Week #32: April 28th - May 1st

Dear Families,

School Principals' Day was recognized on May 1st.  It is a day the Simcoe County District School Board acknowledges the valuable work performed by our principals and vice-principals.

This week over our morning announcements, we acknowledged our very own Mrs. Mortimer for her tremendous care and compassion that she brings to our school community each and every day!

Thank you Mrs. Mortimer for creating an inclusive and positive learning environment for our students, staff and families. You truly have been a leader for our school community! #Nighthawkpride

CHARACTER RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY:

Congratulations to Rhys, Raiden, and Jackson for demonstrating Optimism in their thoughts, words, and actions.  

They were recognized at our assembly in front of the whole school :-)

These 3 students are doing their best to put forth effort, energy, and a willingness to try their very best in their academics and interactions with others.

With support from their teachers and parents, they are developing an I Believe I Can Do It mentality which sets an example for their peers around them to also have this mindset.

We are so proud of you, well done!

Thank you to everyone who also participated in our school spirit day - MATCHING DAY! It was tres cute seeing the kids and staff coordinate their outfits.

Here are some photos for you to enjoy :)

NEXT MONTH'S CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE:

As a new month is upon us, we look to acknowledge and learn more SCDSB character attributes!

Our class family will do a deep dive into Respect - "We treat other people the way we want them to treat us."

To get my student's thinking about this trait in their thoughts, words, and actions, here is a public service announcement.  

Please watch and discuss its message with your child.

KINDNESS CALENDAR:

With a new month upon us, another opportunity to make KINDNESS THE NORM! I hope you were able to see the calendar provided in your child's agenda :)

I encourage students to keep this on your fridge as a daily gentle reminder and perhaps try out the suggested activity (if it works for your family of course).

The calendar's posted in our classroom and I see some keen children take a look at it each day and then sweetly acknowledge the activity:)

🐾🌿 GRADE 4'S WYE MARSH TRIP: 🌿🐾

On Tuesday, the Grade 4s had a good time exploring Wye Marsh! 🌞 

The weather worked out beautifully, and the kids learned all about herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores during our morning lesson with the very knowledgeable instructors. 🦌🦊🐻

Afterward, we headed into the forest for a game of Ultimate Survivor, a total hit! 🏃‍♂️🌲 The kids loved being “free in the woods,” running around and putting their learning into action. It was definitely a highlight for many! 💚

In the afternoon, we cozied up indoors to dive into the world of turtles. 🐢 The students were fascinated by the animals and asked so many thoughtful questions, it was a joy to see their curiosity come to life.

A huge THANK YOU to Teagan’s Mom for coming along and supporting us on this adventure! 🙌 Your time and help are truly appreciated. 💐

❤️👗 RED DRESS DAY: 👗❤️

On Monday, May 5th, we will be recognizing Red Dress Day at school. This is an important day in Canada where we take time to honour and remember Indigenous women & girls who have gone missing or have been hurt. ❤️

We know this can be a tough topic to learn about, but it’s really important. Learning about these things helps us grow into kind, caring people who understand and support others. 💬🤝 

When we learn about the experiences of others, we build empathy (understanding how someone else feels) and compassion (wanting to help and show kindness). These are important life skills that help us create a better and more fair world. 🌍✨

To show our support, we encourage everyone in our school community to wear red on Monday. 🧣👕👟 The red dresses are a symbol to help us remember, care, and stand together with Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

Let’s continue to learn, listen, and show kindness to everyone. 💫

DAILY MATH aka BRAIN BREAKFAST CONSOLIDATION:

As you've noticed since the beginning of school, at the start of each week, your child brings home his or her 'Brain Breakfast' aka Daily 5 Math to 'consolidate' (show & share) with you.  

Thank you to those parents who are consistently taking the time to read and review your child's strategies.  It's making a DIFFERENCE!

We spend 100 minutes on math daily and part of this time is completing the 5 math questions that come home in the agenda weekly (see below).  

As you can see from the example above (this is a high quality one and a shining example that I encourage your child to also aspire to), we spend quality time taking up the answers as a class and thinking of ways to 'bump up' our work.  

Students are asked to utilize and record my feedback to help improve their achievement in mathematics.   

Many students are using my feedback well and work so hard to write it down, it's fantastic!  

We're not only learning our grade level concepts, but I'm also exposing the children to concepts for the next grade levels that will get them well prepared for the junior division (grades 4-6). 

MINDFUL MINUTES: 🧘‍♀️ 

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month (May), I am excited to share an endeavour that our class family will be taking part in World Meditation Day on May 21st.  

Educator Tyler Boyle's goal is to get 50,000 children to meditate together, I'm optimistic we can get there!

To help boost our meditation skills, we have started Mr. Boyle's guided meditations using his  Dream Walkers videos.

Here is the link to all the videos, it's terrific -->  Mindful Minutes for Schools and Kids    

Dreamwalkers is here to improve and inspire students’ mental health, wellbeing, resilience, imagination, calm and self-regulation through ✨Mindful Minute✨ meditations and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) resources.

Check out the video below as Mr. Boyle explains the immeasurable impact that meditation has on young people's overall well-being.  We've already been benefiting from them :-)

As you know throughout the school year, we have been meditating and many children within our class have reaped its benefits.  

The evidence is right there for me - many children are more focused, present, relaxed, and ready to learn after we're done our mindfulness exercises & meditation. Check out the proof below :)

Below I have also shared the 2 informational videos and 2 guided meditations that we have watched and completed so far.  It went so well!  

I encourage you to try the meditations out :)  My Ma did and she loved it! 

1 of 5 S's:  SILENCE

Mindful Minutes:  Forest Soundscape

2 of 5 S's:  SPACE

Mindful Minutes:  Stretch & Relax

I honestly couldn't imagine not incorporating mindfulness daily in our classroom.  I truly believe it's been a game-changer for creating our 

GRAMMAR RULE - VERB TENSES:📘

The tense of a verb tells when an action happens.

There are 3 main tenses:

1. Present – 🟢 happening now
   Example: "She plays soccer."

2. Past – 🔵 happened before
   Example: "She played soccer yesterday."

3. Future – 🟠 will happen later
   Example: "She will play soccer tomorrow."

🧠 Try These at Home – Ask Your Child:

1. “What is the verb tense in this sentence: He eats lunch at noon?”
   (Answer: Present)

2. “How would you say this in the past tense: They ride bikes?”
   (Answer: They rode bikes.)

3. “Can you change I walk to school to the future tense?”
   (Answer: I will walk to school.)

4. “Make up a sentence using a past tense verb.”
   (Possible answer: I watched a movie.)

MINDFULNESS:

Please check out the powerful story (video) below. I loved it :-) It is called Preston's Positive Thoughts, it encourages positive thinking for our kids.

This read aloud does a deeper dive into developing a Growth Mindset for children that shows them not to fear failure, and to work hard & not give up because sometimes, we have to try and try again before we get things right.

In this inspiring KidTime StoryTime, we see the things that would NOT exist in a world without failures. From author Esther Pia Cordova, who loves writing about Growth Mindset to help kids be fearless as they grow and learn!

🌟 How to Help Kids Think Positively 🌟

1. 😊 Let them know it's okay to express feelings – It's okay to feel sad, mad, or happy. All feelings are important!

2. 👀 Be a role model – Show them how to stay positive by doing it yourself.

3. 💪 Encourage and cheer them on – Say things like "You’ve got this!" or "I’m proud of you!"

4. 🕊️ Give them freedom – Let them make choices and learn from them.

5. 🤗 Surround them with positive people – Good vibes are contagious!

6. 🗣️ Talk about happy moments – Share good things that happened each day.

7. ❤️ Teach morals and values – Help them learn kindness, honesty, and respect.

As your child's teacher, I promise to continue to use and reinforce these strategies in the classroom to help boost their self-esteem and confidence so they can BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING :)

GROWTH MINDSET:

Thank you to Alex for this week's mindset message!

"Don't compare yourself to others. The sun and moon shine when it's their time." - Alex

What does this mean?

This means that everyone is special in their own way and we all do great things at different times. 

You don’t have to be like someone else to be amazing. Just like the sun shines in the day 🌞 and the moon shines at night 🌝, you’ll have your own time to shine too!

😊 How you can use this in your daily life:

1. At school 📚
   If your friend finishes their work faster, that’s okay! Take your time and do your best. You’ll get there too.

2. In sports or games ⚽🎮
   Maybe someone scores a goal or wins a game before you. Keep practicing and cheering others on, your moment will come!

3. With talents and hobbies 🎨🎵
   Just because someone else can draw better or sing louder doesn’t mean you’re not great. Keep doing what you love, and you'll grow in your own way.

4. With friends 💬
   If someone has lots of friends or is very popular, remember: being kind and true to yourself is what matters most. You’ll make strong, real friendships over time.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms. P. Gill