Dear Families,

This week, although it being grey and rainy, your child is gently encouraged to wear a hat and apply sunscreen on days that we do experience lots of sun and heat as he/she is outside daily for two 20 minute fitness breaks.  On nicer days, we will be taking advantage of being outside and enjoy outdoor learning!  Thank you for your support in this matter.  

I also wanted to say a thank you to the parents who regularly check and sign their child's agenda, it is an excellent communication tool between parent, child, and teacher.  I have been enjoying your notes!  As we soon enter our final month of school (June), I am delighted with my students progress and look forward to more fun in the sun!  Thank you for your continued support in ALL your child's learning!  TOGETHER, EVERYBODY ACHIEVES MORE!

Beach Day:
Thank you to ALL the staff and students who participated in our spirit day!  Everyone looked beachy-reffic!

Character Recognition Assembly:

Today, we celebrated May's character trait which is Respect.  Congratulations to Tristan and Nathan!  Thank you for always striving to demonstrate respectful behaviour towards your peers, teachers, and family.  We’ve learned, in order to get respect, we have to give it.  

The Golden Rule:  “Treat people the way you want to be treated!”

Next month's character trait is Responsibility – “We do the right thing even when no one is watching.”  

This week, I had a discussion with my students about the importance of always being accountable for our thoughts, words, and actions.  We must all take responsibility for this as it is vital to ensure the safety and happiness for ourselves and others.

Language Learning:

As shared in last week's post, over the next few weeks, I will be teaching my students about Poetry in preparation for our Poetry Cafe.  Yes of course, you are ALL INVITED, invitations to follow :) Stay tuned!!  Your child is excited to write poems and share them with you!  Thus far, we've written 3 poems.  Please ask your child about his or her creations over the weekend.    

For this unit of study, our Learning Goal & Success Criteria is the following:

Learning Goal:

We are learning to read, listen to, and write our own poetry using descriptive words to help our reader visualize and create a deeper meaning from our writing.

Success Criteria:

1. I can choose a topic for my poem that is meaningful to me.

2. I can use rich, descriptive (adjectives) word choice when I write.

3. I can include voice and expression in my writing.

4. I can help my reader create mental imagery (visualize) as they read my poem.

5. I can think with my head and heart to create a meaningful poem.

POETRY IS ... "Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages!"

Outdoor Learning:
On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to have Mr. Martin visit us to help encourage, inspire and talk about the importance of taking our learning outside.  Here at Nottawa we are fortunate to have an outdoor classroom which is right outside our portable!  We must take better advantage of this :) Mr. Martin read us a story and since we're learning about poetry in language, he then had students write a poem inspired by nature.  Their creations were wonderful!  Ask your child about his or her poem that they wrote!  

REMINDER About Fun Fair Silent Auction Classroom Baskets:

Each classroom has started collecting items for a large themed "basket" to be auctioned off at this year's Fun Fair. A note was sent to you in your child's agenda a few weeks ago.  We'd like to support our School Council in their efforts to make this year's Fun Fair as great as it has always been!

If each family could bring in one item to donate to his/her classroom basket that'd be great!  The theme for our class is:  ARTS & CRAFTS!  

Thank you to the Richens family for donating to our basket last week!

EQAO:
Way to go Grade 3's for completing the EQAO assessment this past week.  Your determination and  hard work is greatly valued.  Remember, this assessment is about celebrating your skills you've developed in reading, writing, and math throughout your school years since JK!  I am so proud of each one of you - Katelyn, Jakob, Isla, Tristan, Riley, Hannah W., and Pierce!  I hope you enjoyed your celebration in Mrs. O's class today during Period 2!

Growth Mindset:

"Be yourself.  Don't be someone else!" -Marissa

Namaste,

Miss Gill