We Need to Talk - last issue

Here you find the last in the series of newletters provided by the WECDSB about safe technology use.  As promised, our students will be involved in "workshops" during Education Week to further their knowledge about internet safety.  Stay tuned and initiate discussions with them about this topic.  Never hesitate to have all of their passwords and check their activity on line via any device.

Click here for Newsletter #4

VIP - Community Service

This is a friendly reminder that each student must have ten hours of community service completed in order to graduate from our Values, Influences, and Peers Program (VIP).  Their completed form and at least one photo is due May 30.  Photos may be submitted via a jump drive, paper form, or electronically to my "mytools2go" account.  Your child already knows how to access this, as they "share" all of their electronic work with me there.  Children that grow up in an atmosphere that trains them to "give back" and look for opportunities to help others without reward, will become the citizens of tomorrow that we all want to live and work with.  This effort also corresponds to our Social Justice unit in Religion.

We Need to Talk

I am rather tardy in providing you with the link to the third newsletter provided by the WECDSB, and I apologize for that (must have been the short week last week).  Please read the attached newsletter and I will provide the link for the forth in the series when it is available.

Please do not think that our elementary students are not likely to participate in the activity that is described in this third newsletter, because it has happened, and has been dealt with already, at our own school.  The use of technology is often unsupervised and many parents "trust" their children to make moral decisions, but in reality they are not mature enough to handle that responsibility.  The poor decisions that are made now have the potential to ruin many opportunities in the future, since nothing that is posted in any form on the internet can ever be fully erased.

Click here for the third newsletter.

Field Trip to Villanova

On Friday morning our class and others from our school travelled to Villanova High School to view the dramatic presentation of "Pinnochio Jr."  Our very own Lindsay was part of the cast.  In our opinion, she out performed the rest!  Way to go!  Upon our return, the students critiqued the play, for evaluation.  Check out the photos!

The view from the back of the bus!

Seated in the theatre.

Waiting for the show to begin!

Lindsay is on stage!

Here too!

Good News!

 Congratulations to this week's Good News ticket winner:  Bromleigh .  Keep up the good work!

We hope to see you at the Spring Craft, Bake, and Book sale at the school (in the gym), tomorrow from 10am - 4pm!  Help to raise funds for classroom libraries!

Since Friday was the last day to bring in items for our Mexican raffle basket, I thought you might like to see what it looked like before and after wrapping.  Great job class!  We brought in      many items!  Each student that contributed anything to our basket earned a Good News ticket for our draw, and a raffle ticket for the big day!

Literacy, Literacy, Literacy!

We have wrapped up the latest round of literacy centres associated with this unit of work.  Many students did not complete their work on time, so are now using recess to do so.  The focus reading strategy this time around has been summarizing, so the students have been working on summarizing both fiction and non-fiction texts (since there is a difference!).  For practice, have them summarize their nightly reading!

The Literature Circle duo tangs finally went home on Thursday for parent signatures since the final presentations were completed then.  Parents - please sign in two spots - there are two rubrics.  Also, please review all of the pages and my feedback with your child.  They will be able to use this to assist with improving the quality for the next session which will be in May.                                                          

St. Gabriel Beautification Project 2014

Have you heard the news?  Did you read the yellow note that went home recently?  Are you able to volunteer some time on Thursday afternoons?  St. Gabriel School is a beehive of activity.  It all began on Tuesday with yard cleanup......

... and will continue with landscaping, grass seed, etc.  We hope to see you get involved in any way you can!
Please note that gym rubrics were sent home on Wednesday for parent's signature.  Please send them back ASAP.

Happy Anniversary Blog!

Happy Anniversary Blog!  Although this web site has been in existence since September 2011, I did not start my blog until April 23, 2012.  Simultaneously, I linked my site with Google Analytics, which tracks activity on my site.  I am proud to reveal that in two years, I have had hits on my site from 59 countries around the world.  These countries represent every continent except Antarctica.  This data can be further broken down to disclose that people in 428 different cities around the world have viewed my blog - there have been 15 588 page views!  The world certainly has become a much smaller place thanks to the world wide web!

Deskercise and Group Book Talks

On Wednesday the Holy Names High School students in the Leadership program led us in a session of deskercise.  We had fun - and so did they!

Even though we had a few students absent on Thursday, group book talk presentations went on a scheduled.  Those students who missed this will have to present their parts in the near future, in order to earn the remaining marks.  Here are photos of the event.

Group Book Talks and Drama

Did you know that your child has received a script and has decided on a part in our first production?  They have been asked to memorize their lines by April 25 so that they can rehearse with the rest of their cast.  They have also been asked to consider props and costumes that can be used to enhance their dramatic presentation.  Ask them about it.


The group book talks were presented on Thursday April 17.  Please look for your child's Literature Circle duo tang to come home on Tuesday April 22 for parental perusal and signature.  The last page contains two rubrics that displays your child's reading marks and oral presentation mark.  Please sign on the lines indicated and return promptly.  Thank you!

Happy Easter!

                                          

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my students, their families, and all loyal blog followers a very Happy Easter!  Enjoy time with family, friends, and God!

                

Good News

 Congratulations to this week's Good News ticket draw winner: Evan S.  (He has only been with us since February, but he sure wins often!)  Keep up the great work!

 Tuesday April 22 is Earth Day.  In conjunction with this day, our school is embarking on a yard clean up and landscaping initiative to improve the visual appeal of our building and yard.  Therefore, we will be going outside on Tuesday, after gym class, to clean up the track area.  Please dress appropriately, and if you have some gardening gloves that you would like to use, please bring them!

Our Own Fitness Circuits

This week each group presented the fitness circuit that they created to the class, then we were able to try them all out.  Afterwards, we gave constructive feedback to our peers in the form of a star and a wish.  Next week our participation and effort will be evaluated, then the rubric will be sent home for a parent's signature.  Check out the photos!
Planning and preparation phase:

Exploration and fun!