Anansi comes to Braeburn

On Tuesday, January the 23rd we went to the gym and we saw three guests actors. They started the first Anansi play when all the classes came in. They talked about all the plays coming from Africa. Anansi is a very well known in Africa. My favourite play was Anansi andthe Moss Covered Rock. It began on a hot day when Anansi the Spider was walking in the forest. He bumped into a moss covered rock and he said, "What's this...A moss covered rock." He then fell down, asleep, for an hour. He did the same thing again and it happened again. He realized he could play tricks on people. He brought different people over and when they said "What's this...A moss covered rock" They fell over asleep for an hour. Meanwhile Anansi took their food. At the end the deer realized that Anansi was playing tricks, so he played it back on Anansi to teach him a lesson. Everyone laughed at the story. All of the plays were entertaining and funny. By Neha

Ms. Allman Shares Cocoa Beans

On Friday, January 12, 2007 our class, as well as Ms. Borselli's and Ms. Townsend's class went to the library to learn about cocoa beans from Ms. Allman. Ms. Allman had gone to the mountain part of Jamaica during the holiday and brought back cocoa beans to share with us. She talked about the cocoa beans. She said that first you cook the beans, then break the shell. Next you grind the beans in a mortar with a pestle. Once it has been ground into a paste you make a dough out of it and let it dry. You can then grind it up to make a tea. Kids in Jamaica are not allowed to drink tea or coffee, but they are able to drink the cocoa tea. By Chantel

When we walked into the library and I saw Ms. Allman with a cocoa bean, I thought we were going to be talking about our trip to the chocolate factory or the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Instead she told us about how her people from Jamaica made tea with the cocoa bean. I really liked it when she fried the beans, shelled the bean and we got to grind it in the mortar with the pestle. It smelled like dark chocolate. She said she would then take the dough, dry it and make tea. By Sophia

Ms. Allman first asked us what was the name of the nut she was holding. No one knew, then she told us it was an almond. Then she tried to open it but it was too hard. Mr. Cochrane finally opened it with a hammer. Then she showed us a cocoa bean that was as big as a tissue box. She had picked it in Jamaica. She cracked it open and let every one smell it. It smelled like burned chocolate. Then she took out some dried cocoa beans and fried them to soften the shell. She gave them to people to crack the shell open. Then people put them in the mortar and began grinding them with a pestle. Everyone got a chance to beat them. We went back to class. Ms. Alman is going to make a dough out of them and bring back in when they are dried. She may even let us try the tea. By Abdirashid

Martin Luther King Questions

1. What is the title of our Family of School's 2007 celebration of Martin Luther King Day?
2. How will you help make sure that Dr. King's dream of a peaceful world and equal treatment for all people - no matter their race, or religion, or culture, or beliefs come true?

Storyteller Wows Juniors

On Thursday, January 11, 2007 Cheryl Thorton came to our school to present a storytelling workshop with the junior students. She presented several stories based on Ancient Civilization myths including a Norse Myth called Mistletoe, a Mayan Myth called The Hungry Goddess, and an Egyptian Myth (the first known Cinderella tale) called Rhodopis among others. Students were able to participate in the stories as actors using props and costumes. Cheryl told the story and gave directions to the junior actors on what to say and how to move. It was an awesome opportunity for students to display their dramatic talents as well as learn about the art of storytelling. It was a great lead up for the students’ as they get ready to do their Shakespeare plays. Watch for more details to follow on the Shakespeare plays!

Happy New Year 2007

Happy New Year! Hopefully everyone had a safe and happy holiday and are refreshed and ready to work even harder for the second term. Holiday homework included math review of patterning, a book report and making a volcano. Most students handed in their work and Ms. Legault hopes to get it marked and returned by the end of the week. We will be exploding our volcanoes during our Science classes.

Homework:

Monday: Read for 20 minutes Spelling Test tomorrow
Journal: About our Class

Tuesday: Read for 20 minutes; Spelling: Copy words 3 times; Math

Wednesday: Read for 20 minutes; Spelling: Alphabetical order; Math worksheets

Thursday: Read for 20 minutes; Spelling: words in sentences; Math Quadrilateral Exploration; Making a calendar

Friday: Read for 20 minutes Spelling: word pyramids; Editing Quiz;
Handwriting test; Math worksheets;