Personal Life Management In a Nutshell

Zareh Demirdji English and Humanities, Science and Math No Comments



They say that students these days should learn about personal finance and the basic skills of independent living. Well. Guess what. There are a smattering of courses in the high school curriculum, and one such course is a grade twelve course called Personal Life Management. The course is broken down into several units as follows:

    • Research and Inquiry Skills
    • Self and Others
    • Daily Living Skills
    • Personal and Social Responsibilities
    • Economics and Personal Finance

With the faster pace of our new octomester schedule, the course has been reorganized into new units, taking the running themes found throughout the aforementioned ones. The newly formatted units are:

    • Becoming an Adult
    • Employment
    • Money Management
    • Managing a Home
    • Research and Inquiry Skills

This new format allows us to focus on these major themes one at a time instead of learning about them in segments spread throughout different units. Throughout the course, students will learn about:

Becoming an Adult

  • The roles and responsibilities of adolescents vs. adulthood
  • Communication skills
  • Goal Setting
  • Decision Making Models
  • Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Employment

  • How to get a job and excel at it
  • Workplace Rights, Responsibilities and Laws
  • The Costs and Benefits of Working

Money Management

  • Spending Habits and Dealing with Economic Changes
  • Money Management Strategies
  • Financial Institutions and their Products and Services

Managing a Home

  • Keeping and Managing a Safe and Functional Home
  • Meeting Food and Clothing Needs
  • How to be a Smart Consumer

Research and Inquiry Skills

  • Exploring Topics
  • Investigating Topics
  • Processing Information
  • Communicating Information

The course is not only practical and of major importance, but a course that students really enjoy. By the end of this course not only will students have the knowledge and understanding of how to live on their own, but they will also (hopefully) appreciate the level of effort and responsibility their parents/guardians put into providing for them!

Everyone Gives a Kahoot about Drawsaurus

Zareh Demirdji Community No Comments

 

If it isn’t apparent by now, the trivia challenge is this club’s favourite game. Yet again, the group wanted to play several rounds of trivia on Kahoot. As always, we started off by challenging ourselves with weekly trivia from the past week’s current events, and then went on to play another three rounds testing our knowledge about diversity, flags, and desserts. Having appeased our trivia craving, we moved on to play another popular game, Drawsaurus which is a digital version of pictionary. Although we don’t play it as much as Kahoot, the group still enjoys guessing what each member is trying to draw.

Grade 9 Science Unit 4 – Sustainable Ecosystems and Human Activity

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

 

The year is drawing to a close, and what an adventure it has been on many fronts. In the microcosm of grade nine science, we ended the virtual year off by examining ecosystems. First, we looked at some of the basic concepts and terminology related to ecology, and then zoomed into the various ecosystems Earth has to offer. After examining the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of ecosystems, we spent some time examining how the biotic factors interacted with the abiotic factors, as well as how the biotic factors interacted with one another. We discussed symbiosis, predation, energy flow, limiting factors, and competition (for food, resources, shelter, etc).

Students played an interactive online game called Mountain Scramble, where they had to try balancing all the living things in an ecosystem over a twelve day period, giving them a hands-on look at how difficult a task it can be (way to go nature!). For the end of the unit, we looked at the similarities and differences of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the impacts various human activities have on them. To demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the unit, students worked on an assignment where they analysed the impacts housing development and fertilizer use can have on local ecosystems, and proposed some ways to lessen the negative impacts.

Kahoot Trivia Challenges Round 2

Zareh Demirdji Community No Comments

Students participate in Board Game Club

Instalment four of Gameboard Club saw the return of Kahoot Trivia Challenges, which we played in week two and a bit in week three. It is a favourite of the students as it allows for flexibility in the topics. As such, we brought it back for an entire hour this week. Students and staff cast their answers in quizzes involving weekly news, music, movies, sports, video games, celebrities, and finally geography. It was a fun way to spend an hour and we are excited to resume week five.

Grade 11 Biology Unit 5 – Anatomy of Mammals

Zareh Demirdji Beyond the Classroom, Science and Math No Comments

 

As we approach the end of this new online frontier, the grade 11 biology class has completed its second to last unit, The Anatomy of Mammals. We broke the unit into three parts, the first being the anatomy of various body systems. The unit began with an in-depth look at the circulatory system, exploring its various components (the heart, blood vessels, and blood cells), their structures and functions. Next, we looked at the respiratory system and finished off part one by taking a voyage through the digestive system. Once the three body systems were explored, we moved into part two of the unit and discussed how different body systems interact with one another. We finished off the unit by examining the impacts our choices have on our body systems.