Week #12: Nov. 20th - 24th

Dear Families,

Can you believe that we’re soon into the month of December, like next week?!  We've experienced quite a bit of drizzle this week, hopefully we'll have some sunshine this weekend (fingers crossed).  

The snow's here, I'm sure many of you have been eagerly awaiting its (snow) arrival to get out onto the hills of Blue Mountain and/or your private ski clubs :-)

Throughout our many weathered days, I appreciate you (parents) providing the appropriate attire for your child so he or she is prepared for any weather that may come our way (rain, snow, etc).  After all, we do live in this area that's conducive to the climate that's associated with all four seasons.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend as a family!  

CHARACTER RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY:

Next week, Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Teeter's class will be leading the assembly to recognize students who are displaying true character in their thoughts, words, and actions.

The assembly will take place on Thurs. Nov. 30th at 11:45AM in the gym.  As always, all families are welcome to attend :)  

Please note, I will be sure to notify those parents whose child will be recognized at the assembly for the attributes of courage & bravery.  Stay tuned for a note or email from me ;)

EMPATHY & COMPASSION ASSEMBLY:

Speaking of assemblies, here's another memorable event coming up, our class will be leading the Character Recognition Assembly on Thurs. Dec. 21st at 9:30AM.  

Similar to Stone Soup, we will feature songs, drumming, but also the primary choir, grade 7/8 instrumental choir, and an engaging slideshow of all our students here at Nottawa.  

You won't want to miss this special occasion which honours our empathetic staff & students.  Mark the date into your calendars now 🙂

In the coming days, your child will bring home his or her speaking parts to practice.  Thank you in advance for supporting your child's public speaking endeavours :-)  It's their time to SHOW, SHARE, and CELEBRATE their public speaking skills.

NOVEL STUDY:

This week, I read chapter 3 of our novel study!  It's so wonderful to see, hear, and feel your child's enthusiasm when I say that I am going to read the next chapter!  They compassionately and attentively listen eagerly awaiting what will happen next in Olemaun's journey.

Thank you to all the children who have TURNED IN their reading responses.  I look forward to providing feedback and celebrating your growth in using the 4-Pen Method :-)

GRAMMAR:

This week we learned all about Common & Plural Nouns.  Below, I have posted a video which provides examples for this rule.

Please take an opportunity to go over the grammar sheets that came home today and see if your child can share the difference between common and proper nouns.

I have shared with the students that I feel English is one of the most challenging languages to effectively learn and apply because there are so MANY RULES and EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULES. 

I have felt this first hand growing up because my first language was Punjabi and I didn't speak English fluently until I was in grade 2, and even then, I struggled for years to read and write it properly.  Thankfully, I was placed in an ESL class to help build my grammatical skills :)

Now being a teacher, I value explicitly teaching grammar because it's the foundation to WRITING and builds confident and competent writers.  

Additionally, when we learn the RULES TO GRAMMAR, we understand the English language on a deeper level so that we can apply it to every day life (e.g., resumes, cover letters, letter of reference, presentations, etc.,).

MATH:

This week, we began our new unit in math called Spatial Sense.  A math note will come home in the agenda on Monday with the specific learning goals (see photo below).

Students will practice these skills in their "Math Practice Homework."  Thank you so much for your support in this unit.

I posed the following question for the kids to answer in groups.  

They all worked collaboratively well to do their best work using the 4-Block Method.  

Check them out below :-)  So proud of your child!!

Please ask your child how he or she solved this problem.  Click on the images to enlarge and ask your child which wipe board has their group's work on it :)

Next week, your child will be asked to independently solve a similar problem and provide all the necessary details. 

SCIENCE:

Your child has brought home his or her science sheets (see photos below).  Please have your child share its contents with you to help consolidate their learning of the concepts taught :)

I do encourage the children to keep their science sheets that come home as they can then use these to study from to help prepare for their science assessment which will be given at the conclusion of this unit.  Assessment date - TBA!

FINN:

Thank you Finn for taking the time to create this wonderful art piece, I love it!  In class, I have shared some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous words and he's been an inspiration to us!

"Love it the key to the world's problems!"

We will do more learning of civil rights activists like Dr. King and many others during Black History Month in February, stay tuned!

MARGOT:

Thank you Margot for continually contributing to our Tabs for Kids initiative, it means a lot!  She mentioned that her grandparents are getting involved too so these tabs came from them :)  Many thanks!!

MINDFULNESS:

Your extraordinary brain has many regions which control different functions. We've been regularly learning and discussing this since the first day of school.

Like any great team, the BRAIN REGIONS work best when they WORK TOGETHER.

Let's take a tour to meet these regions and learn more about how they operate!

Getting to know and love your brain is important because it helps set a positive and peaceful tone to your individual thinking, learning, and playing each and everyday!

GROWTH MINDSET:

Thank you Finn for this week's mindset message!  This is so true :)  We must always make an effort especially when we are faced with a challenge.  

"It's ok not to know, but it's not ok, not to try!"  #trylikeTerry

We all have it in us to put forth our best and only then can we truly reach our potential.  So remember to always, try, Try, TRY! 

Thank you for your support,

Ms. P. Gill