June 23rd, 2010- Last Blog of Grade 7

June 23rd, 2010 by

Wow, Grade 7 has past by in a blur. I remember when I was terrified of going into Grade 7. But it has not been at all what I had expected. This last year at Ridgeview Elementary was a experience that I will never forget. With Mayfair, Sports Day, Kayaking, curling, and so many other fun events, this year has been extra special. I still can’t believe that we’re at the end of Grade 7, and soon we’ll be going into highschool. Grade 7 has been a blast and is one of the most fun years I have had at Ridgeview. From being able to use the school laptops, to being the oldest kids in the school and having extra responsibilities. For mean, being in Grade 7 means that we’re rolemodels for the younger students at Ridgeview.  Our behavior has to be appropriate, and this year, it was fun having younger children look up to us. Being in Grade 7 in 2010 means that we will graduate from Elementary school in the year of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Having the Olympics during our Grade 7 year was a blast! We went to the Paralympic games where we watched a game of sledge hockey between Italy and Sweden. We also were allowed the opportunity to go curling, which was a new experience for me. All in all, Grade 7 was a fun and exciting year, where I was allowed the opportunity to experience new things. Thanks for a great time Mrs. W and Mr. B!!! :)

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May 14th, 2010-High School Visit

May 14th, 2010 by

Yet another week has gone by. You can tell summer is approaching as we’re moving into warmer weather, and sunnier days. The sun shines golden, a breeze blows across green fields, and the sky has taken on a bright blue. As we slide into May a new school year approaches, and for Grade Sevens it means High school. The High school in Ridgeview’s district is West Vancouver Secondary School, so most Grade Sevens from Ridgeview will be going to West Van. High. Just a couple of days ago on Monday, the whole seventh Grade walked down to the High school to see what it would be like to be in high school. Two grade seven students were assigned to a Grade Eight who previously went to Ridgeview. The Grade Eight student guided us around the high school, south and north campus. Basically we were given a tour of the classes, cafeteria, library, and other important rooms that we would be going to in Grade Eight. We were also introduced to the Grade Eight teachers who would be teaching us in the future. At first I was intimidated by the size of the student body the different rooms we would have to go to, and remembering all the teachers names. My first thought was, wow, I’m going to get lost. I also thought about the homework that would be given out, how much would there be? Our Grade Eight guide even brought us to one of her classes on engineering and auto to show us what the experience was like. Since the classes are spread out over north and south campus, we got a lot of exercise walking back and forth.  After we were given a tour of most of the High school, we were walked down to the south campus cafeteria for the High school recess. We had been encouraged before hand to bring five dollars so we could taste the cafeteria food, which is what I did during the recess. It was actually pretty good. After that our Grade Eight guides left to continue their classes while we walked back to Ridgeview. It was an exciting experience seeing what High school would be like and I can’t wait to go there next year.

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April, 2010

April 23rd, 2010 by

Wow, school has sure gone by quickly and we have now entered the beginning of term three at Ridgeview Elementary. Pretty soon we’ll be off to highschool. I’ll sure miss Ridgeview. But right now a lot has been going on in the past few weeks, including Ultimate Frisbee, starting a new unit in PE concerning dance and ending gymnastics. Ultimate Frisbee started about two weeks ago and now every Tuesday, the Grade Sevens walk to the fields down in Ambleside. At Ambleside we play three games around 20 minutes each and against three different schools. So far, we’ve played Chartwell, Hollyburn, and Irwin Park twice. The first game we played was a bit shaky as we were uncertain about the rules, but we soon got the hang of it and played extremely well for beginners. Being on the team and playing Ultimate Frisbee is a lot of fun and requires a lot of running and passing. There are two types of passes that you can make, the forehand and the backhand pass. Meanwhile, other activites during school that we’ve started and finished involve gymnastics and dance. Both are part of our PE curriculum. In gymnastics we just finished performing a routine involving jumps, handstands, rolls, stretching and other moves. We have just opened up a new unit on dance as we’ve just finished performing a dance routine that was created by a dance instructor that came to our school. We performed the dance infront of the whole school and any parents who wanted to watch. We are now expected to form a group and dance routine on our own that we have to perform in a couple of weeks. The song that goes with our dance routine is called “Clumsy” by Fergie. In school, we’ve started our third term reading assignment, as well as new units in Socials and French. In both subjects we have to give an oral presentation, in French we have to talk about our families, and in Socials we were put into partners and given a topic. Both partners have to argue against each other about the same topic. For example, I have to say that boys and girls are equal in school subjects, while my partner has to argue that girls are better at Language Arts and boys are better at Math. I don’t like presenting infront of the class but that is made up for the fact that a really exciting event is coming up, Mayfair. Mayfair only comes every two years and is a awesome time to relax and have fun. Mayfair involves games, rides, candy, food, and prizes. My favourite event in Mayfair is the Tombola Jars. Tombola Jars are filled with candy and they come in different shapes sizes with different types of candy. Your basically getting candy for free. These past few weeks have been busy but fun with gymnastics, dance, Ultimate, and Mayfair.

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March 12th, 2010

March 12th, 2010 by

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics has brushed by in a blur, and now sadly, the Olympic flame has been distinguished. But the spirit and memory of the world visiting Vancouver, Canada still remains. But don’t forget the paralympics are still coming up and the Grade Sevens of Ridgeview Elementary will be seeing a couple of events, sledgehockey and wheelchair curling. During the Olympics I saw a couple of events myself, Women’s Gold Medal Hockey, and Women’s Bronze Medal Curling. I enjoyed the events, but what I liked most was the spirit, and happy atmosphere. It wasn’t about who won or lost, it was about the spirit, the support, and the jolly atmosphere. I honestly cannot put into words the atmosphere and happiness of the Olympics and the most wonderful 17 days ever. It was a great turn out and everyone was cheering on the athletes. The Winter Olympics were intense and I am proud to have had them here in Vancouver! It’s been amazing having the world visit here. But unfortunately after the two week Olympic break, school has started again and we’ve been really busy. At first it was slow as all the students shook off the two week rust and the excitement of the Olympics. Today the Paralympic torch visited our classroom. It was quite similar to the Olympic torch. Today was also the day where we supported the Paralympics by wearing our Canadian clothing, of red, white, and Olympic wear. Out of the past two school weeks I would say the highlight would be the girls self defence lessons. Our teacher thought that we should learn how to defend ourselves against any attackers, and so far it’s been a great idea! So far we’ve learned how to get out of a arm hold, kick, get out of a position where we’re on the ground, and use our hands to scratch, punch, or elbow. It’s been really awesome and a great learning experience. Throughout the week we’ve had a french test on verbs, started a new gymnastics unit in P.E., and created models of different atoms and molecules out of clay. I must say that I am not at all flexible and have failed miserably so far in gymnastics. I also forgot to mention that we have entered the last term of Grade Seven, and these next few months will be the last we will spend at Ridgeview Elementary before we go to highschool. It has been a great learning experience at Ridgeview. But it’s not over yet as there is still Sports Day and Mayfair to come, as well as the Paralympic events. It has been a productive and fun two weeks back, though I enjoyed the support, spirit, and festivity of the Winter Olympics. It has been one big memory and experience that I will never forget.

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My week, Friday February 5th

February 5th, 2010 by

Yet again another week has past in a blur, full of homework, and preparation for the Olympics. It has been quite a busy week, but much more subdued than the last one, though excitement still runs wildly thoughout the school. Just a couple of more days until the Olympic break, and the 2010 Winter Olympics. This week we’ve been using the portal, an online site where we can hand in homework. At first it was confusing to understand, and I had some difficulty, but now I have no problem uploading my homework onto it. But this week also held the last lesson of curling. It was the most exciting and fun as we now knew the basics of curling, what to do, and how to do it. So to end the last lesson, we actually got to play a game against another team. It was a blissful hour of fun. Though unfortunately my team, the Hot Wheels, lost to the Rubber Ducks. I guess what I found to be especially memorable about that day was the prizes at the end of the hour. I got a prize for making some good shots with the rock. What made all the curling lessons so exciting and fun was knowing that we were trying an actual Winter Olympic sport. Another event that was especially fun and intense was the girls volleyball game against Chartwell. We played together as a team, and were victorious. We won all our mini games against them, though Chartwell put up a good fight, and had some phenomenal players that played amazingly.  I really enjoy playing volleyball though the 7:45 practices in the morning can be stressful and tiring, especially if I’ve stayed up later then I should of. The early morning practices sometimes are exhausting, and I feel like I could drop dead during the school day. This week held many fun perks, from curling, to our victorious volleyball game against the Chartwell girls. But what absolutely made my day, was the amount of homework. I guess because we had been getting a lot of homework lately, that the lack of it was amazing, though we still had homework. Another fun event that I enjoyed (but others may not have) was the Language arts Olympic Wiki project that we have all been working exceptionally hard at. I enjoyed learning about Speed Skating, which was the sport that I had to research  and create a page about on the Olympic Wiki site. I had fun making the podcasts, and starting on the powerpoint. But I especially enjoyed hanging out with my little buddy in kindergarten, and making a valentine craft with her. It was fun to just relax and make a craft. The Science experiment, about swinging pendulums which consisted of water bottles was intense as they water bottles were memorising and hypnotic to watch. I think that this week was especially fun and exciting, and the last curling lesson was the perfect end to it. I can’t wait for the weekend so I can  just relax. Thanks for a great week, Ms.W and Mr.B.

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January 31, 2010

January 31st, 2010 by

Wow the month has gone by in a blur. We’ve been preparing for the Olympics, as well as having curling lessons, and let’s not forget, FSA tests. {which unfortunately seem to take forever.} Just think, in less than two weeks, we will welcome the world to Vancouver, to show our Canadian pride and country. Though the month has gone by quickly, the week hasn’t. This week and the last was mainly centered on the FSA tests, and assignments. The work load has been unimaginable but do-able. I wonder how much homework the teachers have to grade? They must be under a lot of strain and pressure. The FSA tests were first a bit nerve-racking, but then we got into the daily grind of doing them. It was a relief to finish the Math and Language Arts tests. The Grade Sevens, (including the teachers) have been working hard academically in school as well as outside, to be prepared for the Olympics and the FSA tests. For L.A. we, the Grade Sevens of Ridgeview Elementary have been working on a Olympic website that tells people about the Winter Sports that will be in the Olympics, and about Vancover and the sites to see when visiting here. The Olympic website also shares information about the Olympic torch relay, the mascots, the medals, and the schedules and places to where the sports are taking place, as well as some top athletes. It also shares with people the countries that are going to participate in the Olympics. A intense atmosphere is all over the school which The school was out of hand for a couple of days because of the excitement of the Olympics and Olympic break coming up for us. We’ve also been selling Olympic Pins that two of the students in Grade Seven have created. They achieved silver in the pin contest. It was amazing to see them actually on the pins, and it was especially exciting to hear that they’re going to be sold at the Olympics as well. Ridgeview sure has gotten into the Olympic Spirit. We’ve been preparing for months for countries all over the world to come to Vancouver, Canada. It’s an honor to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and we’re very proud.

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Canada’s Olympic Mascots

January 16th, 2010 by

Mascot picture by Corinna A. Carlson from flickr

Mascot picture by Corinna A. Carlson from flickr

This past Wednesday was Mascot day which we, the Grade Sevens of Ridgeview Elementary celebrated with our younger buddies in Kindergarten. We spent a forty minute period visiting the official Olympic Mascot website. With my own buddy we played different mascot games on the site and watched videos that showed the making of the three mascots, Quatchi, Sumi, Miga. We also watched a video about the mascots side kick, Mukmuk, a marmot. My buddies favourite mascot was Miga and was enchanted with anything to do with this particular mascot, which is a sea bear. We also had to do a colour and craft activity on the laptops, which involved dragging and dropping objects, including, one or all the mascots to create a picture. We then had to print this out and hand it in. The rest of the week happened in a blur and involved many exciting and not so happy events. One of the exciting events included our first girls volleybally game against another Elementary school, Hollyburn. We won three games out of six against them, but played fantastically. Another high light of this week was the field trip on Friday , where we went for another curling lesson. Now that I know the basics of curling, I’ve gotten better at it. It is a enjoyable Olympic sport, that I’ve had lots of fun learning and trying out and it was the perfect end to this week. But this week had some downsides as well. The FSA tests for the government are coming up next week, so we’ve had to have practice tests for math and language arts, and they were not easy! Now all week long I’ve been worried about the upcoming tests, whether I’m going to fail or not, or will I know the answers to the test. But other than these worrisome practice tests, the week was fun and enjoyable. I loved curling and really enjoyed the first volleyball game of the season. All in all this week has been quite exciting and nerve racking, I am looking forward to the week after next as the FSA tests are next week.

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Winter Break and My Return to School

January 8th, 2010 by

Wow Christmas has come and gone quickly. Unfortunately the forecast was wrong and there was no snow this Winter break down in West Vancouver. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any snow on the mountains, and my family and I spent a pleasureable Christmas Eve skiing up at Whistler. The snow was perfect and there wasn’t a lot of people up on the mountain. After skiing we went for dinner and went to see a 3-D movie called Avatar. It was full of suspense and action and the plot was great. It was a fantastic week and the very next day to top it off was Christmas. We spent the day relaxing and baking. But my real favourite part of the winter break was when my sister, mom, and I went to my aunt’s cabin at Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island. It was quiet and relaxing and I could see my cousin’s who I hadn’t seen in a long time. We had a big bonfire down on the beach and we roasted marshmellows and ate s’mores. I also had a desire to swim in the freezing cold lake, so wearing a wet suit and accompanied by my aunt, sister, and cousin, (who also decided to go swimming) we jumped into the lake but almost immediately jumped out. We also enjoyed kayaking and just sitting around reading or enjoying the silence and solitude. Pretty soon though we had to leave and were getting ready to go back to our busy lives and the winter break was over. But soon January the first of 2010 was here, and my family and I celebrated by staying up to 12 and drinking and eating junk food as well as watching movies and playing games. But the school week when I returned was enjoyeable besides a difficult and stressing math test, that was just a practice test for the FSA tests coming up. (Which I might add is getting me really worried and nervous.) The questions on the math test were confusing and hard to understand and I had no idea how to solve most of them. But the highlight of the week was the fieldtrip on Friday. We went for a practice on curling! The ice was slippery and it was at first difficult but it was extremely fun once I got the hang of it. This was the first time I ever went curling and I enjoyed it immensely. Well, there you have it, what I did during the winter break, and my first week back to school. It has been quite delightful.

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Christmas Spirit

December 4th, 2009 by

Every year around Christmas the whole school gets together to make Christmas crackers. Christmas crackers are toilet paper rolls filled with candy and wrapped with wrapping paper and ribbon. We do this so we can send our sister school Grandview Elementary a present. But this year instead of going to the school gym and doing it all together, we had to do it in our own classrooms as the gym was being painted. But instead we went down to our kindergarten buddies who need help making the crackers. Each class was given a box full of candy to make the crackers with and we used up all the candy in no time. After the whole school has finished making all the Christmas crackers, we send them off not only to our sister school, Grandview Elementary, but also to Queen Mary Elementary in North Vancouver, the Harvest Project, the Union Gospel Mission and to the Covenant House, which is for children who have run away from home. Grandview Elementary has a Christmas dinner and at this time the crackers are given out to all the children. For most of the children of Grandview, Queen Mary, and the Covenant House, this is the only present that they will get for Christmas.
This week was really exciting as the basketball Jamboree for many Elementary schools was being held. The Jamboree was held in West Vancouver Secondary School. The girls basketball was on Tuesday and the boys was on Wednesday. I was on the girls basketball team and we played against many different teams, such as Caulfield, Irwin Park, Bowen Island, and Westcot. We won three games out of four, unfortunately we lost to Caulfield, and we did not go on to the finals. Caulfield and Polling Johnson made it to the finals, but Polling Johnson was the victorious team. The boys basketball team did make it to the finals but unfortunately lost. Both basketball teams played extremely well though. What was also exciting this week was that the total amount of money for our fundraiser, Silent Day was counted and we raised enough money for both water pumps which was about three thousand dollars. Raising money for the water pumps was a year long goal but we achieved it in one fundraiser and now we are going to try to raise money to buy medical supplies. I am extremely proud of our success. It has been a enjoyeable week, with the basketball Jamboree and the announcement of raising over three thousand dollars.

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I Am Silent

November 20th, 2009 by

Today is Friday November the 20th, a special day as it is I Am Silent Day. All the Grade sevens of Ridgeview Elementary school, including the teachers are suppose to be silent. This means no talking, texting, facebooking, or going on msn. Each Grade seven is expected to get sponsered a couple of dollars per block, each block is a segment of a day. This event is to raise money for water systems for two poor villages in Africa. In order to install the water systems, we need to raise a couple thousand dollars. The reason we are being silent is because it represents that other people are not as fortunate as us to voice their opinion. So far it has been quite an interesting day as I’ve had basketball practice in the morning and we weren’t allowed to talk to let each other know where we were. Communicating without using our voices has been quite a challenge, especially as the teachers aren’t allowed to talk either, so they can’t explain things. But I have to say it has been fun as it shows what it would be like if no one talked. Even though it has been a silent day I have learned what it is like to not be able to say what you think, to voice your thoughts and opinions. To be silent. I don’t think I could live without telling people my opinions, and what I think. I can’t wait until I can talk again. I have to give credit to my Grade seven teachers though, as it must of been quite difficult to teach a classroom of Grade Sevens without saying a single word. But this is a fundraiser for a good and worthy cause and it makes me smile to think of the people we are going to help.

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