Dear Families,

As we enter into not only the Victoria Long Weekend, but also our May Break, I would like to wish you all a safe, adventurous, and FUN holiday with your loved ones.  This is my first year experiencing a school calendar that has a fall and spring break incorporated, so I am looking forward to getting some much needed spring cleaning done around the house as well as hiking in the woods!! I look forward to seeing your bright eyed child on Monday May 30th.  Wow, the end of May, already!?

Twin Day:
Today our school celebrated spirit, it was TWIN DAY!  Thank you to those students who participated!  Way to show school spirit Ethan, Thomas, Alexis, Madison, Archie, and Owen!! Check out our "twinsies" below!

Jump Rope for Heart:
Thank you to all families for your generous pledges and supporting this much needed cause.  Our school team and event coordinators of Mrs. Lynch and Mrs. Beaudry worked very hard at preparing this event at our school and the efforts are really appreciated!!  Yesterday morning, students from K-8 participated in a variety of skipping activities.  Staff and students were enthusiastic, engaged, and excited!! Thank you mother nature for giving us such a beauty day, everyone's hearts were pumping and we had a blast! Here are a few pictures from our jumping events :)

Shake & Spill Fractions:

Wednesdays lesson in math had the students working in pairs to play a fraction activity.  The premise of the game was to use 4 to 5 coloured counters, shake/spill them, and then record the fraction in more than one way.  During consolidation, I brought the students together to reflect on their shake and spill experience.  They shared the fractions they spilled for the number of counters, in doing so, I encouraged them to specifically describe their spills using fraction terminology.  Using mathematical vocabulary is an expectation and helps me check for understanding.  For example, when talking about 4 counters, students might have said, "three fourths were red and one fourth was yellow," or "3 out of 4 was yellow or three quarters were yellow."  Some students described spilling all one colour.  I prompted by asking, "Is it more likely to spill a combination of counters or counters all one colour?"  It was interesting to listen to the various discoveries!

Mapping:
This week for Social Studies, I introduced the concept of mapping.  Students have been exposed to this learning in Grade One, so they have some schema (previous knowledge).  In Grade Two, we will be exploring different kinds of maps and recognizing the important features on it.  As a result of our country reports, some students excitedly wanted to share the maps they found independently of their chosen country!  Thank you to Thomas and Danica for teaching your peers about Japan and China!  Also, during D.I.R.T. (daily independent reading time), Alexis found a map in her chapter book and shared this with the class.  This prompted a discussion about the important features on a map. Over the weekend, please ask your child What do maps have?  HINT:  All maps have:  a title, symbols/labels, legend/key, compass rose, and a scale. 

    
Quote:
"Today, I will be HAPPY.  I will walk BOLDLY.  I will be BRAVE.  I will choose WISELY.  I will be GRATEFUL.  I will speak CONFIDENTLY.  I will LOVE FULLY.  I will be the BEST VERSION OF ME."

Namaste,

Miss Gill