“A smile and a kind word is all it takes to spread joy because happiness is contagious!”

Thank you Owen for sharing this quote with us, it is amazing!!

Mix-Match Day!  We have SPIRIT!

Dear Families,

The deep, chilly freeze continued this past week, brrr!  I hope that you’re finding ways to keep warm and cozy.  We are fortunate to have Mrs. McQuay (our custodian) who regularly comes in the early morning to check upon the temperature in our classroom and ensures that students and staff are comfortable and warm.  Thank you Mrs. McQuay for your consistent kindness and thoughtful ways, we appreciate you!

Character Recognition Assembly & Learning Skills/Academic Awards:

On Monday morning, we will be celebrating students who have demonstrated ‘Inclusiveness’ for the month of February.  I will be certain to post their picture on my next blog update.  In addition to this, we will also be honouring students for their achievement in their ‘Learning Skills & Academics’ portion of the report card.  I am so proud of ALL my students; they will always be recognized by me in and out of the classroom.  As I have mentioned on a few occasions, I am surrounded with the most caring, thoughtful, and kind children!  I am the fortunate one J

Nordic Highlands:

Due to the extreme cold, our field trip has been postponed until Wed. Mar. 5^th.  Let’s all do the ‘warm dance’ together so we can enjoy our last session at Duntroon J  I am optimistic it’ll be great weather as well as lots of FUN!  The students and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment on the hills!  I will take lots of pictures to share with you all … thank you for checking it out!

Paralympics:

Shining a bigger LIGHT on the Paralympics :)

I had a discussion with my class about the Paralympics as I feel it is under-recognized compared to the Olympics that just took place.  As an educator, I want to educate my students on the importance of recognizing differences and celebrating achievements of ALL athletes.  Having a disability does not mean “Can’t!”  In our talk, Owen mentioned the following, “Hey Miss Gill, it just means that these athletes do the same events in a different way, that’s all.  And it’s really cool to see them persevere!”  This comment says it all … you’re absolutely right, Owen!!!  Thank you for your insightful thinking, you have taught us a valuable lesson J 

I have encouraged my students to watch the Paralympics which will begin on our March Break (Mar. 7^th onwards…).  I know I’ll be tuning in and look forward to hearing my students’ thoughts.

Math Learning:

Last week, I sent a Math Note home.  Our new Learning Goal is Geometry & Spatial Sense.  Thank you in advance to the families who have taken the time to read over the note and act upon the suggestions/activities to try out with your child.  We will be spending the next 2 weeks on this strand of mathematics.  It is an area that most students enjoy, as we will be building figures from nets and classifying them according to their attributes.  Please ask your child about the four types of angles we’ve discussed and how many degrees each is (HINT:  straight-angle 180, right-angle 90, obtuse-angle greater than 90, acute-angle less than 90 degrees).  I appreciate all the support you give your child as it helps immensely in the classroom, especially in their confidence level.

March Break:

Just a reminder that it is our last week before the break, it is a shortened week Mon.-Thurs.  There will be no school on Friday.  I am wishing you all a safe and enjoyable break together!!  Hopefully the spring-like temperatures will surface as well … here’s to hoping *fingers crossed!*

“Trust your peers and believe in them.  They will do it back.”  -- Paige

Namaste,

Miss Gill