You may have heard your child talking about a new project we're doing at school, Genius Hour. So what is it? And what role do you play as parents in this project? Read on to find out more! 

About Genius Hour

Genius Hour gives students an hour each week on Wednesday afternoons to learn about a topic that they are passionate or curious about. Over the past weeks, our class has had to brainstorm their ideas, ask questions about how their project could be made possible, and even write a formal project proposal for me! Each project idea was thought of and designed by the student, [will be] approved by the teacher, and must be based upon each students' own individual or small group research. 

Throughout the project, I will be holding student-teacher conferences to challenge students to sequence and build their projects in meaningful ways, and to perhaps to throw a wrench in the plan. Writing a book? Well, you might want to know about what a manuscript is. Trying to make a stop-motion video? Perhaps you need to watch some tutorials on creating cool effects and making it look realistic. No matter the project, I try to find ways to push student thinking in our Genius Hour conferences.

Several students are building projects (Lego worlds or objects, stop-motion animation props, robots, etc.), whereas others are creating theirs digitally (making websites, filming stop-motion animation, learning to code, creating an eBook, etc.). Please discuss your child's topic with them and what they would like to accomplish by the end of the year. Their work will be found in their Google Drive folders once we begin this week. (It's not there yet, but will be soon! You can find their log-in for their account on the front page of their agendas.) 

Genius Hour Sharing and Assessment

Students will have an opportunity to share their findings from their topics and central questions at the end of the term.  The final presentation to the class will take place in the middle of June. While that might still seem very far away, it's actually time to start considering what we need to accomplish before then!

Please note that this project is oriented on the documentation of the student's progress and their thinking along the way, not the final product! In many cases, students won't actually be able to accomplish their final goals by June, but should be able to document their learning by taking pictures and writing about their findings. This means they will be carrying an iPad around to take pictures during every Genius Hour class. If you're doing any work on the project at home, please take pictures!!! These images can be used for student presentations at the end of the term. 

In short, I will be assessing: 

• ​their project proposals (due Tuesday)
• ​their questions and research quality and how they deal with obstacles
• their documentation of their project
• their presentation

Final presentations in June must have a digital component involved so that it can be shared on student blogs. Students are allowed to use any presentation or video software they like to present their learning journey. In class, we will be discussing which presentation tools will most effectively demonstrate their learning and I will guide them to one that will work best for them. Chances are that no matter which tool they end up selecting, there will need to be a lot of photo documentation of their project as possible, so, again, please take lots of photos if they are working on this at home!

Thanks, as always, for all of your support. Our class is so excited about this project and those who have their proposals approved already will be starting on Wednesday. If your child wants to work on their proposal at home this weekend, they can do so by logging into their account on Google Classroom. Please let me know if you have any questions at all. 

Thanks,
Mrs. LS

Well, it's official - you're stuck with me now until the end of the year. Our goodbyes to Ms. Ledlin last week were tearful, but proud. We all wish her sincere congratulations and luck as she continues her studies at UBC and becomes a fully certified teacher!

I have some photo albums to share with you from the last few weeks and am looking forward to capturing more images over these last exciting weeks of school before summer. Scroll through below to check out images from the Surrey Children's Festival, Inquiry Fair, Ms. Ledlin's goodbye gathering, and more!

Thanks for reading/viewing!
-Ms. Olson

Hello families, 

I would like to extend a warm welcome to another student in our classroom, Matthew! Please make sure you say hello to him and his family if you see them around the school. We are so excited to have them here at West Langley! 

Division 5 has been busy this month with everything from our continued skating field trips, to Genius Hour, to learning with Ms. Ledlin (our student teacher), and much, much more! As the school year is creeping to a close, Ms. Olson would like to let you know more about the project and our presentation times.

About Genius Hour

Genius Hour gives students an hour each week on Thursday afternoons to learn about a topic that they are passionate or curious about. Each project idea was thought of and designed by the student, approved by the teacher, and must be based upon their individual research. Please note that this project is oriented on the documentation of the student's progress, not the final product! In many cases, students won't actually be able to accomplish their final goals by June, but should be able to document their learning along the way.

Several students are building projects (creating board games, stop-motion animation props, robots, etc.), whereas others are creating theirs digitally (making websites, filming stop-motion animation, learning to code, etc.). Please discuss the next steps of this project with your child and what they would like to accomplish by the end of the year. Their work so far can be found in their Google Drive folders. 

Genius Hour Sharing Events

Students will have 2 opportunities to present their findings from their topics and central questions this year.  The first will be at the end of May at the Inquiry Fair and the second will be the final presentation to the class in the middle of June. While that might still seem very far away, it's actually time to start considering what we need to accomplish before then!

Final presentations in June must have a digital component involved so that it can be shared on student blogs. Students are allowed to use any presentation or video software they like to present their learning journey. In class, we will be discussing which presentation tools will most effectively demonstrate their learning and I will guide them to one that will work best for them. Chances are that no matter which tool they end up selecting, there will need to be a lot of photo documentation of their project as possible, so please take lots of photos if they are working on this at home!

Photo Fun!

See the photos below to see some EduMinions learning magic (in no particular order at all; we have been very behind with our sharing!)

It has been somewhat of a crazy month for everyone... so sorry these are late! I hope you enjoy these last few photos from our class as we explore fractions, an inquiry project on First Nations culture, Genius Hour presentations, and of course, Sports Day.

Be prepared to click a lot - there are several. Thank you to our cameraman, James, for helping to take photos during Sports Day! 

Thank you to the parents of Division 5 for a wonderful year. We couldn't have done it without your ongoing support. We wish you all the best in the summer and will see you in September! 

We have had a wonderful year of Genius Hour passion, engagement, and sharing! Our students were excited to share their project progress with the entire school as well as engage in other student's projects as we celebrated at our annual Inquiry Fair this Tuesday. But we're not finished with this project just yet!!!

As a part of their final assessments, students are required to complete a final presentation of the culmination of their project. The project does not require a completed final product, but evidence of the process must be visible in each student's/group's presentation. In other words, they should be able to show some of the phases of learning that they experienced throughout the time we've spent on Genius Hour. 

By this point, students will have likely chosen a digital medium in which their project will be shared. This can include any presentation, video, or visual software (many are using Google Presentations because it's embedded right in their Google Drive accounts, accessible both at home and at school). You can support your child by helping them to collect and organize photos and to create talking points for their final presentation. Even if your child built something, they need to teach us about their learning and how they got to their final destination!

Our celebratory class presentations will be taking place on Friday, June 6th. Parents will be invited to attend the presentations if they wish. More details will be released on timing soon!