas GéoCircus

On January 23, the grade 5 students attended a play at the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Centre entitled GéoCircus. This one man show features: Atlas - a world traveller and juggler. If you want to learn more about circus and geography, just take a quick trip around the world with Atlas GeoCircus! Atlas also provided us with information about how to save water.

You can find out more at the following website: http://atlasgeocircus.com/fr/

Helping Others at Christmas Time

Thank you to all the parents and students who gave so generously to our adopt-a-family project. We have enabled a family to celebrate Christmas and in return we all feel joy in knowing that we have helped a family in need. Thank you to the teachers who will be delivering the hampers to each family today and tomorrow!

Today, our grade 5 students went to the Christmas Cheerboard to help pack boxes for hampers. They packed 350 boxes. Way to go! In addition, they brought 2 boxes of donated food and all the mittens, scarves and hats from our mitten tree.

At our holiday concerts on Wednesday & Thursday, we will be collecting non-perishable items for the Cheerboard.

These projects provided the staff and students of École Assiniboine the opportunity to participate and feel the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Adopt a Family

Grade 4/5 room 11, grade 4 room 12 and grade 5 room 22 have decided to participate in the Adopt-a-Family program. We will keep an updated list of what we have received. Here is a list of the items we need/have for the family:
Items Needed	How many we need	Items received so far
Bread	4 loaves - DONE
Cake Mix	1 box	1 box - DONE
Candy	1.5 lbs	2 bag - DONE
Cereal	2 large boxes	2 boxes - DONE
Chips	3 bags	4 bags - DONE
Cookies	3 pkgs.	1 pkg.
Cranberry Sauce	3 cans	3 cans - DONE
Eggs	3 doz.	1 doz.
Fruit	4 cans	4 cans - DONE
Jam or Honey	3 jars	3 jars - DONE
Jelly Powder	3 pkgs.	3 pkgs. - DONE
Juice	2L	2 L - DONE
Milk	6L	4 L
Nuts	3 cans
Oatmeal	3 pkgs.	3 pkgs. - DONE
Onions	1 med. bag	1 bags - DONE
Pancake Mix	3 pkgs.	3 pkgs. - DONE
Pancake Syrup	1 reg. bottle	1 bottle - DONE
Pasta	3 pkgs.	5 pkgs. - DONE
Pasta Sauce	3 cans	3 jars - DONE
Peanut Butter	3 jars	3 jars - DONE
Potatoes	10 lb bag	1 bags - DONE
Pudding	3 pkgs.	4 pkgs. -  DONE
Rice	3 pkgs.	2 pkgs. -
Margarine	1 med.	1 pkg. DONE
Gravy	3 cans/pkgs.	3 pkgs. - DONE
Crackers	2 boxes	2 boxes -  DONE
Soup	4 cans	6 cans -  DONE
Sugar	3 kg.	3kg - DONE
Tea or Coffee	3 pkgs.	1 pkg.
Tuna/Salmon	4 cans	5 cans - DONE
Turkey	15-17 lbs.	1 Turkey - DONE
Vegetables	4 cans	6 cans - DONE

We have also received: hamburger helper, granola bars, 3 cans of beans in tomato sauce, box of stuffing, can of ham, 2 boxes of Kraft Dinner, box of oranges,
GIFTS: a stuffed toy, lots of play dough, play dough tools, 2 slap rockets, 1 ball, 2 Rubik's cubes, 1 box of marker/ drawing paper, books, Sweater for each child, Lego X2, doll, Candles & holder for the parents

Upcoming Activities & Events

Tis the season....

Our class will be participating in many activities during the next two weeks. Here is a reminder of some dates and events.

Monday December 10 - French for Life presentation - we will learn why French is important and how we are lucky to learn a second language

Tuesday December 11 - Choir singing at Golden West Centennial Lodge from 10:00 - 11:30 am

Thursday December 13 - Special lunch to thank Patrols & Gérants de Conflits for their hard work

Monday December 17 - Grade 5 students will help pack hampers at the Christmas Cheer Board from 12:30 - 2:30 pm

Wednesday December  19  - Kindergarten and Grade 1 Holiday Concert at 1:00 & 6:30 pm

Thursday December 20 -  Grade 2 & 3 Holiday Concert at 1:00 & 6:30 pm

Friday December 21 - Last day of school  - We will have our mug exchange and hot chocolate party in the morning and go bowling at St. James lanes in the afternoon. Let me know if you would like to join us for one or both of these events!