Week #29: April 7th - 10th

Dear Families,

It’s been a mixed bag of weather this week ❄️💨🌡️, snow, winds, and those cooler temps keeping us on our toes! 

While we’re all eager to pack away the winter gear 🧣🧤, better keep it close for now! Brighter days are just around the corner 🌷☀️. 

Check out today for instance, isn't this sunshine sensational!?  I’m heading out for a hike and look forward to being amongst the trees and getting in some vitamin D ☝️ 

Have a wonderful weekend with your family. 🌳 

👚INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PINK:💗

Did you know that the second Wednesday in April is the International Day of Pink? 💟

This day is a powerful reminder of the importance of standing together against bullying, discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of hate. 🛑✋

I believe that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) is essential to teach our children every day.

Embracing DEI helps foster creativity, fresh perspectives, and greater understanding. When we create spaces that celebrate differences, we help everyone feel safe, valued, and at peace in mind, body, and spirit. 🕊️

By participating in these important awareness days, my students and I are showing that we stand up for a world where people of all races, abilities, ages, genders, religions, sexual orientations, and backgrounds feel welcomed and respected. 

Here at Nottawa, our class family has made it our mission to build a community where everyone feels safe, valued, and happy to BE WHO THEY ARE 🙂💖🌈

To us, LOVE IS ACCEPTANCE. ❤️

A huge thank you to all the staff and students who wore PINK on Wednesday to show their solidarity and support in creating a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse world! 💗

To support your child(ren) at home, I encourage you to keep the conversations about acceptance alive. 

WE HAVE THE POWER to make a difference through our own inclusive thoughts, words, and actions! 

To all the wonderful children in our lives: YOU ARE SEEN, YOU ARE HEARD, AND YOU ARE VALUED! 

WRITING:

After having many class discussions about the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, students completed the following activity:  Write about how we can create a school where everyone feels safe to be who they are.  Include details of strategies you would use.

Upon reading through many wonderful entries, I was touched by the heartfelt responses. 💖 

It’s clear that your child put their whole heart into this activity, and it shines through in every word ✏️ 

I have every confidence that with our collective thoughts, words, and actions, we can continue making Nottawa the brightest, kindest, and very best place to be! 😊🌟

In the coming days, these writing pieces will be coming home in your child’s agenda for you to admire.

When they do, I encourage you to take a moment to celebrate your child’s message, they’ve put so much thought and heart into it!

I know you’ll feel just as proud (if not even more!) as I do. Let’s continue to cheer on their voices and the positive impact they’re making! 

MATH:

This week, students started coding! This is a unit that many kids love as they get the opportunity to think like problem solvers, build step-by-step solutions, and experience how math comes to life through code.

Here’s what we’re focusing on:

🔹Writing and running code to solve problems.
Students will explore sequences, loops, and even nested events to build programs.

🔹Reading and modifying existing code.
They’ll learn how small tweaks can create big changes, an awesome way to boost critical thinking and logical reasoning 🧠

Throughout this unit, I will be posting various Coding Activities on Google Classroom that your child will access at school and is encouraged to show you at home too!

Coding is such an interesting and fun way to use math and your support at home helps make it even more meaningful ❤️

EARTH DAY ILLUSTRATION CONTEST:

With April being Earth Month, our class is taking part in a fun and friendly Earth Day Illustration Contest presented by ReadWorks.

I have posted the full assignment on Google Classroom, so please take some time to check it out over the weekend. 

🌿 Earth Day Illustration Contest
When creating their picture, here’s what the judges will be looking for:

✅ Show What You Learned
Does your drawing show ideas or facts from the passage you read?

🌳 Include the Setting (Habitat)
Did you draw where the animal or plant lives? (like a forest, ocean, or wetland)

🎨 Be Creative and Original
Did you use your imagination? Is your drawing unique and interesting?

Students are encouraged to take their time and add thoughtful details to bring their ideas to life. They can work on this assignment both at school and at home.

If you would like to purchase a canvas for your child to complete their final piece on, that is wonderful! I have provided cardstock at school for all students, so this is completely optional.

If your child was at school on Friday, they had the opportunity to begin their artwork, and some students have brought their pieces home to continue working on them.

FIELD TRIP:

Our upcoming field trip to Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons is on Thursday, April 16th.

This trip will be an opportunity for students to connect their learning in Social Studies, especially our Indigenous Education.

They will have the chance to learn about history, culture, and daily life in an engaging, hands-on way.

Please make sure that you have completed the permission form and submitted payment online through SchoolCashOnline before the trip. 

Any questions regarding this process, please call the office and our secretary will guide you through this :)  

CHARLOTTE:

Thank you so much Charlotte for your kindness and for sharing your sweet sentiments with me through your beautiful booklet. 

I really enjoyed reading it and seeing the key things you’ve learned this school year.

It meant so much to me that you took the time to reflect on your learning and share it in such a thoughtful way. 

Your effort, care, and creativity are something I will cherish always. I feel very lucky to have you in our class family 💚

MINDFULNESS:

The International Day of Pink is a worldwide anti-bullying and anti-homophobia event held annually during the second week of April.  

Though similar to Pink Shirt Day in that it also seeks to end all bullying, the Day of Pink is more specifically aimed towards anti-LGBTQ+2 bullying.

I hope this video below helps you further appreciate and value the importance of what love looks like, sounds like, and feels like.

Together, we can help further our society to be more and more understanding and inclusive to all no matter their races, abilities, ages, genders, religion, sexual orientation, and other diverse backgrounds.

GROWTH MINDSET:

"Be the reason someone smiles today!"

What does this mean?

It’s a gentle reminder to be kind. Maybe by giving a compliment, helping someone out, including someone who feels left out, or simply being friendly. 

Even small acts can brighten someone’s mood and make them feel seen, heard, and valued.

We all have the power to make someone’s day a little happier. 😊

With much appreciation & respect,

Ms. Gill