Winter Electives 2019

For the past 5 Friday afternoons the students in Grade 3-8 have put away their pencils and books and participated in some amazing learning opportunities. With the help of many volunteers we offered 7 different electives for the students to choose from.

Take a moment to read and see what our students learned. This blog post is a little long – but there was a lot of learning going on 🙂

Art
Led by Mrs. Lindsey Devries and Mrs. Angela Vuyk the students worked on 2 very unique and creative art projects. The first was a wooden sign. The students chose a saying to paint on and then they used nail and string to create an image.

The second project was a painting, inspired by the art of Monet. The students learned to layer their work, adding more and more detail until ….

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the art elective:

• What I learned about myself as a learner is that you need patience and an idea.
• I’m surprised because when she showed us what we were going to make I thought, “It’s gonna be hard,” but I did it anyways and I am proud of my art.
• What I found challenging was getting the string on the nails without messing up.

LEGO Mindstorm

Led by the South Dundas Public Library and with help from Miss Rachel Bouwman, these students learned to create, build and program a robot made of LEGO. They had to problem solve and trouble shoot. Sometimes they had to re-do things and try again, all the while learning and enjoying the process.

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the LEGO Mindstorm elective:

• I was surprised that the instructions were way harder than they looked. It took us 3 tries to get it right.
• I didn’t look at the instructions perfectly and did something wrong.
• My partner and I built God’s Kingdom by taking turns every step.

Sewing

Led by Mrs. Katrina Geertsema and with lots of help from Mrs. Cheryl Thompson, Mrs. Bridget DeJong and Mrs. Jessica Menkhorst the students learned the ins and outs of sewing. They started with a little project, sewing a book mark. Then they made a bigger project and sewed a pillow case. Finally they sewed an amazing pair of pajama pants!

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the Sewing elective:

• When I used the sewing machine it made me feel nervous and scared, but I got the hang of it and I felt better.
• I need to work on making my sewing lines straight.
• I found it challenging to match up two pieces of fabric.

Skating

Led by Mr. Chris Johnson and with help from Mr. Joe Groeneveld and Mr. Kevin DeJong these students worked on their skating and hockey skills. They had a chance to do drills that helped them practice tight turns, cross overs and skating backwards. And of course they would end their time with a scrimmage!

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the Skating elective:

• I need to work on backwards cross overs and stopping with my right foot.
• What I found challenging was doing cross overs.
• It surprised me when I could do the tight turns and not fall.

STEM

Led by Mr. Aaron Thompson the students learned engineering principles by doing STEM activities. They created a bridge out of spaghetti and tested to see how many books it could hold. They were given a limited amount of straws and tape and had to make a structure that would protect their egg when dropped from a height. And they learned how to make a catapult using rubber bands and pop cycle sticks.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsyjlWMA3D1

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the STEM elective:

• I learned that triangles are stronger than squares.
• It was challenging to build with limited materials.
• We worked with eggs and built cool things.

Videography

Led by Mrs. Sharon Schuler and Mrs. Marlene Luchies these students learned about the creative process that goes into making your own video to post on youtube. The students were inspired by videos that others had made and then planned out their own unique video. One week they spent shooting the video and the next they put everything together and edited their work. The end result was their own video, created about something they are interested in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtEhOy2B2xM

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the Videography elective:

• I found it challenging to take a video of minecraft.
• I chose it because I enjoy photography so why not try videography.
• I enjoyed using the equipment but it was a bit hard to set up.

Woodworking

Led by Mr. Jack VanGilst, Mr. Tim Van’t Foort, Mr. Mike Luchies and Mr. Steve Geersema students learned how to create with wood. They did a lot of cutting and sanding and putting pieces together and in the end created amazing summer camping chairs.

Here’s what the students said when they reflected on their learning in the Woodworking elective:

• I found it challenging to use the drill. It was hard to get the screws level with the board.
• I need to work on sanding because it is hard to control because it is an electric tool.
• I was surprised because as soon as I started working with tools I wasn’t afraid anymore.

What wonderful learning opportunities for our students. As always, we are thankful to our many amazing volunteers who made Winter Electives 2019 possible. And we are thankful that we can provide unique learning opportunities for our students. There is joy in our journey!