Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas!!

Dear Families,

It is with a warm and open heart that I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and soon to be a Happy New Year!

I hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday with your loved ones.  We all lead such busy lives, but I believe the holidays are a time to slow down, reflect and think about all the ones we love, cherish and respect.  


I am very blessed to have such caring, loving, and amazing family, friends, and students in my life.  Speaking of students, I will certainly miss seeing your child’s enthusiastic and beautiful smile over the holidays and I am delighted we’ll all be reunited and get back into our daily routine of fun and learning in January!  See you on the 4th (fingers crossed).

Distance Learning:
Parents would have received an email or a phone call from the Board by now stating that after the Break, we may have to transfer to Distance Learning if there is another lockdown (grey zone).  

In preparation for this, your child has brought home his or her yellow folder with 2 weeks worth of work to maintain and continue some of our regular programming such as:
-word study 
-grammar
-reading comprehension
-daily math
-word test notebook


If we do go to Distance Learning, please have your child access Google Classroom as I will have posted our a daily schedule with tasks using Google Slides :)  We will also use Google Meet to have daily check-ins.  Stay tuned everyone!

Thank You:
I would like to take this moment to extend my utmost gratitude to ALL my families and their child(ren) who took the time, thought, and energy to donate to SickKids and/or provide me with other holiday treats!

I will cherish your kindness!  It means the absolute world to me knowing that I have your unconditional love and support.  Also, knowing that you believe in me as your child's teacher is something that I value so much!  My students are truly my GREATEST GIFT!!


It has been a productive school year thus far, and I look forward to creating many more beautiful memories in 2021!  

I'm SO HAPPY and PROUD to be part of our Nighthawk family!! Again, parents thank you so much for your generous contributions!! 

PJ Day:
Thank you to all the staff and students who dressed up in their cozy comfy PJ’s for our spirit day!  It was a perfect way to kick start the holidays!  Check us out :)


Today during period 3, we watched our virtual 2020 Christmas Concert.  It was so nice to see all the primary classes performances!  We did a great job too with the boom whackers with Mr. Morin's teaching.  Look at all our focused musicians :)

 

A Gift of Peace:
This week, we spent quality time making a holiday gift bag for our families.  The kids were so excited to share this with you!  

Inside each bag, you will find a peace dove (ornament) with a heartfelt message, a poem by Maya Angelou, a peace stone, and a beautiful Christmas card handmade by your child.  I know you're really going to enjoy these precious gifts as your child's whole heart and spirit went into it :)  Enjoy!




Peace Placemat:
Your child has also brought home a placemat (see below) which you can enjoy filling out as a family before your holiday feast.  

Please pass your peace stone around the table and share what peace means to you :)  You can then record your answer in one of the quadrants.  

If your child would like to share his or her placement with me in the New Year, please bring it to school for us to celebrate!  


Holiday Happy Mail & Google Meet with Sunset Manor Residents:
Thank you to all my students who completed their holiday card and letter for a senior at Sunset Manor!  We all know now how much the elders who received and read your cards meant to them!!  It truly brightened their hearts this holiday season especially since many of them have been in lockdown since March 13th due to COVID-19.  This act of kindness will last a lifetime for them!!



It was an absolute highlight of our day to have the Google Meet with the residents yesterday (Thursday).  Mr. Fleming a PSW whom I know very well (I taught his daughter Danyelle in grade 3 at Connaught in 2010) helped facilitate this Meet and it went so well!!  I received a positive reply from him later in the day saying how much seeing the kids made the elders day!!


Below, you will find a collection of photos from our Meet and how touched the elders were to read and receive their holiday happy mail!!  

Each child below is posing with the elder that received his or her card :)  Isn't this just the BEST!?  We couldn't get to everyone in the class as it was lunchtime for the seniors.  But, the sentiment was felt!







Noah's card!



Oh my goodness, doesn't this just melt your heart?



Since our kindness touched the elders' hearts so much, I have been asked by the staff at Sunset Manor if my class can do more virtual Meets in the New Year :)  The seniors LOVED SEEING THE KIDS SO MUCH!!  My immediate answer was YES!  If we can make a difference in the hearts and minds of others especially those in need of our energy and time, we're here!!  Stay tuned!

Math:
You will have received your child's patterning assessment and word problem.  We have wrapped up this unit of mathematics and will be moving on to Number.  Expectations will be posted on my next blog post. 

Please consolidate (think, pair, discuss) your child's patterning word problem that they completed in class with a partner (see picture below).  We are really getting the hang of effectively utilizing the 4 Block Method for Problem Solving :)  Please celebrate your child's achievement in this!


Growth Mindset:


Meegwich,
Miss Gill

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