Dear Families,
I hope students are enjoying their first PA day of the school year!  That came by quickly didn't it!?  I'm sure your child was excited to have a day off to rest and rejuvenate with family and friends.  I spent my time collaborating with my colleagues to plan and prep for many more fun learning opportunities for our students!

Enjoy your weekend!!  Fall is definitely upon us!  Bundle up everyone :-)

Orange Shirt Day:

On Monday, staff and students wore an orange shirt to honour all the Indigenous children who survived the Residential schools and to remember those who didn’t.  These schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture.  

We have done a lot of thinking about this experience in class and I am happy to share all my students have such great empathy as they're thinking about the feelings of all those affected by residential schools.  

Thank you to ALL the students and staff who wore ORANGE to support this initiative!

Reading:

Below you will find two powerful stories I've shared in class about First Nations and Indigenous children's experience at residential schools.  When I share these books, students are fully engaged, attentive, and truly express their empathy as they think about the feelings of all the Indigenous boys and girls affected by attending residential schools.  I am moved by their questions, responses and how grateful we are to be in a school that is safe and fosters equality and love.

I have posted the digital versions of both books for you to enjoy listening to with your child in the comforts of your own home :)

"Shin Chi's Canoe" by Nicola Campbell

"Stolen Words" by Melanie Florence

Language:
After listening to the stories, students worked on using a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of a child's experience at Nottawa vs. An Indigenous Students' at a Residential School.  

We did a whole class discussion with this and wrote down some ideas on sticky notes prior to get our minds critically thinking.  I made up a large Venn Diagram (using hoola hoops) to help organize students' ideas!  They really liked this :)  

After this lesson, students went to their desks and completed their very own Venn Diagram.  

Ask your child, what some of his or her ideas were :) We're really enjoying learning about First Nations and the history of Canada.

Math:

This week, I posed the following word problem (see picture below, click it to enlarge) and students were expected to use the 4-Block Problem Solving Method.  Please ask your child what some of the strategies were that they used to come up with their solution! 

Many students are really getting the hang of solving words problems, but for those who require further practice, I teamed them up with peers that could support them through this using the 4-step method. 

It's so wonderful seeing students light up to help others out academically!  The very first day of school I shared with everyone that "we're ALL teachers and we're ALL students too.  We can learn and grow from and with one another!"  T.E.A.M. = together everybody achieves MORE!

Check out the kids working together to get their jobs done!!!  Collaboration and cooperation at its finest!!

Math Assessment:
On Tuesday, I handed out a review sheet with practice questions for students to complete for an upcoming assessment for concepts taught to date in number sense & numeration.  Please have your child spend some time over the PA day and the weekend to prepare for this.  Their assessment will take place on Wednesday :-)

Character Recognition Assembly:

At the end of every month, we as a school community celebrate a spirit day and the character trait of the month.  Thank you to all the students who showed school spirit and dressed up in their Western attire on Thursday!  Yee-HAW!!!

September's character trait was Caring – “We show kindness towards each other.”  

I will take time on the blog to share and honour the recipients. I strongly believe an important part of our learning is to build and instill character in our children.  As a teacher, I do my best to model these traits consistently in my thoughts, words, and actions.

At our assembly, we recognized students from grades K-8 for Caring.  Congratulations to Cameron and Cayden for demonstrating caring on a consistent basis!  You are models for 'showing kindness towards your peers and teachers!'  Thank you for setting a positive example in and out of our classroom community!  I am so proud of you both!  

Next month’s character trait is ...

Check out the video posted below to get your mind and heart thinking of ways YOU can incorporate cooperation in your life!

Terry Fox Foundation:
Thank you to all families and students for your generous donations for such a meaningful cause.  We as a school family raised $4,800 for the Terry Fox Foundation!!  Remarkable!!  Not only did we  achieve our goal of raising $2,000, we exceeded it!  As a result, Mr. Perry consented to having a pie in the face.  He's such a good sport and as our principal, he is very proud of our achievement.  Next year, our goal will be to raise $3,000!  We can DO IT!

Stone Soup Celebration:

We are getting really excited about next week's Stone Soup Celebration!  In class, we will be busily preparing for this special event for you all to enjoy!  For those who haven't already, please remember to R.S.V.P. by Tues. Oct. 8th so I have approximate numbers.  Many thanks!!

Additionally, please send in an unprepared vegetable on Wed. Oct. 9th as we will be making our soup then!  Your child has picked a vegetable of their choice :)  See below.  We don't need a large amount, only enough to fit inside a zip lock baggy.  Thank you!!

Onions:	Carrots:	Potatoes:	Celery:	Red Peppers:
BRAYDEN	MIA	FELIX	HANNAH	LOU
CAYDEN	MOLLY	NOAH	JOELLA	RAELYNN
LIAM	BEAU	CAM	SEBASTIEN	CONNOR
MAX	ORIN	COLETON	JOHN	EMMA
DARCIE	THOMAS	EMMA	RAELYNN	MAX
	ASHTON	JOELLA

Looking forward to seeing those of you who can attend next week on Fri. Oct. 11th at 11:45 A.M.

Mindfulness:
A wonderful children's story with a meaningful message.  Please take a moment and listen to the various ways to help uplift others through your thoughts, words, and actions.  Make a list with your child so they have a reference and can utilize these in their daily life with family and friends. 

Growth Mindset:

Namaste,

Ms. Gill