Principal's Message
We would like to thank all those who donated food for our Food Drive, and who purchased gifts for our “Angel Tree”. This event was coordinated with St. Aloysius church, and we are thankful to them as well for gathering food items and for organizing the pick-up of the items.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff members at Greater Gatineau for all of their support towards student learning, student engagement; and for making school such a fun place to be. The number of clubs and activities we have at the school is amazing; and they are only made possible through the efforts of our staff. The dedication and devotion of our staff team is commendable; and Mr. Fleming and I are proud to work with such a great team.
We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and we look forward to a fantastic January and beyond. We will see you all on Tuesday, January 9th for the first day of 2024.
As the colder weather sets in, please remember to send your child to school with warm clothing.
Events at School
LAC BEAUCHAMP TRIP – WINTER FUN DAY
Greater Gatineau School will hold our Winter Fun Days at Lac Beauchamp. The outing will include a mixture of cross country skiing, snowshoeing, skating (if the lake is frozen) and tubing. The Centre provides the tubes for the tubing, cross-country skis, and snowshoes.
Thursday, January 25 – Kindergarten, Grade 1+2
Friday, January 26 – Grade 3 to 6
VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
On Wednesday, January 31st Greater Gatineau will be sending two teams to compete in the WQSB volleyball tournament at Chelsea Elementary School. We look forward to a fun day of volleyball!
MAMMAL STUDY AND ECOLOGY GAMES
Our outdoor education consultant, Alan Earwaker, will be leading Mammal Study and Ecology Games with the students from the grade 3 classes.
- DV+ O’Brien – Tuesday, January 30th
- Ms. Courtney- Wednesday, January 31st
- McClelland – Thursday, February 1st
- Schindel – Friday, February 2nd
SKI AT SCHOOL
During the winter months we have the chance offer cross country skiing to our students. There will be an instructional video from Ski at School/Ski à l’école to teach our children how to cross country ski. Everyone from grade 1 to 6 will get a chance to learn this fun activity. Unfortunately the program is not available for Kindergarten. The equipment is provided and the cost is free!
SUBWAY LUNCH PROGRAM
Our Subway Lunch Program will continue from the last session on the first two Wednesdays of 2024.
Forms will come home the in the new year for the start of the next session.
MAZZOLA HOT MEALS
Hot meals can be ordered online at mazzola.ca They are offered on Monday and Friday at our school.
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Wednesday, January 24th, where we will celebrate the students who have shown the chosen virtue throughout the month.
Please remember to wear your GG shirt to all of our monthly assemblies. This creates a sense of community at school.
- Grade 3 + 4 at 10:05
- Grade 5 + 6 at 10:55
- Kindergarten, Grade 1 + 2 at 12:35
January is PERSEVERANCE month. We hope to see students who are always working hard and not giving up.
PEACE LEARNING CIRCLES AT HOME
A great strategy to ensure that everyone is able to participate in dinner conversations is to use a “Talking Stick”.
Use any object to pass around the table, and only the person holding the object is allowed to speak.
This will help to ensure that everyone gets a chance to speak about their day.
Home & School
Thank you to all the Greater Gatineau families who supported our Cookie Fundraiser. There are some extra tubs of cookie dough and muffin batter available for sale. Please contract us via email if you would like to purchase.
We have some new activities planned for the remainder of the year. More information will be coming soon, including a January movie night.
We are planning our upcoming online auction and we are looking for donations. If you know of any companies who would like to donate or maybe even your own company, please send us an email.
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. We will have some new activities coming in the new year.
The January Home & School meeting will be held on Monday, January 15th at 6:30pm. We hold our meetings virtually through Microsoft Teams, please reach out to us via email if you would like to attend future meetings.
The Home & School would like to wish all Greater Gatineau families a very happy holiday season and new year. We look forward to 2023!
Daycare
We start the new year with a PD day on Monday, January 8th. The registration deadline was December 20th; did you miss it? 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 x3 or e-mail jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
Happy New Year from the Daycare Team!
Special Notes
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY – SCHOOL BUS
In the event of inclement weather Mrs. Link will send a “Remind” message to all parents who have signed up. Parents can also visit the School Board Website: (westernquebec.ca) for daily updates on school bus transportation and school/center closure.
Normally the School Board will contact the principal between 6:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., prior to busses starting their routes, but unfortunately sometimes the messages come late from the bus company.
Depending on weather conditions (snowfall, freezing rain) the School Board will assess the road conditions with the assistance of various bus transporters, several municipalities (public works) and French School Boards.
Thereafter, a decision is made whether or not to cancel transportation.
School buses may also be delayed as a result of road and weather conditions.
Parents are responsible for their children prior to boarding and after departing the school bus.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
The Kindergarten registration will be held at the Western Quebec School Board on February 7th and 8th this year.
Your child must be turning 5 years old before September 30, 2024 to register and attend Kindergarten.
To register you will require
- Certificate of eligibility of the child, parent or sibling declared eligible
- Child’s long form birth certificate with the names of both parents
- Canadian Citizenship for parent who will render the child eligible
- Quebec drivers licence, lease/deed and utility bill
- Child’s last report card if applicable
If you have a child who will be attending kindergarten next year, or know someone who has a child who will attend, you can prepare yourself in advance.
Please contact Amanda Wells at awells@wqsb.qc.ca to request a registration package.
Anti-Racism Committee (ARC)
Land acknowledgement
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.
New Year’s Day – January 1
This holiday is meant to celebrate the start of the new year. This tradition began in Roman times as a celebration of the Janus the god of new beginnings.
Feast of Epiphany – January 6
The feast of Epiphany celebrates the star of Magi, the star that guided the three wise men to baby Jesus. This is celebrated in many Christian countries around the world with a parade with people in Costume.
Eastern Orthodox Christmas – January 7
Eastern Orthodox Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, just like the Christmas celebrated on December 25 but Orthodox Christians follow a Julian calendar.
Orthodox New Year – January 14
Much like with Christmas, but Orthodox Christians follow a Julian calendar, so they celebrate New Year’s on the day which is the first day of the year following that calendar.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 15
Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrates the importance of the fight for racial equity. He was a change-maker that fought for the civil rights movement and social change in the United States.
Kid Inventors’ Day – January 17
This day encourages students to take on challenges and find solutions to big problems going on in their own environment. Every kid can be an inventor.
World Day of the Snowman – January 18
The date goes back to the form of the Snowman: “8” symbolizes the snowman and the “1” stands for his stick or broom. Moreover, January is usually cold enough to build snowmen and is therefore a perfect chance to celebrate the snowman.
Bodhi Day – January 18
Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day to remember the day Siddhartha Gautama experienced enlightenment.
Family Literacy Day – January 27
Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day – January 27
Holocaust Remembrance Day is an annual day to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, the genocide of six million Jewish people and of millions of other Holocaust victims by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.