Are you aware of the current environmental disaster that is happening right now in the Gulf of Mexico?

You can use technology to find out about all sides of this story.

Use Google Earth, type "Gulf of Mexico", and then click on the numerous links available: videos, news reports, etc. You can also download special "layers" which will show you how big the oil spill is.

Use Google's news search to compare different news reports of the oil spill. Read, for example, British Petroleum's news releases and compare them to Canada's CBC, the United States' CNN, or England's BBC.

http://www.cbc.ca

http://cnn.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Could another oil spill be on the way near Canada? Some peo ...

http://portal.sjr.mb.ca/jsweb

Check out the Junior School portal website for lots of cool stuff:

• videos of the Junior School Ensemble, Junior Choir, and Little Singers at the Music Festival
• videos from Grade 2/3 inquiry groups
• videos made by the Grade 1 French classes with Mr. J.D.
• a rap song by Grade 2/3 students
• videos of the "musical performers of the week" from the past term

During Spring Break, you can visit the Mathstreet website to practice your math facts and other math skills.

Did Microsoft founder Bill Gates really say the words:

"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one."

Let's find out!

Use a search engine like Google or Bing (which is owned by Bill Gates) and find some sources of information.

For any website you find, look for who is the author. How can you be sure if the author can be trusted?

See if you can find the same information from more than one reliable/trustworthy source.

Who are some trusted sources? Major newspapers like the Globe and Mail, USA Today, or the Winnipeg Free Press are usually reliable (but they sometimes make mistakes too!) Also, you can usually trust news from television/radio stations like CBC, CNN, CTV, or Global Television.

Soon, the JS student leaders will be sharing their news and ideas on a new website.

Students can share suggestions or comments to the student leaders by adding a comment at the website.

Here is a link to the website, which is currently under construction.

Congratulations to Ryan and Kelli, our new Head Boy and Head Girl in Junior School!

Click here for a picture of the newly elected Head Boy and Head Girl.

Do you have any questions or comments for Ryan and Kelli? Post them here!

All the videos and slideshows from the 2009 Kindergarten Graduation, and the Grades 1-5 Closing Ceremonies, are now available on the portal.

Click here to access the Junior School Portal webpage.

Click on this link to view videos of students who have performed at assemblies.

Watch an amazing Kindergarten violinist, as well other musicians too.

A great website to learn about Internet safety is the "Cyber Pigs" website.  You can play games and do quizzes to teach about safety.

Find out the different reasons people make web sites for children. Sometimes, they are trying to make you want to buy something. You have to use your thinking skills! Find out more by going to this link:

Click here to visit Cyper Pigs.

Once you have played the game and finished the quiz, answer these questions:

1) What was your favourite part of the website?

2) What did you learn about Internet safety?

Click on this link to view a slideshow of the Grade 2 Olympics fundraiser.

• cross-reference using reliable sources
• cross-reference author's credentials
• apply prior knowledge about topic
• use clues in URL and website to determine purpose of website

Click here to visit a website about the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

What do you learn from this website?

The video of the winter concert is now available on the portal. Click here to go to the portal.

Everyone I talk to is raving about the Junior School Winter Concert. It was a resounding success!

Here are some pictures, courtesy of Mr. Barry Panas. You can also listen to the Grade 3, 4, 5 students performance of Santa Goes Green by clicking two links under the pictures. What was your favourite part? Post your comments here!

Students in grade 1 wrote and recorded a song about special family celebrations. Each family has their own special way of celebrating and having fun together. Each family is unique and different.  We can learn about each other's culture and traditions by finding out how they celebrate special days with their families. You can watch the video by clicking on the following link:

Click here to watch the video. 

NM is travelling to the Taj Mahal. Find it on the map, and click on the blue thumb tack to read more about this landmark in Agra, India. You may have to click on "View Larger Map" (under the map) to read the text more easily ...

Our world traveller has travelled to a town called Deoghar, India. You can find this town in India on this map here. This is a "live map", which means you ...

This is an audio report about Debbie the polar bear. It was recorded by Amelia on November 27, 2008.

Click on this link to hear the report:

I had the opportunity to watch our Grade 5 Hockey Team play on November 22, 2008.
The final score was 6 to 0, a shutout victory for the Eagles. I interviewed some players after the game. You can listen to the interviews and the special report by clicking on the following link:
Click here to listen.
* You will need a school username and password to access the file. Email support@sjr.mb.ca if you have any difficulties.
Here are some pictures from the game.

Two students, Krisi and Delanie, have created an audio podcast about the hermit crab, the class pet in Mrs. Knowles' classroom.

Click on this link to listen to their podcast: crabs_08.mp3

Pictures of their hermit crab will be posted soon!

Do you have any comments or questions about their podcast? Post them here!

Last year, I got a Sony PSP for my birthday. I've enjoyed playing lots of games on it, mostly sports games like Madden Football, NBA Live, and FIFA Soccer.

Being a computer teacher, I wanted to checked out some of the other cool features this PSP has. And it is definitely more than a toy!

First of all, the PSP has full access to the Internet. This means that if you can connect to a wireless internet "hotspot", you can check your email and surf the web. Pretty cool! Does this work at school? No. The school's wireless internet network has special security which won't allow PSP's to get online.

If that wasn't cool enough, I also found out the PSP can be used as a phone!!! The PSP has a special program called Skype which allows you to connect to the internet, and then make phone calls. You need a special micro ...

A blog is useful when you want to discuss something very new, like the Canadian federal election. The owner of a blog can quickly add a new topic, and visitors can post their opinions and feelings.

Blogs are great for having discussions, but it is important to remember some basic blogging rules:

1) Never give out personal information like your address, phone number, or even your birthday.

2) Always be respectful to other people. It's okay to disagree, but you don't need to call people names or hurt their feelings.

3) Remember that blogs are public. Anyone can read a blog. So be careful about what you write.

Yesterday, Canada had a federal election. Here are the results as reported by CBC News.< ...

Video of Mrs. McFee’s retirement assembly: the teachers and students of Junior School planned a surprise assembly for Mrs. McFee. Each class made a presentation to celebrate all the ways Mrs. McFee affects their lives.

 Grade 4/5 Rock ...

You can see more pictures of the musical by logging into the portal.

The Junior School's Grade 4 and 5 Rock Musical was a rousing success, playing to enthusiastic audiences on May 7th and 8th.

What did you think about the musical? Did you see it? Were you involved in it?

Were there any performances that were especially memorable?

What was your favourite memory from the musical?

Post your comments here!

David, Philip