Week #7: Oct. 15th - 18th
Dear Families,
Can you believe we're soon entering into our last full week of October? Like, Halloween's only 13 days away! Where in the world did this month go!?
Ahhh, time sure flies when you're actively learning, growing, and having FUN all at the same time!
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| Mindful walk after our successful Stone Soup last week |
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| "Love is the key to the world's problems!" - M.L.K. Jr. |
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| Curious about nature and our surroundings :) |
This week, we diligently started our weekly at home and school programming (e.g., Word Study, KnowledgeHook, ReadWorks, and Mystery Science) which I will dive into more below about their purpose and importance to your child's education :)
Please note, all information and access to these programs with class codes are provided via Google Classroom.
The academic environment in our classroom is truly building and thriving! Your support in this is appreciated 👏
✍️ WORD STUDY MONDAYS:
At the beginning of the week, your child came home with his or her red word study duo-tang. Students have been provided with a list of weekly spelling words with a specific focus to build upon not only their spelling, but also writing skills.
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This research-based program includes weekly spelling words that progress in difficulty from simple spelling patterns to more challenging spelling patterns.
The weekly unit includes purposeful spelling activities. Each sheet targets specific skills. I will explain these below.
Mondays: DECODING SKILLS & PRACTICE WRITING WORDS
- Introduction of the words and key spelling patterns
Tuesdays: VISUAL MEMORY PRACTICE
- Fun practice to help students remember spelling words
Wednesdays: WORD MEANING
- Helps students learn each word's meaning, then practice writing the word in a sentence
Thursdays: WORD STUDY
- Helps students recognize and understand word patterns
Below, I have provided the informational video.
Please note, I encourage students to only complete 1 page / evening so that they practice the individual skills provided as opposed to simply finishing the homework quickly.
Additionally, please have your child bring his or her word study duo-tang to school in the agenda each day for timely feedback in areas requiring it. Thank you.
🧮 KNOWLEDGEHOOK TUESDAYS:
I am very grateful and appreciative to our SCDSB for providing this meaningful mathematical program for our students.
What is Knowledgehook?
It's an effective math software for students to consolidate and challenge their UNDERSTANDING, THINKING & APPLICATION mathematical processes to the next level :)
Let's get YOU involved :) Why invite parents?
When teachers invite parents to connect, teachers build a strong classroom community and empower parents to be partners in supporting their child’s learning.
What can teachers and parents expect?
- Students can share milestones with their parents so they can celebrate their achievements together
- Teachers can also share milestones with parents to notify and engage parents in their child’s learning journey
- Parents can send digital cheers to acknowledge their child’s successes and provide motivation
- Parents with Knowledgehook Premium Tutoring Accounts can link their account to their child’s classroom to gain insights on relevant tutoring supports
Please connect to our math class:
By staying connected, this program can share your child's achievements and progress with you, so you can stay informed and support your child.
You will receive:
- Results from casual assessments that we run in class Educational supports (videos and written examples) on topics covered in class
- Access to your child’s portfolio of math solutions and feedback
- Tips on working with your child at home on math
To connect with our class:
Earlier this week, I sent out an invite to parents. You will have received an email from KnowledgeHook to connect with your child :)
To those 10 parents who have already connected to your child's account, thank you for doing so! To those who have not yet, no worries, there is still time. Please refer to the email I sent and connect to it this weekend :)
Thank you for supporting your child in his or her math learning!
📚 READWORKS WEDNESDAYS:
Each week, I will also be assigning students a passage (text), vocabulary activity, and comprehension questions to help boost their confidence and abilities in reading :)
ReadWorks is built on the science of reading to ensure students can steadily expand their background knowledge, vocabularies, and reading comprehension helping them become the confident readers they deserve to be.
ReadWorks' Three Key Research Findings:
1. Positive Learning Outcomes:
- Regular use of ReadWorks benefits reading performance.
- ReadWorks' cutting edge digital tools help students confidently and successfully navigate higher-level texts.
- ReadWorks resources impact all students, regardless of socioeconomic background.
Ask your child to show and share with you the reading passages and activities they were assigned this week.
Class Code: 5KSTS7
🧪 MYSTERY SCIENCE THURSDAYS:
We're on a roll with our academics, yeehaw!
Welcome to Mystery Science! The mission for this program is to inspire children to love science, stay curious as they grow up, and become lifelong learners. How amazing is this!?
Children are naturally (born) curious. Elementary school years are the time to nurture that curiosity.
These are the years when children form habits of thinking that will live with them for the rest of their lives. This is when they form their view of the world.
This is the time to teach children HOW TO THINK CRITICALLY & HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.
It's an opportunity to nurture each child’s burning curiosity, guide them as they explore their world, and ensure that they develop the most important skill of all: the ability to figure things out for themselves.
For these reasons, I'm implementing this program into our weekly routine at school and at home :)
Each week via Google Classroom, I will share a mini-lesson followed with questions that will intrigue students to want to get up and explore the world around them. From the depths of the ocean to the vastness of space, this program covers it all and more!
But that's just the tip of the iceberg!
So join us on this amazing journey of discovery, staying curious, and exploring the world together!
Please ask your child to show you the Mystery Science activity I introduced this week via Google Classroom. Stay CURIOUS every one :)
🤓 EPIC:
What is it? Epic is another engaging digital platform dedicated to inspiring the next generation to develop a love for reading and learning!
The journey began with a simple question: How can we make books more accessible for kids?
It always seemed odd that children could easily play games and watch videos on their devices, but struggled to find books.
In 2013, the founders created the first “epic” reading experience tailored for kids.
Today, Epic is an award-winning subscription service that provides millions of families and classrooms with instant, unlimited access to thousands of books, videos, and quizzes from leading publishers, helping kids read, learn, and grow.
We’ll definitely be utilizing this program! Your child has access to Epic at school every day until 3:00PM. The class code is available on Google Classroom.
🙏🏾 GRATITUDE:
With all that information given, I would like to take this opportunity now to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support in guiding your child with their weekly at home and school programs, such as the ones described above (Word Study, KnowledgeHook, ReadWorks, and Mystery Science).
Your involvement and connection to your child’s academics are invaluable and truly enrich their learning experience.
While class time will be provided for students, I have thoughtfully assigned these programs and will be consistent in using them to foster strong work habits and learning skills (e.g., responsibility, organization, initiative, collaboration, independent work, and self-regulation).
Thank you for being such an essential part of your child’s educational journey!
🩵 SPIRIT WEAR FRIDAYS:
Hey Nighthawks K-8!
In case you don't already know, let’s continue to show our school pride by wearing our Nottawa spirit wear or school colours (blue and white) every Friday!
It’s a great way to build positive school spirit and celebrate our amazing community.
We care about our school, and wearing our colours is a great way to show that we’re all part of this awesome school family.
Let’s make Fridays full of Nottawa pride! Go Nighthawks Go!
💕 LEARNING BUDDIES:
Yesterday, our class family had a lovely time collaborating with the kindergartners on a fun interactive art activity - tree 🌳 rubbings 🍁
This experience allowed the older students (my class) to mentor the younger children while demonstrating this month’s character attribute COOPERATION.
Everyone worked together cooperatively to create beautiful artwork! What made it even more special was the weather being stellar, with the sensational sunshine and blue skies, enhancing our outdoor experience 🌞
As you can see from the images, we truly savoured the moment!
We can't wait for our next learning buddy session on October 31st, which promises to be spooktacular!
Thank you to Mrs. Shaw for collaborating with us and everyone who participated in making this activity a success!
🥅 HARLOW:
Thank you so much to Harlow & her family for their dedication in collecting tabs to help children with accessibility needs.
Your ongoing support for the important causes we've embraced thus far this school year such as the Thanksgiving Food Drive, is truly appreciated! This commitment to making a difference is making a lasting impact, and I am so grateful to have you as part of our class community. Keep being a change-maker, Harlow!
🏒 ETHAN:
The gift of giving back continues even with my former students from Mr. N's class :-)
I am so touched by the kindness and dedication of Ethan, who came to me yesterday morning and donated SO MANY tabs for kids.
He carefully removed each tab, understanding the importance of this initiative and how it helps provide accessibility equipment to those in need.
Despite moving to another class on TURNAROUND DAY, Ethan still made it his mission to make a difference. His generosity and heart for others are truly inspiring.
Living is giving, and Ethan, you are a shining example of this! Keep making the world a better place. Thank you, Ethan!
🧘♀️ MINDFULNESS:
In this inspirational speech by former president Barack Obama, he shares the power and strength through our FAILURES.
In class, we regularly emphasis it's OK to F.A.I.L., it's OK to make MISTAKES.
We shouldn't get discouraged by failing or making mistakes. In fact, we must welcome it with an open mind and heart because ultimately there will be many times in our lives where we will experience failure.
I personally have failed many times in my life when I tried to achieve something such as being rejected by 4 teacher's colleges. I openly share and talk about it with my students. I am optimistic your child can share this with you :)
The importance relies within taking these experiences and finding strategies to BUILD and GROW our SKILLS, our MINDSET so that we can ... one day SUCCEED.
And yes, I finally did get into teacher's college, but even that was pending by Trent University ;) So it didn't come easy, but boy o' boy was it the most thrilling experience of my life at that time.
After watching the video, please discuss Obama's message to us all :)
Hope. Believe. Trust. IN YOURSELF!
GROWTH MINDSET:
"Instead of - this is too hard, TRYING THINKING - this may take some time."
With appreciation & respect,
Ms. P. Gill
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