Dear Families,

It was wonderful greeting and seeing your bright eyed and smiling child Tuesday morning after our long weekend!  Many students shared through their words and writing about their Easter weekend experiences.  Sounds like a fun-filled blast was had by all my families!

Mix-Match Day:
Today we had students and staff dress up in mix-match attire.  Check us out!  Thank you for supporting our school's spirit days!  It certainly builds a sense of community :)

Mix-match boys :)

Mix-match girls :)

International PINK Day:
On Wednesday, we celebrated PINK Day to support putting an end to bullying!  Thank you to all those staff and students who wore pink to express their care and concern for this issue.  Together we can make a difference in our world by never bullying and supporting those who are bullied (please don't be a bystander).  Thank you Ava, Emma, Karrington, Carissa, Brody, Ashlee (absent from picture) for wearing PINK!

We are supporting Anti-Bullying for men, women, and children everywhere!

Easter Recount Writing:

This week, your child wrote a recount about his/her Easter weekend.  I spent some time conferencing and providing feedback (stars/arrows) for students to ensure they included each important element of a recount (Title, Orientation, Sequence of Events, and Personal Comment).  I am so proud of their writing as they have improved their achievement since January.  Mrs. Bell also met with a student to listen to a piece of writing and she was thrilled and quoted as saying, "Wow, I can't believe that is Grade One writing!  Excellent work."  At the end of the week, students shared their journals with a peer of choice and received feedback.  It is exciting to see the growing improvement over mere months :)  Your child will be bringing home their Recount Notebook this weekend.  Please take a moment to listen to their writing and offer them constructive feedback and of course heart-felt praise for their hard work.  All notebooks are due back to school on Monday.  Here are some celebratory writing pictures!

Sharing Circle

Listening attentively to Kaden's recount

Way to go Miika!  Sharing his recount on the HOV CAM.

Alexander

Kurtis

Kyran

Layla

Ashlee

Carissa

Karrington

Miika

Nolan

Brody

Ava

Smiling note from Mrs. Bell

Kaden

Emma

Math:
As we continue learning about money, I introduced another math game called "Fill the Bank."  Students are beginning to confidently identify the names, values, and symbols of each Canadian Coin in a fun and engaging manner.  We will be wrapping up this unit of mathematics soon and moving onto Geometry.  Stay tuned for the math note coming home in the agenda.  Here are some pics from Wednesday that I captured of students playing the math game and sharing their math journal entries that they completed also.

Ava & Emma sharing their math journal entry titled "Counting Coins"

Brody & Miika

Kaden, Alexander, Layla, and Kurtis

Nolan & Carissa

Cassius & Karrington

Jacob & Ashlee

Brody, Miika, and Karrington playing Fill the Bank!

Kurtis, Ashlee, and Jacob engaged and on task - way to go!!

Nolan, Kaden, and Ava playing at the "Peace Place."

Layla, Carissa, and Emma

Kyran, Cassius, and Daniel

I'm so proud of you boys and girls using math in a cooperative manner!

Buying and Selling Items:

On Thursday, we had a shopping extravaganza in our class!!  Ask your child about this :) Students had the opportunity to pick 5 school items, price them, and then try to sell them to their peers.  They were then responsible for counting the money that they made.  After this, they then switched, and had the opportunity to go and buy items from their peers.  During the consolidation portion of this math lesson, we counted the amount of money each student made and ordered the amounts from greatest to least.  Congratulations to Daniel who made the most money at his shop with $6.14.  It was a true joy watching everyone participate enthusiastically in this FUN math lesson!

Emma's treasures for sale.

Ashlee's selling these items!

Carissa's ready for shoppers!

Kaden buying from Karrington.

Kyran choosing the correct coins to buy an item from Carissa!

Sellers Brody and Emma

Kurtis purchasing from his friend Layla

Jacob and Emma buying some items with their Canadian coins!

Healthy Eating Feast:
Thank you to Mrs. Czerny for organizing a healthy feast in our class Thursday morning!  Students were so excited for this celebration and chewed on various healthy foods such as turnip, broccoli, apples, cucumbers, carrots, strawberries, and dragon fruit.  Thank you to Kurtis, Ashlee, Alexander, Emma, Karrington, and Carissa for bringing in a healthy treat to contribute to this health lesson.  Parents, your support in this endeavour is deeply appreciated and valued!  Thank you, thank you!!

Eating as a Community of Learners

Healthy Snacks!  Check out the turnip Mrs. Czerny brought in!  YUM!

Waiting patiently for a turn to choose a vegetable.

Layla's Cuban Adventure:
Welcome back from your Cuban vacation!  We missed you, but are so happy you got to spend quality time with your family.  Thank you for bringing in some photographs from your trip and sharing them with us all.  We can tell you had a wonderful time because of your enthusiasm and amazing adventures you shared!  It's great having you back!

Layla, you look beautifully tanned with your braided hair!

Reminders:

• Monday:  Character Recognition Assembly at 9:15am.  Parents are most welcome to attend to honour our Integrity recipients 
• Friday:  Artist Visit.  Permission forms and money are due.  

Quote:

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched they must be felt within the heart.”  --Helen Keller

Namaste,

Miss Gill

Dear Families,

I would like to wish you all a Happy Easter with your family and friends.  As many are aware, it is Good Friday this week (no school) and Easter Monday (no school), so students will be back to school on Tuesday.  Many students have shared with me their favourite Easter traditions that they partake in with you.  Enjoy these precious activities with your child and I look forward to hearing all about them next week!    

Groove Dancing:

On Thursday, we welcomed Ms. Libby a Groove Dance Instructor to our school to put on a dance workshop for students in K-8.  It was wonderful to see everyone engaged, expressive, and excited to partake in dancing to the beat and rhythm of their mind, body, and spirit.  Libby's message through grooving was very powerful - 
"Step outside your comfort zone, take risks, BE WHO YOU ARE, and remember to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF."  
Thank you to Ms. Bumstead for organizing this purposeful workshop, we appreciate the time and energy it took to do this.  You're a true rock-star CHARGER!!  Enjoy some of the groovin' pics ;)

Welcome Ms. Libby

Groovin' Alexander!  Strike a POSE!

JUST DANCE!  BE WHO YOU ARE!

Conrad likes to bust a move!

Daniel, Cassius, Kyran are attentive during the groove workshop.

Kaden

Groovin' Grade Ones!  Strike a pose!

Easter Gifts:
In Art, Mrs. Czerny did a lesson on making a patterned Easter egg using crayons and water colours.  The students thoroughly enjoyed this process and were so excited to create these for you!  Along with this, your child also made an Easter card and wrote you a letter :)  It is amazing to see their bright smiles as they anticipate the joy that they'll bring to your heart.  Happy EASTER from US!

Thank you to the Reynold family for the Easter gift :)  Your kindness is cherished!

Thank you Alexander and Mom for the wonderful Easter gifts for our class family!! WE HONOUR YOU!

Gift from Alexander's family :) The tea mug will come in handy, thank you!!

Miika:
On Wednesday, Miika arrived to school with a list of Finnish words to share with his peers.  I am proud of him because he thought about our language lesson from last week and made a connection to the read aloud I shared called "The Name Jar."  The boys and girls were eager to hear all about another language.  Here is a list of how to say certain English words / statements in Finnish.  Thank you Miika for stepping outside your comfort zone and opening your culture to us.

Good Morning  -->  Houmenta

Yes  -->  Joo or Kylla

Summer  -->  Kesa

Bird  -->  Lintu

Chocolate  -->  Suklaa

I like chocolate  -->  Ma Tykkaan Suklaasta

Mom  -->  Aiti

Dad  -->  Isi

Chicken  -->  Kana

Happy Easter  -->  Hyvaa Paasiaista

Character Recognition Assembly:

On Monday April 13th, we will be having an assembly to celebrate all our recipients for the Character Trait of INTEGRITY – “We can always be trusted even when NO ONE IS WATCHING!”  I have shared with my students how I feel this trait encompasses all our character traits that we have focused on thus far.  I believe if a person demonstrates integrity they also possess respect, caring, cooperation, inclusiveness, empathy, and responsibility.  I am comforted in knowing that WE at New Lowell are truly surrounded with many students who consistently model integrity in their actions.  

This month’s (April) character trait focuses on OPTIMISIM– “We believe we can DO IT.  We never give up” From very early on in our school year, I have encouraged my students to always put in their level four personal best in all their academic, social, and behavioural experiences.  I am never looking for “perfect” only your child’s best efforts.  I am delighted to share that most students do their BEST and listen to constructive feedback to improve their achievements!

International PINK Day:

April 8th is International Pink Day!  As I shared in a previous post, I have been wearing my Anti-Bullying shirt every Wed. since Feb. 25th.  Seeing students and staff supporting this cause is greatly appreciated!

Mix-Match Day:

Next Friday, we will be having a spirit day.  Students are encouraged to wear mix-matched clothing and be creative :)  I'll be sure to take a picture for you to see their creations.  Gentle reminder about house points are being collected every time we have a Spirit Day!  Thank you for participating in and encouraging Charger spirit!

Quote:

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.  It’s the LIFE IN YOUR YEARS!” 

-- Abraham Lincoln

Namaste,

Miss Gill