Week #21: Feb. 6th - 10th

Dear Families,

As a class family, we continue to work hard and have such meaningful experiences with one another.  It's truly a joy to be with your child at school to learn and grow with!

We have continued our discussions about the importance of Black History and the children are really intrigued and interested in this subject matter.  They all have shown a great deal of empathy as I've shared about the hardships that many Black people have faced.  

Thank you to Mrs. Coleman for creating this display to help honour Black History in our rotunda!!

Thinking about the feelings of others is so natural for this group of children and it makes me oh so proud to be surrounded by them each and every day!  

Your child is the future planet protector and I have every confidence he or she can and will become change makers to help transform this world in a better and brighter one!!

VALENTINES DAY:

I'm excited to share that after 2 years, we are able to once again continue the Nottawa tradition of heading out to Georgian Bowl to go bowling  for Valentines Day, YAY!  

This event is an opportunity to spend quality time together and expressing our appreciation for one another by exchanging Valentines.

We'll celebrate Valentines Day on Tues. Feb. 14th by dressing up in red, white, purple, pink, and hearts! 

Please note, if your child wishes to participate in giving Valentines to his/her classmates on Feb. 14th, please have them include all of the members of our class family using the list that was sent home earlier this month.  This month's character trait is INCLUSIVENESS after all ;)

If you would like to send in any kind of treats, please ensure they are individually wrapped and store bought.  Many thanks in advance for your care and cooperation :-)

LANGUAGE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

Over the past while as you know, our focus in language and social studies continues to be on listening, reading and writing about Black History.  

In class, I have been sharing stories, videos, and activities to help my students gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the significant contributions that African American and African Canadian men and women made in helping bring about positive change such as EQUAL AND FAIR TREATMENT no matter your race, religion, gender, orientation, size, or ability.  

I believe it is such an important subject matter to teach kids because it gives them perspective about the past and how it's helped shape our current lives.  

I've also shared with my class that we must extend our gratitude to the amazing civil rights activists not solely during the month of February, but throughout the year!

A LESSON ON DISCRIMINATION:

I really appreciate students and parents actively discussing and taking part in Black History Month at home too.

Here is a great example of it. My former student Evelyn's Mom shared with me the video below.

In it, Jane Elliott a third grade teacher first gave this lesson on April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It’s called the “Blue Eyes - Brown Eyes” exercise, and it teaches a powerful lesson on discrimination.

From this video, we have learned that our words come with severe consequences, both good and bad.  But, we can use OUR words to empower and reconcile with our Black & Indigenous communities today.  

We must remember the importance of instilling inclusivity and respect for all people no matter their race, culture, or religious background; only then, can EQUALITY REIGN, REIGN, REIGN!  

HARRIET TUBMAN:

I have every confidence your child came home this week and shared some of his or her knowledge and understanding of this extraordinary activist :)

If not, that's a-ok, now's a great opportunity to discuss about Harriet's impact with your child.

Harriet Tubman is well known for risking her life as a “conductor” in the Underground Railroad, which led escaped enslaved people to freedom in the North.  How amazing!!  

She led nineteen different escapes from the south and helped around 300 of the enslaved to escape.  Harriet was so successful in helping others to freedom, not one enslaved person was caught.  

'Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we're free at last!'

Did you know that the Underground Railroad wasn’t a railroad at all?  It was a secret system of railroad terms that were used in helping fugitives escape slavery.  

Conductors (abolitionists) would send or receive parcels, dry goods or packages (Black men or women) to arrange destinations (safe houses).  Various means of escape were used, by foot or in wagons with false bottoms or physical disguises.  

Freedom seekers crossing the border into Canada found refuge in various settlements throughout our province.  Many settlements were stop-off places or terminals on the Underground Railroad leading to established communities such as Amhertsburg, Puce, Sandwich, Dresden, Chatham, North Buxton, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Ancaster.

Did you know that Owen Sound and Collingwood were the two most northern terminals???

Explore this more by visiting https://www.sheffieldparkblackhistory.com

PRACTICE MULTIPLICATION FACTS:

Our focus in math has been on multiplication and division.  As a youngster, my grandfather used to drill multiplication facts into my brother and I during our summer holidays.  

Truthfully, I didn't approve of it at the time, but I soon realized the value in it as it sure came in handy as I entered the older grades when I needed to readily know my 'math facts.'

Math is much more than 'memorizing facts' as children need to understand what the equations that they're presented with mean.  I do explicitly teach this in class and we're getting the grasp of it.

At home, I do encourage that you please have your child practice their multiplication facts 0x - 12x so these become more 'automatic or known by heart' just like if I asked, 'What's 1+1, 2+2, 5+5.' 

Becoming more comfortable and confident in this area of math will surely come in handy as the kids progress into the junior division in the fall.

Try out some of these (click below) friendly math games that can help develop your child's math facts for multiplication and division!  

MATH FACTS GAMES

CUSTODIAN APPRECIATION:

This morning (Friday), I came into the portable to begin setting up for our day of learning and came across this heartfelt message on our wipe board.

Mrs. Ring, our temporary afternoon/evening custodian left this note for the students and I.  I shared it with the class upon their arrival and they beamed too!

You see, it matters to us to help our custodians feel seen, heard, and valued.  It is not their responsibility to 'clean up after us per see,' but to sanitize our work space so it is safe for us to think, learn, and grow.  And let me share, Mrs. Ring has been doing a wonderful job!   

Thank you boys and girls for being respectful by taking the time and effort to ensure our portable is neat, tidy, and organized for our custodians (and ultimately for us too).  I am proud of each and every one of YOU!

MINDFULNESS:

During Black History Month, all NBA teams wear custom Nike Black History Month warmup shirts.

The Dri-FIT T-shirt features words selected by players that reflect black history and culture, and our collective commitment to equality and diversity: Activate, Believe, Dream, Empower, Engage, Equality, History, Inspire, Justice, Lead, Listen, Love, Perseverance, and Unify.

Take a moment to view, think and reflect on this video with your family :)

GROWTH MINDSET:

In class, we continue to place a daily emphasis on the importance of PROTECTING, RESTORING, AND FUNDING for climate change.  

We visit and revisit the https://teamtrees.org/ website daily and are tracking the amount of trees planted and to date there have been over 24,000,000 -  howwwwww extraordinary :-)

We all have it in us to give ... donate $1.00 today!

From my heart to yours ... MEEGWICH,

Ms. Gill