Dear Families,

Is it March already!?  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 snow fall and colder temperatures being unpredictable, always be prepared to bundle up and stay cozy everyone!  

Today's a PA Day for students.  What did you get up to?  Orin's been spending time outside in nature being creative and having FUN by creating snow art that was inspired by Ms. West's art lesson earlier this week!  Check him out :-)  Thank you to Orin's Mom for sharing these lovely photos!

One of the greatest joys for me as a teacher is seeing my students smile and enjoying themselves!  Orin's definitely inspired me to get outside this weekend and enjoy everything that our wonderful community has to offer during these winter months (skiing, snow shoeing, skating, hiking, etc...)!

March's Character Trait:
Let's put this trait into our THOUGHTS,  WORDS, and ACTIONS boys and girls.  We can do it!!

Language:

This week, we spent time working on thinking about the similarities and differences between a bully and ourselves.  We used a Venn Diagram for this activity.  I was very pleased with students effectively collaborating with their peers to share their ideas and inspire one another!  Check us out! 

As a whole class, we all really enjoyed listening to each student's messages written to the bully to help him turn his negative thoughts, words, and actions into a positive one!    

Together, we can put an end to bullying by being compassionate, thoughtful, and KIND to each other!  All we have to do is TRY and BELIEVE!

Nelson Mandela & Viola Desmond:
This week, we spent time learning about the great Nelson Mandela and Viola Desmond!  

Please ask your child about how each of these civil rights activists made a difference in South Africa and Canada's history.  

Watch each video posted below to gain information!

Biographies:

With all our learning about Black History the past month and into this one, some students have enthusiastically been taking initiative to begin a google slides biography on a chosen civil rights activist!  Some have chosen to do this independently while others are working in small groups :)

I have been and will continue to provide class time for this, but students are also encouraged to use time at home to research and contribute information to their slides.  

Biography:  Civil Rights Activists

Martin Luther King Jr.            Rosa Parks                                          Harriet Tubman

NOAH, MAX, COLETON         THOMAS, FELIX, RAELYNN          LIAM

Fredrick Douglass                   Viola Desmond                                   Mahatma Ghandi

MIA, HANNAH, SYDNEY     EMMA, MOLLY                                 LOU, KALI

Ruby Bridges                          Carrie Best                                          Nelson Mandela

BEAU                                       JOELLA, CAYDEN                            ORIN

Lincoln Alexander                  

CAMERON, CONNOR, BRAYDEN

Math:

Yesterday, we completed the summative assessment for Multiplication & Division.  I am very proud of their efforts!  Your child is encouraged to continue to practice his or her 'math facts' for multiplication so their times tables for 0 - 12 become automatic!  

As a youngster, I remember my grandfather spending summers with me going over these and I am grateful he did (although at the time as a kid, I didn't necessarily, haha - but it's definitely helped).  

Our next unit will focus on FRACTIONS.  We will be learning to divide whole objects and sets of objects into equal parts, and identify the parts using fractional names (e.g., one half; three thirds; two fourths or two quarters) with using numbers in standard fractional notation. Students have schema (prior knowledge) with fractions as we've answered questions with this strand of math in our daily brain breakfast warm-up questions.

You may wish to refer to the math note that came home and do some of the activities that were suggested!

Social Studies:
As shared in a prior post, for this term, Mrs. Johnson, Ms. West and I will be team teaching the unit on Canada's Physical Regions. Each group consists of 8 students and it is working really well!

This week, we did a review on the various land forms found in each region (e.g, mountains, valleys, hills, rivers, plateaus, plains, cliffs, lakes) and we did a mini-lesson about "The Western Cordillera Region." I know, what a mouthful to say ;)

The word "cordillera" is a Spanish word that means mountain ranges. The Western Cordillera region does have many mountains, but it also has deep valleys, plateaus, and coastal islands.

Ask your child what provinces and territories are part of this region (refer to picture below). You may also wish to discuss the terms - climate, vegetation, wildlife, natural resources, industry, jobs, and recreation.

Spirit Gear:
As a teacher here at Nottawa Elementary, I feel extremely blessed to be surrounded with such amazing staff, students, and families!! I may not have "won the lottery," but being part of this school family, I feel I've landed the JACKPOT!

To help continue showing your pride as a Nighthawk, check out the following link below!

https://nottawa.entripyshops.com/

Great news!! We have a 15% OFF sale throughout the month of March! Simply use the discount code 15MARCH to get that discount!

Thank you for showing and supporting our Nighthawk school PRIDE & DIGNITY!!

Mindfulness:

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 is finding it difficult to feel positive - which is all of us at some moments - this little movie will heal your heart just a little bit!

Enjoy it!

Growth Mindset:

Thank you Joella for sharing the quote below for this week's growth mindset :)

Namaste,

Ms. Gill