Principal's Message
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who take time out of their busy lives to volunteer for the school. It is truly appreciated by students and staff alike and we are very grateful.
We would like to welcome Michelle Comple, our new secretary in charge of finance and report cards. She is replacing Tammy Way in her position; Katharine remains as our secretary in charge of attendance and communication with parents. Please remember it is Administrative Professionals Day (Secretaries Day); on April 28th
Public Health protocols have increased, due to the rise of Covid cases in the region. If a child is sick, they MUST stay home, and you must call Public Health to follow their instructions. Siblings must stay at home as well, as per Public Health guidelines. If Public Health recommends for any member of your family to be tested, then the family must stay home and quarantine.
These regulations make it difficult for families; including families of staff members – who are required to follow the same directives. Please do not get upset with the school if we have to call for your child/ren to be picked up; and please pick them up promptly. If we all follow the safety guidelines, then we can help reduce the spread of Covid.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
If you have not registered for kindergarten next year, or if you know anyone who has a child turning five before September 30th please make arrangements to register by emailing our secretary Michelle at mcomple@wqsb.qc.ca or calling (819)663-4842 extension 2.
REMIND APP
It is important for all families to sign up for our communication tool. Please see the instructions at the end of the newsletter or click the link here.
SCHOOL FEES
We will be collecting school fees this month, and more information about times and payment method will be sent in the next couple of weeks.
Events at School
CODING MONTH
April is Coding Month at Greater Gatineau. Computer coding activities are a great way to teach problem-solving skills in a hands-on and engaging way. All classes will be working on coding activities at some point during the month. Some classes have already begun their explorations in March.
Our goal is to get students more comfortable and confident as they progress with coding/robotics through each grade.
GRAD PHOTOS
Grade 6 students get your best smiles ready for grad photos on Wednesday, April 7th. Photos will be taken starting at 8:15. Will be rescheduled to a later date.
STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
- 8:15-9:15 – Schindel
- 10:15-11:15 – Cusin
- 1:00-2:00 – Plue
COMIC BOOK WORKSHOP
Mr. McClelland’s grade 2/3 class will be having the visual artist Stephan Archambault join them for 3 online sessions about creating comics. The first presentation will be about the history of comics, then students will create their own character from scratch, and finally make a landscape for their character in the final session. The 3 presentations will take place over 2 days at the end of April.
CYCLE 3 DEBATES
Students from the grade 5 and 6 classes will participate in debates on April 22nd. The debates will be broadcast to the students from Grade 4, who will watch virtually from their classrooms.
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Friday, April 30th, where we will celebrate the students who have shown the chosen virtue throughout the month.
Please remember to wear your purple GG shirt for all of our monthly assemblies. This creates a sense of community at school.
April is RESPECT month. We hope to see students demonstrating respect throughout the month. You can show this by using the Tribes agreements each day. They are; mutual respect, attentive listening, appreciations, and participation.
TRIBES AT HOME
CHAIN REACTION
This activity can be done with as few as two people and as many as you want.
Sit in a circle, the first person asks the second person a question. The second person answers that question and then asks the next person a different question. You continue until everyone has had a chance to ask and answer a question, or until you run out of questions.
This can be used to study for a test by asking specific questions about the subject. It can also be used as a “get to know you” activity with new friends and family. It also works as a good dinner time conversation starter and so that everyone at the table gets a turn to talk.
You can be as creative as you like with the questions. Have fun!
Home & School
Ongoing fundraising campaigns;
- Plantables, ships seedlings anywhere in Canada. Use promo code GGHOMEANDSCHOOL at checkout. We get 10% of all sales. Runs until June 2nd.
- Mabel’s Labels label your child’s items so they can be returned when misplaced
- Fundscrip buy gift cards, shop with the cards, support the school
We will be offering the Babysitting (11-14 year olds) and Home Alone (9-12 year olds) course this year. More details will be announced soon.
We are always looking for new members to join us or ideas for upcoming events, please contact us via email gghomeandschool@gmail.com or through our Facebook page.
We will continue to post on our Facebook page, if you haven’t done so already, please follow us to stay up to date on upcoming events facebook.com/GreaterGatineau.
The next Home & School meeting will be on Tuesday, April 13th at 6:30pm. We hold our meetings through Zoom, please reach out to us via email if you would like to attend.
Daycare
We have one PD day this month. It is on Monday, April 26th and is open to all Greater Gatineau students. Please sign up for @ggdaycare on the Remind app to get the notifications regarding PD days.
We do have spots available in the daycare. If your childcare needs have changed, please contact us to add your child to the daycare.
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) 643-6365 or e-mail jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
Special Notes
VOLUNTEER WEEK -April 18th to 24th
We would like to say thank-you to all the people who take the time to volunteer for our school. This is a very different year and our volunteers can’t be in the classroom, supporting students, helping with our food programs, attending trips and other school activities. We do have people serving on the Governing Board and working with Home & School, and it still wouldn’t be the same without you. Your commitment is much appreciated.
We hope to have more opportunities in the future.
ADMINISTRATION PROFESSIONALS DAY – April 28th
We extend a huge thank-you to Tammy, Michelle, and Katherine for all their hard work in the office. They keep things moving smoothly in the school, make sure all the students are accounted for each day, support the principal, vice principal, teachers and other staff, take care of sick and injured children, communicate with parents, and make sure all the students get where they need to be at the end of the day; just to name a few of their daily tasks. Special mention also goes to Melissa and Marie who each work a few hours a week in the office. Thank-you for your dedication to our school community!
EARTH DAY
Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22nd. It is one of the largest events in the world. We would encourage parents to do something with their children to show them how to respect and protect our environment. It could be something as simple as going outside and picking up garbage on your sidewalks or in your yard.
AUTISM AWARENESS
World Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness raising events. How will you celebrate? Students are invited to wear blue clothing on Thursday, April 1st.
VIP CONTEST WINNER
We are very happy to announce that Karysa A-H is the winner of the anti bullying VIP Creative Contest! She was selected as the winner of our school contest last month, and she also went on to win the GRAND PRIZE for the Western Quebec School Board.
CONGRATULATIONS KARYSA!
Sign up for the REMIND App
We use the REMIND app as a tool for communication here at Greater Gatineau. It is important for all families to sign up to get reminders about school events, bus changes or cancellations, special activities, and important updates. You can get the app on your smartphone or sign up to receive emails. Follow the instruction below to sign up.
1. On your cell phone go to the app store. Look for the “Remind” app
2. Download the app. Click on the “Join a Class” button.
3. For school reminders from Mrs. Link there are classes created based on your child’s grade level.
Codes for 2020-2021
Kindergarten student = ggs2020
Grade 1 student = ggsr2019
Grade 2 student = ggsr2018
Grade 3 student = ggs2017
Grade 4 student = ggs2016
Grade 5 student = ggs2015
Grade 6 student = ggs2014
Prospective Kindergarten student (2021-2022 school year) = ggs2021
4. For daycare reminders from Jennifer Plaxton the class is called ggdaycare. This is for daycare specific reminders only, you will also need to sign up for a school class code as well.
You only need to sign up for one school class as the messages will be sent out to all classes. The class code will follow your child as they move up at our school. Please sign up for your youngest child’s class so you will continue to receive the messages for the duration of their time here at Greater Gatineau.
To get reminders by email
Go to www.remind.com/join you will be prompted to find your class. The class codes are the same as above for school and for daycare.
You will then be prompted to enter your name and e-mail address or phone number. We suggest email because there are some phone carriers who do not support text messages from remind. If you have signed up for remind in the past you can go to your account settings to modify how you receive your messages. Push notifications will come up in the app and the email option will send an email to the address of your choice.