Welcome to Semester 2!

Welcome back to our ESL students!  To those who are new to Saint Mother Teresa High School - Welcome!  We are going to have a good week!  In the next couple of days we will help you learn the routines and expectations and give you opportunities to make new friends.  You will LOVE it here! 

We use this blog, not just for homework, but to share good news, updates and events.   We have had a lot of amazing things happening lately!  Semester 1 was a time for hard work and a lot of fun - From Hallowe'en pumpkin carving, Remembrance Day activities, Christmas parties, games, debates and rousing discussions.   I am so proud of how far you have come!  Everyone's English has improved immensely!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Royal Canadian Legion's awards for the Remembrance Day Literary and Poster contest.  They had over 345 entries.  We had approximately 17 winners from Saint MT - 11 of those were ESL students!  Our students won in the essay, black and white poster, colour poster and poetry categories.  Below are some pictures of your work!  Everyone did amazing work - not just our winners - thanks to everyone who participated! 

  Period 3 and 4 groups also just completed Independent Novel studies using Notice and Note signposts.  These reading strategies for cloze reading worked incredible well.  Everyone finished and enjoyed their novel and were able to pull out amazing evidence from the texts to explain theme and character development.  Your finished mind maps were incredible!  Here are a couple of samples:

   We had such a successful first semester!  I am looking forward to seeing what you accomplish this spring!  

Week of January 15-21st

 Welcome to Ottawa Winter!  

Here is a little video about winter in Ottawa and what to look forward to!

Winter in Ottawa

Snow Days - Listen to the radio in the morning or check this link to see if buses are running:
Are School Buses Running?

If buses are not running, SPECIAL TRANSPORTATION will not come to your house to pick you up.  Unless roads are safe, do not have someone drive you in - that could be dangerous.

Here is an article about things to do in Canada during the winter
What to do in the winter!

This is what my family likes to do during the winter.  What are  you looking forward to?

Here is an article about the winter we could expect.  What is the Farmer's Almanac predicting?
Farmer's Almanac Winter Predictions
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather-outlook/2018-winter-forecast/canada-2017-18/

Period 2:  We will be learning new Winter Vocabulary and reading Winter short stories.
English Vocabulary for Winter!
Try these short quizzes about Winter!
easy - Winter Clothing quiz
Winter weather quiz
Winter sports - word jumble
This week we will be learning about Winter Survival and creating a How To Survive the Canadian Winter brochure, poster or slideshow.

Period 3 and 4:  Finish your novel!  Complete your Notice and Note package.  We will work on our mindmap on Thursday.  We will also complete a Socratic Seminar and practice literary essay about Gift of the Magi.

Discussion for the week:  Reply Below:  What was the best Gift you have ever GIVEN or RECEIVED?  Why?

The Gift of the Magi

Welcome Back! Period 2 - work on Journal writing, do IXL and look for a news article about a snowstorm.

Period 3 and 4 - Finish your 5 sentences with new vocabulary -and work really hard to complete your book and finish your Notice and Note booklet.

 Illustrating Irony, Critical Thinking Questions