Week #9: Oct. 30th - Nov. 3rd

Dearest Families,

I hope your child and you had a SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN celebration on Tuesday!  Albiet chilly, the weather held off from raining so that was a bonus and better for parents as you accompanied your child(ren).

Throughout Halloween Day I kept admiring all the wonderfully creative and unique costumes!  Check them out below :-)

Thank you (parents) for being deeply invested in all celebrations, I can see, hear, and feel the joy it brings to your child!  

Many children shared their enthusiasm with all the fun (and candy collected) they had with their family and friends!  We took this enthusiasm straight into our learning and I'm delighted to share that the children transitioned well after the 31st considering there may have been some sugar highs ;)

We've had yet another productive week here in our class!  Below, you will see just how purposeful it was :) 

Thank you as always for taking the time each week to read and support your child's learning.  Your active involvement is appreciated :)

NATIONAL GRATITUDE MONTH:

Speaking of gratitude, did you know that NATIONAL GRATITUDE MONTH is celebrated every year on November 1st?  Yes, it's true!!  

National Gratitude Month encourages us to embrace the power of gratitude.  Fortunately for our class family, this is an ongoing practice each and every day in our learning community, and not solely focused on during November or Thanksgiving :)  

As we've learned, gratitude is more than simply saying "thank you."  Gratitude's amazing powers have the ability to shift us from focusing on the negative to appreciating what is positive in our lives.  Practicing daily gratitude gives us a deeper connection to ourselves, the world around us, and to our Creator.

Everything in our lives has the ability to improve when we are grateful.  Research has shown that gratitude can enhance our moods, decrease stress, and drastically improve our overall level of health and well-being.  

Here's our Grace who is very THANKFUL to her grandmother who provided her with a delicious cookie for her lunch on Halloween.  Can't you just see and feel her gratitude, way to go Grace!!

I believe if everyone practiced daily gratitude, we could change ourselves and the planet for the better!  Everyone would be much happier :)  Love would grow and hate would decrease.  The world would know true peace.

What are WE waiting for?  Give gratitude a try!  You'll be happier you did :-) 

CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE:

This month, our class will focus on celebrating COURAGE & BRAVERY.  What is courage?  It's about doing the right thing even when it's difficult!  

• We use courage to find the strength to try things outside our range of comfort.
• We also dig deep and use courage when doing the right thing can be difficult!
• What could you use a little courage for and how will you use courage to try new things?

In class, we have discussed that our former/current/future Canadian Armed Forces Members, Veterans, and the Indigenous People who went to residential schools are some of the MOST COURAGEOUS, BRAVE, and RESILIENT individuals on this Land.  

Despite facing MANY EXCRUCIATING challenges, this group of people faced their fears (F.E.A.R. = face everything and RISE) and did the right thing to stand up and protect Canada and what they believed in!!  

May we all aspire to stand up strongly, loudly (but, gently), and proudly for what we believe in to serve and protect our country, family, friends, and community.  

#Canadianproud

#BeCourageous

#BeBrave

NOVEMBER KINDNESS CHALLENGE:

A new month means another KINDNESS CALENDAR CHALLENGE comes your way :-)

Students are really getting into the spirit of some of the suggestions and used their outdoor time to write POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS using chalk outside our portable!

Upon seeing this, it instantly warmed my heart!  Margot came up to me and shared, "Ms. Gill, we thought you'd like this and it's one of the challenges from Nov. 1st."  

Not only do I like it Margot, I LOVE IT!  It's important that we remember to put these challenges not only into our thoughts and words, but more importantly - into our daily actions!  I have every confidence we will, YAY!  Only then will we make this a better place to live, work, and play in!  

HALLOWEEN DANCE:

Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in our spirit day by dressing up in orange, black, and purple or a costume.  It was so nice to see everyone actively participating and getting into the Halloween spirit!

Thank you to Mrs. Garvan and the Leadership Team for a "BOO-TIFUL HOWLoWe’en" Celebration earlier this week!

It was so "fang-tastic" to see so many "gord-eous" pumpkins made into Jack-O-Lanterns.  Thank you to the teachers who came in early Tuesday morning to help set up.  Your time and energy was appreciated by our students :)   

On behalf of ALL the Nighthawks, thank you and remember to keep calm and pumpkin on!

Check out our very 'spooktacular' gym in the photos below which was filled with many blow-ups and Halloween décor, it looked fantastic and so were all the costumes!  

We really enjoyed dancing and spending time together as a junior division :)  

HALLOWEEN ART:

Thank you to the DiFruscia family who always think about donate large pumpkins for each classroom so that we can decorate and carve them to put on display for our Halloween dance :)  Your time and generosity is appreciated!

The children enjoyed painting and decorating ours.  Here we are in pumpkin action  ;)

Later on, students chose to work with a partner and create a Halloween inspired 'folding surprise' art piece.  We were inspired by the video below and students then carefully chose their own to follow the step by step procedure.   

Check out the kids enjoying and collaboratively working on their Halloween art :)

Many of the children's finished products turned out so well!  Below are just a few :-)

MOLLY, JAMES, & LIBBY:

Thank you to Molly (licorice), James (chips), and Libby (Pokémon cards) who provided their peers with some Halloween treats :)  Your generosity, thoughtfulness, and giving nature is valued!  It truly put a smile on our faces :-)

MATH:

This week, we did a deeper dive into our learning about the direct link between Fractions & Decimals.  We are working collaboratively to build our skills, check us out below :-)

The video below gave us greater insight into this math topic.  Please view it and discuss its content :)

After watching the video, please have your child represent the following decimal numbers (see image) by drawing a model (picture).  

We did the first example (represent 0.5) in class so your child should be familiar with what to do :)

NOTABLE NOTETAKERS:

As your child's teacher, it is very important to me to enhance, challenge, and provide opportunities for the children to reach their highest potential.  

As you know, it is my responsibility to teach the grade 4 curriculum, however, I am doing my best to also prepare your child for the next level - grade 5, 6, 7, 8, high school, and post-secondary.  

I often share in class the importance of being ATTENTIVE (be an active listener with your eyes, ears, and heart) & ACCOUNTABLE (remain on topic).  By being active listeners and staying engaged especially during lesson consolidations, your child will be well equipped with skills that will serve them well throughout their academic journey in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary!

Students have been encouraged to 'note-take' during my lecture style lessons, a skill that will serve them well as they get into higher grades.  

I am SO PROUD to share that many (see photo below) have embraced this challenge and they're even enjoying it because their HIPPOCAMPUS is filling up and locking in the information I show, share, and teach.  Way to go boys and girls :-)

I hope this post will encourage my other students to take the leap, get a notebook (I can provide one in class), and try to note take so they too can develop and benefit from this useful skill!!  

Please note, your child is excited to show, share, and celebrate their notetaking notebook with you at the Student-Led Conference during the week of Nov. 14th - 17th.  Stay tuned :)

NOVEL STUDY:

Thank you to all the students who accessed Google Classroom at home/school this week and worked diligently on their pre-reading responses for our novel study.  In doing so, your child is developing his or her responsibility and reading comprehension skills.  

I am so proud of the efforts that are being put in especially with students who are asking for feedback and are already eagerly learning and applying the A.P.E. Strategy & The 4 Colour Method (see image below) into their reading responses.  AMAZING! 

Now that we have shared our perspective, opinion, and ideas about schools and the importance of education from the pre-reading questions, we are intrigued to listen, learn about, and show our reconciliation for Ms. Olemaun's experience at residential school.  

As we prepare to read and complete this novel study over the next while, we will be using a lens of compassion, care, and empathy. 

Here are 4 books about Olemaun's experience as a young Inuit girl that we will be reading and responding to throughout the school year.

Check out the students below as they work hard on their responses!

GRAMMAR:

Our focus this week has been learning about the parts of a sentence which include the subject and predicate.  Ask your child about this, I am hopeful, you will be amazed at how much they've consolidated this concept!

Learning about this new grammar rule has really enhanced our sentence building skills already!  

We watched the video below in class and it gave us some practice to help us identify the subject (noun) and the predicate (verb) of sentences.  Check it out :)

When you have time, please review the grammar rule with your child to help solidify and help enhance their skills.  I would really appreciate this!

For example:  Write a sentence.  Circle the subject.  Underline the predicate.    

REMEMBRANCE DAY POSTER CONTEST:

Thank you to Mrs. Johnson for organizing the Legion Contest for our students who will participate in this friendly event.  

Paper will be provided for your child to begin this art project.  They are to make a coloured or black and white Remembrance Day poster to be entered into the friendly poster contest for the Legion.  

Students are welcome to use the examples and success criteria shared below for the expectations and inspiration to help get them started!

If you and your child wish to participate in this contest, please note that all completed black & white or coloured posters with a signed permission form (ask your child to ask me for a form next week) are due to Mrs. Johnson by Thurs. Nov. 16th. Thank you :)

SCIENCE:

Your child brought home his or her science sheet to share with you.  I hope your child was able to talk with you about Animal Adaptations perhaps during your family dinner or before bedtime :)  

If your child wasn't able to share during a busy school week, that's a-ok, please use some time over the weekend.

MAE:

Thank you for your contributions to our Tabs for Kids!  

As you can see from the image above, our water jug is FULL, YAY!  I am requesting if you have a jug like the photo below, we sure could use the donation :)  If you do, then please indicate it in your child's agenda.  Thank you so much!!

At the rate we're going with our generous tabs, I think we can and will fill a 5 gallon jug by the end of the school year!!

 

MINDFULNESS:

In anticipation of Treaties Week approaching (Nov. 5th - 11th, 2023), please watch some Ontario students who talk about why treaties matter.  

It is an informative and important message from the hearts and minds of school aged children :)

Please note, I will be explicitly teaching your child more about this important topic when we're back in class.  This is just to get their brains thinking about this cause :)

GROWTH MINDSET:

"Instead of - I just can't do this.  Try thinking - I can TRAIN MY BRAIN!"

Respectfully Yours,

Ms. Gill