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Whats happening in

Gill-Ville September 2011 Jr. Area Comp .

http://teachers.wrdsb.ca/GILLK

Teacher Website:

Mark your Calendars Grocery Store Trip

Our Class Agreements:

Fri, Sept 14th Homework Begins Mon, Sept 17th Apple Orchard Trip Tues, Sept 18th School Photo Day Wed, Sept 19th Plowing Match Trip Thurs, Sept 20th PD Day Fri, Sept 21st Little Chefs Class Mon, Sept 24th Identity Day Tues, Sept 25th
Horseback Riding Begins

Welcome Back!
We are excited to begin another fantastic year at Ryerson! We have been getting to know each other and welcoming our new students into our Gill-Ville family. There are lots of exciting things and important information coming in the next few weeks as we kick off another great year of learning. Please remember to check out our school and teacher websites over the next few weeks as they become updated with new information for this school year.

During our first week together we have developed a set of rules for our class. In order to learn and have fun, we agree it is important to: - show respect to yourself and others - keep our classroom tidy - be safe and help others - follow directions - take turns - show a good attitude

Home School Connections:

There are many ways to keep in contact with us in Gill-Ville. You can always leave messages in the planner, call my voicemail (see top of page), or send an email to this account: kim_gill@wrdsb.on.ca. We will also be using a variety of social media sites such as blogs, wikis, Twitter, Edmodo, and Flickr that parents are invited to participate in. More information will come home about Family Technology Day taking place in early October.

Your Childs Learning Team:

Classroom Teacher: Ms Gill Educational Assistants: Mrs. Vautour (all day) Mrs. Metzger (a.m.) Mrs. Schmiedendorf (p.m.) Ms. Ponce (p.m. Day 1) Phys. Ed. & Health Teacher: Mrs. Matches

Tues, Sept 25th RMi Special Lunch Wed, Sept 26th

Spirit Day: Terry Fox

Fri, Sept 28th

Upcoming Trips:
On Friday, September 14th, the students in Gill-Ville will travel to the local Zehrs Grocery Store for an orientation activity. This visit will help prepare us for our weekly grocery store shopping trips throughout the year. There is no cost to families for any of our grocery store visits. Please sign the attached consent form for both the whole group trip and for the on-going small group shopping trips.

Families can pre-order apple pies that will be made fresh, frozen, and then sent home in time for Thanksgiving weekend. Consent forms and (optional) apple orders and money are due by September 17th. There is no cost for attending this trip.

Each month our class travels to Remember Me Inc.s professional kitchen for cooking lessons. Master Chef, Dana, will teach us how to make a gourmet meal that we will later bring home to families for dinner! There is no cost to families for this outing or for the meals we bring home! Beginning on September 24th, we will travel by staff vehicle, which is covered by our on-going consent form. On Tuesday, September 18th we will travel by staff vehicle to Home Orchard Farm to pick apples. These apples will be used in cooking classes over the following weeks to make pies, breads, muffins, and applesauce.

Beginning on Tuesday, September 25th we will begin our weekly horseback-riding program. Each week, for 8 weeks, we will travel in staff vehicles to Pride Stables in Kitchener for riding lessons. This is an amazing program that the children absolutely love. They learn physical and social skills through the duration of the program. Remember to wear warm clothes, and long, nonslippery pants as well as running shoes on horseback riding days. Please sign and return all of the necessary forms by September 19th. The medical and registration form needs to be filled out and signed by a parent. The liability form needs to be initialed in the highlighted spots and signed before returning. The overall cost to families for these excursions is $20. Please call or write a note if you have any questions regarding this program.

What We Are Learning:

The 8 Keys to Success Ryersons character education program will centre around the 8 keys to success. The students in our class are currently learning about each key before the entire school begins their monthly focus in October. Ask you child to explain the meaning or message of each key! Speak with Good Purpose Integrity This is It Ownership Failure Leads to Success Commitment Flexibility Balance

Library & Book Orders:

Our library exchange day will take place on various days this year. We will always write a note in the planner indicating book exchange days. Please help your child to remember to return their book on or before the due date. Typically students can have a book for two weeks. Students are encouraged to have at least one book for home reading and another one for use at school. Students may have up to four books signed out at once.

Scholastic book orders come home each month. Return order forms, completed, with money (exact change or cheque) by the date stamped on the back of the orders.

Students need to come to school prepared to participate with loose, comfortable clothing and proper footwear. Change rooms are available for students to use. It is expected that the children conduct themselves in a safe manner, participate to the best of their ability, and demonstrate good sportsmanship. Gym days in our class occur on Days 2 and 4, with QDPA occurring on other days.

Homework Program:
Beginning the week of September 17th, students will bring home homework folders each MONDAY. The enclosed work is to be completed and returned to school each FRIDAY. Stay tuned for more specific information coming home soon!

Student belongings:
Students have 2 hooks and a bin to place personal items while at school. Toys and personal items need to be stored in backpacks during class time and are the responsibility of the owner. If students have something interesting to share, its possible to find time to show the class, otherwise, please leave important items at home where they are the safest!

Technology Talk:
We will be using a large variety of technology tools for learning this year. We share a great deal of projects and assignments in online spaces and we encourage families to get involved also. We will be hosting a Family Technology Day on Wednesday, October 3rd. Parents are invited to attend either a day or evening session to learn more about the websites and technology we will be using. At this session, we will provide snacks made by our students during cooking class and families will have a chance to try out some of tools. More information will be coming home soon about this event. Here are a list of websites that we will be using and exploring this month. Class website: http://teachers.wrdsb.ca/GILLK Class blog site: http://blogs.wrdsb.ca/gillk Student blog site: http://kidblog.org/gill-villeans Edmodo site: http://www.edmodo.com Global Read Aloud Project:
http://globalreadaloud.wikispaces.com

Nutrition for Learning:

Students are encouraged to drink plenty of water while at school. Water bottles should be accessible at students desks. Bottles must contain water only and have a lid that doesnt leak! Students need nutritious and healthy lunches and snacks to fuel their brains for learning. Please send items in reusable containers to help reduce the amount of garbage at school! We have 2 nutrition breaks for eating each day.

Behaviour - Baseball:
Students choosing not to follow our classroom agreements will be given a strike on a classroom baseball game. When students receive 3 strikes in one day, the game card comes home for parents to sign and return, indicating your awareness of these behaviours.

Gill the Goldfish Mascot Wiki: http://gillthegoldfishgoesglobal. wikispaces.com/ Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gillvilleans/