For homework, we were told to write the answers to questions on our blog.

What does sportsmanship mean to you/look like to you? Give some examples.

Sportsmanship looks like everyone following rules, being fair, demonstrating the attitudes, encouraging each other…etc.

 Why is it important to follow the rules of a game?

It is important to follow the rules of games because they have been made specially for the game, and unless you’re playing fair, you aren’t really going to have much fun.

 Why are good team strategies important to success in team games? Give examples of strategies for team handball?  How would you create and/or deny space in team handball?

Team strategies are important because then everyone has something to do, and they know how to do it, and no one is left wandering around doing nothing.

You create space by putting your back to the defender, maybe taking steps.           You deny space by putting your arms in front of the ball and jumping when the ball is thrown to try and intercept.

What is a strategy you/your team used in “Capture the Flag” to be more successful?

During Capture the Flag we put some of the fastest people on attack, and the rest on defense and then some were on rescue for the people in jail.

Describe why having strong skills helps your team be more successful? Give some examples of skills with a specific team sport in mind.

Having strong skills are important because stronger skills can help you win.

In netball it is important to be good at throwing, catching and footwork because they are really important.

 Why does a team that is very physically fit have an advantage over a team that is not fit?

The team that is physically fit has an advantage because they can keep going for longer, and they play better. Because they are fit, they can run faster and help their team out more.

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Today we were taken to the 6th floor cafeteria to do something called the Marshmallow challenge. Marshmallow challenge? I was puzzled. Whats the Marshmallow challenge? I was even more puzzled when Ms. Kinsinger said that it was connected to the exhibition. What? Turns out that the marshmallow challenge was this math challenge.

We were put into groups of 4, and then we were given a brown envelope, containing sticks of uncooked spagetti, some tape wrapped around a popsicle stick, some string and a marshmallow. Our challenge was to build the tallest free- standing structure possible with them, and stick the marshmallow on the top, without it collapsing.

The challenging part was that alone, a spagetti stick cannot stand. They snap easily, and cannot support weight. Maybe it would have been easier if we had an hour, but we only had 18 minutes! The tape wasn’t a lot, and we couldn’t use the packaging that contained the spagetti.

In the end all we ended up with was the marshmallow sitting on top of the table. Better than the marshmallow hanging under the table ! All of our structures had collapsed. I had a lot of fun with it though, even though we had started off well. Actually, only 2 structures had survived. Next time, maybe I would have tried stacking the spagetti into a pile and putting the marshmallow on top, or making a structure out of only tape and string (!)

Ms. Kinsinger said that it was related to the exhibition, and I thought: “What? How is building stuff out of spagetti and tape related to the exhibition?” Then I realized: “Oh! We’re practicing working in groups of people you might not know or be friends with.” 

Back in class, we had to brainstorm and make a list of what we thought cooperation and teamwork was about, and what we thought a good group needed to have. We came up with some good stuff , like “Open-mindedness” and “Taking initiative”. 

I think that it was really fun, though maybe I would have done differently next time (or just used the tape and string idea!) I’m actually hoping that we have the chance to do the challenge again!

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On Monday, 6D and 6C went to learn about global issues from the Grade 9′s. Each group of 10 did three activities, each teaching you about a different issue.

The first activity was about Natural Disasters. We were each given a senario which told our “story”. My “story” was that an earthquake in my town had triggered a tsunami, and since my house was near the ocean, it was flooded and the water came up to my knees. So anyway, we were shown a scene of destruction, with (strangely) a rubber snake lying in on top of the overturned table. The students explained that during an earthquake, animals come out of their habitats and make a run for it (I don’t think that the rubber snake was a good idea though, as some kids were tying it around their necks!) Then the lights went out, and we were each given a “candle”. There was a cardboard box, or “generator”, and we were meant to pull on two strings coming out of it to generate electricity. Unfortunately, the handles broke, and there was a bit of a problem fixing it, but in the end the lights came on again.

Next we learned about human trafficking, or child labour. We were again given a slip of paper telling us our story. My story was that I was a child from Uganda, and my dream was to go to the big city. My uncle decided to take me to the city, and my parents willingly agreed. I was overjoyed, thinking that I would have a good time there. Unfortunately, he forced me to work in a factory. So, in the “factory”, or classroom, we were slaves, all working to pay off debt for our families. There were lots of rules, and our task was to make a cardboard pillow, by folding a piece of cardboard in half, poking holes around the sides, with exactly a one cm difference from the edge and half our thumbs space between each hole. Then we had to string ribbon through the holes and “sew” up two sides. Then stuff scrap paper inside, and “sew” up the last side. This task was to be completed in 7 MINUTES, and if we didn’t, we had to hold weights and walk around the room twice, with our arms straight up, no bending at the elbows. Unfortunately, none of us finished, and had to walk around the room with the weights. We were told that actually the situation in real factories was about a million times worse.

The last activity was racism. I think that this one was my favorite. Half of us were put outside (not ME!), and the ones inside played fun games like charades and got to eat candy. I thought that the kids outside would be having more fun, but actually they were wistfully watching us have fun and laugh. Then we were told that we were the rich, racist kids, who wouldn’t let them join us because of their background. This really made me feel bad (Luckily later the kids outside got some candy too ) It was really teaching you and making it fun at the same time (for the kids inside)

I really think that this was very helpful and taught us a lot. Thanks grade 9′s!

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              Camp!!!

We just got back from camp on Friday, and I really enjoyed it! I was in the yellow group (GO E-lemon-ators!). I was really pleased this time, because I was put with a lot of my friends. The bus ride was long, 4 hours + time stuck in traffic (WOW!), but it really wasn’t that bad. No, it was not the kind of bus ride in which seconds are like minutes and minutes are like hours! I was lucky enough to be put in a camp group with my best friend, and we spent the bus ride being silly, doing stupid (but funny) drawings, nibbling on snacks, playing Top Trumps (Horrible History- kinda gross!), and chatting. 

As soon as we got there, we took a really neat boat ride. As soon as we got into the hotel rooms, we quickly dumped our stuff and unfortunately for us, it was really damp and we had to miss our cableway hike. AND our night hike, so we spent the evening learning about water. Dinner was a really good BBQ.

The next day, we did the GREAT RACE!!! I think that we should have worked faster, but in the end we made some educated guesses, and we took loads of pictures, but I guess it wasn’t enough, because we didn’t WIN !!! I was disappointed, but its OK!!! Then we went to do Ink Stone carving after a really great lunch, and the master carved a dragon for me. I carved a heart around a netball, and my name, and my chinese name. I also carved a quote, but I ran out of time, because I didn’t carve the quote very deep, but it still turned out really nice. 

Then we ate a yummy dinner, and then we did the DragonFly CHALLENGE! Our team didn’t cooperate extremely well, but we still did pretty well I think. The ELMO’S won though :,( :,(

The next day we did the CABLEWAY HIKE, which was AWESOME!!! But we had to miss out on paper making, which I guess was OK, because the hike was really cool! After the hike, we did some chinese painting where I painted a crane and a scenery, but we were guided through the steps by the instructor.

Soon it was time to go home, but I really enjoyed camp. However, I think that because the journey was long, we should have stayed for longer!! I loved Grade 6 camp, and I can’t wait until next year!!!

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Hey everyone! Sorry, I haven’t posted for sometime!!! Anyway, on Monday a group of 20-24 year olds came to our school called the Young Americans. They are a group of seriously (I mean really, really, really) talented people, who go around the world teaching people to dance! They are seriously awesome- they are ALWAYS patient, they never lose their temper, they encourage you ALL the time, and they are really nice to hang out with.AND they are very, very, very talented!!!! We all made really good friends with them, and I’m really sad that they had to go.

The opening was called Witch Doctor (If you want to hear the song, click here). It was really awesome! The first day, we saw the Young Americans perform it, and we were amazed. Then we were told to learn it in 10 minutes, and we actually managed to learn quite a lot in 10 minutes! 

The next act was singing. We sang “Don’t Stop Believing” by glee and “Let it Be”. There were actually three parts for Don’t Stop Believing, and six parts for Let it Be!!! And we learned that really fast too.

We also had four classes, improv, dance, poetry writing, and creative drawing. Improv was really fun, and I learned a lot during improv. Dance was mostly about expressing yourself freely. Poetry writing was about writing whatever came to your head after listening to some music. And creative drawing was about putting the music into a picture. 

The next act was HAPPINESS! We were singing about what made us happy, and I got a part!!! So, basically, what we did was dance, and then act out some really funny scenes. We basically went from taking a photo, watching a tennis game, screaming about some “bowling pins” getting knocked down to a concert, where I got to pretend that I was a violinist. We finished with a song.

After that we did a really touching Lion King dance, which was very natural. We finished our show with a really great song about dreams. 

I think that all of us really bonded with the Young Americans. Some of us were really sad when they had to leave, but I think that we got emails to keep in touch. They were really, really nice.

I was really inspired by them. I mean, flying around the world and teaching might sound easy, but I don’t think that it is. Imagine being away from your friends and family for 33 months! They are really talented, and I really think that overall, I had a great time with them! Thank you young americans!!!

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HI guys! I’m in grade 6 now…. AND LOVING IT! I miss 5E (sniff), but I LOVE being in Grade 6! Anyway, I just wanted to update by blog! HOPE THE SCHOOL YEAR IS GREAT!

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