Week #15: Dec. 9th - 13th

Dear Families,

This week has been both busy and productive as we rehearse for our Holiday Concert and the upcoming Empathy Assembly! 

The students have been diligently honing their public speaking and performance skills, and I couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and dedication.

HOLIDAY CONCERT:

A heartfelt thank you to all the staff, students, and families for joining us and bringing your enthusiasm and energy to our WONDERFUL performances, both during the day and in the evening! 🎶✨

Hosting this special event for our families was truly amazing. It was such a joy to watch our Kindergarten to Grade 3/4 students perform with so much enthusiasm, poise, and spirit!

If you were there, you’ll surely agree that the students did a solid job mastering a detailed and challenging instrumental recorder and cup song routine. It was clear that many of them practiced at home, and it truly showed—they NAILED IT!

FINAL SPIRIT DAY OF 2024:
Next Friday (20th), the last day before the Holiday Break, our Leadership Team has planned a special movie day for all students! Our class will enjoy their movie during periods 1 & 2 in the gym.

We encourage your child to dress in their comfiest, coziest clothing (see details below). It’s sure to be a fun and festive way to kick off the holidays—Yahoooo! 🎉🎬

STAFF SPIRIT:

Speaking of spirit, this week our staff truly embraced the spirit of dressing up in so many creative and fun ways—it reminded us that we’re all kids at heart! 

This shared experience brought us closer together, creating memories full of laughter and joy! 

I feel incredibly fortunate to work alongside such caring and compassionate colleagues every single day whose number one priority at school is your child(ren). 

Thank you all for making our workplace not just a team, but a family. ❤️✨

Kutcy & I love our “leisure suits!” Matchy, matchy 😉

🖤 Dress up in your plaid ❤️

💙 Dress up in your favourite colour 💚

Dress up as your favourite holiday 🎄 

🩵 Dress up in your favourite team 🩵

EDIBLE CHRISTMAS TREES:

Today was an exciting day in our classroom! The children were eager to create their own edible Christmas tree using delicious icing and toppings 🍭 

Working together with partners, students had so much fun spreading icing on their trees and decorating them with gummies, sprinkles, candy canes, chocolate chips, and more.

The trees turned out absolutely scrumptious! Some students decided to enjoy their creations at the end of the day—my apologies in advance if your child came home a bit extra energetic (buzzing), hehe. 😊🎄

Thank you, parents, for your continued generosity in providing so many delicious toppings for your child to use in creating their sweet trees! The students truly appreciated it, too. 😊🎄

Just look at the smiles on our faces—we clearly had an amazing time! 🎄😊

SPEECHES:

I am thrilled to offer my students this opportunity to further develop their public speaking and presentation skills.

We’ve been exploring strategies to become effective speakers, guided by the criteria shown in the image below. It’s been a great way to sharpen our skills!

Success Criteria:  Oral Presentation 

Earlier this week, I assigned this task to encourage students to think about a topic and start researching it over the holidays. 😊  The Speech Assignment has been posted on Google Classroom, and your child is encouraged to check it out!

It’s been wonderful to hear some students buzzing with excitement about writing and delivering their speeches.

Below, you’ll find a speech written and presented by Nick Shackell (Mrs. Newman’s nephew).

I’m sharing this as inspiration to help students choose a topic they’re passionate about and eager to present to others.

Engaging your audience with an exciting topic is key to keeping them interested in what you have to say. Take a listen! 😊

Here are some helpful tips to guide students with their speech presentations—take a look! 😊 Just a reminder, all of this is also available on Google Classroom. 😉

Here are the key dates for our upcoming friendly speech competition:

• Gym Presentations: Wednesday, January 31st, 11:45 AM - 1:20 PM
• Snow Date: Thursday, February 1st, 11:45 AM - 1:20 PM
• Legion Presentations: Sunday, February 4th (time TBA)

Your child has signed up for a speech date, please write this down as that's the date it's due.

Speech Schedule

Mon. Jan. 20th	Tues. Jan. 21st	Wed. Jan. 22nd	Thurs. Jan. 23rd
Harlow	Teagan	Keenan	Jackson
James	Adalina	Charlotte S.	Isla
Charlotte C.	Rhys	Finley V.	Alex
Chase	Leyah	Corbin	Raiden
Avery	MJ	Seth	Sofia
	Brylee	Finley L.	Taylor

I’ve shared the criteria (marking scheme) outlining what I’ll be looking for as your child presents their speech to our classroom community. 😊

Speech Evaluation Form

MATH:

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work and effort my students put into their recent math assessment. They demonstrated not only what they’ve learned so far, but also identified areas they’re still working on—and that’s exactly how we grow!

I’m especially proud of how some students used the classroom tools available (self-regulation) to help solidify their knowledge & understanding, thinking & application, and communication skills. 

Great job, everyone—keep up the amazing effort in all areas of your academics! 👏📚

DONATIONS:

I want to extend another heartfelt thanks to all of you (parents & children) who have been consistently contributing to our 12 Days of Giving initiative for My Friend’s House. 

Your generosity is making a meaningful difference for women and children facing domestic violence, a cause that is very close to my heart.

Your support not only provides essential items, but also offers hope and comfort to those in need during challenging times. Thank you for showing the spirit of giving and expressing such compassion.

Together, we’re making an impact, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be part of this caring community.

MINDFULNESS:

I am so proud of all the boys and girls in the primary division for giving their personal best in our Holiday Concert—it was truly a day to remember! :) 

Parents, your positive feedback means so much to the staff—thank you! It’s a true joy to host these special events in our school gymnasium.

The magic of Nottawa shines brightest when our families come together to celebrate and honour the incredible talents of our children. Way to go, Nighthawks! 😊✨

GROWTH MINDSET:

This week's mindset message is ...

This mindset message emphasizes the power of perspective, perseverance and belief in overcoming challenges. 

It highlights that what might initially seem unattainable can become achievable with determination and a positive outlook. 

By breaking down "impossible" into "I'M POSSIBLE," it reminds us that our mindset and self-belief are key to unlocking potential and achieving goals!

With love, grace, & gratitude,

Ms. P. Gill