Week #25: Mar. 6th - 10th

Dear Families,

Oh what a wonderful week, another glorious one filled with snow and smiles :-)  Your child and I are so happy to be in class making the most of our academic, social, and emotional learning!  Coming to school each and every day is like winning the jackpot, I cherish my time with your child - TRULY!

As always, it has been a very meaningful week as we celebrated International Women's Day, cozy comfy day, and structure building and researching with Mr. Morin!  It's another thorough post, but you'll definitely want to check it all out :-)

A friendly reminder that the clocks spring forward on Sunday!  I've forgotten in the past and that made for a speedy commute to school on a Monday morning (HAHA)!

SPIRIT DAY:

Leaping into the March Break, our amazing Leadership Team led by Mrs. Garvan thought what better way to get into the vacation spirit than by kicking back and relaxing in our comfiest & coziest attire!  The kids loooooved snuggling with their warm stuffies too :-)

Enjoyed our movie time - 'Happy Feet' & Just Dance moves :)

Twinning on Cozy Comfy Day, nice boys!!

Just hangin' around ;)

One of my most favourite things to wear are joggers n' a hoodie so that's exactly what I wore and it was great!  The kids looked so cozy too!!  As always, thank you parents for assisting your child(ren) in preparing for this spirit day! 

BLACK HISTORY BIOGRAPHY ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

To honour your child's hard work and to help commemorate our learning of Black History Month, each student has signed up to present their research findings of their chosen Activist.

The schedule is below :)  Please note, if your child wishes to update and/or edit his or her Google Slides prior to their presentation, they are welcome to do so over the Break because I will be RETURNING IT with feedback once they've presented.       

Mon. Mar. 20th	Tues. Mar. 21st	Wed. Mar. 22nd	Thurs. Mar. 23rd	Fri. Mar. 24th
Benner	Cruz	Mae	Anna	Isla
Logan	Jonas	Libby	Kaia	Mielle
Ben	Brynn	Kaleb	Ellis & Arie	Molly
Will	Ivy		Ayden	Kieran

Earlier this week, I sent home the specific oral presentation rubric (success criteria, see below) that I will be using to assess your child's public speaking skills.

I encourage your child to practice over the Break to help prepare more effectively for their upcoming presentation.  Parents, your support in this endeavour (and beyond) is greatly appreciated :-)

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY:

International Women's Day – celebrated annually on March 8th – is a day that commemorates the social, political and economic achievements of women and girls.

Women in different parts of the world use this day to come together to celebrate one another and rally for equal treatment and representation.

Imagine a gender equal world?  A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.  

A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive.  A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together, we can continue building upon women's equality :) 

Collectively, we can all EmbraceEquity

Please consider celebrating women's achievement.  Raising awareness against bias.  Taking action for equality! #equityforall

GIRLS CAN HELP CHANGE THE WORLD:

In our class family, we are surrounded with strong, independent, and kind young girls who are consistently looking for and acting in ways to help make our classroom a better place for us all to learn and grow in!

Thank you Libby, Mielle, Ivy, Brynn, Cruz, Kaia, Isla, Molly, Mae, and Anna for striving to being CHANGE MAKERS!

I honour each and every one of YOU :)

'Girls RULE the World' & 'Girls are POWERful!'

Molly mindfully reading a novel about Malala :) 

To all the children at Nottawa Elementary - YOU ARE SEEN.  YOU ARE HEARD.  YOU ARE VALUED.

MY WORK FAMILY:

I would like to take this opportunity to also honour and acknowledge some of my AMAZING WOMEN COLLEAGUES (missing in photo are Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Kutcy, Ms. West, Mrs. Weeks, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Wallace, Mrs. Mathews, and Mrs. Coleman) whom I consider family.

Below are just some of the most considerate, compassionate, and caring women I have the privilege to work, learn, and grow with each and every day! 

Mme Wylie, Mrs. Garvan, Mrs. Newman, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Hammon, Mrs. Clarkson, Mrs. O

They make our school run smoothly every day, thank you Mrs. Mortimer & Mrs. Beattie

Thank you for being such a dynamic T.E.A.M. - "Together Everybody Achieves MORE" indeed!

I am not only inspired by each of you as educators, but as mothers as well!!  Your children are blessed to have you as their Moms :-)  Che Meegwich!!

VIDEO MESSAGE FOR IWD2021:

I am both humbled and honoured to share that I was asked to speak for #IWD2021.

To be part of this experience and represent Simcoe County District School Board is something I will always cherish. Please click on the link below to view my message of empowerment for young girls every where!!

Ms. Gill's IWD2021 Message

I believe in all young people and encourage YOU to advocate for yourself and others.

USE YOUR VOICE to challenge BIAS, STEREOTYPES, and DISCRIMINATION. By speaking up, WE can bring POSITIVE CHANGE.

To all the young girls and women in my life and beyond ...

"You are LOVED. You are WORTHY. You are ACCEPTED. You are ENOUGH. You have a VOICE." Keep using your VOICE to stand up for EQUALITY!!

WRITING:

This week, I had my students complete an activity to help honour International Women's Day and empower young girls and women.  In doing so, we talked about the most important woman in our lives - our Moms.

We took time to think of various adjectives to describe our Moms and this is what we came up with (see photo below).  I couldn't agree more!!

After this brainstorming, students used the following sheet (see below) to write a message of gratitude to show their appreciation and love for their Mom.

As I read through some entries, I was in awe of the heartfelt thoughts and words.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Your child absolutely adores and values you!!  

I hope your child and you were able to sit and enjoy this moment of sharing together with a snack and/or hot beverage :)

Below, you will find a collection of photos of the kids working hard on their writing for you :) I think this will give you a greater sense of the outpouring of love that went into this activity. 

MY MOM:

I would be remiss if I now didn't take a moment to honour and acknowledge my very own Mother for International Women's Day.

Here's my message for my Ma.  I sent her a screenshot of it and she loved it :)
She said, "Oh Pareenie, you made me cry."  See where I get my sensitive ways from? ;)

When I think about my Ma, the words courageous, resilient, and empathetic come to mind.  It is her and solely her who has raised me to face adversity with grace and turn it into lessons to further learn and grow in mind, body, and spirit.

I am who I am today as a daughter, sister, friend, partner, educator, and person because of Ma's teachings, mentorship, influence, and guidance.  

I will spend the rest of my days ensuring that I make her proud of me as her daughter.  She truly is the most genuine, gentle, and generous human I know.  Ma, you're ONE OF A BEAUTY KIND!  I love you with all my heart.

Ma listening to Lily's gratitude letter at Stone Soup

My Ma and her beloved younger brother Rajbir Singh Somal

My Ma with my cousins from India Armaanbir & Arshnoor
Their father (my uncle) passed away in 2015 and even from afar, my Ma is always there for them.

WHO IS A WOMAN YOU ADMIRE?

Thank you to our Leadership Team & Mrs. Garvan for initiating a school wide writing activity to help honour the amazing girls and women in our life!!

Each class took the time to think and write about a girl/woman that they admire and it has been posted on a bulletin board in the main hallway for us all to honour.  Check out some entries below :-)  

Our messages are at the top right corner with the red backing

Who is a woman/girl you admire?  Discuss with your child :)

May we all continue to aspire to be like the courageous, strong willed, and loving girls/women in our lives!!   

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM:

Speaking of determined young women, congratulations to our intermediate girls volleyball team who successfully competed in the County Championships earlier this week finishing in an impressive 3rd place overall!!

I have had the pleasure of teaching and coaching (basketball) many of these girls over the years.  For me, it wasn't necessarily the 'win' per se, but watching these girls on the court display such comradery, collaboration, and spirit - this truly won my heart!!  

I was witness to their Area Championship win at Stayner Collegiate last week and what I saw was all these girls and their coaches display a high level of excellence in SPORTSPERSONSHIP, SKILL, and RESPECT for themselves and their opponents.  

Thank you girls and coaches Garvan & Bowhey for truly demonstrating what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like to be a Nottawa Nighthawk!!  #charactereducation  #respectfultoall  #NighthawkProud

MATH:

This week, I provided my students with a 'fractions diagnostic assessment' aka "What They Know" and "What They Don't Know YET."  

Please enlarge the photos below to get a closer look at the questions provided and have your child explain which questions they were confident in and which ones they felt were more challenging.

Overall, question 1 was an area that most of the kids found difficult so we spent some time on this to figure it out together ;)

DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENTS are a meaningful opportunity for me to meet the children 'where they're at' and to provide extra support in areas that they need as we plan and prepare for the remainder of the unit!  

This week, I also exposed the kids to Mixed Numbers and showed them a BrainPop video (see below) which was very helpful.  

Please pause the video at certain parts to have your child show you the mixed number.  We did this in class so it should be a good opportunity for review ;)

AYDEN:

Thank you Ayden for taking the time to make this beaded gift for me :) I appreciate the message of LOVE!  As we have learned, "Love is ACCEPTANCE.  It is the key to the world's problems!"  

Together, we can and will continue to make our world better and brighter with our loving thoughts, words, and actions!!  I know I can always count on Ayden (and his peers) to spread ... THE LOVE :-) 

LEADERSHIP:

Speaking of loving students, here's more shining moments to share!!

For me, it is a teachers dream come true when we see, hear, and feel students authentically and genuinely supporting their classmates because 'it's the right thing to do.'

One of my very first lessons at the beginning of every school year is about GETTING TO KNOW & LOVE YOUR BRAIN. We're all different, we learn at different rates and capacities and that's OK!

I do my best to empower my students so they truly know and feel like they too are TEACHERS IN THIS CLASSROOM. In doing so, I believe this helps them realize their leadership potential and hone their skills in this area :)

Here are three moments this week that I captured of students demonstrating their leadership by being teachers!

Today after our second recess, I quietly saw Benner and Molly supporting their peers in their Word Study & Math Homework. Also earlier in the week, I witnessed Ivy gently guiding Molly in answering some challenging Fractions questions.

As soon as I saw these students supportive ways from afar, I had to zoom in and get some photos as the moment was so real and genuine!!

I cannot fully articulate it in words the immense joy I feel when I see my students trusting in and leaning on each other to get help without judgement. AMAZING :-)

Thank you Molly, Benner, and Ivy for being so supportive in your thoughts, words, and actions. I know for certainty, your peers and friends value your giving ways!! Keep up the leadership!! I'm sure you will inspire others to do the same :-)

Thank you Benner for leaning in to help Isla soar and grow with her multiplication & division skills

Thank you Molly for explaining the word work and listening actively to Will's questions

That's it Will, you got it!

Thank you Ivy for mentoring and modelling what it looks like to be a LEADER!

MINDFULNESS:

Please take a moment to check out TAIKO Studios which presents the story of Luna, a vibrant young Chinese American girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut. 

From the day she witnesses a rocket launching into space on TV, Luna is driven to reach for the stars. In the big city, Luna lives with her loving father Chu, who supports her with a humble shoe repair business he runs out of his garage. 

As Luna grows up, she enters college, facing adversity of all kinds in pursuit of her dreams.

To all the young girls (boys) at our school, NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR HOPES & DREAMS!!

GROWTH MINDSET:

Che Meegwich,

Ms. Gill