Principal's Message
The Home and School needs your help! Do you have a few hours a month to spare to help out this parent-run organization? Please consider joining the H&S. They support our school in so many ways with fundraisers, developing a sense of community, and making the connection between home and school.
We thank the current members who have been working hard to maintain this vital part of our school.
Progress Reports will be available on the parent portal on April 21st. These are not full report cards but are similar to the ones from November. Virtual Parent/Teacher Interviews take place in the evening on April 26th.
We are happy that the province has lifted some of the measures set by Public Health. This means that we can start to schedule field trips again. Various trips will take place during the coming months, starting with our school-wide trip to the Sugar Bush at Proulx Farm.
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 are continuing to collect school fees this month. If you have not paid your school fees please make arrangements to to so. See School Fees Page for details and contact Michelle with questions at mcomple@wqsb.qc.ca
Events at School
TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY
As part of our Anti-Bullying and Violence Prevention Program the grade 4, 5, and 6 students will be participating in an online school survey called “Tell Them From Me” in April. The survey allows students to share their feedback anonymously on their experiences, environment, and programs at school. The survey includes topics such as behaviors and attitudes linked to the student success, emotional and social well-being, and physical health. The results of the survey will be analyzed by staff to adapt or make changes for improvement; and then are presented to our Governing Board.
STORYTELLER WORKSHOP
We have the pleasure of having Capitaine Bonnefemme visit our school as part of the Culture grant from the Ministry. She will be in our grade 1 and 2 classes on April 7th and 8th. She teaches the students the art of telling stories through imagination. Her stories are inspired by the Maritimes and the ideas of the stories are taken with the suggestions of the students. The students are part of her storytelling and help in the problem solving and process of the story itself.
GRAD PHOTOS
Grade 6 students get your best smiles ready for grad photos on Monday, April 11th. Photos will be taken starting at 8:15.
CURLING AT GREATER GATINEAU
On April 12th the grade 6 students will participate in the Rocks & Rings program. The students will engage in friendly competition while learning curling terminology, scoring, and more. Custom scoreboards and four mini curling lanes will transform our school gym into an iceless curling rink ready for fun!
PROGRESS REPORTS
Progress Reports will be available on the parent portal on April 21st.
Virtual Parent/Teacher Interviews will take place on April 26th. Teachers will contact those parents they wish to meet with. If you would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please send them an email.
TRIPS TO MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Each cycle will take a trip to the Museum of History to watch a movie. This trip is funded by a Cultural Grant from the Ministry of Education.
- Cycle 1 (Grade 1+2) – June 17th – Movie TBD
- Cycle 2 (Grade 3+4) – April 20th – Superpower Dogs
- Grade 5 – May 6th – Movie TBD
- Grade 6 – May 5th – Movie TBD
HADLEY/PHILEMON BAND PERFORMANCE
The Hadley/Philemon Band are on tour again! They have offered to come to our school on April 29th at 10:30 a.m.
We can only host three grades in the gym to attend. Following a lottery, the grade three, four, and six classes were selected to attend.
OUTDOOR EDUCATION AT GREATER GATINEAU
Grade 2 students will be doing some Outdoor Education activities with a focus on migration and hibernation. Mr. Everson will be joining the homeroom teachers in leading a role-playing activity involving bears waking from hibernation looking for food to survive.
- McDonald – April 5th
- Bush – April 7th
- M.D. – April 14th
We will continue to offer our hot meal program on Mondays and Fridays. New SUBWAY LUNCH PROGRAM
The last day of the existing Subway Lunch Program is Tuesday, April 5th. A new program will start on Wednesday, April 13th and run until Wednesday, June 15th.
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Thursday, April 28th, 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 Peace Agreements each day. They are; mutual respect, attentive listening, appreciations, and participation.
We are excited to have students attend assemblies in the gym again.
PEACE LEARNING CIRCLES 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
Greater Gatineau Greatest Auction is back! We have some fantastic items up for auction this year. 4.0 version runs from April 20th to April 30th at 9:00PM. Happy Bidding!
Popcorn Pick-up – If you ordered popcorn through our most recent fundraiser, pick-up is Saturday, April 9, 10:00am-12:00pm, this will be your only opportunity to pick up you order. We will not be able to accommodate alternative pick-up times.
We have decided to postpone our Annual General meeting until the start of the new school year. We are in dire need of new members; we currently do not have enough members or executive members to run the Home and School. If you would like to join us, please send us an email at gghomeandschool@gmail.com. We meet monthly for 1.5 hours. Time commitment varies depending on the events and fundraisers we run. You can decide how much time your schedule allows you to commit.
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 12th 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 no PD days this month. There are two coming up in May. Please sign up for @ggdaycare on the Remind app to get the notifications regarding PD days.
Spaces are filling up but we do have some 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) 663-4842 x3 or e-mail jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
DAYCARE FOR 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR
All current daycare students, both regular and sporadic, will have the same reservation made for next year. If you are registered for 5 days this year, then you will be registered for 5 days next year. If you would like to make changes to your daycare service or remove your child from daycare please advise Jennifer by email.
If you would like to add your child to the daycare next year please fill out the Daycare Survey and return it to school.
Special Notes
VOLUNTEER WEEK -April 24th to 30th
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 most of 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. Our upcoming field trip to the Sugar Bush is the first opportunity for parents to volunteer in person with us. We thank all who will attend the trip and those who volunteered but were not able to come.
ADMINISTRATION PROFESSIONALS DAY – April 27th
We extend a huge thank-you to 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 Danika 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.
Western Quebec School Board Earth Month Resources
AUTISM AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE
World Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique awareness raising events. How will you celebrate? Students are invited to wear RED clothing on Friday, April 1st. #REDinstead
ANXIETY WORKSHOP
A free videoconference with psychologist Dr. Nadia Gagnier will be offered by the WQSB on Tuesday, April 5th at 7pm.
Anxiety is a normal emotion that allows us to have the necessary reflexes to protect us from danger. Unfortunately, anxiety disorders are on the rise in the population. What signs can help us to distinguish normal anxiety from pathological anxiety? What are the risk factors and maintenance factors of anxiety? How can one help a child who suffers from anxiety? This conference aims to answer these questions and to suggest simple and accessible solutions, so that participants feel more confident when face with anxious behaviours.
ENVIRONMENT CLUB
The Greater Gatineau Environment Club is organizing a fundraiser to support the charitable organization ‘Team Trees’. For every dollar donated they will plant one tree. We are hoping to raise one dollar for every student at Greater Gatineau School.
On Thursday April 14 we are asking that each student bring a one dollar donation for ‘Team Trees’.
For more information please see the link below.
Thank-you in advance for helping to make our environment a better place and our air cleaner to breathe.
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 2021-2022
Kindergarten student = ggs2021
Grade 1 student = ggs2020
Grade 2 student = ggsr2019
Grade 3 student = ggsr2018
Grade 4 student = ggs2017
Grade 5 student = ggs2016
Grade 6 student = ggs2015
Prospective Kindergarten student (2022-2023 school year) = ggs2022
4. For daycare reminders from Jennifer Plaxton the class is called ggdaycare2. 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.