Week #17: Jan. 6th - 10th

Dear Families,

It is with an open mind and heart that I wish you all an official Happy New Year as I haven't been able to see many of you in person yet.  

It was an absolute highlight seeing your child's bright, enthusiastic, and warm smile on Monday!  I am delighted to be reunited to continue our journey of learning and growing :) 

I do hope you continue to access my classroom blog weekly as I will continue to provide detailed evidence of what your child is doing at school each week so that you too can help reinforce learned concepts at home. 

Check out the students below as they diligently transitioned smoothly back to school this week after the winter break, how amazing, I'm so proud!!

As you can see, the kids thrive off of our routine, structure, and high academic based

learning environment :)

Together we HAVE and WILL CONTINUE to make a DIFFERENCE in your child's social, emotional, behavioural, and academic progress!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend! 

NEW YEAR GOAL SETTING:

I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start for you and your family!

I’ve posted a New Year Goal Setting assignment on Google Classroom to encourage students to reflect on their personal growth and set meaningful goals for themselves both at school and at home. 

This activity is designed to help students think about their aspirations and develop realistic steps to achieve them.

A quote that captures the spirit of this assignment is:

"A goal without a plan is only a wish."

For me this means that while it’s important to dream big, turning those dreams into reality requires planning and intentional effort.  

Through this assignment, students will learn how to set achievable goals and create actionable steps to stay on track.  Please check it out!

As part of this assignment, students and I also explored the idea of selecting ONE WORD for 2025. This word is meant to reflect who they are or what they hope to accomplish in their thoughts, words, and actions throughout the year.  This meaningful task was inspired by the read-aloud book, "One Word" (check it out below!).

I encourage you to ask your child what their One Word is and why it holds significance for them in 2025.  

This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with them about their intentions and goals for the year.

The assignment is due on January 31st.  Please feel free to discuss your child’s goals with them and support them in creating a plan they can follow.

CHARACTER TRAIT:

This month’s character trait is HONESTY – “We will always tell the truth.”  

I have encouraged my students to always tell me the truth even if it's difficult!  It's important for us to be accountable in our thoughts, words, and actions.  By being dishonest, it only makes a problem / situation escalate and get bigger.  

As we say in class regularly, "Every problem has a solution."  And, we truly believe this!  We can always work together to resolve any challenges and/or difficulty your child may experience, we got this!!

Below, I have posted two videos which outline the importance of honesty and how a young 10 year old boy chose to do the right thing.  Give it a listen and enjoy its message, we sure did in class!

In this episode of Ellen, we investigate the value of being truthful, 10 year old Nasim found a wallet, and what he did next proved that there is still plenty of good in the world. AMAZING!

FIELD TRIP:

We are excited to announce our upcoming field trip to Highlands Nordic on Wednesday January 22nd!  

This is a fantastic opportunity for students to enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing alongside their peers and friends ⛷️ 

To ensure your child can participate, please complete the waiver and permission form on School Cash Online as soon as possible, if you haven’t already 💻 

I am also looking for parent volunteers to help make this trip a success.  If you are available to join us, please reach out to me directly via email.  Your support is greatly appreciated!

Thank you for your cooperation and enthusiasm.  We’re looking forward to a memorable day of outdoor fun and adventure!

SPEECHES:

This week during our language blocks, I provided students with dedicated work periods to focus on their speeches.  

I also made an effort to meet with individuals to offer personalized feedback, helping them improve and refine their work.  I look forward to continuing these one-on-one meetings with more students next week!

I want to extend a special shout out to those students who are note taking during lessons and who used their winter break to work on their speeches.  

Their initiative, responsibility, and dedication to their academics have made a noticeable difference, and they should be very proud of their efforts!

GUEST SPEAKER:

Today, we had the privilege to welcome a very special guest to our classroom - Sydney Shaw, Mrs. Shaw’s daughter, who joined us for a presentation and mini-lesson designed to inspire and motivate students as they prepare for their speeches.

Sydney, a former student of Nottawa Elementary, shared her own experiences of successfully advancing to the gym to present her speech during her time here.  

Her engaging and effective presentation highlighted valuable tips on preparation, delivery, and staying confident while speaking in front of an audience.

Her insights and personal connection to our school have left a lasting impression on our students, giving them with practical strategies and a boost of inspiration to help them prepare for their own speeches.

I am so grateful to Sydney for taking the time to visit, share her expertise, and even spending the remainder of the last period to support students as they worked on their speeches in class :) 

Check her out as she lovingly and compassionately helped so many kids in the class during her visit! Gosh, Syd’s amazing 🤩 

I hope this experience encourages my students to embrace the process of presenting their speeches with confidence and enthusiasm!

CURSIVE WRITING:

This week, the students began to learn the art of cursive writing!  This is an important skill that not only helps improve fine motor coordination, but also enhances spelling, reading, and writing fluency. 

It’s a timeless skill that fosters creativity and self-expression while building confidence in written communication.

To support their learning, I have posted a helpful cursive writing resource on Google Classroom, which we will use during our practice sessions at school. 

I encourage students to also access this resource at home and spend some time practicing.  Consistent practice will help them develop confidence and mastery in this area.

Thank you for your support for this valuable skill!

GRAMMAR RULE #7:

This week, our class has been learning Grammar Rule #7: Irregular Plural Nouns!  Unlike regular nouns that follow simple rules for forming plurals (like adding “-s” or “-es”), irregular plural nouns don’t follow a predictable pattern. For example:

• Child becomes children
• Foot becomes feet
• Mouse becomes mice

Learning about irregular plural nouns helps students expand their vocabulary and understand the nuances of English grammar.

I encourage you to ask your child about this new grammar rule and see if they can share examples or even come up with a few of their own! You might be surprised by how much they already know.

FINLEY L:

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the efforts of Finley L. in our classroom.  I have noticed that she consistently takes detailed notes during lessons and thoughtfully refers to them while completing her work.  Her dedication to this habit is truly commendable and reflects a commitment to her learning.

Note-taking is such an important skill, as it helps students retain information, stay organized, and develop independence in their learning.  It’s a practice that will not only beneficial now, but also set students up for success in their educational journey ahead.

I encourage all students to use this valuable habit having a personal record of what they learn is a powerful tool for academic growth ✍️ 

KEENAN & LEYAH:

Thank you Keenan and Leyah for providing more tabs for kids this week!!  I appreciate your time, consideration, and contributions all school year!

MINDFULNESS:

In class, we regularly utilize positive affirmations.  

How you may ask?  Well for example, before students enter the portable at the beginning of the day, I have encouraged them to take the time to offer the helper of the day (who's holding the door open for us) a 4 (or more) Finger Affirmation :)  

They respectfully look at the helper and may say something like: 

• "You are very trustworthy!"
• "You are a H.E.R.O.  Honest, Empathetic, Resilient, Optimistic."
• "You're a CARING friend!"

Please ask your child about this practice ;)  It truly helps fill our hearts and minds to start our day on a positive and uplifting one.

GROWTH MINDSET:

This week’s mindset message was … 

“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”

For me, this quote means that if we notice someone who looks sad or upset, we can help make their day better by smiling at them 😊

Our smiles are like a little gift that can spread kindness and happiness to others ❤️

It shows that you care and can make someone feel good inside, even if they were feeling down 🤗 

With love, grace, and gratitude,

Ms. Gill