Learning More in Grade 3/4!
Ms. Barrington's Weekly Newsletter
Week of November 6th, 2023
The Week Ahead
Monday (Day 1):
- Music
- Grs. 4-6 Dene Hand Games
- Grs. 3-6 Choir
Tuesday (Day 2):
- Hot Lunch: Milanos
- Library (Bring Library Books)
- Alien Inline (Bring Helmets)
- Survival Santa Auditions: Santa, Rudolph, Reindeer
Wednesday (Day 3):
- Inclusive Music
- Survival Santa Auditions: Elves
Thursday (Day 4):
- Hot Lunch: Subway
- Take Me Outside (Dress for the Weather)
- Leader in Me
- Music
- Remembrance Day Assembly
- Survival Santa Auditions: Game Show Host/Contestants
Friday (No School):
- Day in Lieu for Remembrance Day
Upcoming Events
- November 7th - Alien Inline Skating
- November 9th - Remembrance Day Assembly
- November 10th - No School (Day in Lieu of Remembrance Day)
- November 15th - Popcorn Orders Due
- November 17th - Popcorn Day
- November 18th - AAC Mini Camp
- November 20th - December Hot Lunch Ordering Closes
- November 22nd - Virtual Parent Council Meeting (6:30 pm)
- November 23rd - APEGA Family Science Night (6:00-8:00 pm)
- November 24th - No School (Staff PLF #5)
- November 29th - Board of Trustees Spotlight on Students
- November 30th - Term 1 Report Cards Available
- December 1st - January Hot Lunch Ordering Opens
Notes From the Office
CGSF Popcorn Days: We are gearing up for another successful fundraising year with Popcorn Fri-yays. Popcorn is $2.00, and we aim to have popcorn delivered to classrooms before 10:30 am on Friday. Last year popcorn days provided approximately $7 000 to our Fundraising Association. As our student population continues to grow, we know the support is needed more now than ever. We are working with our Hot Lunch ordering platform to hopefully have popcorn orders streamlined through that, for families who wish to do so. If you have any questions: please email Barb (cgsfundraising@gmail.com).
Hot Lunches: Ordering will be open from the 1st to the 20th of each month to order for the following month. Please note that there is no hot lunch ordering for ECDP or Kindergarten students. To open your 2023/24 hot lunch account (the system does not retain information from the previous year), follow the detailed instructions provided in the attached graphic (Digital Take Home Folder). When you log in, you may notice a new button to volunteer for hot lunch. Please consider volunteering to help sort and organize hot lunches from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. If you have any questions you can contact our hot lunch team at: cgshotlunch@outlook.com.
Green Scene: The Green Scene Newsletter aims to highlight, celebrate, and share with the entire FMPSD community examples of all of the wonderful green initiatives that students and families are undertaking both at school and at home. Each newsletter will include a "Green at School" and "Green at Home" feature. We are currently looking for submissions for both! We want to hear and see more about all of your recycling, gardening, composting, outdoor adventures, etc. Students, families, and teachers who are interested in being featured in the Fall 2023 Newsletter, please share your submission (photos, a small description, etc.) with Ashley Barrington at ashley.barrington@fmpsd.ab.ca. We cannot wait to see what everyone has been up to!
Dressing for the Weather: We've all heard the saying, "There is no bad weather, just poor clothing!" As winter sets in, here are some tips and tricks on how to dress for school regardless of the weather, so that students are still getting lots of opportunities to get out and play! In the winter, use lots of layers:
- Base layer: closest to your skin, fits snuggly and helps wick moisture away. Look for wool or polyester fabrics.
- Mid layer: the insulating layer that keeps you warm. Stick to wool or fleece.
- Outer layer: protects you from the elements like wind, rain, and snow. This layer should be waterproof with enough room for layers underneath.
Struggling to find winter clothing? Please let us know. The school has the ability to arrange for clothing donations for any family in need. See the attached document (Take Me Outside Folder) for more information on dressing for the weather.
Mini AAC Camp: The Christina Gordon Inclusion Advisory Committee is pleased to announce that they will be hosting their 1st ever Mini AAC Camp for families of Christina Gordon and Dr. Clark Public Schools under the direction of Speech and Language Pathologists from both schools. AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) includes all forms of communication (other than speech by mouth) that are used to express thoughts, needs, wants, and ideas. In the classroom, students might use a laminated paper with symbols (called a core board because it has the core words students may need most often) or use an iPad with a specific program to help them communicate/talk. You may have seen students and EAs with a ring of laminated symbols and this is also AAC! The camp will take place at Christina Gordon Public School on Saturday, November 18th from 9:30 am-12:00 pm. We are offering families the opportunity to understand AAC more and to learn how to use the technology more easily. Our hope is that families will feel more comfortable using this technology and to know better how it works so that students and families can get the most out of it. To register for the camp, just follow the link and fill in the form. Please note that registration is limited to Christina Gordon and Dr. Clarke families first and will be capped at 20 families, in order to be able to support families during the camp. Registration is FREE and families will also be provided access to helpful video links, as well as some learning through FMPSD before the date of the camp.
Link to register: https://forms.gle/pw1zSFqVPVqYxrgv7
We hope to be able to help many families in their communication journey with their student.
Scholastic Book Club: November/December Scholastic Book Flyers will be going home this week. Ready... set... glow! This is the holiday flyer and aims to put can't-miss books at can't-miss prices into students' hands to help them discover the pure joy of reading. Every time families place an order, they earn rewards for their student's classroom that can be redeemed for books to help build a classroom library as well as other essential resources. Ordering deadline for November/December will be Monday, November 27th.
CG News (October): Our school newsletter for October has been released. Translations in Arabic and Urdu are available. You can also view the CG News online at: https://christinagordon.fmpsdschools.ca/about/school-newsletters.
Swap & Shop: Students in Grade 3/4 B having been learning about biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste and are beginning to explore ways that students can manage and reduce waste. November 24th is Buy Nothing Day - a day to reduce waste by doing... nothing! Our class will recognize Buy Nothing Day with a class Swap & Shop on November 27th. Students are invited to bring clean, gently used items that they do not want or use any more to our Swap & Shop. Items could include clothes, toys, games, books, etc. If possible, students should bring in 3 items and swap for something new to them. By bringing in 3 items, students will have a wider variety of options and families that are unable to donate items will still be able to participate; there will be enough for everyone. Remaining items will be donated to the Centre of Hope or a similar organization on behalf of our class. To learn more about Buy Nothing Day, visit: http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/.