“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
Dear Families,
Last week, we remembered and honoured a remarkable leader, activist, reformist, and human being – Mr. Nelson Mandela. Mandela’s legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of many men, women, and children across our beautiful globe. It is my hope that we lovingly remember and carry with us his powerful teachings of forgiveness, peace, compassion, and creating oneness with humanity. Personally, Nelson Mandela has been an inspiration for me as an educator as I strive to create and maintain a classroom community which is accepting and embraces all students for who they are. Each child in my classroom is truly a valued, cherished and loved member who makes our days lighter and brighter! Some students shared their memories of Nelson Mandela and our discussion was very moving and heart-felt, thank you boys and girls!
“Courage” Recipients:
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| Carrie-ann & Daniel - congratulations! |
Congratulations to Carrie-Ann and Daniel for being recognized for displaying Courage – “We do the right thing even when it’s difficult” in your thoughts, words, and actions. You both have worked diligently hard to demonstrate this trait and I am so very proud of your efforts! Continue to be your best selves in all that you do.
T.W.A.S. Writing
The students and I would like to once again extend our thank you for all your contributions in our weekly T.W.A.S.’s. Seeing their faces light up when they read your response in class is remarkable J Thank you for all your energy, time, efforts and love that goes into your letters, it is making a significant difference in their letter writing! They thoroughly enjoy this writing process and sharing all their new learning and goal-setting with you!
Last week, I had the students’ partner up with a friend(s) and share their most proud piece of T.W.A.S. writing and listen to the feedback (stars & arrows) their peers had for them. This activity was very meaningful as each learner had the opportunity to listen to and be inspired by their peers’ feedback and writing to help their achievement. I noticed an improvement in various students writing as they are working very hard at extending their paragraphs and adding pertinent details to engage their audience (readers). Each week in class, we will continue to share and celebrate our growing writing skills!
On Friday, we finished up our Patterning & Algebra Assessment. This week, I will be sending home the “Student Self-Evaluation” form. I am encouraging families to sit down with their child to go over their test with them to celebrate their stars (what they did well in our patterning unit) and arrows (areas in which they require continued support in). This self-assessment is a powerful tool for your child to use to recognize their successes and next steps in this strand of mathematics. Thank you for your support in this endeavor.
Our next math unit focuses on Number Sense & Numeration. I sent home a math note (it was blue) last week with the new learning goals and success criteria. We will be focusing on this unit for the next 3 weeks. Your child will be bringing home their “Extra Math Practice” homework this Tuesday and you will see there is an emphasis on working with the addition, subtraction (of decimal numbers), multiplication and division of numbers. We are working on building our confidence in applying mental math strategies to recall basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Thank you for supporting your child in his/her math skills.
Website of the Week:
As promised, here is another fun, interactive, and engaging math website that gets children practicing various mathematical concepts in a ‘gaming’ format. Try it out!
Quote:
Before I share my quote, I would like to say thank you to Julia, Josie, Wyatt, Jakob, Owen, and Grace for taking the time to share their favourite quotes with me! They had asked me, “Miss Gill, if we have a special quote, can we share it and then make it the quote of the week?” My response, “Of course! What a great idea!” If you and your child find a quote that is meaningful to you both and wish to share it with me, please write it down in your child’s agenda and I’ll be sure to share it with the rest of the class! Many students find our quotes inspiring and have independently kept a list of them in their own agenda J
“If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.” -Nelson Mandela
Namaste,
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