The Dog Pound...

Snow Shoeing, Sliding, and Skating..

2012-02-06T13:44:00.000-06:00

Last week we took full advantage of the unusual warm weather, and got active by doing the Big Three "S's"... Snow shoeing, Sliding, and Skating! Thank you to all parents who found the time to come and tie skates for us!!!!

Skating...

2012-01-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

As part of our Physical Education Program, we are lucky enough to go skating on Fridays during the month of January. Our first session was a blast, and thank you to all the parents who came and helped tie skates! Hope to see you the next Three Fridays!!

Happy Holidays !!!

2011-12-21T09:35:00.001-06:00

"Made in Manitoba" breakfast...

2011-11-28T15:10:00.001-06:00

Students at Taylor School were treated to a "Made in Manitoba" breakfast last Friday morning. The Made in Manitoba Breakfast program (MIMB) travels across Manitoba feeding breakfast to students and connecting them to where their food comes from. The entire student body enjoyed a Made in Manitoba Breakfast cooked by teachers and volunteers, and served by Manitoba Producers from various sectors. What was on the menu you ask? Flax pancakes, canola margarine and oil, hard boiled eggs, pork sausage, honey, and of course, all were washed down with wholesome chocolate milk.

Before breakfast, students took part in an educational presentation where they explored the agricultural industry. They discovered where their food comes from, and that agriculture produces a lot of non-food products that they use everyday. Students were also introduced to local producers and industry representatives, and had a chance to interact with these producers as they went through the food line. It was truly an agricultural event from beginning to end.

Wow, what a day!!

2011-11-24T10:25:00.001-06:00

Many students commented on what a great day it was yesterday! With unseasonably warm temperatures, the Grade 2's took full advantage and headed over to Jack Brown ball diamond to create some snowmen. The temperature was just right , making the snow nice and sticky. Check out some of our creations!!!!

We Remember...

2011-11-16T10:56:00.001-06:00

On Thursday November 10, students from Taylor School assembled in the gym to pay tribute and remember all who have given their lives in conflicts around the world. A big thank you to Mr. Cliff Gussie and the members of the Royal Canadian Legion who came and participated in our service.

Halloween Poems and Pies 2011

2011-11-03T08:10:00.001-05:00

On Monday morning, parents, grandparents, and friends got into the Halloween spirit by enjoying a wonderful "Poems and Pie" assembly performed by the Grade Two classes. At the completion of the program, parents were invited to stay for lunch and for dessert, yes you guessed it , yummy pie. A big thank you to the pie makers, and of course all the parents who came and enjoyed. A job well done Grade Two !!! We hope those who could not make it, enjoy the this post....

Poems and Pies Videos

2011-11-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

All about Patterns...

2011-10-14T16:19:00.000-05:00

In math class we have been learning about patterns. Repeating patterns, increasing patterns, all kinds of patterns. Check out some of the interesting pattern pictures and patterns we have created!

Harvest Festival - Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-10-09T11:06:00.002-05:00

On Friday October 7 students at Taylor School gathered together to enjoy a "Turkey" lunch with all the trimmings in honor of the Fall Harvest. A huge Thank you goes out to Vernice Eggie for catering, and to all our hard working parents from the P.A.C. for helping serve the feast.What a fantastic way to share in giving thanks to the end of harvest!

Terry Fox Walk 2011

2011-10-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

On Friday September 30 students, staff, family and friends participated in the annual school "Terry Fox" walk for cancer. Blessed with beautiful weather, all enjoyed a 25 minute walk around the Legion Park, all for a great cause- cancer research.

The Leaning Tower Of Oreo!!!

2011-09-30T08:35:00.000-05:00

Towers of OREOS !!!

2011-09-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

That's the way the cookie Tumbles!!!!

2011-09-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

Our class took part in the O.R.E.O. (Our Really Exciting Online) project hosted by Jennifer Wagner from jenuinetech.com. This year's project invited students from all over the world to stack Oreo cookies as high as he or she can and then average the data to achieve a final class result. Students were not allowed to use anything to stabilize or adjust the cookies as they were stacked. The students had a great morning predicting, stacking, counting , tallying, and yes finally getting to eat the Oreo cookies. What amazing "Meaningful Math !" A big thank you to Brianna, Emily, Cassidy,Jaelene, and Colby our Grade Five helpers. It will be interesting to see how Taylor 2B Top Dogs stacked up against the rest of the world.

Welcome to "Grade 2B!"

2011-09-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

A big Top Dog Welcome to all of our new Parents and Top Dogs. We have gotten off to a great start, and it's going to be a wonderful year. Please remember to check in often to find out what is happening in Grade 2B. What a lovely bunch of coconuts !

Twisting by the Pool!!!!

2011-06-22T15:13:00.000-05:00

We are fortunate enough to be able to go swimming three times this summer as a class. Thanks to all parents who were/are able to come and assist in the supervision, without you we would not be able to go!

Tabloid Day Assembly and Canada Day

2011-06-17T15:30:00.000-05:00

Today we had our annual Taylor School Tabloid Day Assembly and Canada Day Birthday Party! Congratulations to all, and in particular to the winning teams. All students showed great sportsmanship and team spirit and we salute you. After the assembly, the entire student body enjoyed a hot dog barbecue, complete with the singing of our national anthem and Happy Birthday to Canada. Did you know Canada is 144 years old this year! Thanks to all the parents who helped with the Canada Day BBQ!

June, June, Glorious June!!!

2011-06-17T10:26:00.000-05:00

The busiest month of the year holds true once again. We have had FIT Week, Tug-o-wars, Fun Festival, Field Trips (Museum, Coop, Credit Union),our annual Tabloid Day, and we still have a few weeks to go!! A great big thank you to those parents who were able to come and join us, your help is greatly appreciated.... Check out this massive slide show.....

Fantastic Friday the 13th...

2011-05-15T20:40:00.098-05:00

Some people say that Friday the 13th is a very unlucky day, but it was far from that for Grade 2B. It started with a fantastic introduction to opera, 'The Brothers Grimm" , performed by the University of Manitoba Opera Theatre. The students thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rumpelstiltskin.

On Friday afternoon , Superintendent of the Swan Valley School Division Marilyn Marquis-Forster, who was on visitation to Taylor School, had the opportunity to join us in the computer lab. Students were working on posting to their personal blogs about the trip to the SVRSS , and were very excited and proud to show what they know about being "Bloggers". Currently signed up for the 30 day Free Trial, students then logged into the DreamBox Learning K-3 site. DreamBox Learning K-3 Math provides a phenomenal level of individualized math instruction. Dynamic adaptations, based not just on answers but on strategies, enable every student to excel. The online learning program lets students work independently, keeping all learners, from struggling to advanced, in their optimal learning zone. It is truly one of the best online math sites that I have come across , fitting in very nicely with our Manitoba Mathematics curriculum outcomes. I'm sure your son/daughter has mentioned this site at home.

Thank you for coming and spending some time with our class!

Walking Trip to SVRSS a Huge Success!

2011-05-09T10:59:00.015-05:00

Thanks to our Grade 12 Blogging Buddies and their teacher Mrs. Ann Barbour-Stevenson for the absolutely wonderful tour through the Regional School. Such a big school, and we did not even get lost , well maybe once , but Mrs. Ann Barbour-Stevenson made sure we held true to the course. Thanks to all of the teachers and students at the Regional who made our morning so much fun!!! Check these out...

Poems- Speech Arts Festival

2011-04-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

Choir- Speech Arts Festival...

2011-04-19T20:58:00.000-05:00

Spirit Week 2011

2011-04-14T13:21:00.002-05:00

After a very fun filled week of activities, Spirit Week 2011 officially came to a close with the annual Staff vs Student relay. As you can see by the video, it was a very exciting race, with the eventual winner , The Students !!!

Here are some cool pictures from our most exciting week.

Lucky Charms 2011

2011-03-18T12:19:00.001-05:00

Fun in the Snow !!

2011-03-18T12:19:00.000-05:00

As part of our Outdoor Education program, students spent a beautiful day snowshoeing and fort making. Thank Goodness Mother Nature cooperated by providing us with a nice white fluffy blanket of snow!

100 Day !!

2011-02-21T20:31:00.000-06:00

The 100th Day of school is always an exciting day, and this year was no different. Students were asked to bring in a 100 collection in a zip loc bag. Then they viewed all the collections, wrote about their own as well as the most unusual, and made an official 100 Day book. Many Math activities focusing around the number 100 , and of course some yummy snacks were also enjoyed ! Hooray for 100 Day !!

Shelby Gray and Robert Munsch...

2011-02-21T19:56:00.000-06:00

"I love to Read Month," continued with a special guest reader on Thursday afternoon. Swan Valley Stampeder player Shelby Gray dropped in and read to us the hockey story Farm team. Following the story, Shelby stuck around for a exciting question period. Thank you Shelby.
Friday the entire student body enjoyed the Prairie Theatre's Exchange production Robert Munsch's Paper Bag Princess and More. Special guests invited to enjoy the presentation were the Bowsman school K-6 classes. What a fantastic production!

Blogging Buddies...

2011-02-20T15:40:00.000-06:00

We have been fortunate enough to able to partner up with Mrs. Ann Barbour-Stevenson's Grade 12 English Tech class as our" Blogging Buddies". Her class will be reading our student blogs and posting comments. They are also going to be our "Role Model" writers, remembering all the things that good writers do. Parents are always welcome to read and post comments on our class blog as well as your son's /daughter's personal blog.

http://kidblog.org/MrMcs2BTopDogs/

February is "I Love To Read ' month...

2011-02-14T21:20:00.000-06:00

As part of "I Love to Read" month, we had the opportunity to work on improving our reading fluency by reading with Mrs. Martin's Grade Four class. Thanks for listening to us read, and helping us become more fluent readers. We also got to exchange Valentine's and share a snack, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

We Love to Skate...

2011-02-14T09:34:00.000-06:00

As part of our Physical Education Program, we were lucky enough to go skating on Fridays during the month of January. We had a blast, and thank you to all the parents who came and helped tie skates!

Second "Wellness Week" a huge success !!

2011-02-13T19:57:00.000-06:00

What is Wellness Week? Our school has been participating in a program called Fitness for Life: Elementary School. Four times a year , as a school, we will be participating in a Wellness Week. We just completed our second Wellness Week where the activity focus was vigorous exercise, focusing on cardiovascular fitness. We know that good cardiovascular fitness enhances health, and is needed for activities such as jogging, running, and playing many different games and sports. A Healthy Heart is a Happy Heart! The nutritional focus for the week was "Whole Grains - Fuel for your Body!" We talked about the importance of Grains, and how we need to eat some everyday. Our school TEAM activity was a Tae-Bo aerobic workout by guest instructor Shany Guillotte. The entire student body met in the gym and had a great workout! What better way to follow up a great workout than with a "Breakfast for Champions!" Thanks goes out to Gord and the staff from Extra Foods for our breakfast of cereal , milk, juice, granola bars, raisins, and fresh fruit. It was delicious!!!

Flat Stanley heads home...

2011-01-24T14:19:00.002-06:00

Flat Stanley working on the i-pad.

Flat Stanley finished up his tour of the Swan River Valley, and has headed back to British Columbia. We were so lucky to take Stanley home with us. Check out our voice thread of Stanley's adventures, and please feel free to leave a comment. Also check out the Flat Canada Blog, to listen and read about his adventures in other parts of Canada..

Merry Christmas from 2B !

2010-12-23T16:49:00.000-06:00

Tanner McDonald visits 2B...

2010-11-22T10:33:00.002-06:00

It is not everyday that you get to take one of your kids to work with you, but thanks to Mrs. Ann Barbour-Stevenson's English Tech class, we were fortunate to have my son Tanner as a regular guest for the past month. Tanner spent period 3 with us,which happens to be our Math time. The students enjoyed having Tanner helping out in the classroom, and I'm sure they will miss him ! I may even miss him too!! lol .. Thanks Tanner , and we hope you will drop in and see us soon!

Jest Stix Juggling...

2010-11-21T20:12:00.001-06:00

We were very fortunate to have had Issac Girarden (Jest Stix Instructor / Children’s and Youth Programs)from Brandon come to our school last Tuesday. Issac has been performing and teaching juggling with Jest Stixs for the past 5 years. He informed us that Gyroscopic juggling, also known as stick juggling, is one of the oldest art forms and toys in the world. It is known to have originated independently in both Egypt and China between four and five thousand years ago.Taking inspiration from his own large collection of sticks, Issac has developed a design of Jest Stix with exceptional playability for both amateurs and pros. You may have even seen the order form that went home last week. Check out his video of a performance at the Brandon Folk festival (do not try this at home, Issac is a trained professional) and our own slide show of our class Jest Stixing it!

Halloween "Poems and Pies" 2010...

2010-10-30T14:21:00.001-05:00

On Friday morning, parents, grandparents, and friends got into the Halloween spirit by enjoying a wonderful "Poems and Pie" assembly performed by the Grade Two classes. At the completion of the program, parents were invited to stay for lunch and for dessert, yes you guessed it , yummy pie. A big thank you to Mrs. McKibbon, the pie makers, and of course all the parents who came and enjoyed. A job well done Grade Two !!! We hope those who could not make it, enjoy the this post....

Halloween Poems and Pies 2010 - make slideshow

The Twelve Days of Halloween...

2010-10-30T10:58:00.003-05:00

This past week we have been very busy creating, collaborating , and performing. The "Twelve Days of Halloween" was the focus for a collaborative writing project with our very good friends, Miss Dunsiger's Grade 1/2 class in Anacaster (Hamilton) Ontario. Creatures and things (nouns) and words that describe them (adjectives) was the learning focus. Both classes wrote their version of the "Twelve Days of Halloween", then using Google Documents, exchanged stories and created illustrations. Using the web 2.0 tool VoiceThread, each class created Digital Story Book versions, then through a video conference call via Skype, did a shared reading of each Digital Story! Thank you for collaborating Grade 1/2 !

The "Twelve Days of Halloween" written by Miss Dunsiger's Grade 1/2 class, illustrated by Mr. McDonald's Grade 2 class. Click on this link for a full screen version !

The Twelve Days of Halloween written by Mr. McDonald's Grade 2 class, illustrated by Miss Dunsiger's Grade 1/2 class.Click here for a full screen version!

All About Patterns !!

2010-10-23T15:26:00.000-05:00

Patterns - slideshow dvd

Our first math unit this year is all about patterns. They are an integral part of mathematics, they develop important critical and creative thinking skills needed for understanding other math concepts. Check out some of our patterns and see if you can find patterns around your home.

Welcome to the World of Blogging!

2010-10-17T00:25:00.000-05:00

I would like to inform you of some exciting things that have been happening in our classroom this past week. You may have heard from your son/daughter that they have set up their own Blog, and are now Bloggers. This is true, and you may be wondering "what the heck is a Blog? " and "my son/daughter is a Blogger?? ". A blog is basically a type of website, the features that make blogs different from other websites are:

* content is published in a chronological fashion

* content is updated regularly

* readers have the possibility to leave comments

An educational blog such as the one your son /daughter has created will have some very unique features. Like a regular web log (blog) students will be able to write posts, post photos, drawings, stories, pictures, slide shows, and videos. They can even leave comments on other students blogs. The main difference between a regular blog and an educational blog is the role of the Administrator. The Administrator is the person who oversees everything that is posted on the blogs. Any article, picture, story, and comment must have the approval of the administrator before it will be published. As administrator, I receive information on all activity on all of our classroom blogs.
Safety is always a concern when you have students working on the internet. Having their own blog allows me as a teacher, to give them a real life experience in a safe, controlled , environment, yet still allowing them to create, collaborate, and celebrate their learning and life experiences with others. We now have another platform in which we can discuss internet safety rules, talk about how to make a good comment, and collaborate with others in a learning community.
I'm encouraging students to work on their blogs at home if possible. I hope you will share in their excitement and help out if the need arises. Students love to read comments left by parents and classmates. Please try to read and leave comments whenever possible.
This is a new learning journey that we all will be taking together, I hope you are excited as we are.
I will keep all updated as we continue our exciting learning adventure.

Please feel free to drop me an e-mail, phone call, if you have any questions, comments , or concerns.
Your child's blog can be accessed by a direct link off our Classroom Blog...
The link is called Student Blogs

Thanks for you cooperation and happy Blogging !!
Mr. Mc

Harvest Festival 2010

2010-10-09T21:42:00.001-05:00

On Friday October 8 students at Taylor School gathered together to enjoy a "Turkey" lunch with all the trimmings in honor of the Fall Harvest. A huge Thank you goes out to Vernice Eggie for catering, and to all our hard working parents from the P.A.C. for helping serve the feast. A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Betcher and Eden for bringing us the most delicious "Turkey" cakes. What a great way to celebrate the end of Harvest.

Turkeys, Turkeys, and more Turkeys !

2010-10-09T21:25:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving means many different things, but in our classroom, the Turkey is King. We talked about turkeys, read stories about turkeys, and made turkeys. We had some Oreo cookies left over from our O.R.E.O. project, so we decided to make some delicious tasting OREO cookie turkeys. Not to be forgotten, but with a 21st Century Twist, that timeless classic "The Paper Plate Turkey."

Terry Fox Run...

2010-10-01T12:51:00.001-05:00

On Thursday September 29 students, staff, family and friends participated in the annual school "Terry Fox" walk for cancer. Blessed with beautiful weather, all enjoyed a 25 minute walk around the Legion Park, all for a great cause- cancer research.

" Read to Self " part of the "Daily 5."

2010-09-30T22:20:00.002-05:00

We decided to take a short video to show what happens in our classroom everyday during "Daily 5". Read to Self is the first of the 5 components of "Daily 5". We know that the most important thing we can do to become better readers who love to read is to spend lots of time practicing reading. You notice we always refer to our "I" anchor chart, reinforcing the desired behaviours to make "Read to Self " a success to all. We also want to remember "Why" we are doing it, to become better readers. It is truly amazing when you sit in with us, and see 17 students totally engaged in the reading process, Fantastic!!!!

That's How the Cookie Crumbles....

2010-09-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

Our class took part in the O.R.E.O. (Our Really Exciting Online) project hosted by Jennifer Wagner from jenuinetech.com. This year's project invited students from all over the world to stack Oreo cookies as high as he or she can and then average the data to achieve a final class result. Students were not allowed to use anything to stabilize or adjust the cookies as they were stacked. The students had a great morning predicting, stacking, counting , tallying, and yes finally getting to eat the Oreo cookies. What amazing "Meaningful Math !" A big thank you to Erica, Emily, Carter, and Alayna our Grade Four helpers. It will be interesting to see how Taylor 2B Top Dogs stacked up against the rest of the world.

Grade Four Helpers!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, no it's a SNAKE !!

2010-09-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

We had the most amazing show and share today. Our special guest arrived in style,inside a very large pickle jar. No , it wasn't a frog, snail, mouse or a pickle. It was indeed a snake. A Garter Snake to be exact. Thanks to Robby for asking his Mom and Dad to come to school and share the most amazing information about Garter Snakes. The students were so excited , and yet were so eager to ask questions in order to learn more about these most resounding reptiles. Thank you Marty for taking time to come into our classroom and allowing us to experience "All about snakes " and for answering all of our questions. If this wasn't exciting enough, we also had another special guest pop into our classroom. Miss Aviva Dunsiger's Grade one class from Ancaster Meadows School in Hamilton Ontario joined us via a Skype Video conference call. This is one of the many ways that we can collaborate and learn with classrooms from all around the world. They also had a chance to see the snake via live streaming video, and had the opportunity to ask Marty questions. All in all it was a pretty spectacular afternoon of learning, sharing, and collaborating.

Welcome Back Bar-B-Q a big success !!!

2010-09-26T14:55:00.000-05:00

What a great way to kick off a new school year. Thanks to the Taylor School Parent Advisory Council for cooking all the dogs for such a huge crowd.It was nice to mingle with students and parents, and although the weather did not cooperate, things did run very smoothly in the gymnasium. A gigantic "Thank You" to all the parent volunteers and workers who worked so hard to get our new play structure up and running. You are all most amazing, thanks from Grade 2B.

Welcome Parents and Students to a New School Year!!!

2010-09-25T15:55:00.001-05:00

Thanks for a Great Year !!!

2010-06-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

Boot Camp "Fit Week" workout...

2010-06-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

Credit Union Tour 2010

2010-06-10T22:14:00.000-05:00

Co-op Market Place Tour...

2010-06-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

Private Atkinson's Afghanistan Presentation

2010-06-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

Afghan

View more presentations from rmac1417.

Museum Trip 2010

2010-06-08T20:24:00.000-05:00

Hug a Tree !!!

2010-05-28T11:41:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday Randy Antonio from Search and Rescue Manitoba vistied our Grade Two classrooms to talk about "How to Stay Safe " when lost in the outdoors.

Adventure Smart is a national program supported by Federal Grants to the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada (SARVAC). The programs provided under the Adventure Smart program are designed to promote outdoor activities with an emphasis on safety and proper preparation.

The key teaching points for the Hug A Tree presentation are:
1) Tell and adult where you are going;
2) If you are lost, Hug A Tree and Stay Put;
3) Stay warm and dry;
4) Help Searchers find you.

Students received an emergency kit to use when going on hikes or excursions in the outdoors. It was a very informative session, with students participating and asking some very good questions. Thank you Adventure Smart .

Microscopes,Telescopes, and a "Bearded Dragon" lizard...

2010-05-17T10:24:00.000-05:00

What an exciting week! It started with Jade bringing her Microscope/Telescope science kit and then it ended with a former student, Parker, showing us his "Bearded Dragon" lizard! Science Rocks!

We Love You Mom!

2010-05-06T12:24:00.000-05:00

Max the Hedgehog...

2010-05-02T19:27:00.005-05:00

Hedgehogs make the most unusual and unique pets, and on Friday we were lucky enough to have an up close and personal encounter with one. Seth's mom was kind enough to bring his Hedgehog "Max" to spend part of the afternoon with us. To make things even more exciting, Miss Dunsiger's Grade 1 class from Hamilton , Ontario, joined us via a video Skype call. Thank you for joining us and asking Seth a lot of really inquisitive questions. Seth did a fantastic job fielding questions, and sharing his knowledge about his most interesting pet. Seth also said that having a pet required a lot of hard work and responsibility, and you should be prepared to look after your pet before you get one. Thanks Seth, our "Hedgehog Expert!"

Skype Call with Grade 1 from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.

Butterfly Video Conference

2010-04-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

On Thursday both Grade Two classes participated in a Tandberg Video Conference entitled "Butterflies". The conference was hosted by the Distance Learning Video Conference at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta Georgia. The conference was a perfect fit with our science unit "Growth and Change in Animals", as all the activities dealt with the Life Cycle of a Butterfly. Students enjoyed learning about the different stages of a butterfly life cycle, butterfly predators, ways in which butterflies defend against predators, and last but not least, making butterfly puppets. Please take note of the symmetrical wing formation! What an exciting, fun, educational video conference.

We love our "Planet Earth!"

2010-04-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

This year marks the 40th anniversary of "Earth Day" celebrations around the world. It has become more of a "movement " than a "celebration" for the past 20 years. Our class was fortunate enough to connect and collaborate via Skype with Miss Dewhurst's Grade Three class in Lumsden Saskatchewan. (Home of Rider Pride!) We each sang a short song about Earth Day, then read a story to each class. How exciting it was, and such good listeners. We also did a reflection activity on Wallwisher after viewing a short Earth Day video. Check it out here. Remember "Everyday is Earth Day!"

Happy Birthday Greeen Eggs and Ham !

2010-04-21T21:09:00.001-05:00

Yet another fantastic online project hosted by Jennifer Wagner. In honour of the 50th Birthday of the book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr.Suess, we connected with Mrs. Yakes second grade classroom (Chicago Illinois) via Skype and read parts of "Green Eggs and Ham" together. We also created a wall-wisher, where student's thoughts and reflections were posted! You may be wondering what is "Skype" and what is a "Wallwisher" ? Skype is software that enables users to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users.It is an amazing free tool to connect with other classrooms, educators, and experts all around the world. Wallwisher is an Internet application that allows you to post thoughts about a topic, messages, answers to questions, using an online postie note. We are fortunate enough in our classroom to be able to use these Web 2.0 tools to connect, collaborate, reflect, and learn. Check out the two walls of reflection on our "Green Eggs and Ham" 50th Birthday project that we collaborated with Mrs. Yakes Grade 2 class. Mrs.Yakes Wall Mr.McDonald's Wall

"Holden" Grade 2B's resident Mad Scientist !

2010-04-19T21:02:00.001-05:00

Holden loves to bring things to class, books, comics, Wizard Wands, you name it, he has probably pulled it out of his 22 lb. backpack at one time or another. But you see this is a good thing, because Holden is a very curious kid, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Each morning is like a new adventure, wondering what Holden is going to be pulling out of his backpack. Well today was yet another one of those days, when Holden pulled out a Science Experiment Kit. It just so happened that I still had my video camera at school from the previous day, and so here is what transpired...

Choir Festival ...

2010-04-19T19:49:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday afternoon, the Grade 2 classes participated in the Swan Valley Fine Arts Festival. Under the direction of music teacher Mrs. Darlene McKibbon, the students performed two numbers "It's a Small World" and "Tinga Layo" . The accompanying video does not do justice to the fantastic performance, Well done Grade 2!!

Swan Valley Visual Art Festival

2010-04-11T21:30:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon the Grade Two's battled 70 Kph winds and walked to the Veteran's Hall to view the Swan Valley Visual Art Festival. The art was fantastic, entries ranging from students to adults. Former Art teacher Mr.Paul Freed provided a fantastic tour and explained to the students the different types of art. If not for the wind, it would have been an absolute perfect afternoon.

Lucky Charms Project

2010-03-20T23:13:00.003-05:00

Graphic by https://www.thistlegirldesigns.com/shop/

Our third on line project was once again hosted by Jennifer Wagner. As a GROUP -- we will be trying to prove that there are more GREEN CLOVERS (you might call them hats) than any other shape in a box of Lucky Charms. Students were each given a baggie of Lucky Charms. Their job was to sort the marshmallow charm shapes into the following categories: Pots of Gold, Clovers (hats), Horseshoes, Stars, Moons, Rainbows, Hearts, and balloons. Once sorted, students were asked to count their shapes using tallies. This data was then displayed in two different types of graphs. Students created a bar graph using paper and pencil crayons, then using this same data, they created a bar graph electronically on the website "Create a Graph". We also tabulated all of the students data into a classroom data bank. The classroom totals were submitted to Jennifer. Wow, not only did the students have fun, but we sure did a lot of math too. Check out our slide show and videos of all our learning . I apologize in advance for the poor video, it's hard to shoot video and guide students at the same time. lol !

Sorting Lucky Charms from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.
Grade Two's using their sorting mats to classify their Lucky Charms.

Sorting Lucky Charms 2 from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.
Students continue working with their sorting mats.

Lucky Charms Tallying from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.

Olympic Torch visits Taylor School...

2010-03-14T21:28:00.000-05:00

Olympic Torch from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.
Students were treated to view and touch the Olympic torch. Former student and "Taylor Top Dog ", Kaili Gilroy, who carried the torch on a run in Southern Manitoba, brought the torch to her Alma matter, allowing everyone an up close and personal session with it. Dressed in full "Official Torch Relay Track Suit" attire , Kaili toured each classroom answering questions and posing for pictures. Thank you Kaili, it was really nice of you to share this special experience with us.

Reading, Reading, and more Reading !!!

2010-03-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

February was "I Love to Read " month at Taylor School. As part of our month long celebration, we participated in many events that encouraged and promoted the love of reading. From teacher round robin reading, to the Reading Olympics, students not only were encouraged to read more, but had a whole bunch of fun doing it. The month concluded with a school wide Buddy Reading activity. Congratulations to our Gold Medal winners !

Valentine's Day Skate in the Park .

2010-02-20T19:36:00.002-06:00

Valentines Skate from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.

We love to Slide !!!!!

2010-02-20T14:09:00.001-06:00

Sliding ! from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.

Herd of Turtles ! from Rob McDonald on Vimeo.

We are "Bloggers" now...

2010-01-20T20:07:00.001-06:00

I would like to inform you of some exciting things that have been happening in our classroom this week. You may have heard from your son/daughter that they have set up their own Blog, and are now Bloggers. This is true, and you may be wondering "what the heck is a Blog? " and "my son/daughter is a Blogger?? ". A blog is basically a type of website, the features that make blogs different from other websites are:

* content is published in a chronological fashion

* content is updated regularly

* readers have the possibility to leave comments

An educational blog such as the one your son /daughter has created will have some very unique features. Like a regular web log (blog) students will be able to write posts, post photos, drawings, stories, pictures, slide shows, and videos. They can even leave comments on other students blogs. The main difference between a regular blog and an educational blog is the role of the Administrator. The Administrator is the person who oversees everything that is posted on the blogs. Any article, picture, story, and comment must have the approval of the administrator before it will be published. As administrator, I receive information on all activity on all of our classroom blogs.
Safety is always a concern when you have students working on the internet. Having their own blog allows me as a teacher, to give them a real life experience in a safe, controlled , environment, yet still allowing them to create, collaborate, and celebrate their learning and life experiences with others. We now have another platform in which we can discuss internet safety rules, talk about how to make a good comment, and collaborate with others in a learning community.
I'm encouraging students to work on their blogs at home if possible. I hope you will share in their excitement and help out if the need arises. Students love to read comments left by parents and classmates. Please try to read and leave comments whenever possible.
This is a new learning journey that we all will be taking together, I hope you are excited as we are.
I will keep all updated as we continue our exciting learning adventure.

Please feel free to drop me an e-mail, phone call, if you have any questions, comments , or concerns.
Your child's blog can be accessed by a direct link off our Classroom Blog...
The link is called Student Blogs

Thanks for you cooperation and happy Blogging !!
Mr. Mc

January Fun "Skating and Sliding"...

2010-01-19T10:44:00.001-06:00

Since our arrival back to school , we have been extemely busy. We have have recieved a new literacy program "Nelson Literacy" , and so far both the students and teacher are loving it. Yes we will still be working on our "Animated Literacy," but only as a supplement to the new program. Please spend the time to go over all the exciting activities in your child's Friday folder. We have also been blessed with warm temperatures, ideal for skating and sliding... don't forget to check out the " Mr. McWiki" link off the cool sites for links to some really good sites...

Merry Christmas .....

2009-12-16T20:00:00.003-06:00

Poems and Pies 2009...

2009-11-01T11:38:00.001-06:00

On Friday afternoon, parents, grandparents, and friends got into the Halloween spirit by enjoying a wonderful "Poems and Pie", assembly performed by the Grade Two classes. At the completion of the program, parents were invited to stay for lunch and for dessert, yes you guessed it , yummy pie. A big thank you to Mrs. McKibbon, the pie makers, and of course all the parents who came and enjoyed. A job well done Grade Two !!! We hope those who could not make it, enjoy the three posts....

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't afraid of Anything...

2009-11-01T11:28:00.000-06:00

Halloweener....

2009-11-01T11:27:00.002-06:00

That's the way the cookie tumbles...

2009-10-18T20:17:00.001-05:00

Our class took part in the O.R.E.O. (Our Really Exciting Online) project hosted by Jennifer Wagner from jenuinetech.com. This year's project invited students from all over the world to stack Oreo cookies as high as he or she can and then average the result to achieve a final class result. Students were not allowed to use anything to stabilize or adjust the cookies as they were stacked. The students had a great afternoon predicting, stacking, counting , tallying, and yes finally getting to eat the Oreo cookies. A big thank you to Eric, Desi, Tiara, Lane, Delaney, and Karlynne, our Grade Four and Grade Five Helpers. It will be interesting to see how Taylor 2B Top Dogs stacked up against the rest of the world.

Happy ThanksGiving !!

2009-10-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun making our color wash turkeys. If you hang them in a window, WOW ! We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.... Gobble, Gobble !

Fire Safety Week...

2009-10-09T08:41:00.000-05:00

This week was fire prevention week. We were lucky enough to have Fire Chief Mr. Denny LeBlanc come to our classroom and discuss Fire Safety with the students. He also gave the students some very informative information and activities to do at home with parents. Discuss these with your child and be prepared in case of an emergency.

Harvest Festival

2009-10-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

All About Patterns...

2009-09-28T08:37:00.000-05:00

Terry Fox Walk...

2009-09-27T12:28:00.001-05:00

On Friday September 25 students, staff, family and friends participated in the annual school "Terry Fox" walk for cancer. Blessed with beautiful weather, all enjoyed a 25 minute walk around the Legion Park, all for a great cause- cancer research.

The Colours of Fall.....

2009-09-27T07:44:00.002-05:00

With Autumn upon us, the colours of "Fall" can be found in abundance everywhere. What a great time of the year to go for a fall walk , collect some leaves, and create some beautiful leaf pattern crayon texture rubbings....

Welcome Parents and students to a new School Year !!!

2009-09-17T16:19:00.002-05:00

Year in Review.. Better late than never..

2009-07-09T08:20:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer vacation, I have been taking an on-line summer camp course that is teaching me all about wikis and how to use them in our classroom., and of course working hard on my golf game. Please remember to keep on being curious, ask lots of questions, and most importantly have a great summer... See you all in September, you Grade threes.. and if you have time, drop me an e-mail, would love to hear from you... Thanks for the great year...
Mr.Mc

Co-op Market Place and Swan Valley Credit Union Tours...

2009-06-17T21:28:00.002-05:00

S.V.R.S.S. Drama Class Presents...

2009-06-07T07:25:00.003-05:00

We were so lucky to have Mrs. Barteski's Drama class come to our school and perform five plays for us. These plays were based on five very familiar stories to our classroom;Get Out Of Bed and Stephanie's Ponytail by Robert Munsch,Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue by Phoebe Gillman,The Amazing Bone by William Steig,and Wish You Were Here. Using few props and relying on a lot of body movement, sound effects, and improvisation, the actors were amazing. We enjoyed all of the plays and want to thank the Drama class for coming.

Did You Know ???

2009-05-22T12:33:00.009-05:00

As a follow up to our wonderful video conference, we decided to share some facts with you about our Solar System. Please feel free to leave a comment, it can be recorded , or typed in as text. All you need to do is find the slide that you would like to comment on, and then either record your comment, or type it in as text, then click on save. We would really appreciate it...

Captain Cosmic Video Conference...

2009-05-18T08:53:00.006-05:00

On Friday May 15 the Grade Two classes participated in a video conference hosted by the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration called "Captain Cosmic". This 45 minute interactive tour had students joining Captain Cosmic on a tour of our solar system. Students shared information about the Sun, Moon, and all of the planets. Mission packs were provided to each astronaut, comprising of safety goggles, cooling systems, and breathing apparatus. A big thank you to Mrs. Bredin for facilitating this video conference, and for Mr. Mateika for handling all of the technical requirements. We are so fortunate to have the Tanberg video conferencing system right in our school. Many wonderful learning opportunities will become available to our students.

Be Smart, Buckle Up !!

2009-05-12T20:50:00.003-05:00

Buckle Up, the message is pretty clear. Wear a seatbelt at all times, it could very well save your life, Don't be a Dummy !! Thank you M.P.I. for your powerful presentation.

Don't Be a Dummy !!

2009-05-12T20:09:00.006-05:00

Ever wonder what happens in a car crash when you don't have your seatbelt on ? Buckle Up , a program put on by M.P.I , demonstrated the importance of buckling up your seatbelt at all times. This demonstration showed students what can happen in a vehicle roll over to "Two Dummies", when seatbelt s were not worn... Don't be a Dummy !!

Emergency Services Tour 2009

2009-05-12T19:29:00.003-05:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Have you ever wondered who comes to help you when you are in an accident? Or maybe you hear the siren , is it the Fire Department, the Police, or the Paramedics? Who are these heroic people, and better yet, what tools of the trade do they use to serve and protect us ? These questions and many more were answered on Tuesday morning when we attended the Emergency Services School Tour 2009.

This ones for " All the Moms."....

2009-05-07T22:02:00.001-05:00

Google Earth and Kidlandia....

2009-05-06T12:21:00.004-05:00

Our on line project "The Places we will Go" using Google Earth is almost completed. If you haven't had Mom Or Dad check Google Earth out at home, please have them do so. It is such a wonderful download that everyone can enjoy. Try zooming into your house, you will be amazed !! There is so much to do and learn , please check it out. It is a free download from www.google.com . We have also come across another neat mapping site for Kids called Kidlandia. Here students can create their own Kingdom and have it mapped out. Very Cool. This site requires a free membership sign up, with a user name and password. Make sure Mom and Dad check this site out with you, and give you permission to sign up. You will find a link to this site under "Cool Sites". Have fun mapping out your very own Kingdom.....

Oh The Places We Will Go ...

2009-04-23T12:11:00.015-05:00

THE PLACES WE WILL GO Online Project 2009 brings Google Earth, Geography, & Reading into our classroom! This is yet another excellent project hosted by Jennifer Wagner. The project is open to all PreK - 6th Grade classrooms from all around the world. Students will be using google earth to locate a variety of well-known landmarks around the world and then calculate distance from Taylor School to the location of each landmark. We will be traveling to 10 famous world re-known places, and then to four more locations of our choice. Google Earth is such an amazing web 2.0 tool for students to work with. Not only will we be finding out how far it is , but we will also be learning some very interesting facts about each place, and how it is different from our home location. Please check back for updates on this exciting project.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

2009-04-19T07:52:00.004-05:00

This is what we woke up to Sunday morning, makes us want to start singing Christmas carols. Have we had snow in May?, June?, and even into July? Hmmm, I wonder how we can find out?

"Hoppy Easter" to all...

2009-04-11T14:49:00.002-05:00

Getting ready for the Easter Bunny was the order for the day on Friday. After making bunny baskets, students got down to work designing, drawing, and finally dyeing their eggs. We hope that everyone has a very Hoppy Easter !!!

Farmer Day and the Wind-Up Assembly !

2009-03-27T19:15:00.001-05:00

Tropical Beach Day, Rock Star Day... Wednesday and Thursday

2009-03-27T18:54:00.005-05:00

Wear your most colorful beach wear!

Dress up as a Rock Star !

Spirit Week...Monday and Tuesday.

2009-03-25T14:03:00.002-05:00

Pajama Day

Formal Day...

We almost forgot about our Leprechauns ....

2009-03-23T12:26:00.003-05:00

Lucky Charm Project Voice Thread...

2009-03-20T20:50:00.004-05:00

Students were asked to tell about their favorite part of the Lucky Charms project. I hope you enjoy listening to them.

Click on the following link to our Glog page to see even more information on our Lucky Charm project.

http://rmac.glogster.com/luckycharms/