“Try living more in the moment, not the past or the future.”

Dear Families,

I hope you have an enjoyable Family Day Weekend and Valentine's Day!  It will be amazing to have the ‘extra’ days off on Fri. and Mon. to spend quality time with all your loved ones.  I do my best to appreciate and value my time off with those that I cherish and love.  I am extremely close to my Ma, brother, sister-in-law, and their 2 doberman pups named Hugo and Gia who I will get to see over the weekend and experience fun adventures with!  

Here are some of the activities that I hope to get up to with my family and friends - go out for dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Collingwood, trek through the woods on my snowshoes, drink delicious lattes by the fireplace, catch a flick (movie) and get in as much relaxation as possible.  

Wishing you all a tremendous weekend too with your dear ones.  Below I have posted some pictures of my family for you to see :) They have helped shape me into the daughter, sister, friend, and educator I am today. They mean the world to me!!  

My brother Anil, my Ma Shivraj, and ME!

My beloved Ma :)

My brother and his wife Kimmie

Friends Sammy & Johnny doing what we love - hiking!

Hugo - he looks fierce, but is oh so affectionate

We welcomed Gia to the family over Christmas

Chinese New Year:
In Social Studies, the Grade 2 expectation is to learn about the various celebrations and traditions that occur in Canada and abroad.  On Monday, it was the Chinese New Year.  As a class we took some time to acknowledge and learn about this vibrant celebration!  I shared some fiction and non-fiction books to help students gain facts about the Chinese New Year and they then used a Venn Diagram to compare their New Year celebrations to that of the Asian culture.  I was amazed at how many similarities and differences they recorded!  Well done!  Check out the pictures of 2 completed Venn Diagrams below :)

To help us get into the spirit, each student had the opportunity to taste rice with soya sauce and green tea as we listened to a celebrations around the world CD.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank one of my greatest mentors not only in teaching, but in my LIFE, Mrs. Roth!  She provided my students and I with valuable books, Chinese prayer papers, a stuffed dragon, a kimono, hat, and CD for us!  Thank you for inspiring me to teach my children about the importance of embracing and educating the young about cultural diversity, it's OK to be different, and guiding me to see that teaching is indeed a 'work of heart!'  I love you!! 

Mrs. Roth!!

Thanks Mrs. Roth for the Chinese New Year materials for our class!

Amy delivering sweetened green tea for her peers!

Math Learning:
Our focus in math this week was on telling time to the quarter hour.  Students learned that there are 60 minutes in one hour, 30 minutes in half an hour, and 15 minutes in a quarter hour.  I showed an informative Brain Pop Video which helped consolidate this learning.  I have shared the link below for you to view, too! Students love watching and learning from the characters Annie and Moby :)  The latter character is quite comical and always gets my students giggling!  

Check it out!
https://jr.brainpop.com/math/time/timetothequarterandhalfhour/ 
user: branksomehall
password:  hall

Way to go, Ethan W.!  Placing the minutes correctly

Parts of an analogue clock

Information Report Writing:
This week, I continued modelling the writing form called Information Report.  Students continue to demonstrate such enthusiasm and positive energy as they keenly look for information at home and at school about their Canadian animal.  I shared a 'big book' to teach students about the parts of an information report.  It served well as it is clearly colour coded with the necessary components which are as follows:  title (green), general statement (peach), description (blue), and evaluation (pink).  I read a report about Firefighters that clearly laid out these parts.  Ask your child about these.  Please see the pictures below to help guide them as they share this with you.

  
Thomas B.'s Research:
On Tuesday, Thomas B. came to school and said, "Miss Gill, I found information about Timber Wolves at home with my Mom.  Can I share it?"  With a huge smile on my face, I immediately replied, "YES!"  I am so proud of my learners and their supportive families for reinforcing concepts taught at school then work on them at home!! Students listened attentively to Thomas as he shared valuable information which he can now add to his report he's working on in class.  Well done!

Look at all that research!!  Excellent work, Thomas B.!

Honouring Valentine’s Day:

On Thursday, we celebrated Valentine’s Day as a class family.  My gratitude goes out to all the students who participated in our red, pink, and white school spirit day.  Everyone looked so loving and wonderful in these colours.  In addition, thank you families who took time, energy, and love to purchase cards and gift bags for all of US to enjoy!  I was touched by all the gifts I received, it meant a lot to me!  Thank you :)  We hope that you'll enjoy the Valentine wreaths that came home as a gift to all of our family members.  Students worked hard at personalizing a message for their mom, dad, siblings, grandparents, and even pets! 

In class, I shared two powerful read alouds (see picture below) which focused on bucket-filling.  Please ask your child about the author's message and what they learned from each book.  After sharing these books, we discussed the importance of demonstrating character in our thoughts, words, and actions ALL THE TIME to help fill our peers and our OWN bucket, too!  We all agreed that we must celebrate LOVE (not just on Valentine's Day) all year around,  it is what makes the world brighter and beautiful.  I am a fortunate educator, to be surrounded with such loving students who are caring, compassionate and kind to one another.  It was heart-warming to watch your child give their Valentines and receive them with an open heart.

Gifts for our family members!

Spirit Day - red, white, and pink day!

Delivering valentines

Vasiliki's wreath for her family :)

One LOVE all around the world!  Thanks, Archie!

Please ask your child about this activity we did in class :)

Dance-A-Thon:
In the first block (9:45-10:40 a.m.) yesterday, students participated in the Dance-A-Thon in our school gym.  Parents, who provided pledges, thank you!  We had numerous pledges come in just from our class, way to go!  Volunteers diligently took the time to count all this money and I think we raised a heaping amount for our school!  I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to our school’s Parent Council who put in countless hours to make this event happen.  Your dedication and hard work is truly appreciated!  I was in awe of the decorations, music (awesome DJ), treats, games, prizes!!!  We have a remarkable school community!!  The children thoroughly enjoyed this experience!  It was very evident in all their bright smiles and groovin' dance moves.

Scientist in the Classroom Visit:
You will have received a note in the agenda yesterday evening about this science opportunity for your child! Please note:  our secretaries are highly encouraging families to utilize the use of on-line payment as this reduces the amount of cash coming and going in the school and lessens the chances of money going missing. If you are already set up, great!  If you're not, please don't hesitate to contact the school to see how you can get set up, it will be beneficial throughout your child's schooling at Ernest Cumberland for paying for field trips, pizza orders, and any other money payments to do with our school.  Thank you for your care and consideration in this matter.  If you are unable to pay on-line, please let me know in your child's agenda and I can give you a hard copy of the permission form.    

On Wednesday, we will have the scientist visit our class to teach the students about 'Simple Machines.'  It will be a wonderful opportunity for all to learn about this interesting unit!  I will be sure to take lots of pictures for you to see your child in action in next Friday's blog post!

Quote:
                   “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” 

~ Thich Nhat Hanh (Thank you, Mr. Roth!!)

Namaste,

Miss Gill