Week #7: Oct. 14th - 17th

Dear Families,

We've had yet another wonderful week together in our classroom!  

This week, we diligently started our weekly at home and school programming (e.g., Word Study, KnowledgeHook, ReadWorks, and Mystery Science) which I will dive into more below about their purpose and importance to your child's education :)

Please note, all information and access to these programs with class codes are provided via Google Classroom.

As you will soon read about and see via photographs, the academic environment in our classroom is truly building and thriving!  Your support in this is appreciated 👏

For me as an educator, I’m definitely very driven by academic progress, but what matters most is that each child feels safe, seen, heard, and valued. 

The bonds we are building together truly mean so much, and I cherish the connections forming within our classroom community.

I promise to continue supporting your child in every way I can, academically, behaviourally, socially, and emotionally.

Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy reading all about the meaningful learning and experiences we shared during Week #7 of school! 💚

CHARACTER RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY:

It was wonderful to see many parents and grandparents in attendance to join us at the assembly earlier this afternoon.

Nottawa truly is an inclusive, safe, and inviting place to be.  We always welcome families in our building as one of our own to come in to be part of special occasions such as these character assemblies.  

Great news!  Our class family will be leading the Empathy & Compassion Assembly in December which you won't want to miss! 

I have every confidence it will be memorable like our Stone Soup Presentation.  Please note, I will notify parents of the specific date and time in the coming weeks ;)

At the assembly, we celebrated the character attributes: Cooperation & Caring!  

Congratulations to Bohdan S. & Mirabelle for consistently demonstrating this trait in your thoughts, words, and actions! 

You are excellent models for 'WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THE JOB DONE!'  Thank you for setting a positive example in and out of the classroom!  Your peers and I can always count on you.  Well done!

SPIRIT DAY:

Along with this awesome assembly, it was a spirit day - BACKWARDS DAY! 

It was so nice to see our school family take part in the spirit and creativity of the day. Events like these bring us all together in such a joyful, friendly way and remind us how special our school community truly is.

I joined in the fun too by wearing my Blue Jays jersey and jeans backwards! I’ll admit, it took a little while to get used to things being on the wrong way, but by the middle of the day, I didn’t even notice it anymore! 😄

The students were creative with their backward outfits everything from shirts and hats to backpacks and shoes flipped around! 

💚 Thank you, families, for supporting your child in participating in these special spirit days. Your encouragement helps make our school such a positive, connected, and happy place to learn and grow!

📸 Check out some of the kids showing off their backward style below!

✍️ WORD STUDY MONDAYS:

At the beginning of the week, your child came home with his or her word study duo-tang. Students have been provided with a list of weekly spelling words with a specific focus to build upon not only their spelling, but also writing skills.

This research-based program includes weekly spelling words that progress in difficulty from simple spelling patterns to more challenging spelling patterns.

The weekly unit includes purposeful spelling activities. Each sheet targets specific skills. I will explain these below.

Mondays: DECODING SKILLS & PRACTICE WRITING WORDS

• Introduction of the words and key spelling patterns

Tuesdays: VISUAL MEMORY PRACTICE

• Fun practice to help students remember spelling words

Wednesdays: WORD MEANING

• Helps students learn each word's meaning, then practice writing the word in a sentence

Thursdays: WORD STUDY

• Helps students recognize and understand word patterns

Below, I have provided the informational video.

Please note, I encourage students to only complete 1 page / evening so that they practice the individual skills provided as opposed to simply finishing the homework quickly.

Additionally, please have your child bring his or her word study duo-tang to school in the agenda each day for timely feedback in areas requiring it. Thank you.

🧮 KNOWLEDGEHOOK TUESDAYS:

I am very grateful and appreciative to our SCDSB for providing this meaningful mathematical program for our students. 

What is Knowledgehook?  

It's an effective math software for students to consolidate and challenge their UNDERSTANDING, THINKING & APPLICATION mathematical processes to the next level :)

Let's get YOU involved :)  Why invite parents?

When teachers invite parents to connect, teachers build a strong classroom community and empower parents to be partners in supporting their child’s learning.

What can teachers and parents expect? 

• Students can share milestones with their parents so they can celebrate their achievements together
• Teachers can also share milestones with parents to notify and engage parents in their child’s learning journey 
• Parents can send digital cheers to acknowledge their child’s successes and provide motivation
• Parents with Knowledgehook Premium Tutoring Accounts can link their account to their child’s classroom to gain insights on relevant tutoring supports

Please connect to our math class:

By staying connected, this program can share your child's achievements and progress with you, so you can stay informed and support your child. 

You will receive:  

• Results from casual assessments that we run in class Educational supports (videos and written examples) on topics covered in class
• Access to your child’s portfolio of math solutions and feedback 
• Tips on working with your child at home on math 

To connect with our class: 

Please note, I sent out an invite to parents a while back.  You will have received an email from KnowledgeHook to connect with your child :)

To those 11 parents who have already connected to your child's account, thank you for doing so!  To those who have not yet, no worries, there is still time.  Please refer to the email I sent and connect to it this weekend :) 

Thank you for supporting your child in his or her math learning! 

Here are two images of the kids working hard on their Math Missions in class this week :)

📚 READWORKS WEDNESDAYS:

Each week, I will also be assigning students a passage (text), vocabulary activity, and comprehension questions to help boost their confidence and abilities in reading :)

ReadWorks is built on the science of reading to ensure students can steadily expand their background knowledge, vocabularies, and reading comprehension helping them become the confident readers they deserve to be.

ReadWorks' Three Key Research Findings:

1.  Positive Learning Outcomes: 

• Regular use of ReadWorks benefits reading performance.

2.  Support for Challenging Reading: 

• ReadWorks' cutting edge digital tools help students confidently and successfully navigate higher-level texts. 

3.  Universal Impact: 

• ReadWorks resources impact all students, regardless of socioeconomic background.

On a weekly basis, I encourage you to please ask your child to show and share with you the reading passages and activities that I assign to them. This week, children completed a Mindset Survey to share with me how they feel about reading and the various genres that they are interested in :)

www.readworks.org

Class Code:  NVG 7W6

🧪 MYSTERY SCIENCE THURSDAYS:

We're sure on a roll with our academics, woohoo!

Welcome to Mystery Science! The mission for this program is to inspire children to love science, stay curious as they grow up, and become lifelong learners. How amazing is this!?

Children are naturally (born) curious. Elementary school years are the time to nurture that curiosity.

These are the years when children form habits of thinking that will live with them for the rest of their lives. This is when they form their view of the world.

This is the time to teach children HOW TO THINK CRITICALLY & HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS.

It's an opportunity to nurture each child’s burning curiosity, guide them as they explore their world, and ensure that they develop the most important skill of all: the ability to figure things out for themselves.

For these reasons, I'm implementing this program into our weekly routine at school and at home, click the link below :)

We help kids stay curious as they grow up

Each week via Google Classroom, I will share a mini-lesson followed with questions that will intrigue students to want to get up and explore the world around them. From the depths of the ocean to the vastness of space, this program covers it all and more! But that's just the tip of the iceberg! So join us on this amazing journey of discovery, staying curious, and exploring the world together!

Please ask your child to show you the Mystery Science activity I introduced this week via Google Classroom. Stay CURIOUS every one :)

Below I have posted some images of the kids working so hard at listening, note-taking, and recording their answers to the question - Why are pumpkins orange?

🤓 EPIC:

What is it? Epic is another engaging digital platform dedicated to inspiring the next generation to develop a love for reading and learning! 

The journey began with a simple question:  How can we make books more accessible for kids? 

It always seemed odd that children could easily play games and watch videos on their devices, but struggled to find books.

In 2013, the founders created the first “epic” reading experience tailored for kids. 

Today, Epic is an award-winning subscription service that provides millions of families and classrooms with instant, unlimited access to thousands of books, videos, and quizzes from leading publishers, helping kids read, learn, and grow.

We’ll definitely be utilizing this program!  Your child has free access to Epic at school every day 7:00AM - until 3:00PM. So if he or she wishes to access reading before they come to school, have them log on! 

The class code is available on Google Classroom, but for your reference here it is as well EPIC Code:  dws3200. 

🙏🏾 GRATITUDE:

With all that information given, I would like to take this opportunity now to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support in guiding your child with their weekly at home and school programs, such as the ones described above (Word Study, KnowledgeHook, ReadWorks, and Mystery Science). 

Your involvement and connection to your child’s academics are invaluable and truly enrich their learning experience. 

While class time will be provided for students, I have thoughtfully assigned these programs and will be consistent in using them to foster strong work habits and learning skills (e.g., responsibility, organization, initiative, collaboration, independent work, and self-regulation). 

Thank you for being such an essential part of your child’s educational journey!

GRAMMAR:

This week, our class began learning about GRAMMAR. 

Each week, we’ll explore one important grammar rule (concept) that helps students become stronger, more confident writers.

As many of you know, English is one of the hardest languages to learn, it’s filled with rules… and plenty of exceptions to those rules! 

Growing up, I understand how challenging it can be. English was actually my second language; my first language is Punjabi, and I struggled with reading and writing all through Kindergarten to Grade 2. 

I was in ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and often felt overwhelmed so I deeply empathize with children who find language learning tricky.

Because of that experience, I am committed to teaching grammar in a supportive and meaningful way. Each week, our grammar lessons will follow this structure:

1️⃣ Guided Lesson: I introduce the grammar rule and model examples together as a class.
2️⃣ Shared Learning: Students work with a partner to practice and apply what they’ve learned.
3️⃣ Independent Work: By the end of the week, students show what they’ve consolidated so I can see how to support them further.

When these sheets come home, please take some time to go over the concepts with your child.  This will be extremely beneficial and connects school to home learning well :)

✏️ Grammar Rule #1: Subjects & Predicates

This week’s focus was on Subjects and Predicates.
A subject names the person, place, or thing the sentence is about.
A predicate tells what the subject is or does.

Example:
➡️ The dog (subject) chased the ball. (predicate)

💬 Ask your child these questions to review at home:

1. Can you find the subject in this sentence: The cat slept on the rug.?

2. What is the predicate in: My friends are playing soccer.?

3. Can you make your own sentence and tell me the subject and predicate?

Below I have posted some images for you to see the children working with a friend(s) to complete their grammar sheet as a collaborative T.E.A.M. 

IRIS: 

I am so proud of Iris, she did something really awesome this week, she made her own math notebook to take notes while I teach! 

This is a super important skill because it’s helpful in remembering key concepts and is a great organizational tool for not only grade 3/4, but for the rest of her academic journey! 

Great job, Iris! 🌟

TABS FOR KIDS:

Thank you so much to not only my present students, but also my former ones too for their dedication in collecting tabs to help children with accessibility needs. 

Today I had Harlow, Finley, and Leyah whom I taught last school year come first break with a baggy full of tabs. My heart burst with joy!

I’m so grateful to maintain my bonds with the children I’ve taught, this means a lot to me and I promise to do the same with your child when they’ve “graduated” from my class ❤️

The ongoing support for the important causes we've embraced thus far this school year such as the Thanksgiving Food Drive & The Terry Fox Foundation, is truly appreciated!  

This commitment to making a difference is making a lasting impact, and I am so grateful to have you all as part of our class community.  Keep being change-makers boys & girls!

🧘‍♀️ MINDFULNESS:

In this inspirational speech by former president Barack Obama, he shares the power and strength through our FAILURES.

In class, we regularly emphasis it's OK to F.A.I.L., it's OK to make MISTAKES.  

We shouldn't get discouraged by failing or making mistakes.  In fact, we must welcome it with an open mind and heart because ultimately there will be many times in our lives where we will experience failure.  

I personally have failed many times in my life when I tried to achieve something such as being rejected by 4 teacher's colleges.  I openly share and talk about it with my students.  I am optimistic your child can share this with you :)

The importance relies within taking these experiences and finding strategies to BUILD and GROW our SKILLS, our MINDSET so that we can ... one day SUCCEED.  

And yes, I finally did get into teacher's college, but even that was pending by Trent University ;)  So it didn't come easy, but boy o' boy was it the most thrilling experience of my life at that time.

After watching the video, please discuss Obama's message to us all :) 

Hope.  Believe.  Trust.  IN YOURSELF!

GROWTH MINDSET:

"Instead of - this is too hard, TRYING THINKING - this may take some time."

With appreciation & respect,

Ms. P. Gill