We Are Fortunate!

The winter season is a perfect time to reflect on how fortunate we are and how lucky we are to live in a free and peaceful country where people help each other. This holiday season we are showing our kindness, generosity, and thankfulness in three ways.
We are fortunate to have Sgt. Liberty Kitchen, an air cadet and daughter of our amazing Educational Assistant Ms. Kitchen, involve us in her fantastic Christmas card program for the second year. Each student at Hugh Beaton is writing to a soldier stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan this Christmas. We are extremely lucky to have these brave people protecting our freedom each day. We hope our card and pictures brightens their day and makes being away from home during the holidays a bit easier.
We are also bringing in canned food to donate to needy families. To date, we have brought in 56 cans, but we have a goal of 100 cans. We will continue to think of others as we are grocery shopping with our families.
Our school is also donating Christmas gifts to 20 children through the Children's Aid Society and to children living at our local Women's shelter, Hiatus House. Our class is responsible for donating toys, books and clothes to two baby boys with ages ranging from newborn to age two. We enjoyed brainstorming items that a baby boy would love to see under his tree Christmas morning!
We hope that these simple acts will help someone else have a happy holiday. We are very fortunate to be able to "pay it forward". That is what kind people do.

A Busy Time

The end of October and early November is a busy time in Grade One. We are finishing our DRA testing to better determine your child's reading level, we are testing your child's sight word recognition and diving headlong into progress reports and the writing workshop.
I love this time of year as it means progress reports and Parent-Teacher Interviews. It gives me a chance to talk to parents about their child's progress and to learn more about your child as a person, not only as a student. Thank you to all the parents who took the time to speak to me either before the Parent-Teacher night, or on that night, as good communication is an on-going process, not just two evenings a year. If you were unable to come in for an interview, please book one with me after school at your convenience. Just send a note in your child's agenda and we can figure out a good time for each of us. Thank you for being a partner in your child's learning!
Mrs. Jinks