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 23rd and the morning on November 24th and will include a bake sale fundraiser and Scholastic book fair.
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.
Please be reminded that on Monday November 6th there will be a Teacher and Professionals strike. The school and daycare will be closed for the day.
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
PEACE BUCKET REWARD
We are so proud of our students for following the Peace Agreements. The popsicle stick bucket is full! The reward will be a pizza lunch, popcorn, and crazy hair day on Thursday, November 2nd.
PHOTO RETAKE DAY
Photo Retake Day will be on November 8th starting at 10:30. To make an appointment use this link to Book Online
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 10th, 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 10th for Remembrance Day. Lest we forget.
REPORT CARDS
The Book Fair will take place in the gym during the parent/teacher interviews. Parents are welcome to visit the Book Fair in the evening on the 23rd and in the morning on the 24th.
GRADE SIX BAKE SALE
Grade 6 students will run a bake sale during parent/teacher interviews. All baked goods will be nut free and proceeds will be used to buy books for the school. Please stop by the bake sale, and support our students love of reading!
Gatineau Park Animals Tell It Like It Is (will hopefully be rescheduled to another date)
On November 22nd the grade four students will take part in a role-playing activity led by a naturalist from the NCC. Each student represents an animal from the Park and speaks in its name. Dynamic and structured exchanges elucidate the issues that influence the state of health of all species in the Park and the links that unite them. The activity aims to transmit the environmental values of a conservation park. How could humans create a balanced and healthy living environment for all living beings?
Outdoor Education
MUD KITCHEN
We have a new mud kitchen! Younger grades have already had the opportunity to use it during their Outdoor Education classes. Many scrumptious recipes were made; including leaf lasagna and dirt cupcakes!
A Mud Kitchen is an outdoor play kitchen where students have the chance to use real pots, pans and kitchen utensils to create made-up recipes. If you have any retired kitchen tools that are safe for children to use and made from a durable and safe material (metal, wood, etc.) please send them in to add to our collection.
ORIENTEERING
We are very lucky to have Mr. Alan Earwaker, our Outdoor Education Consultant, joining our Grade 4 students in exploring how compasses work and how we can use them for orienteering.
Students should be dressed appropriately for outdoor weather on their “Orienteering Day.”
The orienteering activities will be held on the following dates:
- Ms. DV’s class October 30th
- Ms. Massey’s class November 1st
- Mr. McFarlane’s class November 2nd
- Mrs. Plue’s class November 13th
MONTHLY ASSEMBLY
Our next assembly will be on Wednesday, November 29th, where we will celebrate the students who have shown the chosen virtue throughout the month.
- 8:55 – Grade 3+4
- 10:05 – Grade 5+6
- 10:55 – 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.
Home & School
Thank you to everyone who attended our first in person event – Movie night. We had a great turn-out, we really appreciate everyone’s support. We will be hosting more movie nights in the future.
We have some exciting fundraisers and events coming soon, stayed tuned for more details.
If you would like to join us, please contact us via email at gghomeandschool@gmail.com or through our Facebook page.
For the upcoming year we will be posting our communications on our Facebook page, if you haven’t done so already, please follow us to stay up to date on upcoming events https://www.facebook.com/GreaterGatineau
The next Home & School meeting will be on Monday, November 6th at 6:30pm.
Daycare
There are two PD days this month. November 3rd is open to all Greater Gatineau School students who registered before the deadline of October 27th.
The second PD day is on November 24th with a registration deadline on the 17th. Make sure to register your children before the deadline if they would like to attend.
Please sign up for @ggdaycare 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
WQSB APP
Sign up for the WQSB app to hear updates directly from the WQSB regarding transportation delays; Check out the notice How to install and setup the WesternQC app
FOOD DRIVE FOR CHRISTMAS
We will be collecting canned food, pickles, pasta, rice, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and any other non-perishable items from Wednesday, November 22nd to Wednesday, December 13th.
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 22nd 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 13th, 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.
Anti-Racism Committee (ARC)
Land acknowledgement
The land on which we gather is traditional unceded Omamiwininiwag (Algonquin) and Anishinabewaki territory .
Cultural Traditions/Observances/HolidaysNovember 1 & 2: Día de los Muertos is a Mexican celebration, honoring, and remembering deceased loved ones through vibrant festivities, altars, and offerings.
November 11: Remembrance Day is observed in to honor the armed forces’ sacrifices in times of war, particularly commemorating the end of World War I.
November 12: 
Diwali is a significant Hindu festival, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrated to symbolize the spiritual victory of light over darkness and good over evil.