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Whats happening in

Gill-Ville Jr. Area Comp . October 2012

http://teachers.wrdsb.ca/GILLK

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Mark your Calendars

Horseback Riding Tuesday Oct. 2nd, 9th, Ryerson P.S. will be using 16th, 23rd, and 30th Family Technology Day in Gill-Ville Wednesday, Oct. 3rd 12:00 or 6:00 Pita Pit Lunch Days Wednesdays, Oct. 3rd, 17th, & 31st Preordered Pies Come Home Friday, Oct. 5th
Thanksgiving Holiday
the 8 Keys of Excellence character education program again this year. We have been learning about the keys in class. Please review the keys with your child at home. The key for the month of October is Speak with Good Purpose. Visit the school website to learn more about the 8 keys: http://bit.ly/qFEozv

Character Education:

Horseback Riding Reminders:

Remember that students go riding every Tuesday during the month of October. It is very important that everyone wear proper footwear and long, non-slip pants on riding days.

Upcoming Holidays:
Remember that there is no school on Monday, October 8th due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be celebrating Halloween at school with a costume party and school spirit day activities on Wednesday, October 31st. Donations of healthy treats are welcomed for our party. We would like to use the Balance key and save sweets for trick or treating! We challenge you to find nutritious snacks that are orange, green or black!

Monday, Oct. 8th RMi Lunch Days Wed, Oct. 10th & 24th Dyments Farm Trip
Thursday, October 25
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Homework:
Homework always comes home at the beginning of the week in the homework folder. Remember to read every night for 10 minutes for daily practice. Return the book and other work in the folder at the end of the week, each Friday. Please let us know if you need help with homework.

Little Chefs Monday, Oct. 29th School Spirit Day: Orange & Black Day & Halloween Party Wednesday, Oct. 31st

Family Technology Day in Gill-Ville:

On Wednesday, October 3rd parents are invited to join us at school during one of 2 show and share sessions occurring that day. During your time, parents will have a chance to learn about some of the technology and web tools we will be using at school such as blogs, flickr, twitter, and more! You will enjoy a treat made especially for you by the students in our room during a baking lesson. This will also be the time to discuss and sign your childs IEP (Individual Education Plan) for this school year. Each session will last a little more than an hour. We understand the busy schedules of families so we are offering an early afternoon session at noon, and an evening session at 6:00. Please write a note in the planner indicating your preferred time to join us that day. If you are unable to attend either of these sessions, please let us know so that we can make alternative arrangements to meet. We look forward to spending time learning and exploring technology with you!

About Our Learning:

Global Read Aloud Project 2011 (follow the discussion on twitter using the hashtag #glread12) We have joined students world wide in reading the story The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Over the course of 5 weeks, we will read and respond to the story and share our ideas (and work) with other schools. We have contributed work samples to the Global Read Aloud Wikispace website and I will also be blogging on both our class blogs site and the Global Read Aloud Blog site. During this project we will attempt to skype and conduct online book chats with classes across Canada, in the United States, the UK, and New Zealand! We will be using a variety of web tools to communicate our thoughts and learning. Our work will be posted in one of our online workspaces! Check out the links below.
http://globalreadaloud.wikispaces.com http://globalreadaloud.blogspot.com http://kidblog.org/Gill-Villeans http://blogs.wrdsb.ca/gillk

Our class is involved in a 50-day challenge, along with children in schools around the world to be more active and healthy. During the challenge students are wear pedometers to record their steps and physical activity each day. We enter our data into the event website and compete against students worldwide. With our step entries, we also get to virtually travel around the world as we walk, jump, run, and hop from destination to destination. You can get involved at home as well. Take this time to extend that challenge at home as well. Get out for a lovely walk with your family to enjoy the changing autumn leaves, join a sports team, create your own fitness challenge, or simply commit to a more active lifestyle. Help your child to become more active and begin physical fitness habits that will help them develop into healthy, fit adults. Check out the website for more information: http://gccjunior.org/

Terry Fox Run:

On Friday, September 28th, the students of Ryerson participated in a Terry Fox school spirit day. Students donated a loonie or toonie towards this great cause. During activity centres, students did a mini marathon of hope, watched a Terry Fox video, and did various activities related to the memory and commitment of Terry Fox and his legacy.

Individual Education Plans:

IEPs are currently being developed for your child for this school year. The information you shared on your childs homework and learning survey will be used in the creation of the IEP, as well as any additional information shared during Family Technology Day. It is very important for parents to meet briefly to discuss your childs IEP. Please call to make alternative arrangements to meet if you are unable to come out to Family Technology Day. IEPs will be completed, ready for parents to view, and sent home on Friday, October 12th. You need to sign the schools copy and return it to school on Monday, October 15th.

Trip Talk:
Apple Orchard: We enjoyed learning about apple tree life cycles and the effect of climate change on our apple crops during our trip to Orchard Home Farm. We will use the apples we purchased to bake our pies that were ordered for Thanksgiving. We have apples left for baking treats for Family Technology Day and for classroom snacks as well.

Dyments Farm Pumpkin Patch Trip:

On Thursday, October 25th, we will travel by bus to Dyments Farm near Dundas, Ontario. We will be joining our new Kindergarten learning buddies and being leaders for their groups. During our time here we will enjoy a hayride, learn about farm life, and pick pumpkins to bring back to school for some of our Fall and Halloween activities. Remember to send lunch items that do not require heating that day and dress appropriately for the weather, as well be outside for most of the day.

Little Chefs: We really enjoyed making antijitos during our first Little Chefs cooking class at the kitchens of Remember Me Inc. We hope you enjoyed the appetizers for dinner that evening. Students did a fabulous job of following the safety rules for food handling during our lesson.

Kenyan Connection:
We are reconnecting with St. Lawrence Orphange School in Kenya this year and sharing a blog site. We have begun writing to each other at the following blog site. Check out our posts!

Grocery Store: We learned lots about the grocery store during our scavenger hunt trip to Zehrs. We discussed sale prices, cart safety, and choosing the best deals. We are now beginning our regular small group visits to purchase snack food and ingredients for recipes made during cooking classes at school.

http://schools.runforlife.ca/ stlawrence
Our friends also sent us some amazing crafts from Kenya with the goal for us to raise funds for their orphanage. Stay tuned for more information as our class decides and make plans for our fundraising format. More details will be coming home in the next few weeks!