“You’re most beautiful when you’re happy!”  - Thank you Anjoli :) You're absolutely RIGHT!

Dear Families,

I hope you enjoyed a bright, sunny weekend with your child – it was absolutely beautiful out, wasn’t it?  Unfortunately, I had a sore throat so I spent most of my time inside resting, but I did manage to get outside yesterday (Sunday) and got some much needed Vitamin D J  Today when I arrived to school, I noticed some students were quite rosy and got a lot of sun, your child is encouraged to wear a hat and apply sunscreen as he/she is outside for two 25 minute fitness breaks.  Thank you for your support in this matter.  I also wanted to say a thank you to the parents who regularly check and sign their child's agenda, it is an excellent communication tool between parent, child, and teacher.  I have been enjoying your notes! 

Spirit Assembly:

On Friday our school had our second last Spirit Assembly for the school year.  Students and staff are really getting into the SPIRIT and participating with such enthusiasm and pride!  Everyone really enjoys the “House Challenges,” this time it consisted of musical chairs and pass the hula-hoop.  I was very pleased to see every “House” (which has approximately 60 members in it – wow!) work together cooperatively to successfully complete each challenge - amazing!  We always end our assembly with a dance and this time it was the ever popular “Chicken Dance” which my students have experience with from our in-class Brain Breaks.  Our next Spirit assembly will take place mid-June - stay tuned! 

Track & Field:

Last week all students in Gr. 4-8 participated in various Track events.  Everyone received a purple ribbon at the very beginning which represented active participation.  I was happy to see that my students wore this ribbon with such pride!  Many students stepped outside their comfort zone to participate for the very first time, some of my students even received 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th place ribbons throughout the day – way to go!  We talked about this achievement and in the end we all agreed that the most important ribbon was the purple one as it represents courage and the willingness to participate with a smile!!!  I know my students will take this experience with them and carry their new learnings into Gr. 5 at next year’s Track & Field meet!

Science Experiment:

Today during Science, we did an experiment for How Light Travels.  Please ask your child about this procedure, the materials used and what their findings were.  Here are some examples of questions to ask:

How must the cards be placed so that the light shines through the holes? (HINT: all cards had to be placed such that the holes were in a straight line).

What property of light does this demonstrate?  (HINT:  this demonstrates that light travels in a straight line).

How is a shadow formed?  (HINT:  a shadow is a result of light being blocked). 

What do the following terms mean – transparent, transluscent, and opaque?

Thank you for taking the time to sit with your child to reinforce these learned concepts at home.

Reminder:

Just a friendly reminder that Narratives are due this Friday!  Students continue to work hard during our in-class writing time which has been beneficial.  Thank you to all the families who are supporting their child in this writing task at home, I really appreciate all your time and efforts, it is making a difference and I look forward to their end result!          

“Your best is good enough.”  --German Proverb (Thanks Josie for sharing this with me at the end of our school day).

Namaste,

Miss Gill

“HONOUR yourself and each other.”  -- Grace

Dear Families,

I hope you had a wonderful looong weekend with your family and friends.  What activities did you get up to with your family?  Since the weather cooperated, I spent some of my weekend outside doing much needed yard work such as weeding, cutting the grass, and cleaning outdoor windows.  I felt relieved after this session!  To treat myself from my hard day’s work, I had a yummy BBQ and enjoyed a bonfire with my neighbours.  It was a blast!!! 

Ancient Civilization INQUIRY:

The students are currently working with a partner on their final project for their Inquiry.  Many partners are building models, dioramas, and PowerPoint presentations to represent their Civilization.  Please ask your child what they’ve chosen to do to communicate their information when they present.  There are many keen participants and they’ve been working hard which is a delight to see!  We have been using Day 1’s & 2’s to work on this project. 

The due date for this is June 5^th.

Narratives:

Last week, I sent home a note about a Narrative writing task.  Each student is responsible for writing a story using the Learning Goal & Success Criteria that we co-created as a whole group.  I have had the opportunity to conference/provide feedback with a few students and their progress is wonderful J I have encouraged everyone to take home their Language notebooks to work on their rough copies this week.  Spending 15-20minutes/evening would be very beneficial in meeting the May 30^th due date.  Thank you for your support in this writing endeavour.  Students will have the opportunity to present their final story with their peers … keep those creative minds flowing!

Track & Field Meet:

On Thursday, we will be having our Track & Field event for students in Grades 4-8.  Please have your child wear proper footwear, a hat, sunscreen, and bring plenty of water/healthy snacks to be well-prepared for this all day event.  This is an amazing opportunity for our Grade 4’s as it is their first year of participation.  We have had numerous practices at each event and I think we’re ready for this challenge!  I will be leading the Triple Jump, so I will surely be cheering on my students as they "HOP, SKIP, AND JUMP" their hearts out!  Best of luck boys and girls :)  Have FUN! 

Spirit Assembly:

On Friday, we will be having our School Spirit Assembly at 12:15pm.  If you wish to attend, please note the time change from our regular time of 2:45pm.  Please have your child dress up in their house colour as this contributes greatly to our school spirit!  I’ll have my YELLOW on!

“You can Google answers, but you can’t Google THINKING!”

Namaste,

Miss Gill

“Be the CHANGE you wish to see in OUR WORLD.”  -- Ghandi

Dear Families,

Happy Mother’s Day!  The bond between a mother and her child is truly one of a kind!  I admire, respect, and am inspired by all the mothers out there who consistently demonstrate and share their strength, dedication, and unconditional love for her children.  I have been blessed to have a mother who has been the ultimate role model and who has been there for me always.  Thank you Ma for all that you do, ALL THAT YOU ARE!  You are amazing!!!  For Mother’s Day, I decided to take my Ma to Barrie to visit Chapters, she loves to read!  After that, we went for a walk by the Beach in Wasaga, we took off our shoes and it was wonderful to have the sand between our toes.  The walk was not only refreshing, but one that I will cherish as I had the opportunity to spend my time in my Mother's beautiful energy!  I hope you enjoyed this weekend too with your child spending quality time in the warmth and sunshine!

Integrity & Optimism Recipients:

Congratulations to the following students:  Alexander, Anjoli, Jax, Sammi, and Mikaila for receiving Character awards for the months of March and April.  In March, we focused on Integrity – we always act honourably in our thoughts, words and actions.  In April, our focus was Optimism – we believe we can do it!  Well done boys and girls for displaying these character traits throughout the school year, it has been a pleasure watching you grow.  Continue acting honourably in all that you do!  I am so proud of you J

Alexander & Anjoli

Jax, Sammi, and Mikaila

Track & Field:

As many parents may be aware by now, we have started our Track & Field practices in preparation for our schools track meet in the third week of May.  This is the grade fours first experience with this, and I am delighted with their progress thus far!  My students will be participating in the following events:  high jump, ball throw, triple/long jump, 100m, and 200m run.  I have encouraged and reminded my students that their greatest competitor is themselves, and that all I ever expect from them is their “personal best” and to have fun with this new learning experience!  We are all having a blast and it’s wonderful to be part of their enthusiasm and growing track skills!  We will be resuming our practices this week, please ensure your child has proper foot wear to participate to their highest potential, thank you.

Jump Rope for Heart:

Keep those pledges coming!  Thank you for all your hard work and support in this school-wide endeavour.  The pledge forms are due to our office by this Fri. May 16^th.

Makayla’s Dance Recital:

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to see my former Gr. 6 student Makayla (Izzy's older sister) perform in her dance recital at Meaford Hall.  I felt honoured and privileged to be part of this event, thank you for thinking of and including me in your special day.  I had such a wonderful time J  You did such an amazing dance routine, I am in awe of your talent along with your peers!  Your little sister performed wonderfully too.  I hope you got a lot of rest today as you had three performances yesterday - wowie!  Congratulations on an amazing dance season, you are a gifted dancer Makayla!!  Keep striving to be the best you can be! 

Makayla - dancing extordinaire!

 

“If you can dream it, you can ACHIEVE it!” – Walt Disney

Namaste,

Miss Gill

“Forget who hurt you yesterday, remember who LOVES YOU every day.”  -- William Gr. 4

Dear Families,

April showers bring May flowers!  Have you spotted any yet?  We have entered our second last month before the conclusion of our school year!!!  I am amazed at how much we have accomplished as a class and how much more we have to experience together as a learning community.  Exciting times ahead!  I hope you were able to come to our school’s Healthapalooza last week (Thurs. 4-7pm).  Unfortunately, I missed it as I was at a Leadership Centre with Gr. 6, 7 students.  I look forward to hearing about it this coming week from my students.  I am so proud of this healthy journey we’ve taken on as a school family, it shows just how caring we are towards our students making healthier and active choices to help them live a bright, joyous life!

Baby Chicks:

Cheep!  Cheep!  A dozen new eggs ready to incubate & HATCH!!!

As you can see, we’re at it again!  Yes indeedy, I have received a dozen more eggs for us to hatch J  Farmer Mike from Lucia’s Country Market was gracious enough to provide us with this second opportunity.  After our class discussion for the possible factors that may have contributed to our chicks not hatching successfully, we are now paying close attention to the humidity, temperature, and fingers crossed that we don’t lose electricity as long as we’re incubating our darlings.  Our chicks estimated day of hatching is May 21^st I will keep you all posted J

Nordic Highlands Field Trip – Rocks & Minerals Investigation, Survival Games:

Last Monday, our class traveled to Duntroon to participate in a Science related field trip.  I must say, Nordic Highlands runs an amazing program for students, and we have been fortunate enough to go there four times this school year!  The staff is very educated, warm, and welcoming.  Also, our students have consistently demonstrated their best behaviour and we have been complimented for our Character which makes me as a teacher so very proud of each learner!  Lucy from Nordic came up to me at the end of the day and said, “Miss Gill, the way your students handle and carry themselves in our building is extraordinary.  It has been a true pleasure having them here.  We hope to see you again!”  The first half of our day, we learned about the Life Cycle of Rocks & Minerals.  Students participated in a variety of science workstations to learn and consolidate their thinking in this strand of science.  I was very impressed with the enthusiasm and engagement of each student while they worked at their station. 

Here are a few pictures from our Rocks & Minerals Investigation:

Daniel recording sands around the world

Thank you Mrs. Lamers for guiding and supporting William at his workstation!

The second part of the day focused on learning about Animal Survival and classifying them according to Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores.  Chance led an engaging discussion on how animals meet their needs to survive in their habitat.  We then all ventured into the forest and played a survival game.  Each student was either a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore and had to survive by getting food, water, air, shelter, space and not be hurt or caught by disease (parent volunteers).  It was amazing to see everyone having the best time with this activity!  Here are a few pictures from all the FUN IN THE FOREST!

Lesson on Habitats & Communities

Chance our Survival Expert

Even I was a wee nervous taking this pic!

Paige, Eagen and Alexander ready to pounce on their prey!

One last discussion for safety before all scatter in the forest

Grace & Sammi getting food

Jax, Owen, Stone, and Jakob getting water

Trista getting shelter

Alexandra & Mikayla perfectly hydrated

Izzy, Trista, and Daniel hungry for hot-dogs

Izzy, Daniel and Julia ready to survive their predators

Parent Volunteers:

Mr. Knowler engaging students in Rock discovery!

Mrs. Lamers actively teaching and supporting every step of the way!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Knowler (Julia’s Dad) and Mrs. Lamers (Eryn’s Mom) for accompanying us on our field trip.  They were not only volunteering their time, but they also did some teaching during our Rocks & Minerals investigation.  I appreciate you graciously being open to this experience for my students.  You both were amazing with the kids, I know how much they enjoyed learning and having FUN WITH YOU.  I am fortunate to have parent volunteers in my class who are loving, supportive, and compassionate – thank you!!! 

“You will miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzsky

Namaste,

Miss Gill

“When we are grateful, we are always in the present moment…”

Dear Families,

Believe it or not, but we’re entering our last week in April!  Wowie, I just felt like we had “April Fools” day!  Time is zipping by, but this being said, we’ve made the most of our learning time J  Students have been keen, enthusiastic, and caring towards their academic work in class – a delight for any teacher to see and be part of! 

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new student Mikayla to our class!  She arrived Tues. from Shanti Bay Public School and has been a wonderful addition.  I hope you’ve enjoyed your first week at our school making new friends!  We are fortunate to have such inclusive and kind children here; I have observed many reach out to her to make Mikayla feel welcome.  Thank you boys and girls for being extremely kind, caring, and thoughtful!

Earth Day Celebration:

Earth Day Cookies!  Taking care of our Planet!!!

On Tuesday, I shared an informative picture book titled “Taking Care of Our Earth.”  In this book, the author suggested ways that we can help conserve energy, minimize pollution, and keep our Earth clean.  Please ask your child how you as a family can make a positive difference and help our planet.  During our Earth discussion, Josie shared with us all how her family went out in their community and picked up garbage.  Thank you Josie for sharing this experience with us all, I know you’ve inspired your peers!

As a consolidating task, we made “Earth Cookies” and talked about how the green icing represents the land/continents and the blue icing represents the water/oceans.  It was a yummy, yet, meaningful experience.  Please take a moment to enjoy the pictures of our creations.  

Jax & Trista

Izzy & Alexander

Anjoli, Steven & Josie

Bradely, Eryn, Owen & Carrie-ann

Mikayla, Mikaila & Jakob

William, Grace & Wyatt

Alex, Julia, & Eagen

Daniel, Alexandra, & Ryan

Baby Chicks:

I mentioned in my previous post that I would let you know about this process and I do have an update! Unfortunately, none of our chicks hatched L  However, we discussed the various factors that may have contributed to this.  We had a rich inquiry and whole-class discussion about this!  Some of the factors may have included:  temperature, humidity, eggs not fertilized, and the power outage on the snow day.  With Ms. Hartley’s assistance, we opened a few eggs to investigate how far along some of the eggs developed.  Each student had the right to participate or the right to pass in this opportunity, and to our amazement, each scientist (student) participated with an open-heart J  The learning from this was remarkable as everyone was engaged.  In the end, Ms. Hartley and I shared with our students that like John Parkes, we are going to persevere and try and try again!  So we will be hatching another batch of chick eggs soon.  Stay tuned!

Here are a few pictures from our inquiry on Thursday.

Thank you Ms. Hartley for being part of our investigation!!!

OELC April 30^th – May 3^rd:

On Wednesday evening, I will be attending an Exploring Leadership Conference with 5 of our New Lowell students in Gr. 6 and 7.  I will be away from school on Thursday and Friday, Mrs. Draper will be in for me.  She is a wonderful supply teacher and has worked in my classroom before.  I know she is looking forward to teaching and getting to know your child further.  Please reinforce with your child the importance of maintaining their best behavior in my absence.  Thank you.  I look forward to sharing my experiences and some of the activities from OELC (Ontario Educational Leadership Conference) upon my return!

“Inclusiveness – including everyone in your play even if you’re not friends with them.” 

Thank you Steven for sharing your quote with US!

Namaste,

Miss Gill

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”  --Wendell Berry

Dear Families,

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Easter weekend with all your loved ones on this gorgeous, bright, sunny weekend!  We were showered with love (rain) this morning, but now the sun’s beaming J  YAY!   On Thursday, students had the opportunity to share their ‘Easter traditions,’ it was lovely to hear about these as I could visualize their experiences and excitement!   I am certain many more cherished memories were created over the weekend and I look forward to hearing about those this week!

Earth Day & Chicks Arrival:

On Tuesday, we will be celebrating Earth Day!  I believe it is such an important day to honour as we are so very blessed to live in an area that is safe, beautiful, and FREE.  To connect this celebration to our language learning, we will be writing letters to Mother Earth about ways to help keep our schoolyard, community, and Earth clean. 

Cheep!  Cheep!  The newly born sounds and chatter of our baby chicks will be heard throughout our library oh so very soon J  We have been highly anticipating their arrival since the beginning of the month!  Ms. Hartley and I have prepared the brooder box and feed for the chicks to begin their new life.  Please stay tuned!!!

Mad Scientist Visit:

Owen & Jessie - sound waves experiment

Scientist Jessie teaching new vocabulary

Due to the snow day on Tuesday, our scientist visit occurred on Wednesday morning with Jessie.  We welcomed Ms. Czerny’s grade fours into our learning community as this was a Grade 4 Science Curriculum related experience.  The students were exposed to various experiments that had to do with Light & Sound.  I would like to acknowledge and thank our scientist Jessie on a spectacular learning experience as all students were engaged, excited and enthusiastic throughout the learning.  It truly helped consolidate their thinking as we have focused on this strand of science over the past couple of weeks.  Please ask your child about the following terms: opaque, translucent, transparent, artificial/natural light, shadows, penumbra, umbra, and sound waves. 

William, Grace, and Wyatt

Constructing a "Pan Flute"

Izzy diligently working hard on making her flute

Sean and Josie working together to get the job done!

Kendra, Alexandra, Paige, and Ryan focused scientists

Steven and Anjoli

Xavier and Sean testing their vision

Jakob, Mikaila, and Carrie-ann cooool shades!

Kendra, Paige, Alexandra, and Ryan

Sammi, Jax, and Trista

Bradley, Owen, Makayla, and Eryn

Sean, Steven, Anjoli, and Laila

Xavier, Alexander, and Izzy sound experimenting

Fit 2 Dance:

Jenn Litt leading "Strike a POSE!"

Tyler Boyle engaging one and ALL :)

As part of our dance learning, we had the privilege of having Tyler Boyle and Jenn Litt both teachers in the surrounding area come into our school to promote DANCE, FITNESS, & WELL-BEING!  Both these individuals have a gift for connecting and promoting dance as a means to health & wellness.  The students from K-8 were involved in this program and I can say with every confidence that most students were up and groooooovin’ with their minds and bodies to the up-beat tunes.  As a teacher, I too was inspired by Tyler and Jenn, and will carry on their enthusiasm into my own dance teaching practice.  I especially liked when at the end of our dance session, we all had a moment to regroup, relax and meditate by lying down on our backs to soak in the experience.  It was extremely calming, relaxing and rejuvenating.  Thank you Mr. Boyle and Ms. Litt, “YOU BOTH ARE AWESOME!!!”

Jenn Litt gathering all students to de-brief and encouraging us all to respect ourselves and each other

Meditation to calm our minds and bodies

“Make happiness a habit.”

Namaste,

Miss Gill