The land on which we gather is traditional unceded Omamiwininiwag (Algonquin) and Anishinabewaki territory, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. Today, this place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to gather on this land.
Principal's Message
Parent – Teacher interviews are taking place this month, and we would like every parent to attend the interview in person for each of your children. The first report card of the year is a very important one; so parents/guardians and teachers can meet to see how we can work together to help your child succeed! A sign-up will be provided by your child’s homeroom teacher in the next couple of weeks. The interviews will take place in the evening on November 27th and the morning on November 28th.
Our year is off to a fabulous start! Our teachers have been offering numerous extra-curricular activities for our students. When a new club or team is offered, we announce it in the mornings for students to join. Please encourage your child to listen to the announcements, and to become involved in an activity. Thanks so much to our teachers for offering these activities during their spare time!
The weather is very different from day to day; so please be sure to check the weather daily to ensure your child has appropriate clothing.
Wishing everyone a fabulous month!
CHANGE OF CLOTHES
All children can benefit from having a change of clothes at school. Accidents such as; food spills, wet slides, falls into puddles, etc. can happen to anyone.
We have limited items with limited sizes here at school, and it is no fun to sit in wet or soiled clothes all day.
Please send a change of clothes with your child to be kept at school or in their backpack incase of such a situation.
Events at School
MONTREAL TRIP
The grade six students will be visiting Montreal for an overnight trip from November 4th to 5th. They will spend time at the Montreal Science Centre, have a scavenger hunt in Old Montreal, then spend the night in St. Jerome. There is a pool with a waterslide at the hotel. There will be a Subway lunch on the first day, dinner at Saveurs Des Continents, and breakfast at the hotel.
This trip is a great educational experience as well as an opportunity to be away from home with friends, see new things, and celebrate the start of Grade 6!
POPCORN FUNDRAISER
Grade 6 students are selling Popcorn to raise money for their field trips and graduation. Popcorn days are as follows;
- November 13
- November 20
- November 27
- December 4
BAKE SALE
During the parent Teacher interviews the grade 6 students will have baked goods available for purchase.
TOUCH FOOTBALL
Students from grades 5 & 6 who were selected for the football team will be going to Lord Aylmer Elementary to compete in a Touch Football tournament on November 3rd. We wish them luck!
Thanks to Mr. M and M. Lemaire for coaching our teams.
REMEMBRANCE DAY
On November 11th, Greater Gatineau School will have our Remembrance Day Ceremony to remember all those who have fought and died while serving our country. The ceremony will be held at 10:30 AM. Parents from the armed forces, police, RCMP, etc. are welcome to attend. Please email Mr. Birch at mbirch@wqsb.qc.ca if you want to attend. We are still required to limit numbers, so other parents are unfortunately unable to attend. Members from the Norris branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will be in attendance as well.
Students and staff are encouraged to wear RED on November 11th for Remembrance Day. Lest we forget.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
Get your smiles ready for school photo day!
We will have our photo day on November 13th.
ROCK YOUR MOCS DAY AT GREATER GATINEAU
To celebrate Rock your Mocs week, we invite you to wear moccasins or slippers to school on November 14th. Through this event, we honor our Indigenous peoples around the world.
REPORT CARDS
PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Monday, November 24th, where we will celebrate the students who have shown the chosen virtue throughout the month.
- 10:05 – Grade 3+4
- 10:55 – Grade 5+6
- 12:35 – Kindergarten and Grade 1+2
Please remember to wear your Greater Gatineau shirt to all of our monthly assemblies. This creates a sense of community at school.
November is INCLUSION month. We hope to see students making an effort to include others who are left out.
PEACE LEARNING CIRCLES AT HOME
How well does your child know their information about home or how well do parents know information about their child’s school?
Parents/guardians can sit on the floor in a circle and pass the ball to one another and asks them the following questions:
- Who is your/my teacher?
- Who is your/my French teacher?
- Who is your/my Gym Teacher? What is the name of your/my bus driver?
- What is your/my bus number?
- What is your address?
- What is your phone number?
These are just a few very important pieces of information that parents and children should know about their home and school.
We have noticed that this information is not known by some parents and students and thought it would be a good exercise for everyone to learn this information.
Lunch Programs
MAZZOLA HOT LUNCHES
We will continue to offer our hot meal program from Mazzola during the month of November. You can order a meal for Mondays and Fridays. Click the link to order.
Please remember to send reusable cutlery for your child on days they have ordered a meal.
SUBWAY LUNCH
The new Subway Lunch Session starts on November 12th and runs until December 17th.
Please remember to send your child a full lunch on November 5th as the first session ended on October 29th.
SPECIAL STUDENT LUNCH – Provided thanks to our “President’s Choice” grant
This month our special meal for students will be a Brunch Meal provided free to all students on the following days.
- November 18th: Kindergarten, Grade 3 and 5
- November 20th: Grade 1 + 1/2, and Grade 6
- November 21st: Grade 2 and Grade 4
Home & School
Thank you to everyone who attended our Spooky Soirée Dance. It was a great success!
Reminder to all that parents are REQUIRED to stay for all H&S hosted events. For safety reasons we do not have the ability to supervise your children, we have limited volunteers. At our events we have coffee and tea for sale at our snack bar for parents.
Our next event will be a Movie Night on Friday, November 21st. Stay tuned for more details.
For our next fundraiser we are partnering with North Hatley – Maple Products, this fundraiser will run from October 29th until November 16th. Details on the fundraiser and how to order were sent home with students.
We are always looking for new members to join us, please contact us via email or through our Facebook page.
We are now on Instagram! Please follow us to get up to date info on our fundraisers and events.
What type of events or fundraisers would you like to see this year? If you have any ideas, please send us an email.
The next Home & School meeting will be on Monday, November 17th at 6:00pm. Please reach out to us via email if you would like to attend.
Daycare
There are four PD days this month. November 6th, 7th, and 10th are open to all Greater Gatineau School students who registered before the deadline of October 24th.
The final PD day is on November 28th with a registration deadline on the 21st. Make sure to register your children before the deadline if they would like to attend.
Please sign up for @ggdaycare2 on the Remind app to get the notifications regarding PD days.
Should you have any questions about our program or to register for the PD days please do not hesitate to contact Jennifer by phone at (819) 663-4842 ext. 3 or e-mail jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
Special Notes
TIME CHANGE
When does daylight saving time end in 2025? Daylight saving time ends for the year on Sunday, November 2, at 2 a.m. local time. This year’s daylight saving time ends a day earlier than last year and falls on the second-earliest possible date for the time change.
Please remember to turn your clocks back one hour on November 2nd.
TERRY FOX FUNDRAISER
Thank you to all who donated to the Terry Fox Fundraiser. We raised $5591.10 for cancer research.
Because we surpassed our fundraising goal we got to see Mr. Fleming and Mrs. Link have a pie in their faces! Our neighbourhood police officer also got a pie in her face delivered by our costumed runners Mr. Keck, Mr. Everson, and Mr. McClelland.
See the video on our Instagram Page.
FOOD DRIVE FOR CHRISTMAS
We will be collecting canned food, pickles, pasta, rice, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and any other non-perishable items from Monday, November 24th to Wednesday, December 10th.
Please give generously so we will have enough items to help out some families in our school.
Please make sure that you check the expiration dates on the items.
If your family is in need of a food basket, please email Mrs. Link at vlink@wqsb.qc.ca.
ANGEL TREE
This program helps our less fortunate families at Greater Gatineau make the Christmas season a little brighter.
Starting November 24th you can receive an angel tag which would have “boy” or “girl” marked on it with their age. You would purchase an age appropriate gift valued at approximately $25.00. You wrap the gift and send it back to the school with the angel tag taped onto the gift so we can make sure it gets to the right person.
If you are interested in an Angel Tag, you can email Amanda at awells@wqsb.qc.ca and we will be happy to send one home with your child or you can stop by the main office to pick one up from Amanda.
We will record your name to help us keep track of who has the Angel Tags and ensure that all children receive a gift.
Please make sure that all gifts are returned to school no later than Wednesday, December 10th, so they can be organized for distribution.
Christmas is for children and we hope you can help us put as many smiles as we can on the faces of Greater Gatineau students.
LOST AND FOUND
We have many items in our lost and found here at school. Please remind your children to check for any lost items.
It is also very helpful if you label your children’s items. The first thing we do is check for names in the items so that we can reunite them with the appropriate person.
Please stop by the Lost and Found during Parent/Teacher Interviews. It is located near the main washrooms on the bottom floor of the school close to the gym.
LICE CHECKS
We ask that parents check their child’s head at least once a week or more if their child has had a case of lice. If you discover lice, please call the school so that we can follow appropriate procedures.
Also a reminder to the children to put their hat in their backpack or the sleeve of their jacket to help stop the spread here at school.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Cultural Traditions/Observances/Holidays
Hindu Heritage Month
A time to recognize and celebrate the culture, traditions, and contributions of Hindu Canadians to the country’s diverse heritage.
Lebanese Heritage Month
A month dedicated to honouring the rich history, culture, and achievements of Lebanese Canadians and their impact on Canadian society.
November 2nd – Dia de los Muertos
Día de los Muertos, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, is a Mexican holiday that honors deceased loved ones with vibrant altars and festivities.
November 5th to 11th – Veterans’ Week
A week to remember and pay tribute to all who have served and continue to serve Canada in times of war, conflict, and peace.
November 8th – Indigenous Veteran’s Day
A day to honour and acknowledge the military service and sacrifices of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit veterans across Canada.
November 11th – Remembrance Day
Honors the sacrifices of armed forces members who have served in wartime, commemorating the end of World War I and promoting reflection on the impact of war and support for veterans.
November 14th – World Diabetes Day
Is a global awareness campaign focused on diabetes prevention, management, and care.
November 15th – Rock Your Mocs (Wear Mocs or slippers on Friday, November 14th)
Rock Your Mocs provides a wonderful opportunity to unite in celebrating Indigenous individuality by wearing moccasins. Through this event, we honor our Indigenous peoples around the world.
November 20th – National Child Day (Wear Blue)
This day promotes and recognizes children’s rights. It commemorates the adoption of key UN declarations, raising awareness about the importance of protecting and supporting children’s well-being.
November 20th – Transgender Day of Remembrance
Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience, an annual international observance. This day honors the memory of trans individuals who have lost their lives due to transphobic violence.