Of Cedar and Salmon has been a two day immersion into the culture of the Pacific North West 1st Nations. We have heard stories, touched pelts, made a headband and a mask, screen printed t-shirts, explored museum boxes, and learned a dance to perform at the potlatch. So many pictures, but it was worth documenting. We are all looking forward to the potlatch tonight. Pictures of Bumblebees and Ms. Mimi courtesy of Joy Maeng.

 Gumdrop bridges. The physics of bridge building. Students had to consider weight and force, on and off ramps. They used engineering to construct and test their structures for accessibility by the cars and strength to hold the bridge up as well as the car. They had to be aware of limited resources and the importance of length over height.  Did they taste the gumdrops at the end of the work? Um...yes!

 Swimming has begun! It is so great  that our PE program includes these weeks of swim. Swimming is a lifesaving ability and I am grateful that out kids are learning water safety while having fun!

 We had such fun at out Valentine Party last week. We made the most of our 1 day at school! Thanks so much to our party planners and volunteers.

 Together with our mentors Bumblebees explored the design and creation of marble runs. They discovered the need for elevation and the importance of gravity. They explored kinetic and potential energy. They used Legos to both elevate and support the ramps. They had lots of fun making discoveries about physics!

 With our mentors we worked on symmetry. We learned geometry and mapping. We began to understand what does not change about our structures even as they undergo transformations. We used paint brushes to demonstrate our lines of symmetry. Sometimes we found one line, sometimes many!