Dear Families,
It's another fabulous and sunny Friday here in Nottawa! I hope you're enjoying the sunshine :) I'm admiring it from our portable window as I type this message to you.
Can you believe on Sunday, we'll be into the month of May? It felt like April zipped by! As always, lots of meaningful learning happening in our classroom! Check below, see for yourself :)
Jersey Day:
Thank you to all the staff and students who dressed up for jersey day! It was wonderful to see a school full of supporting various sports teams :)
I'm a big Raptors fan (basketball in general) so I was dressed in their team colours from head to toe. We lost game 6 last evening against the Sixers, but our future is bright! We have a young, yet MIGHTY TEAM that will rebuild and come back stronger in the new season!
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Here I am pictured in May 2019 when I got to see the Raptors win the Eastern Conference Finals!! |
Spirit Days in May:
Get out those calendars, we have some more great spirit days coming up in the month of May!
Friday, May 13th - "Twin Day"
As always, thank you for your active and ongoing participation in our spirit days! It's not only fun, it brings our school community together buzzing with excitement :)
Fill Your Bucket Week:
Exciting news! The leadership team has worked hard at creating a 'fill your bucket week' May 9th - 13th :)
Our class is very familiar with this concept because we have been writing bucket filling notes to each other from the beginning of the school year. Perhaps you recognize the note below because your child has shared one with you that they've received from a peer or me :)
During the week of May 9-13th, there will be a theme related to uplifting and filling someone's bucket. What a wonderful initiative that our whole school will participate in!! See below :-)
Monday May 9th - Fill your friend's bucket
Tuesday May 10th - Fill your family's bucket
Wednesday May 11th - Fill our community's bucket (write letters/make cards/draw pictures
for the hospice/retirement homes)
Thursday May 12th - Fill another class's bucket
Friday May 13th - Fill the environment's bucket (school wide community clean up)
More information about this will come on the morning announcements so we're all prepared to do our part to help others feel and know that they or loved.
Kindness Projects & Oral Presentations:
Thank you students for all their hard work in preparing and completing their Passion Projects!! I am in awe of their results and can't wait to provide feedback to each one.
Parents, I thank you for your supportive ways as well in helping your child in this endeavour.
Exciting news!! I would like to honour and give each student an opportunity to share & show off their hard work with their peers through an oral presentation. Your child has signed up for a specific date (see below).
Passion Project Presentation Dates:
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Mon.
May 9th |
Tues.
May 10th |
Wed.
May 11th |
Thurs.
May 12th |
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Elliott |
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Oral Presentation Success Criteria:
To help the children effectively prepare for this presentation, I have provided the Success Criteria (aka marking scheme) so their know exactly what I'm looking for.
Students are familiar with this because they utilized this exact criteria for their autobiography presentations in the fall.
Language:
This week in our reading and writing, we did a deep dive into the topic of self-esteem. I felt this was a very important discussion to have and a learning opportunity for us all.
Self-esteem is a feeling of self-worth. It is how children "feel inside" about themselves. When children participate in activities that build on their strengths, it helps them to develop a sense of confidence and an appreciation of their abilities.
I shared a very purposeful book called Never Give Up - a story about self-esteem. After listening to the it, students then completed a writing activity where they were asked to "think about a time that you did not give up even when it was tough."
I am so proud of each student's writing piece as it gave them an opportunity to be vulnerable and share about their NEVER GIVE UP MOMENT. These pieces will come home soon so you too can admire your child's RESILIENCE - adapting well to a challenge!
Recognizing children's efforts and accomplishments is vital as it helps maintain their self-esteem and also encourages them to keep trying :) #tryliketerry
Children who feel good about themselves are more likely to develop positive relationships and less likely to be mistreated in their interactions with others.
TIPS for Parents & Educators to Help Support Their Children/Students to Develop Self-Esteem:
- Love them: Show children they are loved and accepted by expressing affection and spending quality time together.
- Play with them: Create a safe, secure environment, encouraging children to explore the world around them.
- Respect them: Have realistic expectations, fostering positive experiences and success.
- Appreciate them: Accept children as individuals, reinforcing their strengths and abilities. Look for opportunities to talk about things that make them feel proud of themselves.
- Talk with them: Use positive ways to guide their behaviour, treating all children in the family fairly.
- Listen to them: Children need to feel that they are contributing participants to the conversation in order to feel valued and respected; two key ingredients of self-esteem.
Math:
Students have been so engaged in and enjoying our 'Crack the Code' activities. It's certainly been challenging for some, but its benefits stimulates the mind and gets it to think outside our comfort zones.
With this, we had a meaningful discussion about maintaining a positive math mindset especially when things get 'tough.' This is now a good opportunity to ask your child what M.A.T.H. stands for :-)
Our brains are a muscle, mistakes help it grow! If everything we did 'came easy,' there's little to no room to build and improve our skills in mathematics :) It's all about creating and maintaining a positive math mindset.
When I handed out Puzzle #5 (see below) for students to complete independently, they did so graciously and put in their personal best which is what I'm looking for.
Your child's completed coding activity is in the agenda with feedback so please take some time over the weekend to review this.
If your child successfully cracked the code, please ask them HOW (this will help you understand their logic and reasoning) they arrived at this number. If your child didn't get the code YET (that's a-ok), then please work through the coding with them to help them improve.
I think parents will really appreciate this activity and get into it too :-)
Brain Breakfast Consolidation:
At the beginning of each week, your child brings home his or her 'Brain Breakfast' aka Daily 5 Math to 'consolidate' (show & share) with you. Thank you parents for taking the time to read and review your child's strategies. It's making a DIFFERENCE!
We spend 100 minutes on math daily and part of this time is completing the 5 math questions that come home in the agenda weekly (see below).
As you can see from the example above, we spend quality time taking up the answers as a class and thinking of ways to 'bump up' our work. Students are asked to utilize and record my feedback to help improve their achievement in mathematics.
Many students are using my feedback well and work so hard to write it down, it's fantastic! We're not only learning grade 3 concepts, but I'm also exposing the children to concepts for the next grade levels that will get them well prepared for the junior division (grades 4-6).
Administrative Professionals Day:
On Wednesday, we recognized our very own Mrs. Beattie for Administrative Professionals Day! This is celebrated annually in Canada on April 27th.
The day recognizes the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists, and other administrative support professionals. They are truly central to any business. These professionals keep an office organized and efficient. The day in the life of an administrative professional is varied from moment to moment.
Our school could NOT run without Mrs. Beattie, she is a FORCE. Always professional, knows her stuff, and is on top of everything. She takes time to get to know families so she can best meets their needs on a daily basis.
Thank you Mrs. Beattie for BEING YOU! In particular, I am so appreciative of you taking care of all the funds for our Bowls for Beds Fundraiser this year, ensuring my attendance is accurate and complete daily, and ensuring the safety and well-being of my students as they enter and exit the building.
You're a ROCKSTAR and I am ever so grateful I can always count on you for my classroom needs :) Now, kick back and relax over the weekend, you deserve it Mrs. Beattie!
World Wish Day:
In class, we continue to think of ways to help others and tonight's the perfect opportunity to do so!! How incredible is this!?
Did you know, today is World Wish Day? YES, it is :-) On World Wish Day, $1.00 from every pita, rice bowl, or salad sold will help grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Check out the website below for more information.
Thank you for your care and consideration to help a child's wish come true!!
"No one is too small to make a difference!"
Emily:
On Monday, I was introduced to Emily's newest family member, meet KONA!! She stole my heart instantly as she's a most precious lil' pup! Congrats Emily and family :-) Now, I want one too ;)
Kona's landed the jackpot in entering your happy and harmonious home with you all!! I look forward to seeing her again by the fence at the end of the day for pickup! Please extend my hugs and hello to Kona :-)
Mindfulness:
How do we foster positive thinking in children?
- Let children know that it is okay to express their feelings.
- Be a role model.
- Encourage and motivate your kids.
- Give them freedom.
- Let your kids be surrounded by positive people.
- Encourage them to talk about positive events.
- Teach morals and values to them.
As your child's teacher, I promise to use and reinforce these strategies in the classroom to help boost their self-esteem and confidence so they can BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING :)
Growth Mindset:
Thank you Emily for this important mindset message from brilliant Albert Einstein.
"We all have a VOICE, it needs to be HEARD!" We say this regularly in class and it's so true!
I encourage you to use your voice to BE GOOD & DO GOOD.
Meegwich,
Ms. Gill
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