Chocolate Day!

Today was another busy day, with many things we had to get done.  The day started with Tech period where students were given the opportunity to type up their good copies of their family stories and work on their science reports from yesterday.  I hope students were productive during this period because the library cannot be used at all times of the day and printer use will be curbed by Mr. Knierim if he sees that computer privileges are being abused.

After recess we covered a story about a boy named Jonah, we watched his video (see below) and discussed what was going on with him.  We had a discussion about the video, unpacked some of the main ideas of why this video was made, the mental state of Jonah and how he is connected to the main character Melinda in the book we are reading in class ("Speak").  Students were given a Venn Diagram activity to do in class and this is due on Monday February 13th. 

After lunch we discussed February 14th, and we have decided to celebrate the end of term 1, with a little Valentine's Love and celebration.  Valentines will be handed out by each student for each student, we will have a morning of games and an afternoon of film. Film choice selections can be made by commenting on the bottom of this blog entry, so make a suggestion and we will take a vote on Monday.  We are also looking for food donations for the afternoon so the party committee will be taking a list and hopefully everyone can think about what they might want to bring on Tuesday. 

Today was also the day we handed out the cases of chocolates and we had a meeting with all of the students in grade 8 and went over the ground rules for the chocolates here is a summary of what we discussed:

1. How much do the chocolates cost?  How much is the case of chocolates? How much money can I earn per case for my trip to Quebec?
The bars are $3.00 each for sale. 
The entire case of chocolates costs $90.
The amount of money that you can earn per case towards your trip is $46.78 so SELL, SELL, SELL!!

2.Can I sell the chocolates on school property to teachers and students? 
Officially the answer is no, we are not allowed to sell the chocolates on school property to students and teachers at recess.  However we suggest that you get creative about your marketing strategy.

3.Can I sell the chocolates off of school property? 
Sure.  We recommend that you get permission from retail stores in order to sell the chocolates as well as using your parents to help you.  If your parents work in an office or place of business that people might be interested in buying the chocolates then they are more than welcome to sell the chocolates at work to their colleagues and friends. 

4. What does the box look like? 
There are 3 types of chocolate bars; milk chocolate, rice crisp and caramel.  They are stacked inside the box in a creative way, and the box is actually a display box (directions are on the back) that you can set up in an office for sales.  There is also an envelope to collect and record money.  All money must be recorded on the envelope along with the student's name in order to be applied to their trip balance.


5. What if I am not going to Quebec? 
The money that those students raise is going into the graduation celebration fund.  There is a dinner, dance and ceremony to pay for and that is an expensive evening.  The money raised will go towards all of the grad celebrations and to be honest, grad is an expensive celebration so we can use all of the help we can get.

6. What if I only sell a few chocolate bars?  
That's okay.  Please return all unsold chocolate to the school as we are able to add the bars into one case and return it for our money back.  We will also try to unload some of the extra bars onto the staff and local community to help raise the money we need for graduation and Quebec.
 
7. What if I sell the whole case and I want more?  
That's great!  We have more than enough cases at the school.  All you have to do is tell Ms.Kearns that you have taken an extra case and you can sell as many cases as you want!

8. Are there any prizes? 
Yes!  The top two sellers will have the choice of one of two prizes; A set of family passes to the movies that includes drinks for all (four) guests and popcorn OR a 5lb CHOCOLATE BAR (and yes, it is ridiculous looking!)! 

9. How long are we selling chocolates? 
We will see how sales are going but, last year the 8's sold them until April.  I'm not sure if the momentum will keep up but we'll see how it all goes, as a group the 8's seemed happy with mid-April, so we'll stick with that for now.

Good luck 8's, it's all up to you now!  I've decided to send a case to my husband's police station so...hopefully that will help too!  I want all of you to go on this trip and to have the best grad possible so I'm happy to contribute. 

For tomorrow:
1. Good copies (edited) of Family Story due
2. Science labs - Mass and Volume & Some Liquids don't Mix (marked returned to me to display in the classroom)
3. Work on Science write up for next week
4. Venn Diagram activity from today (get it done and then you don't have to worry about it for next week)
5. Grad composite $ due for the 29th of February on photo day (if you want it)
6. Pizza lunch $
7. $2.00 for the dance tomorrow afternoon!

Have a good night...I'm zonked!

I leave you with a little Marcel the Shell 2...love it!