First Week of School - SUPERB START-UP!

Dear Families,

Here we are at the end of our final FULL WEEK of grade 3.  Did I just write that?!  I thank you all for being a regular follower and supporting your child’s academic, social, emotional and mental well-being  IN and OUT of the classroom.  

I am deeply proud of all my students for their dedication, efforts, and responsibility with all their classroom endeavours such as daily homework, projects, presentations, etc...  

As you may have sensed, the workload in grade 3 was extensive and substantial.  I do my best to not only cover our current curriculum expectations, but also to prepare my students well for the next grade level(s).  My hope is that this will be beneficial as your child enters the junior division in the fall. 

Perhaps you may recall at the student-led conferences in November, your child had shared the meaning of T.E.A.M.  This stands SO TRUE ... and we have achieved more as a dream team :-) 

It has been a true pleasure writing these weekly posts as I get to reflect upon all the meaningful learning we're doing and have done as a class family, this brings me immense JOY! 

Report Cards:

Students have now received their term 2 report card and as always, I like to reinforce that for me, it is not solely about the ‘marks’ or ‘level’s,’ but an emphasis on celebrating students’ strengths ('what they know') and next steps ('what they don't know YET').  

I am proud to say that each student this year displayed their personal best and it has reflected in their growing character.  

Many of you know how important character education and values are to me :)  I truly believe this is what will take our children further in life … always being respectful, KIND, and supportive to others!  

It takes patience, practice, and perseverance, but if we all continue to work towards this, we will lead a happy, healthy, and joyous life.

I know many students in this class have taken this character trait on, and will continue being not only good students, but tremendous citizens as they move forward to contribute to society.  

As an educator at Nottawa, I will always do my best to be here for your child.  Moving forward, if I can help support in any capacity big or small, please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email.  

I like to say - "Once your child's teacher, always their teacher!"

National Indigenous People's Day:

In June, we commemorate National Indigenous History Month.  During this month, our class took time to recognize the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples across Canada.

On Tuesday June 21, we commemorated the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis!  It was a wonderful opportunity for us to continue showing our respect and reconciliation for our Indigenous people.

Throughout the day, we were part of the Indigenous People's Day LIVE VIRTUAL EVENT!  In this experience, we learned all about the traditional methods used by First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people.  Just to name a few, we learned about making maple syrup, a drum, feather and nature art, and playing lacrosse.

The students were really interested and intrigued in seeing and hearing all about these activities and I believe it gave us all more insight and a greater appreciation about all the contributions the Indigenous people of Canada have had and currently have for our country :)

Smudging:

Thank you to Emily and Jardine who gifted me with cedar and sage smudge sticks a while ago.  I really appreciate your thoughtfulness and I will cherish them!  

My goal was to show the kids how to smudge on Tuesday to help honour Indigenous People's Day (June 21st), however, as a Non-Indigenous person, I am not permitted to do it.  Instead, smudging at the school level is something that must be performed by an Indigenous individual. 

We whole heartedly understand.  It is important that we follow these measures and are respectful of Indigenous practices.

Good news though!  I have spoken with Mrs. Mortimer, and next year, our goal is to invite an Indigenous person from our school board who will come to our school to perform smudging with my students.  Can't wait!!

I did take the time in class however to teach about How to Smudge.  Everyone seem to be very intrigued and many are familiar with this already as they've done it in their own homes (yahoo) so we watched this video below which teaches us the benefits of this Indigenous practice.  Please have a listen and check out its helpful ways!

Parker:

Check out Parker's hoodie!!  He sweetly came up to me and said, "Hey Ms. Gill, it's been very hot the past while so I didn't wear this on Tuesday, but I brought it to school for Indigenous People's Day."  

Oh wow, I love it!!  Thank you Parker for showing your honour and respect for our Indigenous People of Canada.  Now I need to get out there and find myself this hoodie too ;)  

Do You Believe in Magic:

On Wednesday, we took some time to show our care and compassion for a young little girl in Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Mattice's kindergarten class.  Her name is Olive and she is battling leukemia.  

Staff and students wore bright rainbow colours (her favourite) to support her!!

As Nighthawks, we UNITED to share with Olive that she is not alone and that we are thinking about her as she fights her courageous battle with this illness.

It brought tears to my eyes hearing and seeing my students' empathetic ways towards this young student.  Many took time to play with her at recess and write a heartfelt BUCKET FILLING NOTE to help uplift her spirits.  

On our Primary Playday, I had the opportunity to meet Olive and present her with the notes and she asked, "What are these for?"  Her teacher (Mrs. McIntyre) replied, "Well Olive, the kids at Nottawa sure LOVE YOU!!"  She sweetly smiled and was on her way to the next playday station :-)

In the words of her teachers, "We could all learn a lesson from precious Olive. She never complains, lives life to the fullest, and understands that things could always be worse.  Be thankful for what you have in life." #positivemindset #cancersurvivor

Make a Wish Foundation:

As we made Olive's 'Wish Come True' this week by dressing up in rainbow colours and unicorns, below you will find a heart soaring example of a selfless act of a young teen who was given the opportunity to make her wish come true, but instead, she had other plans.  

Tune in to find out!!

When I shared this video in class, you could literally hear a pin drop as everyone listened attentively and we were so inspired by Ashley's compassionate ways!!

Be like Ashley ... #WeAboveMe

Tye-Dyeing T-Shirts:

Thank you to families for providing your child with a white t-shirt.  It is very appreciated!  

This week, everyone enjoyed tye-dying their shirts and getting their peers to sign the back as a keepsake from our year together.  

Furthermore, these tees represent our PRIDE TO BE WHO WE ARE and accepting everyone as they are.  Be UNIQUE.  BE YOU.

They turned out great and our plan is to wear them on the last day of school with sunglasses and a bandana on :)  We're going to be summer ready!

Fit Go Finale:

A big shout out to the health & wellness team at our school which consists of Mrs. Kutcy, Mrs. Mortimer, Mrs. Beattie, and Mrs. Johnson.  These ladies did a fantastic job organizing all of our FitGo experiences.  

Earlier this week, we had a school wide FitGo outdoors where everyone actively participated and we were all awarded yummy freezies (see photo below) to help cool off from the hot day!  DELISH!

Here at Nottawa, we truly believe in the importance of leading an active and healthy lifestyle.  

#healthiswealth  #keepfithavefun  #fitgofun

Primary Play Day:

I'm confident your child came home on Thursday raving about our Play Day experience, it was magnificent!!  All the photos below will surely show you just how much fun we had :-)  

Ask your child which station was their favourite :)  Many enjoyed the Drip, Drip, DROP!!!  

A heartfelt thank you goes out to Mrs. Garvan and her grade 7 Leadership Team who organized all the engaging games.  There was not a moment that we didn't have a smile on our faces!     

Math:

As we wrap up our Probability unit, I provided students with another math game to bring home to try out with you (parents and/or siblings).  

The objective of the game is to practice math facts for addition and multiplication as well as discover which numbers the spinner is more or less likely to land on.

We enjoyed partnering up in class and trying it out :-) 

Tabs for Wheelchairs:

Did your child come home and share that we've been counting our thousands of tabs that we've collected over the school year?!  YES, we have and it's been fantastic!!!  

So far we have 3, 250.  This number will soar higher next week as we have lots more tabs in our baggies to count up!!  Final total will be revealed next week :-)

Thank you to Cooper, Finley, and Parker for getting us started on this process.  You boys worked hard and used an excellent strategy of grouping them into 10's.  

A special shout out to Ainsley for bringing in yet another baggy full of tabs for our final countdown, yahOOoOOOOO!  

I am really looking forward to donating these so the money will be put towards making a wheelchair for someone in need.  

Way to go boys and girls!!  Your efforts throughout the year to bring tabs in for our collection will make a significant difference :-)  I'm so proud of our class family!

Clara & Cameron:

Clara came to school on Thursday and presented me with this gorgeous watercolour painting that her older brother Cameron had made for me.  

I was overcome with emotion as I taught Cameron when he was in grade 4 and for him to create this when he's in grade 6 truly made me feel special.  

Thank you Cameron for thinking about me and knowing how much I care for and love our Earth!!  I will remember your thoughtfulness always and cherish this masterpiece :)  I honour YOU!

Evie:

Throughout the school year, I've encouraged my students to embrace a 'ME to WE' mindset.  What is this?  

Well, our brains generally operate in one of two mindsets:  either “me” or “we.”  The amygdala fuels the “me” mindset, while our prefrontal cortex gets to handle the “we” mindset. 

Having a WE mindset can help us achieve so much in our life because we are working as a T.E.A.M. and get to inherit so many wonderful qualities that can provide so much joy to our lives.  

WE > ME

After our many discussions, Evie went home and created this powerful comic strip.  Check it out below!!  Have your child explain its significance :)

I was blown away upon seeing it and doing a deeper dive with each thought bubble.  The illustrations are fantastic and the end message leaves the reader wanting to learn MORE.

Evie, you're an inquisitive thinker and this school year, I feel like you've taught me MORE than I can even begin to put into words.  I am in AWE of your brain and mindset!!  Thank you for being YOU :-)

Mindfulness:

I've shared on many occasions with my class, the importance of demonstrating our best selves in our thoughts, words, and ACTIONS.  

For it is how we think, act, and feel that will most impact not only us, but also those around us.  We must always put forth our personal best and lead with integrity. 

I know many students in this class have taken this character trait on, and will continue being not only good students, but tremendous citizens as they move forward to contribute to society.  I will always be here for your child, and if I can help in any way big or small, please be in touch!  I truly love and adore them!

Growth Mindset:

Thank you Jardine for sharing this week's mindset message!!  It is so true!  No act of kindness is ever wasted.  We can always brighten someone's day by showing them our care & compassion :)

"Every Act of Kindness MATTERS!" - Jardine

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill