We have been keeping busy this month, trying to take our minds off this cold weather that won’t seem to leave us alone! Our class has started a bunch of new projects and activities across all subject areas.  We are working tediously at our Ancient Egypt Scrapbooks, researching all aspects of this fascinating civilization – we can’t wait to see the finished products.  We are also reading a new novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. This novel has peaked our interests so much that we get often get carried away and spend a really long time reading it as a class! It has also generated numerous conversations that are critical to grade 8, like bullying, self-esteem and taking responsibility for ones’ actions.  We are also studying The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha. This book reminds us that the best things in life are free! It also helps us remember that despite the overwhelming amount of negativity we sometimes hear about, there are some really awesome things around us, we just need someone to point them out to us! Our class is writing our very own Book of Awesome, with our own ideas of what awesome feels like! Something else awesome our class is participating in at the moment is an engaging challenge through Destination Imagination. This program focuses on four very important skills students need to develop and practice. These skills are collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity. Through this program students learn how to better use all these skills.  The challenge we are working on currently is called “Card-iology”, students are responsible for building the lightest yet strongest structure out of only playing cards and glue. They are working in groups to complete this challenge and they also must come up with a story to accompany their structure, with props! It has been an exciting opportunity for students to challenge themselves to work collaboratively, and creatively while thinking critically and communicating with their group members. We are really looking forward to testing out our structures!