Dear Families,

It's the last week of March, already?!  Wowza!  We're soon into April, how'd that happen!?  I would like to wish you all a Happy Easter with your family and friends!  As many are aware, it is Good Friday tomorrow (no school) and Easter Monday (no school), so students will be back to school on Tuesday.  Some have shared with me their favourite Easter traditions that they partake in with you. Enjoy these heartwarming activities with your child and I look forward to hearing all about them next week!  See you all on Tuesday!!

Thank you Nate and family for providing some nutritious and delicious snacks for Easter!  YUMMY!

Rocking OUR Socks for Downs Syndrome Awareness:

We are all unique and wonderful JUST THE WAY WE ARE.  Each one of us has been given life and we must celebrate our differences and embrace them because it is what makes you, YOU!! Mrs. Shaw's and Mrs. McTaggart's classes led our Integrity assembly this afternoon and this message resonated and energized the hearts and minds of everyone!  Thank you for reminding us to be our unique, creative, and jovial selves!

A special thank you goes out to Mr. Morin who teaches my students dance this term; my class did an outstanding job on their FLASH MOB dance!!  It was a sight to see!  I was in awe when I saw the boys and girls rehearsal on Monday and they continued to rise to the occasion today!!  Well done J  I’m sure your child will be bouncing along to One Direction’s hit song BEAUTIFUL over Easter ;)

Congrats to Zach for finding the egg with the golden ticket during our whole school Easter Egg Hunt!

Character Recognition Assembly:

Today, we recognized March's character trait of Integrity - “We can always be trusted even when NO ONE IS WATCHING!”  I have shared with my students how I feel this trait encompasses all our character traits that we have focused on thus far.  I believe if a person demonstrates integrity they also possess respect, caring, cooperation, inclusiveness, empathy, and responsibility.  I am comforted in knowing that WE at Nottawa are truly surrounded with many students who consistently model integrity in their actions.

Congratulations to Rachael and Alex!  You are being recognized for ALWAYS displaying Integrity in your thoughts, words, and actions.  I am so very proud of you!  Continue to be your best self in all that you do! 

Writing:

In writing, we are learning about how to write an exposition.  The purpose is to try to persuade someone to think or do something.  I did a mini-lesson on the parts of this writing form.  The following needs to be included: 

·         a title, statement of position, series of arguments (or reasons), and a concluding statement 

In teaching this, I shared a simple exposition called A School Concert.  See if your child can share what the statement of position was and some of the arguments or reasons to support having a concert at the end of the school year!

Preceding this lesson, students got excited and wanted to begin writing their own pieces!  Some worked in pairs while others did it independently.  They are currently in the process of planning and writing an exposition about a particular topic.  Ask your child what he or she decided to write about!  We will continue these after the long weekend J

Below, I have shared a photograph of Faith and Nathan’s exposition!  Give it a read.  They’re trying to persuade ME to get a class pet!  Hmmm, let’s see if their arguments are convincing enough ;)

Grade 3 Swimming:
A reminder that the Grade 3's will be starting their swimming program next week on Tuesday April 3^rd  This is right after our Easter holiday, so just a gentle reminder to please ensure your child has the proper swim gear with them.  Below I will list what is required for these sessions:

• towel and bathing suit in a separate swimming bag (carefully label your child's swimming bag)
• pack an extra plastic bag (grocery bag) in the swimming bag for your child to put his or her wet things after their swimming session
• pack extra snacks in their lunch as swimming tends to make the kids hungry ;)
• you may wish to have your child wear his or her bathing suit to school under their clothing so they are prepared and this helps greatly with timing as well so we can get right into the pool!

The dates for swimming are April 3^rd, 10^th, 17^th, 24^th.  It is a half day field trip from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.  We will be back in time for bussers and walker dismissals.  I will be sure to remind the 3's, but mark these dates down please as we would like to avoid parents having to leave work or a commitment to bring their child's swimming gear.  Thank you :)

Carson, Nate, and Jackson:

On Monday, these boys came into school very excited and enthusiastic to share about their hockey achievements!  They came in 2^nd place for their tournament last weekend!  Their smiles say it all, way to go boys!  You should be proud of yourselves J  I love seeing my students participate in an extra-curricular activity that they enjoy to keep fit and have fun!

Bailey:

Thank you Bailey for bringing in your "Magformers" to share with our class!  These are considered being “intelligent magnetic construction sets for brain development!”  This links purposefully with what we’ve been doing in class for several weeks – identifying and constructing 3-D figures using nets of prisms and pyramids!  Students loved seeing a flat net transform into a solid!  Check us out!

Faith:

Thank you Faith for sharing with us your writing piece on why you love Easter.  You provided some interesting and fun reasons!  I’m sure your family can’t wait to spend time with you too!  Your illustrations are creative and colourful which adds to your piece!    

Grace, Sydney, and Carson:

Here are two special girls and boy who consistently take their learning from school and reinforce/practice it at home!  It’s making a difference and building up your HIPPOCAMPUS - “the brain helper called the memory saver to help us learn and remember.”  These three shared a 2D and 3D geometry activity they did and even related it to identifying the specific types of angles in these shapes and figures too.  We’ve now posted their posters onto our math wall as a tool to refer to when needed!  Thank you J

Growth Mindset:

“In any given situation agree or disagree, stay calm about it!” – Carson

Namaste,

Miss Gill