Off to a great October start

We are well into our exciting new program, A Year For Nature, where students and staff are connecting their learning to the natural world in all subject areas. We view A Year For Nature as a learning journey. I would like to share with you three stories that help describe our journey so far.

At the beginning of the year, we decided that we needed to explore the educational opportunities at Elliston Park, just 800m from our school. One of our teachers took some pictures of the park to share with the students. The children were excited to visit the park, but very concerned about the amount of garbage they found there learning that it was left from Global Fest. Students wanted help, and while another group has cleaned up the mess at Elliston Park, they incorporated the cleanup of two parks in Penbrooke on their walking trip to Elliston. Now, the Grade 6 students are investigating connections to nature right here in Penbrooke and Applewood.

The Grade 4’s have also begun a journey with nature. They have learned about two amazing natural projects in New York City where former train tracks and an old underground train station are being converted into urban parks. Students are now thinking about what we could to bring plants and natural life into our very own school building. Stay tuned to hear more about their plans. The Grade 4s are studying the plants native to Alberta’s regions and investigating what will grow well inside and outside of our school. On their trip to Elliston Park, the Grade 4s also cleaned up some of the green spaces in Penbrooke before beginning an investigation of native plant species at the park.

Our Grade 5s are learning about connections between nature and art. Chilly weather cut their trip to Elliston Park short, but they look forward to future opportunities to create art in natural settings. They are going far beyond simple drawings and painting. The Grade 5s are learning about the math that quietly underlies all of nature from the simplest flower blossom to a snail’s shell.

A Year in Nature - Welcome To Our School Blog

G.W. Skene School - Inspiring Minds in a Caring Community

A Year in Nature...this school year as we embark on a meaningful connected learning journey we set out to explore our connections with nature; to use the natural world as our lens for learning; to inspire deep learning about the world around the us.  As a school we are doing this by collaborating with the City of Calgary Parks department and their staff of interpreters who will work closely with our teachers and students to design innovative and engaging learning tasks and experiences.

This blog will aim to capture some of the reflections, artifacts, learning outcomes, experiences and insight that be a central part of our learning experiences in each classroom and for each student in our school.  Using relevant learning technologies along with direct first hand contact with nature will be a rewarding learning journey this coming school year.  We invite you to check in on our learning pathway throughout the year.

This will be a space to celebrate student learning and to share with our community some of the things we learn along the way.  We are looking forward to another great year at GW Skene School as we embrace A Year in Nature.