First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

Many of you will be aware that I have been absent since Tuesday :( Never have I ever been away from my students for more than a day per school year in my 16-year career, so it's been very hard.

 

Please know, I have been communicating closely with the supply teacher(s) all week to ensure the students were minimally affected by my absence, so their days were structured & purposeful as though I was there.  

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me.  Your care, concern, and compassion brought me strength and I am grateful for YOU.  I'm slowly, but surely getting better, and hope to be back on Monday.

I have done my best below to update you on what the children were up to this week :)

Have an enjoyable weekend with your loved ones.  Please be safe and take care of each other.

Mix & Match Day:

Thank you boys and girls for dressing up for our first spirit day of the month!  Perhaps, your child picked out their own outfit this morning saying, "Mom/Dad, I got this!"  ;)    

Sure looks like everyone had fun with this one!!  So, SO SWEET :-)  Seeing the kids in this photo in such positive spirits made my day!  

Bowls for Beds:

I am overwhelmed with gratitude as I write this because I received an email from Mrs. Beattie yesterday sharing the generous donations families have made for The Home Horizon Foundation by purchasing their child's bowl. 

So far, our class family has raised $390.00 and a grand total from both classes (Mrs. Newman's and ours) of $750.00!!  From my heart to yours ... MEEGWICH :-)   

Living is giving, and you (parents) have demonstrated this time and time again, and I'm immensely grateful.  

As shared in a previous post, all money will be given to The Home Horizon foundation which offers a place of safety and hope for homeless youth.  Its services address the needs of youth in crisis and provides the support to help them master the tasks of adolescence as well as focus on their education and employment possibilities.

Way to go Nighthawks!!

Leah Denbok:
Throughout this school year, I have been sharing Leah Denbok's book "Nowhere to Call Home" and it has really peaked the interest of my students, so we have been reading some of the stories presented in volume 1.  

I was gifted her Volume One "Nowhere to Call Home" (see picture above) and it shares a series of photographs and stories of the homeless.  Some of the images really intrigued my students and we had a discussion about the importance of knowing that these individuals are just like us - they have a heart, mind, spirit, and soul.  

Homeless people must be treated with respect just like anybody else.  They have a story just like we all do.  It just may look, sound, and feel ... different.  And, that's OK!  I will continue sharing more stories with my students as the year goes on to hone and magnify our empathy lens.

I came across this interview (video below) and it may give you more insight into who Leah is and the incredible work she is doing to create awareness and support for the homeless.  She is a compassionate person who displays true character in her empathetic ways.

In November 2019, I had the privilege of listening to a panel discussion Leah held at our local library.  For such a young woman, she has made a remarkable impact and truly has worked hard to hear the stories of the homeless.  Leah genuinely cares about their plight.

It is people like Leah who continue to inspire me as an educator to teach my students about empathy and compassion.  For me, the foundation of a solid education is taking what you learn at school, thinking of ways to make a positive difference, and applying your new found knowledge to help your community.  With YOUR SUPPORT, our class family is doing just that.  I am very proud :-)

Writing:

To connect to last week's experience with painting bowls for beds and our learning about homelessness, I shared a children's book titled: Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting.  I have posted the story below for you to listen to.  

Please discuss with your child the adjectives that we came up with as a class to describe the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that a homeless youth would be feeling.

We did our best to step into their (homeless youth) shoes to show our empathy and compassion towards what they're going through.

As students listened to the story in class, I asked them to think about comparing and contrasting the experiences of the main character (Andrew) to themselves.  

We worked on completing a writing activity using a Venn Diagram to compare the life of a homeless person to ourselves and noted the similarities / differences.  Please take some time over the weekend to discuss this with your child.

The girls working collaboratively on their ideas :)

To finish this task off, each student also wrote a personalized message at the bottom of their t-shirt to offer homeless youth in our area HOPE.  I know you will be touched by your child's message when it comes home next week.

Thank you boys and girls for always putting forth your personal best in your writing!!  I hope you keep these pieces as a reminder of the importance of always thinking about the feelings of others especially those in need.

International Day of Pink:

The International Day of Pink is a worldwide anti-bullying and anti-homophobia event held annually during the second week of April.  Though similar to Pink Shirt Day in that it also seeks to end all bullying, the Day of Pink is more specifically aimed towards anti-LGBTQ+ bullying.

Why this matters?  

"Discrimination takes many shapes, whether it’s based on race, age, disabilities, gender or sexuality. The 2SLGBTQIA+ community is no stranger to the bullying and violence that stems from hateful beliefs.

While progress has been made towards removing these social barriers from our society, discrimination still persists.

So, every year, on the second Wednesday of April, we urge people around the world to put on a pink shirt and stand in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to continue fighting for equality and acceptance."

Please have your child wear pink on Wed. Apr. 13th 2022 to show our solidarity and support in creating a more inclusive and diverse world!  I really appreciate it.

Math:

This week, we continued solving equations with variables. 

Students worked on the following math task (see photo below).  Using the 4-Block Method, the expectation was to display their Understanding, Planning, Solving, and Explaining.  

Please ask your child how he or she solved this problem :)

The growth in this area of mathematics has been wonderful!  Most students are now taking the time and process to show their thinking using number sentences (equations), a clear plan, and explaining with PROOF.  This will be an ongoing emphasis for the remainder of the school year.  

Mindfulness:

Here is the incredibly talented Leah Denbok who has captured these images to help us understand that being homeless doesn't mean you're not human.  All these individuals have thoughts, feelings, and emotions like everyone else.  They deserve to be acknowledged and HEARD.  Here is a tribute which I found oh so touching :)

In the past as I've shared videos and books about homelessness, my former student Adalyn (photo below, she's in grade 6 now) thoughtfully said, "Miss Gill, when I see a homeless person, I may give money, but I think a smile would mean a lot to them too."  To which I replied, "It certainly would Adalyn.  A smile is immeasurable, it lasts a lifetime in the hearts of those who receive it."

Adalyn F. grade 3 class 2018/2019

The next time you see someone who is homeless, please remember ...

Growth Mindset:

"Start where YOU ARE.  Use what YOU HAVE.  Do what YOU CAN." - Rose

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill