Week #6: Oct. 10th - 13th

Dear Families,

First off, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to all the students and their parents for taking the time to read my Classroom Blog each week!  

It is an opportunity for me to SHOW, SHARE, and CELEBRATE all the learning that is happening in our Learning Community each and every week :)

As you can see from all my posts I've shared thus far this school year, there is a lot of meaningful teaching, learning and growing!  I strongly believe the blog is an important and valuable tool for us to connect weekly.

I want you all to know, I feel deeply connected with each of you as I can see, hear, and feel your support through your child's daily thoughts, words, and actions at school.  Thank you for this!! 

I look forward to re-connecting with you all face-to face for the student-led conferences in November.  I will work hard to ensure it's engaging, interactive and special for us all :)  Stay tuned!

THANKFUL STONE SHARING:

It was wonderful to hear about all the heart warming thankful stone sharing families did over the Thanksgiving long weekend.  It brought happiness to my heart!  

Thank you for embracing and carrying on my teachings from school to your homes, it means a lot to me.  There is always something to be thankful for and I am truly thankful for each and every one of YOU!

Thankful Stone sharing at a student's home :)

WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY:

Did you know that Tuesday October 10th marked World Mental Health Day?  Yes, it was :)  

Watch the video below which offers insight into tapping into the positive emotions that you have which can help boost your mental health & well-being.  The strongest of the emotions is LOVE :) 

In our classroom, there is a daily emphasis on taking care of our mental well-being.  We take pride in ensuring our brains and hearts are filled with love, joy, and gratitude!

This year’s theme “Mental Health is a Universal Right” seeks to “improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right” (WHO, 2023).

As we shared at Stone Soup, one way we can support our mental health is through gratitude. We need to recognize that the various ways gratitude is expressed and practiced are informed by our respective cultures, religious traditions, ways of knowing and being.

"Viewing the world and relationships through the lens of gratitude can help [us] to notice and appreciate the positives in life, even when facing a challenge. Noticing and sharing gratitude can support healthy relationships, and the development of resilience" (SMHO, 2023).

At our school, Mrs. Newman and I have taken on the role of being our Mental Health and Well-Being Key Point Speakers.  

It is very important to us to to work hard to help enhance mental health literacy for all our students, staff, and families through MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION & PROMOTION.  

Please remember I am here to support your child and you on this journey.  Together, we can strengthen our mental health & well-being so that we can live a life filled with happiness, peace, and JOY.    

Reach out and connect with us!  We invite you to explore gratitude practices offered through the following link >> School Mental Health Ontario resource.

HOMEWORK:

Thank you to all the students who are working hard not only at school, but also at home to complete assigned work.

As I shared in a previous post, the purpose of homework is for your child to not only practice learned concepts at home, but more importantly to gain VALUABLE learning skills & work habits such as: 

• RESPONSIBILITY 
• ORGANIZATION
• INITIATIVE
• INDEPENDENT WORK
• COLLABORATION
• SELF-REGULATION  

Please ensure your child brings his or her homework duo-tangs to school every day.  I recognize many children are part of extra-curricular activities after school, I promote and support this, so if your child requires extra time in class or the weekend to work through his or her homework, that's a-ok!  I'm happy to and always here to help :) 

Thank you for your ongoing support on your child's academics and beyond!  It is valued :)

MATH:

An expectation for grade 4 is rounding up to five-digit numbers to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. This can be a tricky concept so I have posted the video below for you and your child to check out.

After watching it, please ask your child to roll a dice 5 times and record the numbers they get to create a 5-digit number.  They can then represent it in a variety of ways (e.g., expanded form, number word, place value chart, base-ten name) and then also round it to the nearest 10, 100, and 1000.

Please note, we did this in class earlier this week so it is a reinforcement to help consolidate this learning. Many thanks in advance for your support :)

WRITING FORMS:

There are 4 writing forms that we will be utilizing this school year.  Please click on the image below to enlarge it.

Your child is familiar with this and a fun & friendly way to remember them is thinking of the word PIE and adding a D to the end of it (PIE'D) - To Persuade, To Inform, To Explain, & To Describe.

Thank you Margot for this handy and helpful way to remember our writing forms!!  She shared, "Ms. Gill, last year in Mrs. Wallace's class we learned about this and used the word PIE."  I love it when students consolidate their previous learning.  

Margot's been a regular at it and is teaching us other short forms to help us remember key concepts ;) 

LANGUAGE:

Students have been working hard in class on writing Recounts - retelling an event in sequence.  

This week, we wrote about our Thanksgiving weekend.  I have been enjoying reading student entries so far!  

In the coming days, I will provide a detailed rubric (scoring guide) and written feedback for this piece of work so you too can celebrate your child's achievement (strengths & areas to improve). 

Before we began writing, I did a mini-lesson on how good writers add detail to their writing by using adjectives to describe nouns.  As a reader, it is important to be able to visualize (create mental pictures) as you read and an effective writer helps the reader do this through their word choice in their writing.  

It is wonderful to see students try their best every time they write.  To further assist in getting our ideas flowing, we take the time to collaborate with our THINK, PAIR, SHARE partners to help inspire our writing!  Check us out below :-)

Finn, Margot, Elle, and Sophie sharing their writing and using the editing checklist to improve the content & clarity of their written work.  Excellent!

At this point in our school year, there are students who require reminders to slow down as they write and proof-read their work carefully by asking themselves:  Does it look right?  Does it sound right?  Does it make sense?, and utilizing an editing checklist to make necessary changes.  

This will be a continued goal for us throughout term 1.  PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS :)

Students are encouraged to independently use this checklist anytime they're writing to ensure they've included the necessary grammatical features

WHAT IS FEEDBACK?

In class, we are learning about the importance of feedback.  As a teacher, it is very important to me to provide students with timely and ongoing feedback to continually help them improve their achievements in various subject areas.

Throughout the year when writing pieces come home, you will notice my feedback where I take the time to recognize your child's STARS (strengths) - "what they did well" and ARROWS (next step) - "what they can improve upon next time."  

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and celebrate your child's progress in writing and math thus far! 

The next goal for students will be to learn how to self-assess their own work.  This will be a very valuable tool because if we can acknowledge and recognize our own strengths and needs, we are more likely to make the necessary changes in our work to effectively BUILD OUR SKILLS!

GYM:

The focus in our gym classes is on BUILDING OUR SKILLS in the following areas: 

• endurance (stamina) 
• throwing (accuracy) 
• catching (hand eye coordination) 
• team work (collaboration) 
• sportspersonship (sometimes we win, sometimes we learn)

As a youngster when I played competitive soccer and basketball (I was a sporty gal, still am), I was very competitive, and I have my coaches (and gym teachers) to thank who always emphasized the importance of being a 'GOOD SPORT.'

Now as a teacher and coach at the school, I place significant emphasis in our gym classes for students to work cooperatively and respectfully with their peers in game time situations.  

We've learned that any time we disagree with someone about a 'call' or 'position,' we can disagree, however, RESPECTFULLY.

Below, you will find a group of students who are demonstrating true character as they build their HULA HUT for our cooperative game :)  

Way to be an effective T.E.A.M. Elle, Danica, Cara, and Kegan!!

Here's our Kieran being the caring and compassionate boy he is even during a competitive game of Hula-Hut.  He made sure a fly didn't get stomped on.  I appreciate you for this Kieran and so much more!!

SCIENCE & WYE MARSH FIELD TRIP:

I am excited to announce that we have an upcoming field trip at Wye Marsh!  

I have posted a video below for you to get a sneak peek at what this Wildlife Centre looks like, sounds like, and feels like :)

Please ensure your child is dressed for rain or shine as we will be outdoors learning all day.  It's going to be a terrific trip and we're oh so excited :-)

If you haven't already done this, it is imperative that you please fill out the permission form online for your child to attend this trip via SchoolCashOnline.  

Any questions regarding this process, please contact the office, Mrs. Mortimer or Mrs. Naismith will be happy to assist you as they take care of the paperwork side of things for field trips.  

Thank you to our parent volunteers who will accompany us Molly's Dad Mr. Kellie, Kieran's Mom Ms. Bunston, and Anna's Dad Mr. Rolling.  Your time, energy, and efforts to support us in our outdoor learning is appreciated!!

The focus of this particular field trip will align with our Science Curriculum Expectations for Habitats & Communities.  I have listed the grade 4 expectations below for your reference. 

LIFE SYSTEMS:  HABITATS & COMMUNITIES

By the end of grade 4, students will:

-  describe habitats as areas that provide organisms, including plants and animals, with the necessities of life, and identify ways in which a local habitat provides these necessities

-  describe a community as a group of interacting species sharing a common habitat, and identify factors that affect the ability of a community of plants and animals to survive in a local habitat

-  describe the relationship of organisms in a food chain, and classify organisms as producers, consumers, or decomposers

-  demonstrate an understanding of a food web as the interconnection of multiple food chains in a natural community

-  describe how animals are categorized according to their diet, and categorize various animals as carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores

-  describe structural adaptations of a variety of plants and animals and how these adaptations allow the organisms to survive in specific habitats

-  explain why all habitats have limits to the number of plants and animals they can support

WHAT IS A HABITAT?

In preparation for our trip, this week we spent quality time learning about Habitats :)  Please ask your child the following questions from the images below to check for their understanding.

Thank you in advance for your support in activating your child's SCHEMA (aka background knowledge)!

BOOK EXCHANGE:

Mrs. Johnson and I have now set up our weekly book exchange day and time.  It will take place on DAY 2's at 3:00 - 3:30PM.  When we begin signing out books, please ensure your child brings his or her book back from home for renewal or signing out a new text :)

The kids really enjoy their time in the library as it gives them the opportunity to BUDDY READ and READING FOR THE LOVE OF IT which they love to do!!  Reading is thinking and what better way than to collaborate with a bestie :)

Check us out below as we snuggled up and read with a friend(s)!

TERRY FOX DONATIONS:

I am excited to share that we as a school family not only reached, but also SURPASSED our Terry Fox donation goal!!  That's right, we aimed for $5,800.00 and as of Tuesday, we raised $5, 975.00.

We are so grateful for ALL the students, staff, and parents who generously donated to this much needed cause.  I am always so proud to be part of the Nottawa Nighthawk school community and this brings me even more joy!  #livingisgiving

If you haven't had the chance to donate and would still like to, not to worry, our link is still open, click below :-)

Terry Fox Foundation

COLLINGWOOD FOOD BANK:

Speaking of generosity and thoughtfulness, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Lucy, Grace, and their parents for their donations for the Collingwood Food Bank :)

"The time is always right to DO WHAT IS RIGHT!'  MLK Jr.

  

These two girls came in this week with their bags full of food!  Thank you girls for opening your hearts and minds and thinking about the feelings of others!  You're making a difference one step at a time!

MARGOT, BENTON, & ELLE:

The acts of kindness keep rolling in with our class family, I love it!

Thank you Margot, Benton, and Elle for donating your TABS FOR KIDS :-)  Our bucket is filling up tremendously well, let's keep it going!  We're soon going to have to get a big refillable water jug for our tabs ;)

MINDFULNESS:

The video below shares Terry Fox's courageous journey to run across Canada to support Cancer Research.  

His niece (Jessie Alder) gives insight into what he endured and how he overcame his obstacles with a NEVER GIVE UP mindset :)

In my eyes and heart, Terry Fox is the epitome of RESILIENCE, GRIT, and PERSEVERANCE.  

7 minute video

The message from the video encourages us to be courageous and take risks.  It suggests that with enough courage and determination, we can overcome even the most daunting challenges and achieve our goals.  All we need to do is TRY.

GROWTH MINDSET:

"Instead of, I can't make this any better, try thinking - I can ALWAYS IMPROVE!"

From my heart to yours Meegwich,

Ms. P. Gill