Week #11: Nov. 13th - 17th

Dear Families,

As I write this blog update, my heart's bursting with JOY!!  The highlight of my week was meeting with most of my students' family members.  

Thank you (parents) for taking the time to attend, celebrate, and enjoy all your child's academic, social, and emotional achievements thus far in the school year!  

The conferences are one of my most favourite times of the year as I get to connect with families :)

You (parents) are making such a significant difference in how and what I teach on a daily basis.  I am in awe of the remarkable child(ren) you're raising who I have every confidence will take care of our future and the planet.

During the student-led conferences, I was extremely proud of all my learners as they clearly, confidently, and calmly led his or her conference by sharing their self-assessment (Progress Report), personal goals, Remembrance Day message, and their Social & Emotional Learning Journal ("If I could change anything in the world, what would it be?").

It was your child’s chance to shine and they certainly lit up our hearts and minds, didn't they!?!  Absolutely :) 

As you could sense, your child worked exceptionally hard in class to prepare for this special experience and I am so proud of the manner in which everyone diligently prepared themselves :)  

Grace & Margot working together to prepare for their conference for their parents

Throughout the conferences, I experienced some heart-warming moments with parents and I really appreciate and value all your positive and constructive feedback.  #lifelonglearner

I will use it to continue to provide my best as an educator for your child's academic, social, emotional and behavioural needs.  Meeting the needs of my students is of utmost importance to me and I will always work hard to ensure they receive a compassionate, caring, and safe environment to learn in.  

Again, thank you for your continued support, cooperation, and understanding.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school or via email pgill@scdsb.on.ca

BULLYING PREVENTION WEEK:

Did you know that the third week of November is dedicated to Bullying Prevention?  This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart as your child's teacher because I have faced racism first hand as a youngster, and unfortunately, even as an adult.

This year's theme #MakeANoise about bullying kicked off with an Odd Socks Day to help celebrate that we are all unique and should not face harm due to differences.

To help show my students just how important this cause (bullying prevention) is to me, I have shared my personal experiences of being mistreated by my peers because of the colour of my skin.  

Please know, I want to be real and authentic with my students and how important it is to me that we all ACCEPT and EMBRACE others for who they are and never judge others based on their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc ...  

These are the hands of my friend Lindsay and I hiking up 6th street, we found this heart!
"Love is the key to the world's problems."

MY STORY:

As a youngster, I attended Connaught Public School in the late 1980's and 1990's, many of the students there at the time didn't have experience with children of colour and didn't know how to relate to me.  

Unfortunately, each day in grades 2, 3 and halfway through even grade 4, I would quietly come home hurt and crying because I was "different."  I would honestly want to wash away my brown skin so I wouldn't stand out.  I desperately wanted to fit in with the other kids and take the "brown away."

Left side grade 2; right side grade 3

But then halfway through my grade 4 year, my life changing teacher Mrs. Boucher entered my life!!  She was the first person who made me feel that I MATTERED.  

You see, Mrs. Boucher helped me recognize my differences as my strength (my SUPERPOWER) and that I should never be ashamed of who I was (an Indo-Canadian).

Mrs. Ann Boucher (my champion, my HERO)

In the middle of grade 4 and onwards, I became proud and confident in my OWN SKIN (see photo below).  Can you see the difference in my smile?  

In my grade 2 and 3 portrait, I may have been smiling on the outside, but as a 4th grader (almost 5th), I'm genuinely smiling on the INSIDE TOO!!!  I now stand tall and proud to be an Indo-Canadian.

Midway through grade 4, I'm finally loving the SKIN I'M IN :)

Thank you Mrs. Boucher for calmly and compassionately helping me through my pain and instilling the value of RESILIENCE in me!!  

Despite the hurt I experienced the previous years, I showed up to school every day, never gave up on myself because I had you in my life.  

I knew from a young age of 9 that I wanted to be a change maker like Mrs. Boucher.  My greatest dream has been to help children BE PROUD OF WHO THEY ARE and use their differences as their superpower because EVERY CHILD MATTERS!!  

As a result of my hardship (challenge), I have made it my goal/mission to ensure that my students do not go through what I did.  

Of course, life isn't all "rainbows and sunshine," we will all experience pain and sadness from time to time, and your child is encouraged to work hard in class (and at home) to learn strategies to build their RESILIENCE, PERSEVERANCE, and GRIT so that they are equipped to manage their emotions and overcome any challenge that comes their way.  

It won't be easy, but from my experience, I can confidently say, it will be worth it, I promise :)

In class, I am reinforcing the importance of creating, building upon, and maintaining happy hearts in and out of our classroom.  Your child's caring and compassionate ways are appreciated beyond measure!! 

I want to help my students BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE ... EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING!  #integrity  In class, we regularly talk about celebrating our differences and IT'S OK TO BE DIFFERENT!!     

Our Community of Learners Agreements that are posted at the front of the classroom help guide us every day - Attentive Listening, Mutual Respect, NO PUT DOWNS, Right to Participate, Right to Pass. 

We also regularly refer to these agreements as a reminder for us all to treat our peers, friends, and family with kindness, dignity, and respect.  I feel this will help in creating a happier, safer, and more caring world.

I believe in all my students and their abilities to reach out to do their part in making a positive difference for our today and tomorrows ... together we can help put an END TO BULLYING!!

SPIRIT DAY:

Thank you to the students who wanted to participate in Match Day.  It was nice to see the cute coordinated outfits :)  Check out the kiddos below!

SCIENCE:

In science this week, we learned about Ecosystems and the terms PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS, & DECOMPOSERS. 

What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is everything that interacts in a specific area. That includes plants, animals, sun, air, water, and even rocks!

In a healthy ecosystem, every part gets what they need - food, water, shelter, light - and all of the parts work together. Unfortunately, an ecosystem can become unbalanced through natural or manmade disturbances. The good news?

Ecosystems can recover if we just help them out a little! Watch the video below for more information :)

After this science lesson, what better way to consolidate this learning than going out into nature and identifying producers, consumers, and decomposers in the natural environment!  We always enjoy our time together outdoors :)

Some students even took their notebooks with them (amazing) to record their wonders (questions), what they noticed, and writing down some fun facts too!!

MATH:

On Wed. Nov. 22nd, I will assign an 'EXIT TICKET' Mission on Knowledgehook (math program) that the students will complete in class.  If you are linked to your child's account, then you can see their progress.

Exit tickets are an opportunity for your child to demonstrate his or her learning at the end of a unit.  As opposed to a paper and pencil assessment, our assessment for Decimal Numbers will be done using Knowledgehook (math program).  

The reason for this, I want to provide students will another platform to assess their skills.  The questions provided on Knowledgehook are excellent and help broaden and deepen your child's Knowledge & Understanding, Thinking & Application skills :)

To help prepare for this assessment, I have posted some questions on Google Classroom for your child to complete at home.  

NOVEL STUDY:

Thank you so much to all the students (and parents who supported too) for working so diligently hard at school and at home on their novel study.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading students' responses for the pre-reading and chapter 1 questions!  

Please note, I have provided detailed feedback in Google Classroom in your child's private comments section.  I recommend the children do pay close attention to my example to help broaden and deepen their responses :)

Chapter 2 is due today (Friday) by midnight ;)  Hopefully your child utilized some of their PA day time wisely.  I look forward to reading your child's response soon.  

We will begin Chapter 3 next week!

GRAMMAR:

This week's focus in grammar has been on CONJUNCTIONS!  Your child has brought home his or her sheets and I hope they will get an opportunity to share their learning with you.

If they are not done a portion, please allow for some time to do so :)

Here's a friendly video that we watched to help us with learning more about conjunctions and how they're effective in helping us join groups of words and/or sentences.

MINDFULNESS:

Here is a speech by famous musician Ed Sheeran who shares his childhood experience to encourage all outsiders to stop being ashamed of their uniqueness, and to embrace their differences instead.

If you listen to his story and how he's overcome challenges in his life, I believe it'll leave you with an appreciation for this wonderful musician. 

As you listen to the video, please think about the following questions:  

What did you learn from Ed’s wise words? How can you incorporate them in your life?

In life, unfortunately more often than not, we will all experience some form of hurt because of who we are.  Don’t let others words get you down.  Easier said than done, but trust me, let’s embrace our quirks and BE OURSELVES!  

There is only one YOU, stand UP, and shout, “I am worthy!  I am happy just the way I am!”  Together, we can make a difference and accept one another as we are!

GROWTH MINDSET:

Thank you Mielle for providing this week's mindset message!  It's a very valuable one :)  It's from the children's book "Wonder."  

"I can't change the way I look, but maybe, just maybe people can change the way they see."

The themes of strength, acceptance, resilience, kindness, and respect leap out of the pages of Wonder, making it an impactful read especially during Anti-Bullying Week (Nov. 13th - 17th, 2023) for all children.

Being accepting of others is important!  We all have a right to our own feelings, thoughts and opinions. When we accept people for who they are, we let go of your desire to change them.  

Another quote comes to mind when I think of this, "Be yourself, everybody else is taken." 

We let others feel the way they want to feel. We let them be different and think differently from us, and that's perfectly a-ok :) 

Everyone is different in one way or the other (after all, our brains, hearts, and spirits are unique) and this is truly what makes our world so bright and beautiful!

This is a photo of Mielle's first day in our class last year :)  She was a wonderful addition!

From my heart to yours,

Ms. Gill