The first semester has wrapped up here at RDPC, and the Grade 9 Textile Art and Design students have submitted their wall hangings in lieu of a written exam. They wall hangings turned out wonderful! I am so impressed by some students’ creative thinking, design process, and constructing such a wonderful final product.

We’re going into week #10 for the Junior High students first term of the year! That means it’s their last class in their current Practical Arts course before they switch to their next rotation December 6th. My JH students have now finished their final project (a drawstring bag) and many students completed a pillow as a bonus project!

In the last month, students have finished their quilts, started and finished their knitting projects, and we’ve now started beading! It’s been very productive in the sewing lab. The beading due date is December 7th, and then we’ll be doing one last project before Christmas holidays (a Christmas stocking!).

It appears it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update, but it’s been a busy month! We’ve made lots of good food and learned lots about food and nutrition! Second term has begun and we’ll soon be getting into the technical side of food, including food additives, growing technology, etc. Before we know it, it’ll be Christmas break!

Over the last few weeks in Junior High Clothing & Design, the Grade 7 and 8 students have learned: how to properly care for clothing, how to read a textile label, how to decipher laundry symbols, fashion history since the 1700’s, and traditional dress in a variety of countries across the world. The students have been working on their drawstring backpacks, as well as completing a hand sewing project using a blanket stitch.

The Grade 9 Textile Arts and Design quilt due date has come and gone! This means all of the students’ hard work over the last month has come together at last and the quilts can be taken home on Monday. They’re beautiful, take a look!

For the students who did not finish within the due date, they are still required to finish their quilts, however late marks will apply and they will be now cutting days off their knitting time (as we start our unit on knitting tomorrow).

The last few weeks of Grade 10 Foods and Nutrition the students learned about micronutrients, macronutrients, fiber, water, and nutrient deficiencies. While we’ve covered a lot of content, we’ve also made some goodies during our cooking labs on Wednesday’s and Friday’s! Pumpkin muffins, cinnamon swirl cookies, macaroni and cheese, salted caramel pretzel cookies, and pizza!

The Junior High students have been busy learning about fabric and how it’s made, learning how to sew a variety of paper patterns, and they’ve now got their fabric cut as preparation for sewing the first steps of their bags!

Quilts are coming together and entering the final stages for the Grade 9 Textile Arts and Design class! The due date is October 26th and it’s quickly approaching. Those who finish in time, we will move onto knitting (as a knitted pot holder is our next project). Those who aren’t finished by the due date will continue to work on their quilt (as we don’t want any fabric to go to waste!).

Over the last couple weeks in Grade 10 Foods and Nutrition, the students have made breakfast sandwiches, blueberry scones, banana chocolate chip muffins, homemade tomato soup, and grilled cheese. While we’ve encountered the odd mishap (like the last outcome of leaving an element on high with an empty pot and then putting butter in), the students have made some pretty great things and are quickly becoming natural bakers/cooks! We’ve also been discussing the micro and macro nutrients, and the importance and sources of each. Another short week coming up, which is helping this term fly by! Thus, it’s important to ensure the students stay on top of their assignments.