First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families, 

Welcome back to my weekly blog updates!!  I've missed connecting with you all via this platform and am delighted to resume sharing and celebrating all the wonderful learning we're doing in class :) 

It was an absolute highlight for me seeing your child's bright, enthusiastic, and warm smile on Tuesday morning!  It had been a month since seeing them last (Dec. 17th) in person.  I missed the kids tremendously!

We enjoyed some time outside trekking through the glorious snow on our very first nature walk of 2022.  We're all smiles and will do our mini loop again soon!

Distance Learning:

I would like to acknowledge and offer my sincere thank you to all my families who did their best to remain committed to your child's learning at home.  I recognize this wasn't ideal or didn't pose its challenges, but you did it!!

I am so, SO proud of my students for their dedication, participation, and hard work in completing their daily distance learning assignments!  It was a true pleasure reading each students' entries and providing feedback!  

Please know, I did my best to assign tasks that were meaningful, engaging, and continued to follow the grade 3 expectations that I would be teaching if we were in-class for those 2 weeks.  

Thank YOU (parents) again for providing the support and teaching for your child(ren) to participate constructively and actively in their Google Classroom Assignments and Google Meets.  

It truly made all the difference!!  Most days, we had the majority of our class participating.  If we may need to pivot to distance learning again (I hope not), let's keep the momentum of our learning and growing where ever we!  

Google Classroom Assignments:

I have received positive and constructive feedback from families about the layout/format of my assignments (Google Slides) being user friendly and children are getting the hang of using the text boxes to record their responses.  Well done!

If your child faces any challenges with daily assignments, please do not hesitate to be in touch, we can make adjustments and set something up so that they feel SUCCESS.  

A gentle reminder to please remind your child to 'TURN IN' completed tasks for the day.  This is very helpful for me as then I can see it's done and offer timely feedback.  

If your child requires 1:1 support to review and/or learn how to do this process, please email me and I'm happy to assist!

Donations:
In lieu of Christmas gifts this year, many families made generous donations to Sick Kids on my behalf.  I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for doing so!  

It means a lot to me as I feel it is very important to always think about the feelings of others, especially those in need.  Your thoughtfulness has made an impact in a child's life!

January’s Character Trait:

This month’s character trait is HONESTY – “We behave in a sincere, trustworthy, and truthful manner.”  

Throughout the school year, I have encouraged my students to always tell me the truth if they're experiencing any difficulty. Being dishonest only makes a problem / concern escalate and get bigger.

I look forward to reinforcing honesty is the best policy throughout this month (and beyond) through books, media presentations, and student action!  I am delighted to say, our class is filled with trustworthy students, how blessed we all are :)  

Check out inspiring video below of an honest action displayed by a young boy!  I'm sure it'll touch your heart just as much as it did to mine!

January Random Acts of Kindness Calendar:

Your child brought home this year's "January Random Acts of Kindness Calendar," please enjoy participating in some of the suggested activities such as listen to a guided meditation, write a note of appreciation to a family member to find, do something that fills you with joy, etc ...

Each month for the remainder of the school year, I will be providing these calendars and I hope you will seize them as a friendly reminder to spread kindness not only to others, but also being KIND TO YOURSELF TOO.  

Take time for self-care, you deserve it parents after all you've had to juggle the past few years since the pandemic began.  You're always close to my thoughts!

Math:

I hope you were able to read over the math note that came home earlier this week, if not, no worries, perhaps this weekend then :)  

We are learning about addition, subtraction, and money.  The students have been exposed to various word problems during distance learning math tasks and we also did some work this week.  

See problem below and ask your child how he or she solved this.

A Tour of the Brain:

As we re-enter back to in person learning, I thought it was important to revisit one of my mini-lessons on the importance of getting to know and LOVE OUR BRAINS!!  

Our brain is the most powerful organ and we're in charge of it, so it's valuable for my students (and me) to listen and learn about the various regions and how we can best utilize these parts in our everyday life!!

If you haven't had the opportunity to sit with your child and learn about the brain with the sheet that came home on Wednesday, enjoy this learning experience over the weekend. 

Your extraordinary brain has many regions which control different functions, and like any great team, they work best when they work together!

Let's take a tour to meet these regions and learn more about how they operate!  

In the video below with Mineola Grows, she helps learners foster this skill through an understanding of age-appropriate neuroscience.  Check it out :)

When students understand that they are in control of their brains, they are empowered to learn, to grow, and to seek out challenges for a lifetime of learning.

Grammar Rule # 11:

This week's grammar rule focused on POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.  These tell who or what owns something.  They replace possessive nouns. 

Some possessive pronouns are used before a noun.  Examples include:  my, your, his, her, its, our their

Other possessive pronouns stand alone.  Examples include:  mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs

The kids LOVE our grammar lessons :-)  They get so excited to work collaboratively in their THINK, PAIR, SHARE groups to get the tasks done.  

It's so wonderful being back IN CLASS TOGETHER!!  I hope you can feel the energy just from the photos.  We were vibrating with happiness :)

Check us out below!!  

Your child has brought home his or her sheets, please take an opportunity to go over these with them.  Thank you.

Hannah S.

As shared in my last email to parents, our newest addition to our class family is Hannah.  She has transitioned very well and it's been wonderful getting to know her!!  

I am very proud of my students who instantly made Hannah feel part of our class community.  I caught many moments this week of the kids 'showing her the ropes' so to speak by lending a helping hand.  

It brought such joy to my heart as this truly solidifies all the learning we've done together - being a true TEAM and ensuring everyone feels safe, comforted, and accepted in our class. 

I hope you've enjoyed your time in our class thus far, Hannah.  You're a NIGHTHAWK NOW!  

Reeghan:

Congratulations to Reeghan for earning 2nd place for her Remembrance Day Poster.  She worked so hard on this at home and school, and it certainly paid off!  Her smile says it all :-)  Way to go, Reeghan!!  I'm very proud of you :-)

Tessa:

Congratulations also goes out to Tessa for her extraordinary achievement for the Remembrance Day Primary Poster Contest.

Today, it was shared on the morning announcements that Tessa not only won first place within the area, but also, 1st place in the Zones Competition.  This means, she was the winner for primary students within Simcoe County.  AMAZING!! 

Upon seeing and hearing this, Tessa humbly smiled with her eyes.  The mark of a true winner  - HUMBLE & KIND in victory.  I'm very proud of you, Tessa!

Parker:

I love when my students bring in books to share with me and they say, "Ms. Gill, I think you're really going to love this.  There's a good message at the end of the book!"

Well, that's exactly what Parker did earlier this week.  He brought in a book titled: I Talk Like a River.  Upon hearing this, I was instantly intrigued so I did a picture walk (look through the book) and knew I just had to share it with the class!!!

When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kind father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. 

Compassionate parents (LIKE YOU) everywhere will instantly recognize a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him.

Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. 

This is a book for anyone who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.  

We thoroughly enjoyed this book as a class!  The discussions we had afterwards were very moving as many students connected to the book and learned that we should always embrace each other as we are!  

Difference is not only OK, it's like a SUPERPOWER, utilize and share it with the world!!

Thank you Parker for sharing this special book with our class and me.  I'll always remember its important message and spread it with all my students that I will teach in my future.  

Rose:

Check out Rose cooking her family's dinner last evening!!  It was a delicious pesto noodles with spinach and chicken with a romaine salad on the side.  Oh my goodness, my mouth's watering as I type this.  I want to jump into this photo and eat it all up (lol).  

What an important and valuable like skill to have!  There's so much learning that goes into cooking and it connects directly to math and we can also write about it (a procedure).  

Thank you Rose and family for sharing this experience with me.  I love seeing you in the kitchen!!  

I better not show and share this with my Ma, she'll be like, "See Pareenie, your students are even cooking for their parents at such a young age, when will be MY turn!?" 

My Ma patiently awaiting a home cooked meal from me, oh my!  May be awhile ;)

Mindfulness:

Watch and listen to this 3 minute inspirational song!  It's catchy and upbeat :)  Then, think about what words and images help you understand what this song is about.  

Please discuss with a family member what you believe the songwriter is teaching us.  

Growth Mindset:

"Kindness costs NOTHING.  Bullying costs EVERYTHING. So, be KIND ALL THE TIME!"  

- Tessa

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill