Dear Families,

It’s my first post for February!  Where did those 5 months go?!  I can still vividly remember seeing your child’s bright smile entering the portable on the first day of school :) I look forward to our next five months of purposeful, passionate, and peaceful learning together!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your loved ones and enjoy fun and interactive ways to enjoy this cool, crisp winter!

Speech Writing:

What an amazing week of writing!  After watching the junior and intermediates deliver their speeches in the gym, students were eager to being theirs!  We are so excited and many have already begun and do have a wonderful start to this assignment.  The classroom is buzzing with ideas :)  

I will be providing class time for this, but it is also expected that they work on their speeches at home too.  Thank you for your support!  If you would like to access google drive at home, please remember the login 'ending' goes like this: ___________@scdsb.on.ca  Most of the kids know their login info. as well as their passwords, it's just the latter half they have been experiencing difficulty with.  Hope this is helpful :)

Gym:

This week in gym, I introduced fitness workstations. Students are working in groups to read, learn, and actively participate in specific fitness activities to improve their flexibility, hand eye-coordination, and core strength.  Here are some of the activities we’re working on – “Bean Bag Shuffle,” “Roll the Dice,” “Skipping,” “Wall Ball,” and “Partner Sit-Ups.”  Please ask your child how to perform some of the activities!  Check us out below as we keep FIT and have FUN! 

Yoga:

Each gym class, I introduce a new yoga pose of the day. The helper then assists in modelling and leading this.  Afterwards, as a whole group we do the “asna” (pose).  By doing so, we are improving our flexibility, core strength, and breathing.  It’s been a joy seeing how much students have improved over the course of the school year, and we’ll still be learning so many others.  Ask your child about yoga and have them show you some of their learned poses.

Field Trips:

Thank you to the families who have already signed, returned, and paid for the Gr. 4 trip to Highlands Nordic which is coming up mid-Feb.!  Don’t worry Gr. 3’s, we have a special trip planned for you too which will take place on Feb. 14^th (Valentines Day).  Can you guess what it may be?  Hint!  It requires a ball and pins ;) Permission forms will be sent home in the agenda soon!  Stay tuned J

Yard Behaviour:

Mr. Perry wrote an important announcement this week about keeping off the icy surfaces, school boundaries, and abiding by our policy of HANDS OFF.  Please speak to your child about the importance of these rules, and if they are not involved in this sort of behaviour which many aren’t J, have them encourage their peers to make good choices.  I have many wonderful leaders in this class who can help others make positive choices.  

At Nottawa, it is our goal to ensure ALL children feel safe at all times.  If your child is involved in an issue which involves hands on or put downs, please don’t hesitate to let me know via email, a note in the agenda, or a phone call as I don’t always see, hear, or know what happens during unstructured times such as recesses.  I will always do my best to follow up to help my students.  Thank you so much for your understanding and support in this matter.

Sydney & Paige:

Thank you girls for bringing in your procedures on "How to Make a Lego House."  Your peers and I enjoyed watching and listening to your mini-presentation.  You did a good job of keeping your audience engaged.  I bet you've inspired others to build too!

 Growth Mindset:

“We can get the job done even when no one is watching!” – Sienna

Namaste,

Miss Gill