Week #9: Oct. 28th - Nov. 1st

Dear Families,

I hope you and your child had a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween celebration!  The weather cooperated just enough to make trick-or-treating enjoyable, and I hope a little rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. 🎃

Halloween Day was so much fun here at school!  I loved seeing the wonderfully creative and unique costumes each student wore—check them out below! 

Thank you, parents, for putting so much love and thought into these celebrations.  I can truly SEE, HEAR, and FEEL the JOY it brings to your child!

June & Ashton ready to trick or treat :)

Throughout the day, students were excited to share stories about their Halloween adventures and all the fun (and candy!) they enjoyed with family and friends. 

We channeled this excitement right back into our learning, and I’m happy to report that the kids settled in smoothly after Halloween, even with a few leftover sugar highs! 😉

We also had an incredibly productive week filled with meaningful learning.  Below, you’ll see just how purposeful our week was! 

Thank you, as always, for taking the time to check in, read, and support your child’s learning journey. Your active involvement is deeply appreciated!

CHARACTER RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY:

On Monday afternoon, Taylor, Seth, and Brylee were honoured at our assembly for their remarkable caring character. 

Amongst friends, teachers, and family, they were celebrated for the kindness they show in their work and play. Their thoughtfulness and support make a positive difference to those around them. 

Keep letting care guide your thoughts, words, and actions, and remember that even the smallest gestures of kindness can leave a lasting impact.  Our class family is so proud of you all!

SHOUTOUT to every one who dressed up in their spirit wear for the assembly :)  #NighthawkPride

NATIONAL GRATITUDE MONTH:

Speaking of gratitude, did you know that NATIONAL GRATITUDE MONTH is celebrated every year on November 1st?  Yes, it's true!!  

National Gratitude Month encourages us to embrace the power of gratitude.  Fortunately for our class family, this is an ongoing practice each and every day in our learning community, and not solely focused on during November or Thanksgiving :)  

As we've learned, gratitude is more than simply saying "thank you."  Gratitude's amazing powers have the ability to shift us from focusing on the negative to appreciating what is positive in our lives.  Practicing daily gratitude gives us a deeper connection to ourselves, the world around us, and to our Creator.

Everything in our lives has the ability to improve when we are grateful.  Research has shown that gratitude can enhance our moods, decrease stress, and drastically improve our overall level of health and well-being.  

I believe if everyone practiced daily gratitude, we could change ourselves and the planet for the better!  Everyone would be much happier :)  Love would grow and hate would decrease.  The world would know true peace.

What are WE waiting for?  Give gratitude a try!  You'll be happier you did :-) 

CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE:

This month, our class will focus on celebrating COURAGE & BRAVERY.  What is courage?  It's about doing the right thing even when it's difficult!  

• We use courage to find the strength to try things outside our range of comfort.
• We also dig deep and use courage when doing the right thing can be difficult!
• What could you use a little courage for and how will you use courage to try new things?

As Remembrance Day approaches, in class we will be discussing that our former, current, and future Canadian Armed Forces Members, Veterans, and the Indigenous People who went to residential schools are some of the MOST COURAGEOUS, BRAVE, and RESILIENT individuals on this Land.  

Despite facing MANY EXCRUCIATING challenges, this group of people faced their fears (F.E.A.R. = face everything and RISE) and did the right thing to stand up and protect Canada and what they believed in!!  

May we all aspire to stand up strongly, loudly (but, gently), and proudly for what we believe in to serve and protect our country, family, friends, and community.  

#Canadianproud

#BeCourageous

#BeBrave

NOVEMBER KINDNESS CHALLENGE:

A new month means it’s time for another Kindness Calendar Challenge! 😊

I’ve been thrilled to see so many students embracing these kindness activities—especially giving positive affirmations to each other as we begin our day in the portable. 

You know who you are, and thank you for your uplifting words and support!

This month, I encourage everyone to keep up the wonderful energy by trying out the different suggestions on the calendar. 

Let’s make an effort to take these affirmations beyond our words, bringing them to life in our actions each day!  By actively showing kindness, we’re helping make our school, our friendships, and our community a better place to live, work, and play.

I have every confidence that this amazing group will rise to the challenge!  Let’s make this month full of courage and kindness! 🌟

HALLOWEEN DANCE:

Thank you to all the students and staff who participated in our spirit day by dressing up in orange, black, and purple or a costume.  It was so nice to see everyone actively participating and getting into the Halloween spirit!

Thank you to our school's Leadership Team for a "BOO-TIFUL HOWLoWe’en" Celebration this week!

It was so "fang-tastic" to see so many "gord-eous" pumpkins made into Jack-O-Lanterns.  Thank you to the teachers who came in early Thursday morning to help set up.  Your time and energy was appreciated by our students :)   

On behalf of ALL the Nighthawks, thank you and remember to keep calm and pumpkin on!

Check out our very 'spooktacular' gym in the photos below which was filled with many blow-ups and Halloween décor, it looked fantastic and so were all the costumes!  

We really enjoyed dancing and spending time together with our classmates, friends, and teachers :) 

ALEX & TAYLOR:

A big thank you to Alex’s (for the bag of sweet treats) and Taylor’s (for the homemade spider cookies) families for sharing Halloween treats with our class 🥰

Your generosity and thoughtfulness were truly appreciated, bringing smiles to all of us! 😊

Treat bags for every one, including one for me 🙏🏾💙

Yummmmy 😋 

HALLOWEEN ART:

You may have noticed your child bringing home a special Halloween art project—a big mouth pumpkin folding surprise! 🎃 

This was such a fun and creative activity, and the class had a blast working on it!  When the pumpkin is folded, it looks like a regular jack-o'-lantern, but open it up, and there’s a big, silly mouth inside!  HAHA!

We followed a step-by-step video for inspiration, carefully adding each detail to make our pumpkins unique.  The kids put their own creative twists on their art, and the results are fantastic!

Check out some of the spooky and silly pumpkins below—each one is full of Halloween personality!

PUMPKIN CONTEST:

A huge thank you to our Leadership Team for their generosity in donating large pumpkins to each classroom to join in the friendly competition for BEST DECORATED PUMPKIN! 

Look at ALL the creativity below 👇🏾 Well done kids! 

This thoughtful donation each year lets us join in the Halloween spirit by decorating and/or carving pumpkins to put on display for our Halloween dance. We are so grateful!

We had some fun decorating our pumpkin and did our best ☺️The theme we agreed on was to have a BASKETBALL inspired pumpkin.  

As you may know, we have many basketball enthusiasts in our class including me so it was very fitting  😉

ONE BOY'S INSPIRING HALLOWEEN:

Below is an inspirational story of one boy's Halloween.  Ethan Smallwood a 7 year old from Clarke's Beach, Newfoundland is a big fan of superheroes.  

One year for Halloween, he didn't look to the Avengers or the Justice League for inspiration. Ethan was inspired to dress up as Terry Fox after learning about him at school.  

Annnnd get this, instead of getting candy, he collected donations for the Terry Fox Foundation.  How amazing 🤩 

Enjoy watching this inspiring story of this empathetic boy's journey to help make a difference! I LOVE IT 🥰 

WRITING:

Today, I assigned a Halloween Recount on Google Classroom (GC) for a writing activity, where students will practice retelling an event in sequence. 

I’m looking forward to reading about your child’s Halloween experience!

All instructions and an example are available on GC to help guide them.  Encouraging students to dedicate some time to this over the weekend is a wonderful way to support their learning at home. 

We took some class time today to get this writing started 💻 

These activities help strengthen their skills in writing.  Thank you for your support in fostering their learning both at home and in school.

MATH:

This week in math, our focus has been on reading, representing, composing, and decomposing whole numbers—up to the 1,000s.  We explored different tools and strategies and discussed how these numbers come up in everyday life.

Yay! Charlotte and Keenan using wipeboards to figure out the math problem presented 🤓

More mathematical problem solvers hard at work 🤓

As always, I’ve posted all of our lesson and activity slides on Google Classroom so you can check out what your child has been working on. 

Once they’re done, please remind them to digitally TURN IN their work. They should know how to do this, as we’ve practiced it together in class 😊

GRAMMAR RULE #2:

This week, we dove into learning about Types of Sentences!  Your child has brought home their work to share this new learning with you—take a look and see what they’ve been working on!

Below, you'll see our students in action!  I love giving them the chance to Think! Pair! Share!  This is a process that lets them team up, share ideas, and learn from one another. 

It’s amazing to watch them grow and support each other as they explore and discover new topics together :)

LEARNING BUDDIES:

Today, we had yet another wonderful experience meeting with our kindergarten learning buddies in Mrs. Shaw and Mrs. Entwistle’s classroom! 

We enjoyed reading stories and later doing an art lesson about turtles 🐢 together! Check us out in buddy action below 👇🏾 

Spending time with our lil’ buddies helps us build care, compassion, and responsibility as we get an opportunity to connect and support these little kiddos 😊

It takes patience and teamwork, which allows us to be role models and in doing so - we create a positive, supportive environment for everyone! 

These images capture all these traits, can’t you just see and feeeeel it?! 🥰  AMAZING. 

We’re already looking forward to our next visit on Nov. 18th 📚 

HARLOW: 

Speaking of being a role model and leader … 

Harlow, thank you for your kindness and support in helping your peer during our social studies lesson this week. 

Your thoughtful actions show empathy, patience, and a willingness to lead by example. 

Keep up this wonderful spirit, Harlow—your encouraging attitude inspires those around you and strengthens our classroom community!

EVERETT, ETHAN, & KAYLEE:

Annnnnd, the kindness shines on 👍 Blessed am I to be surrounded with these character driven children each and every day!  The greatest teacher's gift :-)

Thank you to Ethan, Everett, and Kaylee for contributing more tabs for wheelchairs this week. This truly made my heart soar with JOY.  

I cherish when these boys visit our portable, "Once your teacher, always your teacher!" 

You see - Everett, Ethan, and Kaylee's genuine and sweet personalities continue to make a positive impact, and I am so grateful for the time we spent learning and growing together when I taught them in grade 3 and 4. 

Great idea boys, create a 'funnel' so we can securely place many tabs at once in the 5g bottle!

Kaylee brought her tabs for me at basketball tryouts, so sweet!

Keep being the change-makers you are—the world is in good hands with thoughtful young hearts and minds like yours.  Thank you for making a difference!

FLAG FOOTBALL:

Congratulations to our Intermediate Flag Football Team for placing 3rd in the County tournament!

Special shout out to coaches Garvan & Bowhey for the countless hours of coaching and helping these student athletes not only grow in their athleticism, but more importantly, building their character on and off the football field!  

On Wednesday, our Nighthawks traveled to Barrie and made us all proud by winning their pool with three straight victories over Elmvale, Marchmont, and Boyne River. 

In the quarterfinals, they continued their strong performance, defeating Algonquin Ridge 21-12 to advance to the semifinals.

Although they faced a tough match against the eventual champions from Minesing and were tied 8-8 at halftime, they kept their spirits high and finished strong by beating Forest Hill 29-14 to secure the third-place county banner 🎖️ 

For me, it's not only these students' athletic skill that makes me proud, but how each of them demonstrated true Nighthawk character in their thoughts, words, and actions. 

From working together on the field to showing respect toward teammates, opponents, and officials, they exemplified what it means to be a Nighthawk. 

Way to go coaches and the grade 7/8 Nighthawks—you’re the 3rd best team in the county, and we couldn’t be prouder! 😊

CLASS PHOTO & RETAKES:

Our class photo and for those students who may have missed or would like a retake, the date for this is next week on Thurs. Nov. 7th.

Looking forward to seeing all the children with their sensational shiny smiles :-)

MINDFULNESS:

As we approach Treaties Recognition Week (November 3rd - 9th, 2024), I encourage you to watch a meaningful video featuring Ontario students sharing their thoughts on why treaties matter. 

Their reflections highlight the importance of honoring the agreements that shape relationships with Indigenous communities and deepen our understanding of history, rights, and responsibilities.

This message is especially powerful because it comes from school-aged children, speaking from their own hearts and minds. 

It’s a valuable opportunity to see how our youth are learning about and advocating for the significance of treaties in our shared communities.

Please note, I will be explicitly teaching your child more about this important topic when we're back in class.  This is just to get their brains thinking about this cause :)

GROWTH MINDSET:

“Instead of thinking, I made a mistake. Try thinking, MISTAKES HELP ME LEARN & GROW! 

With appreciation & respect, 

Ms. Gill