Learning More in Grade 3/4!
Ms. Barrington's Weekly Newsletter
Week of October 16th, 2023
The Week Ahead
Monday (Day 4):
- Take Me Outside (Dress for the Weather)
- Leader in Me (Assembly)
- Music
- Choir
Tuesday (Day 5):
- Hot Lunch: Booster Juice
- Art
- Library (Bring Book Bags)
- Grade 4 Options
Wednesday (Day 1):
- Take Me Outside Day (Dress for the Weather)
- Inclusive Phys. Ed.
- Music
Thursday (Day 2):
- Hot Lunch: Mitchell's
- Phys. Ed.
- Running Club
Friday (No School):
- Staff PLF #3
Upcoming Events
- October 16th - Habit #1 Leader in Me Assembly
- October 17th - Parent Council Meeting (6:30 pm)
- October 18th - Take Me Outside Day
- October 20th - October Hot Lunch Orders Due
- October 20th - No School (Staff PLF #3)
- October 23rd - Lifetouch Pictures Retakes
- October 23-24th - IPP Meetings (See Schedule)
- October 25-26th (Student-Led/Three Way Conferences)
- October 27th - No School (ATA Institute Day)
- October 28th - Inclusion Fair (11:00 am-1:00 pm)
- October 30-November 13th - Alien Inline Skating Residency
- November 1st - December Hot Lunch Ordering Opens
- November 3rd - No School (Staff PLF #4)
- November 9th - Remembrance Day Assembly
- November 10th - No School (Day in Lieu of Remembrance Day)
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.
Inclusion Fair: The Inclusion Advisory Committee will be hosting their annual Inclusion Fair on Saturday, October 28th from 11:00-1:00 pm. Come learn all about the services that RMWB has to offer! See the attached poster (Digital Take Home Folder) for more information.
School Council: The next School Council Meeting will be October 17th at 6:30 pm. They are still looking to fill several positions and would also like to add to their Members at Large. Please reach out to Mr. Thorne (richard.thorne@fmpsd.ab.ca) if you are interested in filling any of these positions.
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!
Student Led Conferences: It is the preference at Christina Gordon Public School that students accompany parents to conferences, making them a Three Way Conference or Student Led Conference. We believe that there are benefits to both the parents and students sitting down to discuss a student's learning and progress together, which is why we have conferences involving all parents, students, and teachers, instead of a more traditional Parent-Teacher Interview. Please plan for your student to attend their scheduled conference. Our classroom will be conducting Student Led Conferences. Conferences are scheduled to occur in-person on October 25th and 26th. To book a Student Led Conference appointment, please go to the Christina Gordon Public School website or use the following LINK. As our classroom will be utilizing a Student Led Conference model, students are encouraged to come into the classroom before or to remain in the classroom after their scheduled appointment with the teacher. During this time, students will be sharing their learning with you by leading you through a variety of centres/stations including: Soft Start, Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies. These centres/stations will allow families to gain first-hand knowledge of some of our classroom routines and activities. It allows your student to take ownership of their work and to share their classroom experiences with you. I understand that families may have other appointments they need to attend throughout the night (ie. siblings, etc.). Families are welcome to leave and return to the classroom as needed. You will visit the Meet the Teacher station at your appointed time. Please be mindful that these appointments are only 10 minutes in length. There is no grace period between appointments. As such, these appointments are meant to be brief, quick conversation to update you on your student's progress. You will gain more insight into your student's progress from your student, by completing the centres/stations with them. After our Student Led Conference, if you still feel that you require a longer meeting with me, a reminder that families are always able to schedule to meet with me at any time throughout the year and that I would be happy to find time to do so. Families do not need to wait for future Student Led Conferences or Report Cards to address any questions or concerns you may have.
Seesaw: A reminder that our classroom Seesaw accounts are now active and are being updated a few times each week for every student. It is important that families check Seesaw several times throughout the week, especially with Student Led Conferences approaching. Your student or I will post to Seesaw to share their learning with you. I will also send you messages and reminders. Seesaw is private. You’ll only see posts created by your child or the classroom teacher. Families should thoroughly review students' shared work before attending Student Led Conferences, to gain a better understanding of your student's progress. If you have not already done so, families can connect to their student's account by following the steps below:
- In a web browser, go to: https://app.seesaw.me/s/594-588-368.
- Choose your child from the list.
- Create your account.
- Once you’re approved by Ashley Barrington, you’ll get access to Seesaw.
Families that were connected to Seesaw last year, may not need to do so again. If you’ve used Seesaw before or have more than one child using Seesaw, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your account in the Seesaw app or on the web at: https://app.seesaw.me/s/594-588-368.
- Click on your profile icon, click “+Add Child’s Journal” button.
Special Days Magnets/Buttons: The Inclusion Advisory Committee has Special Days magnetic calendars for sale! They have all the division dates on them as well as some special days that the Inclusion Advisory Committee would like to acknowledge. They are $5 each and can be purchased through Mrs. Power. The Inclusion Advisory Committee also has a limited supply of packages containing 7 buttons and 5 ribbons that can be worn on these special occasions. The button and ribbon packages are $10 each and can be purchased by sending and email to karla.power@fmpsd.ab.ca to pre-order.