First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

Happy February!  This week, we experienced 2 inclement weather days.  I hope you remained safe on the roads as the driving conditions were icy.

When a "snow day" occurs, please note that I have been posting asynchronous work in Google Classroom for students to complete.  These tasks are set up in a user friendly and engaging format using Google Slides.  

Asynchronous work is designed for children to access at home to work through at their leisure.  I post a literacy and math task which focuses on what we're learning in class.  I do request that students TURN IN their classwork to receive timely feedback.  Thank you.

Ally:

A special shout out to Ally who is seen here working on a multiplication job that I posted.  Mom mentioned that Ally's enjoying accessing classwork at home to remain accountable for assigned activities.

Ally's displaying exceptional learning skills and work habits even at home on a snow day :-)  

Meet Ally's bunny named Jasper.  She posted this image with a writing task that she completed about a special thing that someone gave her.  I really enjoyed reading about your very special gift!!  As you can see, Jasper loves to cuddle in Ally's arms.  

Thank you Ally for always putting forth your personal best even when I'm not watching!!  It was a joy to read and receive ALL your completed slides you did on your snow days this week. 

Character Trait:

This month's character trait is INCLUSIVENESS --> "We invite everyone to play.  We never send people away."

Earlier this week, I sent home a February Kindness Calendar to help reinforce this trait at home too :)

We are fortunate to be in a school culture that is sensitive to the needs of others – staff and students work together to ensure that we foster a community that is safe, strong, and free.  

Check out the collection of photos of students being so inclusive in their work and play during our snow days this week.

As your child’s teacher, I will continue to explicitly model, guide, reinforce, and support inclusion so all my students feel a sense of belonging.

Please watch the video below to see how to be inclusive to others.

In it, Mr. Saad hosts the game show for everybody, everywhere! It's time for "IS IT INCLUSIVE" where a lucky studio audience member will decide if the scenarios are inclusive... or not!  

Black History Month:

As January has ended and we are now into February, it’s time to celebrate Black History Month!  

This is a celebration that is near and dear to my heart because as a young child, I faced racism and prejudice first hand due to the colour of my skin.  I have shared this experience with my students and I do it to help them learn the importance of treating everyone with love and respect no matter their race, orientation, size, ability, or religion.  

We are all human, and it is everyone's right to live with equality.  

Black History Month is a time to celebrate and remember all the impactful ways that black Americans and Canadians have contributed to equality, justice, and freedom.  Throughout February, this honouring provides a chance to learn about African cultures too.  

In class, my emphasis will not focus on the negativity that many people faced in the past, but more so on the positive changes that have come as a result of the actions took by inspirational civil rights activists such as Viola Desmond, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, and many more!  

We will also learn all about and acknowledge the amazing contributions made by black Canadians who helped shape our country for the best. 

• Viola Desmond (Canadian entrepreneur who fought segregation)
• Lincoln Alexander (first black member of Parliament in Canadian history)
• Carrie Best (founder of Nova Scotia's first black owned and published newspaper) 
• Elijah McCoy (inventory and mechanical engineer).   

It is up to us and our children to help reinforce a future that will be safe, strong, and EQUAL.  We have come a long way from the injustices of the past, but we must remember to continue putting in the work to ensure we always can live in harmony!!

Clara & Evie:

With our many discussions already about the impacts that civil rights activists have had on our country, some students have been inspired and coming to school to share books and information with me!  YES!  I am so touched by their actions and echoing my enthusiasm for celebrating activists who have made a difference so we can now live with growing equality and justice.  

Thank you Clara and Evie for bringing in books about Black History for me to read to the class.  They were both informative and had inspiring messages!!  

Evie brought in a book titled "Freedom Bird." It is an inspiring story in the tradition of American black folktales, an enslaved brother and sister are captivated by a majestic and mysterious bird to escape to freedom in this dramatic and unforgettable picture book.

Clara brought in a book titled "I am Harriet Tubman."  In this book, we learned about Harriet Tubman's heroic and pivotal role in the fight against slavery.

Evelyn:

Thank you to Evelyn who came to school yesterday and shared with the class a $10.00 because it features the amazing Viola Desmond on it!  

We took time to learn a little bit about Viola's significant impact and contribution to standing up for social justice and equal rights for black Canadians.  We will most certainly be doing a deep dive into this activist again soon!    

Math:

I hope you had an opportunity to read over the math note that came home earlier this week.  Our new focus in math is all about multiplication and division.

We are learning:

• to understand how multiplication and division are related to each other 

• the different ways we can multiply and divide and use this to solve problems 

• multiplication and division facts for 2, 5 and 10 

• to represent multiplication and division using drawings, models and tools 

Ainsley and Jack solved this equation collaboratively - well done!!

Below, you will find a video that I shared in class by the Khan academy giving an introductory lesson and strategies to use when using division.

Have your child practice some division questions over the weekend :)

 

Media Literacy & Health:

We had an exciting opportunity in health this week!  Students have been working really hard on their water posters for the past while and it was finally time for us to go around the school to hang these up to help promote and encourage EVERYONE about the importance of drinking water daily!  Group members picked a specific area in the school to hang up their final product.  

Check it out below :)  I think this activity will positively affect others around our school!  

A special shout out to Finley and Cooper for taking initiative and using their colour printers at home for added affect!  WOW, your posters turned out bright and captures the audiences' attention :-)   

Finley & Elliott:

Students continue to be intrigued and motivated to learn about gemstones!  Finley keenly came to school to share his National Geographic book and some very neat and shiny gems with the class.  Elliott did too!  Thank you boys!

Your knowledge and enthusiasm will surely come in handy for grade 4 as one of the focuses in science will be all about Rocks & Minerals!!  Your HIPPOCAMPUSES (memory saver in the brain) already have so much information stored for you to access when the time comes :)  You're going to rock that unit of study.  

Cooper & Evelyn:

The tabs for wheelchairs keep coming in and this makes my heart soar with immeasurable joy!!  

Cooper came to school and said, "Ms. Gill, here are some more tabs.  I collected and counted all 100 of them."  AMAZING WORK Cooper!!  

As you can see below, Evelyn also has made a significant contribution bringing in many tabs as well!!

Thank you both for your generous and thoughtful ways are oh so appreciated!!  

I'm excited to see how many tabs our class will have collected by the end of June!  Stay tuned :)

Jardine:

The weather's been so snowy and picturesque that we often go for nature walks for DPA when we can, the kids love it!!  Check out this beautiful photo just outside our portable.  We truly are located in the most gorgeous area :-)

On these treks, I have several students whose knowledge far exceeds mine when it comes to plants, animals, and all things nature.  Jardine is one of them!!

Jardine and family gifted me a beautiful poster about WILDFLOWERS IN CANADA.  Thank you for sharing this with me, it's now proudly hung up in our classroom.

I have a lot to learn and this poster will definitely come in handy.  I can't wait for the spring to explore the many great trails we have in our area to try to identify some of the budding flowers that are in our area such as the gorgeous trilliums!!  

Mindfulness:

With the winter Olympics here, I thought I would post a video about Donnovan Bennett who explains how Donovan Bailey’s Olympic achievements taught him the importance of celebrating black history in Canada.

Enjoy listening to his perspective about WHY BLACK HISTORY MATTERS IN CANADA :-)

Growth Mindset:

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill