Week #21: Feb. 2nd - 6th

Dear Families,

As a class family, we continue to work hard and have such meaningful experiences with one another.  It's such a joy to be with your child at school to teach, learn and grow with each and every day!

I’m truly the luckiest! Today Iris and Nell came to school to show and share their appreciation for our time together and how much they’ve learned & grown 💕

It made my day and I am so grateful they feel safe & seen at school 🥰

Thank you Nell for the flower 🌼 

Thank you Iris for your affirmations you shared! 

You are sunshine ☀️, Iris

We have continued our discussions about the importance of Black History and the children are really intrigued and interested in this subject matter.  

They all have shown a great deal of empathy as I've shared about some of the challenges that many Black people have faced.  

Thinking about the feelings of others is so natural for many in this group of children and it makes me oh so proud to be surrounded by them each and every day!  

"I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity.  No one is born hating another person because of the colour of their skin, background, or religion.  People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to LOVE, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Nelson Mandela

Oh my goodness, I love Mr. Mandela's thoughts and words.  How very true!  We must join hands to form togetherness.  Let us all LISTEN, ACT, and UNITE as a HUMAN RACE.  Show care, compassion, and cooperation :)

Your child is the future planet protector and I have every confidence he or she can and will become  a change maker to help our world become even brighter, better, and more beautiful.

HYLA:

Thank you to the Colquhoun family for gifting our class with information cards that highlight the extraordinary achievements of various Canadian Black activists.

You know me too well 👊 Seeing this brought a huge smile to my face 😃 Hyla’s family always finds such thoughtful and meaningful ways to give. 💛

Today, we had the opportunity to learn about Viola Desmond, and the students were engaged, curious, and inspired by her courage and impact. What a purposeful addition to our learning, thank you Colquhouns!

FEBRUARY’S CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE:

To link to Black History, this month we are learning about Inclusiveness: we include others to play and never send people away. 

Being inclusive means inviting everyone to join, listening to their ideas, and making sure no one feels left out.

Inclusiveness is part of DEI:  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

• Diversity: We celebrate our differences.

• Equity: We give everyone a fair chance.

• Inclusion: We make sure everyone belongs.

I encourage all my students to practice inclusiveness every day, invite others, be kind, and make everyone feel welcome!  #wegotthis

TOWN OF COLLINGWOOD BLACK HISTORY FLAG RAISING:

I'm so excited to share with you that on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend the Black History Month flag raising with the Town of Collingwood during my lunch break at the library. 

The students were equally as excited for me to attend as they sensed my enthusiasm. This really touched my heart!

Standing together as one community, we recognized and celebrated Black heritage and hope. This ceremony honours the lasting contributions of Black Canadians and reaffirms our shared commitment to inclusion, respect, and equality.

I am so proud to be part of this community and its initiatives!  Let's keep celebrating the rich and rooted achievements of black heritage right here in our hometown :) 

Our class will certainly highlight these contributions at our upcoming coming Black History Assembly ☝️ 

Below are some other images from this very special event, check it out!

📚 MULTIPLICATION & DIVISION! ✏️➗✖️

This week, we continued sharpening our math skills by learning how to use a multiplication chart to solve division equations!  

Please ask your child to show you how to do this over the weekend :)  Many are becoming more comfortable and confident with this skill.

They’ve been making important connections by writing related multiplication and division equations and even tackling the challenge of mentally dividing by 10, 100, and 1,000, such an important skill for building number sense!

Encourage your child to show off their learning by solving a question like this:

💡 420 x 10 = ?

💡 420 x 100 = ?

💡 420 x 1,000 = ?

COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR:

Mrs. Mortimer just shared our fundraising page on Monday morning and already we have had so many parents, staff, and friends who have generously donated toward our fundraising goal. 

Because of each of you, we have already reached 68% of our goal with $1,025.00, wow! 

The students and I check Nottawa’s fundraising page daily, and we truly beam with pride. We’ve also been learning together about the Coldest Night of the Year, and discovered that our town’s community goal is to raise $200,000. See link 👇🏾 

Collingwood's Coldest Night of the Year Page

Knowing that our Shelter Squad is helping contribute to this larger goal is incredibly meaningful. I have every confidence that, together, Collingwood will reach it!  

Giving back to our community is something I am very passionate about. 

This community has given so much to my family and me over the years, and it has always been a dream of mine, not only to be a teacher, but to help instill in my students the importance of giving, of moving from a “me” to a “we” mindset.

Parents, you are the foundation of this work, and I am so grateful for your ongoing support, generosity, and trust. Thank you for helping us teach your child(ren) COMPASSION IN ACTION.

WINTER OLYMPICS:

It’s an exciting time with the Winter Olympics here, and what makes it so special is the strong sense of community and connection it creates. 

The Olympics bring nations together, reminding us of the importance of supporting one another and celebrating teamwork, effort, and pride.

I love that our school’s Leadership Team assigned a different nation to each class. This gave students the opportunity to learn about global citizenship and the power of cheering others on. 

Our class proudly represented Austria, creating the Austrian flag (thank you to the kids who stayed in with me to create this) and a class motto, special shout-out to Freddy for the inspiration: “We’re RED! We’re WHITE! We’re DYNAMITE!”

Today, we kicked things off with our Opening Ceremonies, filling the gym with flags, country colours, and cheers!  Thank you to all the students who wore red and white to support Austria (and yes, Canada too ;).

A big thank you to the Leadership Team for organizing such a fun uniting experience. We are looking forward to our very own Winter Olympics on Friday, February 20th, during periods 3–6!

FLAG MAKING:

We kept the momentum going with the Olympics in the afternoon! We joined classes with Mrs. Newman to make mini flags for our assigned countries, and during Period 5 we even watched part of the Opening Ceremonies together. 

We were especially tuned in because we were hoping to see Austria being recognized, and we did! 🇦🇹

The kids were so pumped, cheering loudly and waving the adorable flags they made. It was awesome to share this moment with Mrs. Newman’s students and feel that sense of teamwork and celebration.

MICAH & AYDEN:

Ayden and Micah were so proud to share about their hockey tournament from last weekend. They earned 2nd place and were very excited to show their medal and team photo to the class. 

Their classmates were just as excited for them and asked thoughtful questions about the games and their teamwork. It was wonderful to see everyone celebrating their hard work and success together.

RYDER & IRIS:

A big thank you to Iris and Ryder for their continued generous donations of Tabs for Kids! Your kindness and thoughtfulness help make a difference, and I am so proud of you for giving back to others. 

Way to be caring leaders in our class community! 💙

BODEN:

The care and compassion continues! Thank you to Boden for being so observant and thoughtful! 

You see, he noticed that our 5g jug that we use to fill with tabs was almost full and that we will need another one. 

Boden must have gone home and asked his parents if it was ok for him to bring in one so we can continue collecting tabs. Upon seeing this, I was so touched!

Way to look out for our class and help us keep the momentum going to collect tabs! 👏😊

MINDFULNESS - A LESSON ON DISCRIMINATION:

I really appreciate students and parents actively discussing and taking part in Black History Month at home too.

Here is a great example of it. My former student Evelyn's Mom shared with me the video below.

In it, Jane Elliott a third grade teacher first gave this lesson on April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.  

It’s called the “Blue Eyes - Brown Eyes” exercise, and it teaches a powerful lesson on discrimination.

From this video, we can learn that our words come with severe consequences, both good and bad.  But, we can use OUR words to empower and reconcile with our Black & Indigenous communities today.  

We must remember the importance of instilling inclusivity and respect for all people no matter their race, culture, or religious background; only then, can EQUALITY REIGN, REIGN, REIGN!  

GROWTH MINDSET:

Thank you to Evan for this week's mindset message ...

"Be yourself, everybody else is taken!" - Evan

What does this mean?

It means that you should be proud of who you are :) Don’t try to copy someone else, because there is only one YOU, and that’s special! 

For example, at school if your friends like a certain game or way of doing art, you can still do things your own way. Maybe you like drawing animals while your friend likes drawing superheroes, that’s okay!

At home, if your brother or sister likes certain snacks or clothes, you can still choose what YOU like. Maybe they love pizza and you love sandwiches, being yourself is what makes you unique! 

Absolutely 100%!

With appreciation & respect,

Ms. P. Gill