Learning More in Grade 3/4!
Ms. Barrington's Weekly Newsletter
Week of November 13th, 2023
The Week Ahead
Monday (Day 5):
- French
- Options/Tech Time
- Grs. 4-6 Dene Hand Games
- Survival Santa Play Rehearsal (Full Cast)
- Grs. 3-6 Choir
Tuesday (Day 1):
- Hot Lunch: Booster Juice
- Music
Wednesday (Day 2):
- Rock Your Mocs (Wear Moccasins if Possible)
- Christmas Catalogue Order Deadline
- Popcorn Orders Due
- Library (Return Books)
- Physical Education
Thursday (Day 3):
- Hot Lunch: Mitchell's
- Inclusive Music
- Physical Education
- Survival Santa Play Rehearsal (Elves, Reindeer)
Friday (Day 4):
- Popcorn Day
- Take Me Outside (Dress for the Weather)
- Leader in Me
- Music
Upcoming Events
- November 15th - Rock Your Mocs
- 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 27th - Classroom Swap & Shop (Bring 3 Items)
- 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!
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.
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/.
Remembrance Day Ceremony: Students at Christina Gordon observed Remembrance Day on November 9th first by attending a virtual Q&A with Sgt. Nate Blackmore and second by attending a whole-school Remembrance Day Ceremony in the gymnasium. While the ceremony was shared on Facebook, a number of families have let the school that they were unable to view the ceremony on Facebook. If you were unable to do so and would like to watch the Remembrance Day Ceremony, you can do so at the following link: https://fb.watch/oc_ml7nF9k/.
Rock Your Mocs: Mark your calendars! FMPSD will be observing Rock Your Mocs this upcoming Wednesday, November 15th. Students and staff are invited to rock their mocs at school if possible. Students will learn about the background and importance of this day and will ge the opportunity to create their own moccasin designs.
Angel Tree: As is tradition here at Christina Gordon Public School, our Angel Tree has
been set up again in our front atrium. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the Angel Tree is a community initiative to ensure no one wakes up Christmas morning without something special under the tree! Families can choose a tag from the tree which will have the age and gender of a
child or senior and some gift ideas. These gifts are returned, unwrapped, in a gift bag with the tag attached and will be distributed by The Salvation Army before Christmas. You can ask your child to take one from the tree and have them bring it home or you can come into the atrium and choose one yourself (please ensure you are checking in at the front office before entering the school). For the younger grades, you can email your child’s teacher and ask for one to be placed in their backpack. You may choose as many tags as you would like. All gifts must be returned to the school no later than Wednesday, November 30th, 2023. Thank you for participating and helping to instill citizenship into our students while making meaningful contributions to our community. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Saunders at krista.saunders@fmpsd.ab.ca.