First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

Here we are already at the end of our first day of April, wowie!  They say, "April showers bring May flowers!"  Let's hope!  But, can you believe all this snow/ice we received this week!?  Is this a prank from Mother Earth?!  Sure seems like it ;)  

This being said, it was so nice to have the sunshine join us on Tuesday.  Wasn't it gorgeous?!  We took full advantage of this and went out for a nature walk.  Check out our sunny smiles shining :-)

Today, some students shared with me that their parents played a little prank on them by saying, "It's a snow day!"  HAHA, good one parents!  It is April Fools' Day after all ;)

It is important we always remember that when we are getting into the spirit of a friendly prank that it is NOT harmful to someone's thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  It can be playful and fun though ;)  Check out these adorable images of this little girl and her Momma, hehe.

Inclement Weather:

A friendly reminder that on the days that busses are cancelled due to inclement weather, please ensure your child accesses Google Classroom to work through the asynchronous activities that I have posted.  

All material is meaningful and helps reinforce what I have taught or will be teaching in class.  I hope this is helpful for parents working from home so your child is occupied doing their work in a quiet space.     

Please note, students who TURN IN their asynchronous classwork will be provided acknowledgement and marks towards their learning skills & work habits achievement for the Term 2 report card :)

Message from Mrs. Mortimer:

With the many changes in the weather, we have experienced lots of muddy areas on the yard so we are asking parents to please provide your child with an extra set of socks and bottoms (pants/leggings) in the backpack to change into if need be.  

On more mucky and rainy days, you may have your child wear splash pants and water proof boots.  We do our best at the school to encourage students to stay out of the big puddles and mud to avoid getting soaked and dirty, but as you know, kids just love playing in puddles (gosh, I did too as a youngster) and if they're dressed for it, they can fully enjoy splish splashing away without getting uncomfortably wet when they're back in class.    

We do appreciate and thank you for preparing your child(ren) for all weather types. 

Character Trait:

This month's character trait is "Optimism" - We maintain a positive attitude and have hope for the future.”

As an educator and person, I strongly believe in the power of optimism. But does positive thinking really have any power? Yes, it does!! Please check out the video to see for yourself. #ThisIsOptimism

Being in a state of optimism is remarkable!  We have so many reasons to be optimistic and in this video below, we explore what it means, why positivity is perfect, and why we should do our best to view the world with optimism!

So, come one, COME ALL, join US in the POWER OF OPTIMISM!  It can change your life for the better ... FOR GOOD!!

April Spirit Days:

With a new month upon us comes a new set of spirit days for staff and students :)  Please get out those calendars/agendas and record these dates so your child doesn't miss out!

Fri. Apr. 8th - "Mix & Match" Day

Fri. Apr. 22nd - Dress in "Green" for Earth Day

Fri. Apr. 29th - "Jersey" Day

As always, a big thank you to all the parents for helping your child get involved in our school wide spirit days.  I realize it requires organizing on your end as laundry needs to get done and perhaps even trying to find some of these attire items within your home.  Your time and efforts are appreciated!

April Kindness Calendar:

I hope you will enjoy receiving and trying out the various ACTS OF KINDNESS for April.  I really like today's which said - "Pull a kind April Fools' Day prank on someone."

Many students have shared with me that they are enjoying completing some or all of the suggested ideas on the kindness calendars that have come home the past several months.  This truly fills my heart with JOY!

These suggestions are certainly a fabulous reminder for us all because we lead such busy lives, but kindness must never be overlooked or passed up.  #bekindallthetime  

Making a Difference:

In class, we've talked about the importance of "Living is GIVING" and that's exactly what we've been doing all year long thanks to your (parents) generous contributions and support!  Thank you.  Thank you.  THANK YOU!!! 

Below is a list of the charitable organizations that our class family has given back to so far this school year:

• The Collingwood Food Bank for Thanksgiving 
• Terry Fox Foundation for the Terry Fox Run
• Backpacks in Our Backyard to support families with everyday hygiene items at Christmas time
• Tabs for Wheelchairs (ongoing)
• Sick Kids in lieu of a teacher holiday gift in December
• Sunset Manor (retirement home) holiday cards to show elders that we care about them
• Letters to the Canadian Armed Forces to show our appreciation and gratitude for their service

"When you're blessed financially, don't raise your standard of living, raise your standard of GIVING." 

This week, we added another wonderful organization to our list - Home Horizon and The Barbara Weider House which provides safe transitional housing, coupled with access to counselling, social and life skills programs to help clients successfully rebuild their lives and transition to independent living and adulthood. 

In addition, Home Horizon offers programs to additional youth in the community on a waiting list aimed at empowering and educating teens with the skills and abilities needed to make positive and healthy life choices about their future!  

HOW AMAZING!!  

Painting Bowls for Beds:

Thank you to the Home Horizon Team (Deb Piggott) for helping organize Mrs. Newman's and my class to run this meaningful event for our students.  Mrs. Piggott's time, organization, and kind nature is appreciated.  

The education from painting the bowls taught us the importance of continuing  to think about the feelings of others (EMPATHY) and for this particular cause - youth who are vulnerable and in need.

Thank you to all the families who purchased your child’s bowl that they painted.  If you did not, that is perfectly O.K. too because by simply participating in this experience, it will make a difference in the lives of youth who need our support!

I spoke with Mrs. Piggott and she mentioned how Nottawa's contributions remain immense and how grateful she is to our school.  For me, education comes full circle when we are able and willing to GIVE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY!  That's exactly what we have done and will continue to do.  Way to go Nighthawks!!

Check out the students below enjoying painting their bowls - feel their love as they are helping the hearts and minds of homeless youth in our area.  

As you can see from the images, it was a wonderful experience for our class especially learning about the Home Horizon foundation.  Everyone was excited, engaged, and enthusiastic!  

The kids’ designs were creative and unique!  All the bowls are being sent away and will be put into a kiln (a furnace or over for burning, baking, or drying, especially one for calcining or firing pottery) which will produce a bright colourful bowl with your child's personalized touch! 

The bowls are predicted to arrive back to our school sometime in May/June.  Stay tuned :-)

World Autism Awareness Day:
This week, we acknowledged and learned about Autism.  Similarly to last week's discussion about Down Syndrome, I reinforced with my students the importance of showing compassion and understanding to those who think and learn differently than us.  

We had a meaningful discussion and below are some of the teachings I did based on the children's book "My Friend Has Autism".

What is autism?  "It is a brain-based disorder.  Doctors don't know what causes autism, and there is no cure.  

Kids with autism have difficulty making sense of the world around them.  They don't make connections with words and feelings like most people do.  

Kids with autism have trouble talking with others, which makes it hard to make friends.  They often spend their time alone and seem to be "in their own world."  

Therapy can help kids with autism communicate with others and live better lives."  - Amanda Doering Tourville

DID YOU KNOW?
"Autism is a brain-based disorder which means parts of the brain don't grow the way they should.  No one knows why some kids have autism.  There is no cure ...YET!"

DID YOU KNOW?
"Kids with autism have trouble communicating.  They may not talk much at all.  They may talk only about their interests, even when other people don't share those interests."

DID YOU KNOW?
"Many kids with autism are able to focus very tightly on an interest.  Many kids with autism may hear sounds or smell odors that other people don't notice.  Kids with autism often spend a lot of time arranging toys or objects.  It can upset them when someone moves their things."

DID YOU KNOW?
"Many kids with autism can seem impolite.  They don't understand that it's rude to walk away from someone who is talking to them."

A Message from the School Board:

Sat. April 2, 2022 is World Autism Awareness Day.  With tomorrow being Saturday, our school wore BLUE today to demonstrate the importance of understanding and acceptance for people with autism.

#AutismAwareness

Thank you to all the staff and students who wore BLUE to show that you're listening, acting, and uniting with people with autism!  Well done boys and girls :-)  

Sign Language:

I realize the Oscars brought a lot of 'buzz' with the Will Smith incident, however, my focus went towards the movie Coda and best supporting actor Troy Kotsur who won the best supporting actor award being the second deaf actor to ever win an oscar!!

Now you may be wondering, why is Ms. Gill bringing this to our attention?  

I took this opportunity to share with my students the importance of honouring and acknowledging the deaf community.  What an incredible achievement by Mr. Kotsur whose form of communication in the film and in real life is through sign language.

We often talk about inclusion so I feel is it vital that we learn a little bit about signing so that we are prepared to help anyone feel welcome who uses this tool to communicate.

In class, we took some time to learn about the sign language alphabet.  Ask your child to practice this at home and learn to sign their full name :)

We are learning that sign language is not just for deaf people, but is used by many who require it to clearly articulate themselves with others.  By doing our part to learn this form of communication, we can ensure we're caring, compassionate, and inclusive to others with different abilities!    

Transgender Day of Visibility:

Did you know Thursday March 31st, 2022 was International Transgender Day of Visibility?  

This day is dedicated to recognizing the resilience and accomplishments of the transgender and gender nonconforming community.

The SCDSB celebrates our trans students, staff and community members, and is committed to raising awareness of the struggles they face, the beauty they bring to society, and work to show a greater representation for this community.

For more information and resources, visit: https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/trans-visibility/

"Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) is an internationally recognized event that celebrates the accomplishments of transgender communities around the world.  This includes trans women, men and trans-identifying non-binary folks.  It’s also a chance to reflect on the fact that there is still a long way to go to erase discrimination and transphobia everywhere."

Please listen to and watch this heartwarming story which speaks to the unique challenges faced by children who don't identify with traditional gender roles.

"No matter the day, it’s important to acknowledge diverse and vibrant transgender communities for their leadership, creativity and strength. Trans activists, especially BIPOC trans activists, have always spearheaded the push for equal rights for all 2SLGBTQ+ communities.  They continue to lead this fight, and that work should be recognized always."

Math:

This week, we have been solving equations and finding the missing variable.  What is a variable?  

A variable is a letter or a symbol that is used in place of an unknown amount or quantity.

T  + 4 = 12 T  is the variable. We don’t know what number is missing yet so it holds the place.

A variable can also be a letter or symbol. There can be more than one variable in an equation 4 + 6 =  S +  T S and T are variables for the missing numbers.

I posed the following math problems for students to complete (see photos below). Ask your child to share his or her solutions with you via Google Classroom (Mar. 30th asynchronous snow day work) or to talk it out with you using pencil/paper.

Yesterday, students worked in their THINK!  PAIR!  SHARE groups to complete the following math problem (see photo below).  These sheets have come home so you may have a closer look at your child's solution.  

It was a collaborative effort and many successfully solved how many more steps were needed to reach the other tree :-)  Ask your child how he or she came to this conclusion.

Mindfulness:

I am very drawn to this video (see below) because of all its powerful quotes aka GROWTH MINDSETS!!  Please listen to it at home with your child.  It will surely be helpful in developing an optimistic mindset on those more challenging days you may face.

Growth Mindset:

Thank you Emily for sharing this VERY meaningful mindset message with our class family!  Maintaining a positive attitude can help accomplish MOST obstacles :-)

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill