Week #24: Feb. 27th - Mar. 3rd

Dear Families,

Is it March already!?  Can you believe there's only one more school week until the Break!  I’m sure you’re looking forward to it as you get to spend quality time with your wonderful child(ren).  

With the predicted snow storm coming, I hope you're not traveling on the roads tonight and get to bundle up and stay cozy at home with your loved ones.

PRIMARY WINTER PLAY DAY:

Today, we had a lovely day of fun participating in a variety of events led by the intermediate Leadership Team!  

Students loved participating in hockey, snow soccer, potato sack race, air hockey, biathlon, search for the sticker, FunZone, and sledding!  Yes, it was amazing :-)  

A big thank you to Mrs. Garvan and her Leadership Team for setting this up for us, we had an absolute blast!

Check out some of the photos below :-)  The weather was ideal and our scenery as you can see is picturesque with our vast yard and tall towering trees overlooking the mountain!  

BLACK HISTORY ASSEMBLY:

It is with immense gratitude that I now share about my students presentation to honour Black History month.  It was a heart-felt performance and I am so very proud of each of my students!  I had tears of JOY!  

Everyone participated with such love and compassion.  I can say for certainty that those who were able to attend would agree with me.  Thank you boys and girls!  Your message about spreading equal and fair treatment to everyone was heard and felt!

I would also like to acknowledge all the families who were able to attend despite your busy schedules and work commitments.  

It meant the world to all of us, and your presence helped us be the BEST WE CAN BE!!  Your (parents) continued commitment and support in all my teaching endeavours is cherished beyond measure!

Below are a few more pictures that were shared with me.  It brings me immense joy reflecting upon this experience even as I type this!  Thank you Mr. Roth for taking these photos for my students and their parents to enjoy!!

MARCIA ALDERSON AKA QUEEN M:

As I begin to write this part of the blog, it now brings tears to my eyes because the manner in which Marcia Alderson genuinely and authentically shared her mother's story with our staff, students, and families was so deeply moving for all in attendance.  

I have posted her CBC interview (a dream come true for her) so you may listen to it to learn more about her Mom's journey to fight for equality!

Marcia Alderson's CBC Interview

I have received countless comments from colleagues, students, and parents about the impact she left.  Ayden even shared with me the next day (Wed.), "Ms. Gill, my older sister Kaylee is doing a black history biography on Lincoln Alexander, but now she also wants to do one on Queen M (Marcia)."

Upon hearing this, I texted Marcia to let her know and she simply replied, "Wow.  Simply WOW!!"  I was notified by a friend that once our assembly began, Marcia was in tears from beginning to end because she was so moved by my students' performance and the content of their thoughts, words, and actions!  How amazing :-)

Below, I have posted her tribute song for her Mom entitled "The Colour of Her Skin."  We as a school listened attentively to Marcia perform this live acapella style and the entire gym also joined in for the chorus!  The gymnasium was vibrating and buzzing with sheer enlightenment!!  It's a moment that we won't soon forget.  

Can't wait to have this brilliant, bright, and beautiful activist join our school community again next year!!  Marcia is changing one young mind at a time :-)  And we're beyond blessed to have had her in our school.  #wehonouryouMarcia  #QueenMrocks

When Marcia headed home, she shared the following post (see photo below) with me and I just wanted to extend it to here because I want you all to know, here at Nottawa we are surrounded with the MOST AMAZING STAFF & STUDENTS who will take care of each other and "not judge others by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character."  ~ Martin Luther King Jr.  

#equalityforall  #loveisthekeytotheworldsproblems

A final thought, a while back Marcia shared the following and it deeply resonated with me and I promise I am and will continue to make this my mission for the rest of my days as an educator, she said, "Pareen, children are born colour blind, it's our (educators, activists) job to keep them that way!"  

YES QUEEN M, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

READING FOR THE LOVE OF IT:
After our assembly, we had some quiet, reflective time together to seize and savour the beautiful feeling we had inside our hearts.  

Students went to the library and snuggled up with a buddy or individually to read.  Some signed out books about Black History, Difference, and Equality.  I loved seeing this as my passion for Black History has now transferred into my students :) 

Each one of us has the ability to be a CHANGE MAKER.  It's up to us if we're willing to do it and I strongly believe I'm surrounded with many here at lil' Nottawa :)  Check them out!!

BLACK HISTORY BIOGRAPHIES:

Thank you to all the students who have been working diligently on their Black History Biographies and completing it by today's due date and TURNING IT IN via Google Classroom.

Your time, efforts, and participation is greatly appreciated!  In the coming weeks, I can't wait for you to present your information to further inform and teach us about your chosen activist :)

Below, I have posted a variety of photos of the kids hard at work utilizing class time to complete this assignment.  Loooooove IT!

CHARACTER RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY:

On Monday, we had a school-wide Character Recognition assembly celebrating February's character trait which was Inclusiveness - "We always include others in our play, we never send people away."  

I selected two students for this award, but could have easily picked numerous others as the children in my classroom have been working hard at being inclusive, most have schema (background knowledge) for not being included, so everyone is doing their personal best to ensure others feel welcome! 

Congratulations to Anna and Will for receiving the Inclusiveness award!  Well done you two!  I know your families are so proud of you too just as much as I am :)

MARCH'S CHARACTER TRAIT:

March’s Character Trait is Integrity → “We can always be trusted even when NO ONE IS WATCHING.”

Explaining integrity can be a tough one.  Think of it like all the different qualities rolled into one to form a sense of morals and values.  

In the video below, Mr. Saad explains how to build integrity and resist those who want to challenge your sense of integrity.

MARCH KINDNESS CALENDAR:

I have already heard many students buzzing about using this month's kindness calendar!  This makes me so proud :-)  

I read through the various activities and I must say, they're VERY MEANINGFUL and user friendly.  As our beloved Martin Luther King Jr. stated, "The time is always RIGHT to do WHAT IS RIGHT." 

Thank you for your active participation as a family!  Let's continue to work together to ...

MARCH SPIRIT DAYS:

March is now upon us and what better way to soon celebrate the spring by having some school wide spirit days.  So get out your calendars and please mark down the following dates :-)  

As always, thank you to our Leadership Team led by Mrs. Garvan who set up all these special spirit days for our school!

Friday, March 10th   - Comfy Cozy Day (wear your comfiest, coziest clothes, and bring in your favourite stuffy to snuggle with while we watch a movie (primary classes will be in the gym periods 1-2).

Friday, March 24^th - Do You Believe in Magic / Green Day

WASTE FREE LUNCHES:

In our class, we consistently take the time to ensure our compost, recycling, and garbage bins are used properly and effectively.  

Most days, our garbage bin isn't even a 1/4 filled as most my students bring in waste free lunches which is amazing!!

Below are several images of proud students (and families) who are doing their part to help protect our planet.  Way to go boys and girls :-)

MATH:

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the students and parents who invested time and energy in helping your child prepare for his or her math assessment this week.

It was very apparent to me the students who worked hard at home as their efforts shined in effectively using the 4-Block Method to demonstrate their higher thinking, application, and communication skills. 

Below is a heart soaring moment that is a teacher's dream come true, collaboration at its finest :)  Benner took the initiative and heart to help out his friend on his math assessment.  I was instantly moved by this kind gesture and just had to snap a photo of the duo :-)

FRACTIONS:

Over the next while, we will be learning all about fractions.  A math note will be sent home in the agenda next week, see below :) 

Students will use fractions to describe parts of a group, parts of a whole, and parts of a measure.  

We will represent and explain fractions using drawings.  They will also be exposed to modeling and describing mixed numbers.

Throughout this unit, I encourage you and your child to do some of the activities listed below to help reinforce concepts taught at school.

• make a list of up to 10 family members your child is familiar with - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents.  Have your child describe fractions about parts of that list (e.g., what fraction are older than 20?  What fraction wear glasses?  What fraction live in the same town as you?)

• have your child make a list of the rooms in your house.  He or she can then use fractions to describe the rooms (e.g., what fraction of the rooms have a closet?  a bed?)

• have your child explain to you how to cut or divide appropriate food (e.g., pizza, casseroles, cakes) into equal shares or halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, eighths, or tenths

• even though we deal mostly with the metric system, many recipes still use imperial measurements.  Look at recipes with your child, and discuss the fractional amounts of the various ingredients

Please note, students have lots of schema (prior knowledge) with fractions as we've answered questions with this strand of math in our daily 'brain breakfast' warm-up questions.

MINDFULNESS #1:

Below, I have posted a short film about Gratitude by Louis Shwartzberg. His message: to open our hearts and feel grateful for this day, the beauty of this planet, and the people we meet!

How do we do this? By focusing on the positive aspects rather than the negative. By showing who other people are, in all their individual special-ness rather than focusing on lecturing and "finger-wagging" to "not judge others" is the way to open people's hearts organically and show our humanity to the people of different beliefs, capabilities, colours, ethnicities, and religions that walk on this earth with us.

The more we see the real person, the less likely we will objectify them as a "category" or as a "group" to hate. Watching this amazing little movie, I believe you will feel a bit more love in your heart, and love life a little more.

If you ever feel sad, anxious, or are finding it difficult to feel positive - which is all of us at some moments - this little movie will perhaps help heal your heart just a little bit!

MINDFULNESS #2:

"It's nice to be important, but it's MORE IMPORTANT TO BE NICE!"

This image took my breath away and makes my heart soar with joy!  It is located outside the The Tubman Museum and Educational Center which is part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a self-guided, scenic driving tour with more than 30 sites related to freedom seekers in the 1800s.

This world owes Ms. Tubman a debt of gratitude.  

Not only for the many lives she saved and the profound ripple effect of those spared lives.  Not only for the uncommon bravery and courage.  Not only for the role she plated in ending slavery in the United States, one painful step at a time.  Not only for the women who benefitted from her tireless work as a suffragist.  But for the example she set by just being her.  

Ms. Tubman set the bar astronomically high with her selfless devotion to doing the right thing no matter the costs.  

I believe Harriet Tubman's moral compass is something we should all strive towards!!

GROWTH MINDSET:

Thank you Brynn for sharing this week's mindset message!  It connects beautifully to PINK SHIRT DAY & Anti-Bullying Awareness.

"Be an UPSTANDER not a bystander.  Stand up for yourself and anyone else being hurt." 

- Brynn

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill