Welcome to the class blog!

Good morning! Welcome to the class blog! This is where I post all of the REALLY important stuff that is going on in class. A few things for you to check out.

Across the top of the blog, are tabs that help you find things like the blog, a Resource page, a Links page and a calendar of events.

On the right hand side of the blog, you can SEARCH the blog for keywords you want, follow the blog via email (which all of you should do), and also scan through the old blog archives of posts.

The main part of the blog is what you're reading RIGHT now! It's where you'll find all of the updates of what we are working on in class, and all of the important information you will need (especially if you "misplace" one of the assignments or handouts). 

Check out the blog often for new updates. If you Follow the blog as I recommended, you'll get an email when the blog is updated. THAT way, you ALWAYS will stay on top of what's happening in class. Even if you miss a few days because you're sick! 

Stay tuned for more! 

The First Day of School 2012

Well tomorrow is the first day of school. It's what we've been either building up to or avoiding all summer. I've spent the better part of the past two weeks at school, and I am excited for us to get started!

I'd like to start by welcoming everyone to the 7-56 team here at BLMS. You have all been hand picked for this team, and we are going to have a great year. I've put together a little welcome video for you. Check it out below.



We will be spending lots of time in the coming weeks getting to know each other, and getting everything sorted out. I just wanted to send an initial post to say hello, and that I'm really looking forward to classes starting!

See you all soon,

Mr. Hyland

Peer Assessment Day!

Today we will assess our peers on their involvement in the Literature circles. Please find the link to the survey here: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdUSk02VFRhNHc1QURnMEJBeGJUUUE6MA#gid=0

Please make sure to evaluate ALL members of your group! 

Once you are done that, please take a moment to reflect on the year and please give me some feedback on how you think that the year went to help me make improvements in my teachings. Please fill out the survey here: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDVpTzViNzhnVUZjRWNFS2ZwYXJwNUE6MA#gid=0

Thanks for sharing your time and opinions! 

May 24 Updates

Some updates for this week!

ELA: We are continuing to work on our Literature circles. Students should be doing some reading at home this month to keep up to date with their work. Our next Literature Circle sharing day will be on TUESDAY May 29. 


SOCIAL: In social studies, we are working on an examination of Power and Government. We are halfway completed the power section, and we will have a quiz on TUESDAY MAY 29. It will involve True/False, Matching, and Multiple choice sections, as well as a Short Answer section. The two questions for the short answer have been given to the students, and are as follows:

1. Explain why and how a nation can have power? Make reference to a minimum of 3 of the powers that a nation has and give detailed examples. (6 Marks)
2. During Global Sim this year, you have used the power of your country to affect others, and you have been affected by other countries using their power on you. Describe a situation when you used your power, or were affected by the power of another country. Include in your description which FORM of power was used, which SOURCES of power and give evidence to back up what you say. (5 marks)

Students should consider these questions before the quiz so that they are better prepared to answer them. 

PERFORMING ARTS: Students are just finishing their writing and recording of Radio Plays this week. All recordings should be completed by Monday next week. After that, we will begin work on our short film final project. 

We also will host our Discovery Afternoon on Thursday May 31st. Check with your child to see what they're signed up for, along with the necessary fees and equipment. 

It's getting down to crunch time! We are going to be cruising fast all the way to the finish line. Final exams are coming up. As it looks now, we will write a Social Studies final during class time, then Math on Monday June 25th, ELA in the AM of June 26, and Science in the PM.  

Enjoy the weekend! 

Literature Circles!

Great news! We are embarking on our Courage Unit, and will be participating in Literature Circles.

What are literature circles? Easy. Here's the plan.

1. You will be presented with options on which books are available, and rate your top three. 
2. Groups will be created by me based on your choices and availability of books. 
3. Books will be signed out to each of you. They are your responsibility to take excellent care of. If they come back in worse condition or are lost, it will be your responsibility to replace them. 
4. Each week you will have a role to complete and a specific number of pages to read. Please do not read ahead, as it can create problems with your group. 
5. You will receive one, and only one booklet with the roles to be completed. Do not lose this. You will need to turn this in at the end of the literature circle. It will be a part of your final mark. 
6. In class you will have time to read and prepare your role. The number of pages to read will depend on the book that you have chosen. There will be necessary homework time to read and prepare your roles. Please plan to be spending time in the evening on this. 
7. During Literature Circle meeting time, you will share your roles with your group and discuss the book. 
8. One group will share their literature circle in front of the class during each discussion period. You will be evaluated on your participation with the group, understanding of the text, and completion of your role. It will be a part of your final mark. Other groups will engage in their discussions after this. 
9. If you complete your reading early in class, there will be a creative project option. More on this will be discussed in class and posted to this site soon. 

Alright! Ready to go? Check out the list of possible books and vote for your choices by going to http://mrhyland.wikispaces.com/The+Novels. Read through the options, and then go to this site to vote for your favourite choices! 

Cogneeto, Global Impact, Grade 8 Registration and more!

Good morning everyone! Here are some updates about what is going on.

We are going to be piloting a new program called "Cogneeto". ( http://cogneeto.ca ) This is an online program which allows for students to create projects, offer feedback to one another, revise their own work, and eventually hand in their finished copy. We're going to be doing some testing this week to see how it works, and hopefully will be using it for our next project in ELA.

Students are working on a quick intro assignment using Cogneeto. They should have access to this on any computer with Internet access. The first part is two paragraphs, which need to be completed by tonight. Many students finished during class, but there is still a number that need to complete this tonight.

A note about Cogneeto: It seems to work best in Google Chrome. If you need to download Chrome, you can find it here: https://www.google.com/chrome

Global Impact Projects are now overdue. Students who have not completed this project can expect to be spending lunch hours with me until they are done.

Grade 8 registrations have gone home today! Please make sure that you read over all the information on your child's form. Check that everything is filled in correctly, and that they have chosen band or PA correctly, and sign the bottom. These forms are due Tuesday April 24th. Note that if you are interested in hockey academy, that you should just write that in on the form.


Thanks to all of the students for their patience while I was gone this week due to my wedding! We're back on track now, and ready to rock our way through the last few months of classes.

Easter is upon us...An Update

A few updates just before we go to break.

Report cards go home today. Make sure that you receive both the report card AND the behaviour report.

In ELA students have been working hard to complete their Global Impact Project. We will probably need the help of parents to spread our messages of environmental conservation to the community of Lloydminster and the world. Some students have elected to send pamphlets out into the community, some letters to companies and magazines, some have produced videos that we will be sending out into the world via YouTube. I will be posting a gallery of our work here on the blog. I thank you ahead of time for helping your students to push their messages & research into the larger community.

Upon our return, we will be partaking in a bit of a writing bootcamp, followed by an exciting project, where we will be doing some creative writing and hopefully be publishing our own books! Stay tuned for more info.

In Social we've been wrapping up some exciting rounds of our Global Government Simulation. When we get back from break we will be starting our Resource Investing project, which will end off our Resources & Wealth unit. We'll take a week or two to complete that project, and then we'll be switching gears to examine Power and Government.

In Performing Arts we have wrapped up our monologue presentations, and they were AWESOME! I am looking for a collection of volunteers to perform their monologues in front of a camera and a plain white background. We would like to screen a selection of monologue artists at our Art Night in May. If you're interested, PLEASE let me know! We'll be launching into a full out film review when we return, and then moving into an examination of Radio Plays and creating our own.

Lastly, I will likely be out of communication over the break, as I will be getting married. I will be back the Thursday following the break, and I do so look forward to hearing from the students about their adventures over break, and sharing with them stories of my own.

Take care, and have a wonderful Easter!