First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

In anticipation of Halloween this Sunday, students are feeling very excited and enthusiastic!  If I was a kid, I would be too!  Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in our spirit day by dressing up! It was so nice to see everyone actively participating and getting into the Halloween spirit!

This hasn't ever happened for me as a teacher, it's always been black, orange, and purple day which was ok too, but I'm happy we got to experience costumes at school as well.  So many AMAZING costumes!  

A special thank you to Mrs. Mortimer for giving our school family this opportunity to dress up creatively!  We loved it!!    

Halloween Haunt Walk About:

We had an absolute blast on our walk about admiring and honouring all the blowups, and door/wall decorations displayed throughout our school.  Ask your child all about it!  

We loved decorating the staff room door too.  The school was truly a sight to see and be part of!  

Check out all the photos below!!

While we were on our Haunted Tour, we had to work as a TEAM to figure out 2 Halloween Riddles.  Hey parents, try to figure these out!  Your child knows the answer ;)  

1.  What type of roads do GHOSTS like to drive on?  E, D, E, D, D, A, N, S

2.  What was the witch's favourite subject in school?  G, I, P, L, S, E, N, L

Trying to figure out these riddles was a fun way to go on this tour and keep it engaging for the kids as they loved looking for the clues in the hallways!!!

Student-Led Conferences:

I hope you had an opportunity to read through my note that came home regarding our upcoming student-led conferences which will be held the week of Nov. 8th - 12th.  

Thank you to the parents who have signed up already using our online format.  If you haven't had the opportunity to do so yet, no worries, you still have lots of time!

Please use the link provided in the email that was sent to you from Mrs. Mortimer earlier this week.  Any support with this, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Beattie or Mrs. Mortimer in the office.  They are happy to help you.

Albeit virtually, I am really excited to SEE YOU ALL!!  Beginning next week, your child will be busily preparing for this conference as it is student-led, and I know he or she will make you so proud!!  

Success Criteria for Learning Skills & Work Habits:

This week, I had students work in small groups to collaborate as a team to come up with their own 'Expectations' and 'Criteria' for what each Learning Skill & Work Habit "Looks Like, Sounds Like, and Feels Like."  

We started out with blank charts, but soon got our minds thinking and began brainstorming our ideas!  Check out the progression :) 

The purpose of this activity is to explicitly teach my students what each learning skill means and how they can achieve these in their daily life.  Students are learning to set their own goals as well to help them reinforce their strengths and improve their achievement in the areas of:

• Responsibility
• Independent Work
• Collaboration 
• Initiative
• Organization
• Self-Regulation  

We will be referring to their 'Criteria' that they've established throughout the school year!  I believe in the importance and value of having my students' input and voices heard.  This process empowers students and they are more apt to apply these skills if it comes collaboratively from them :)  

I strongly feel this activity will serve as a purposeful tool in helping the kids put effective work habits into place to achieve their personal best in their academic, social, emotional, and mental well-being.

Below are some pictures of students working collaboratively to come up with ideas for each learning skill!  We'll have a closer look at these when we virtually meet for your child's student-led conference the week of Nov. 8th - 12th.  I so look forward to it!

Writing:

Next week’s writing task will focus on students thinking about and reflecting upon the above mentioned 6 Learning Skills and Work Habits.  What I will have the students do is write their own Progress Report Card and self-assess how they think they’re doing in these areas!  I can't wait to see what they come up with!  

As a teacher, it's my responsibility to write your child's progress report which I currently am doing ;)  But I feel having my students think and reflect upon their own strengths and next steps in these areas is vital too.  

For each learning skill, your child will write a specific star comment (what they think they’re doing well) and an arrow comment (what they need to improve upon).  I think they're really going to have fun and be thoughtfully reflective during this process!

This task is a meaningful opportunity for students to set goals for themselves in various other subject areas as well.  Don’t worry, you will have the chance to see these student made progress reports very closely at the student-led conferences. Your child will be eager to share all their hard work with you!  Stay happily tuned :)     

Autobiography Presentations:

In class, we have been working hard at learning how to be an effective public speaker.  I have provided mini-lessons to help enhance my students' understanding of speaking in public.  

As many may know and feel, talking in front of a large crowd can be daunting.  However, we can choose the meaning of F.E.A.R. 

Face Everything And RUN or Face Everything And RISE.  

It's up to us to choose the final R word (run or rise).  We've talked about this in class so your child is familiar with this.  Please ask them about FEAR and how we can overcome it.

See chart below of what makes an effective presenter.  Please take some time over the weekend to have your child practice for their presentation by using the specific criteria provided.  We will continue this into next week as well.

Below, you will find your child's presentation date where he or she will present his or her Google Slides for their completed autobiography.  

I'm really looking forward to this as it will be a true reflection of helping honour your child's HARD WORK on their slides.  It will also give me the opportunity to assess their work and offer descriptive feedback.

Mon. Nov. 1st	Tues. Nov. 2nd	Wed. Nov. 3rd	Thurs. Nov. 4th	Fri. Nov. 5th
Finley	Evie	Ally	Clara	Rose
Reeghan	Georgia	Ainsley	Jardine	Parker
Ruby	Sophia	Emily	Elliott	Jack
	Kinley	Evelyn	Cooper	Tessa

Math:

This week, we started a new unit called 'Geometric Reasoning.'  

In this unit, students will learn about:

• the geometric properties (e.g., faces, edges, vertices, angles) of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes and objects, and how they are connected
• congruent (same size/same shape) angles, lengths and faces of objects
• the relationship between millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres
• how to measure accurately using an appropriate unit
• measure and construct polygons

To get our minds thinking and working on these concepts, students explored using pattern blocks (various polygons) to build designs with them and identify the different angles in their creations! 

If you're able, please take some time over the weekend to discuss what types of designs your child made using various polygons and the angles they labelled.  Completed sheets will come home next week so you can have a closer look at these. 

As a follow up, ask your child to look for different angles (acute, obtuse, right angles) found within your house and/or backyard :)  

Here's a short video by the Khan Academy explaining the angle names we'll be exploring and learning in grade 3.  We watched it in class as well :)

Language:

This week, we started a unit on grammar and punctuation.  I will be introducing one grammar rule a week and we will practice using these important skills.  

Our focus this week was on learning about the subject and predicate in a sentence.  Learning about this has really enhanced our sentence building skills already!  

Students completed 3 activities which will be in your child's agenda bag weekly.  Please look for these sheets when they come home.  When you have time, please review the grammar rules with your child to help solidify their skills.  I would really appreciate this.  For example:  Write a sentence.  Circle the subject.  Underline the predicate.    

Next week's focus in grammar will be on learning about the 4 Types of Sentences (statement, question, command, and exclamation).

Art:

To get us into the spooktacular spirit, did some Halloween art!  Students were asked to follow a guided drawing mini-lesson to create a 'Big Mouth Pumpkin.'  Their pumpkins were unique and very creative!!  We had a blast with this!!  Perhaps you may even choose to hang it up in your window for Sunday's Halloween festivities.

Mindfulness:

Below is an inspirational story of one boy's Halloween.  Ethan Smallwood a 7 year old from Clarke's Beach, Newfoundland is a big fan of superheroes.  

One year for Halloween, he didn't look to the Avengers or the Justice League for inspiration.  Ethan was inspired to dress up as Terry Fox after learning about him at school.  

Get this, instead of getting candy, he collected donations for the Terry Fox Foundation.  How amazing!!

Watch this inspiring story of this EMPATHETIC boy's journey to help make a difference!  This truly makes my heart soar with JOY!!

Cooper:

As I write this, my heart is filled with lots of emotion.  Thank you to Cooper and family for providing our class with a salt lamp.  

After my discussion about its benefits last week, Cooper took it upon himself and was so excited to go to The Collingwood Rock shop and get a salt lamp for us.  Did you know that part of the purchase of a salt lamp goes to "Out of the Cold Collingwood" which is striving to develop permanent services for people in the Southern Georgian Bay region who are accessing homelessness.  For more information, please visit the link --> OUT OF THE COLD COLLINGWOOD

Thank you to the Collingwood Rock Shop for supporting those in need.  What a remarkable act of kindness, I love it!

Check out Cooper who assembled our salt lamp all by himself and helped illuminate our classroom!!!  I am SO touched by this young boy's generosity, kindness, and thoughtfulness!  It has brought tears of joy to my eyes and heart.  Thank you, thank you!  I will cherish this lamp for years to come!!

Growth Mindset:

"Instead of, I made a mistake, try thinking - MISTAKES HELP ME LEARN!"

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill