Community Connections

By Mrs. Sparks

Since we have returned from winter break, our grade 4/5 class has been working on ‘connections to the community’ in career education, and weaving it into our learning in other areas of the curriculum. As leaders in our elementary school, it is important to teach the students the importance of stepping up and giving back to the community in which we live and to feel connected by being part of something bigger. We have done this in various ways over the past couple of months. The students fundraised and participated in the Push-up Challenge for Mental Health, and raised $735 for the Canadian Mental Health Association. For Valentines Day, our students made valentine cards with their buddies for seniors who are living alone. Finally, the kids participated in a Canada-wide Meaning of Home Challenge. In poetry, the students created a poem at the end of our unit and 20 students submitted them into this challenge, raising $200 to our local Habitat for Humanity chapter. I am so proud of their dedication and determination.

 

Here are a few of the entries:

 

The Meaning of Home

 

To me home is a place where family and friends can come together.

A place where the wonderful feeling of joy sweeps you up the moment you step inside.

A place to feel safe and loved.

A place where you can get out and enjoy the day because all the hate was washed away.

A place to be free and to be who you are.

Tradition and ceremonies are born.

You hear laughter and joy filling the air.

Fun and happiness are encouraged but it's okay to be sad too.

Life seems okay but it can be unfair too.

Home is a place where you can calm yourself down.

This is Home to me

 

By Riley, Grade 5

 

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Home. What is home…?

 I have moved a lot so I have had a lot of homes. 

so It's kind of hard to think of a specific place.

 But home isn't always a physical place. 

So, here is a little poem about home…  

Home where it all starts starting from when I was a baby to when I moved to Canada.  

I remember some things from those old days.

I remember when I played with my brother,

when I used to bake with my mom and grandma and 

when I used to play with my grandpa… I miss him. 

But that is all in the past and now we have moved on and now it’s a restart, starting from when I moved to Canada…

 

By Andrea, Grade 5

 

 

 

A Feeling of Home

 

A house is a suite or an apartment even a big ol’ 3 story house

 and that’s pretty much it

So listen to my simple plea 

If only you could merely believe,

that home is so much more than that

To me home is the calm soothing sensation

that washes over me as I dive underneath the 

MONSTROUS waves

knowing that I’ll come back up for air

That's the same sorta feeling

I have when I’m playing badminton with family and friends

As I swoop for the birdie in my 

GRAND LEAP of faith 

to save the rally and the game goes on 

as I let out a small sigh of relief

I  get a bit of that feeling when I’m DEMOLISHING whatever’s 

On the wood dining table that night as I listen to all eventful

stories of everyone's days as every flavor from our meal

Wafts out and exchanges brisk air through the open window

That feeling comes to me as well when I’m

Watching the flames in the fire centered in the middle of our giant circle

CRACKLE AND POP to life 

while stuffing my face with the sweet gooey taste of roasted marshmallows

And everybody's joy are like echoes of happiness that never end

 

That feeling follows me ‘round and ‘round  

Thank You Habitat for Humanity

 

For giving all of us 

 

This opportunity to make a difference in so many 

 

lives 

 

Quinn Ellis, Grade 5

 

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HOME

 

Home is when you take a single step inside and the smell of a wonderful meal whisks you away like a dream.

 

Home is sitting around the fire and siping hot chocolate while letting the quiet notes of a guitar fill the air around you.

 

Home is dreaming about the very humble things that could happen the very next day.

 

Home is when you're doing something hard and exhausting then spending the rest of your day in a room with relaxation filling each corner.

 

By Orion, Grade 4

 

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To me home is laughing with my family while my dog Penny is rolling on the floor while making hilarious faces 

 

To me home is reaching out to open the oven door to engulf the room with the sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies 

 

To me home is a  loving place to be who I am

 

To me home is a place where I can share my true colours and emotions

 

To me home is a place where rest after coming home from a long day of school

 

To me home is enjoying Chicken-Curry-Rice with my family around the dinner table

 

To me home is is where I can Weather I am near, or far I will always love my home                                                                                                                                                      

 

To me home is the space where I can share my feelings…

 

 Home is my family and I.

 

Think for a minute, what does your home mean to you?

 

By Lucas, Grade 5

 

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Home and Memories

 

Home

 

is a place 

 

of joy filled rooms

 

Scattered all over the house 

 

Home is a place where when your 

 

feeling down you can count on your family

 

 

Home is a memory of your friends spilling water all over the floor

 

Home is my family gathering around the table well feasting on yummy food 

 

Home is not a thing it is a special feeling inside your heart 

 

Home is a memory of my birthday with all 15 of my friends

 

Home is a place where you can always count on each over

 

Home is my brothers fighting over whos right and who's 

 

Home is everything;  it's my beginning and my end.

 

By Tessa, Grade 5

 

 

 

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The Feeling Of Home 

 

Home is where I come back from a trying day at school, 

 

knowing that there will always be someone to say it's going to be okay.

 

Home is  where no one can harm me,

 

 where laughter bubbles out and seeps into my heart from a funny joke.

 

Home is where a feeling of pure happiness, laughter and joy thrives, 

 

no matter where I am, no matter the place.

 

Home I will always find a way to be happy,

 

 as long as I am with the ones I care about and who care about me.

 

Home is where I don't have to worry about what others think of me and I can be my spunky self,

 

with no worries of judgment or prying eyes and where the feeling of safety lives.

 

Home is where we share the good things and the bad things,

 

 where we listen to each other patiently. This is where the feeling of understanding grows.

 

Thea, Grade 5