Building our Classroom Community

"I will be a hummingbird. I will do the best I can."

                                                                  - Wangari Maathai

An important part of the first couple weeks of school is getting to know our classmates. Through rich discussion and brainstorming, the Grade 3s have been figuring out what it means to be a classroom community.

This year our school is reading "the Power of One... Every Act of Kindness Counts". This book shows how even the smallest gesture of kindness can make a huge difference.  We will be continuing to unpack this rich book throughout the year and it will help guide our Health and Wellness learning.

After a rich conversation and an opportunity to vote, students have decided their classroom intentions for this school year will be: 

As a class we also examined the Indigenous story of the "Seven Sacred Laws," in which a young boy on a vision quest meets seven sacred animals that teach him how we should live our lives. Table group members then began creating their own sacred creature, a combination of one of the seven sacred animals and another animal of their choice. Students then choose an intention that they will be working together to attain.

Seven Sacred Laws: 

Buffalo = Respect

Eagle = Love

Bear = Courage

Bigfoot = Honesty

Beaver = Wisdom 

Wolf = Humility 

Turtle = Truth 

Wellness Learning Intention: Students examine and describe development related to personal growth.

Success Criteria:

• I can work collaboratively with others.

• I can work with a partner to create and design a creature power card that is unique and visually appealing.

• I can discuss and debate which of the seven intentions our table would like to focus on achieving throughout the month.