Hello February

Hello everyone,

Here is the Division 2 monthly update for February.  For upcoming important dates, please scroll to the bottom of this post.

Reminders

This is a quick reminder that students should bring the following items to school each day.

• water bottle
• Gym shoes
• cutlery (forks, spoons, chopsticks) if needed for student lunch

Salmon in the School Update

On Wednesday, January 10th, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans dropped off 50 chum salmon eggs.  The eggs are being kept in a cool, dark tank in the hallway, which simulates their real-world habitat.  The eggs are slowly growing and developing.  We’ve already seen some of the eggs develop eyes and roll around (a little) when responding to light.  In the coming weeks, the salmon will hatch as alevin.

This month, we’ve been learning all about Chum salmon.  We talked about their life cycle, habitat, and place in the food chain.  Did you know that salmon are a keystone species in their ecosystem?  They are also a protected species, which means removing salmon from their environment, at any stage in their life cycle, is illegal.

February Social Emotional Theme: Kindness and Assertiveness

This month’s SEL theme is kindness and assertiveness.  With Pink Shirt Day at the end of the month, and Valentine’s Day fast approaching, kindness is always on our minds in February.  This month, we are pairing kindness with assertiveness / problem solving.  How do you solve a problem?  How and when do you stand up for yourself?  For others? We will be covering these important topics during lessons, class discussions, role-plays and read-alouds.

Multiplication and Division Facts

Starting in February, students in Division 2 will be practicing their multiplication and division facts twice a week, to improve their fluency and recall.  Mastering the multiplication (and related division facts) in grade 4 and 5 is one way to prepare for Math in the later grades.

Pink Shirt Day

Wednesday, February 28th is Pink Shirt Day.  It is an annual event in Canada against bullying. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink to raise awareness about bullying.  This year’s theme is ‘sprinkle kindness’.  This year, students in Division 2 will be encouraged to ‘sprinkle kindness’ at school by completing small gestures of kindness for others.  We will celebrate Pink Shirt Day with an assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 28th at 9:00 a.m.

• Friday, February 2nd – Literacy Week Assembly at 9:30 a.m., Fun Lunch (Pizza Lunch)
• Wednesday, February 14th – Valentine’s Day, Class Party in the afternoon
• Thursday, February 15th – Fun Lunch (Subway Lunch)
• Friday, February 16th – Burnaby School District Professional Development Day – Students do not attend
• Monday, February 19th – Family Day – School is closed
• Wednesday, February 28th – Pink Shirt Day, Assembly at 9:00 a.m.