Our Little Words

When we came back to school last month, we started off 2026 by reflecting on one word that resonates with each of us. Perhaps it’s a word that reminds us to focus on something we want to achieve within ourselves such as being brave, courageous, kind, understanding, etc.

To help us think about this, we read a book called One Word for Kids by Jimmy Page, Jon Gordon and Dan Britton.

We created bracelets with this word, too! Our words are displayed in our classroom as a visual reminder of the word we chose and the WHY behind it.

Mrs. Sullivan’s word was “Family” because she wants to carve out even more time to spend with them. They are the most important thing in her life.

Have a listen to the book!

Category: Teacher Talk, The Arts | LEAVE A COMMENT

February 18

Lent has Begun

On Tuesday, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. The word shrove comes from shrive, meaning to confess. This day marks the beginning of our preparation for the 40 days leading up to Easter—a time for fasting, praying, and reflecting on Jesus’ sacrifice.

Traditionally, people would use up rich, “fattening” foods such as eggs and milk before the Lenten fast began. Pancakes were a perfect way to use these ingredients, which is why they became a classic Shrove Tuesday treat—and of course, we had to enjoy some ourselves! Many Christians also visit their church on this day to confess their sins and prepare their hearts for the Lenten season.

What about you—what’s your favourite pancake topping? Do you enjoy fruit, whipped cream, chocolate chips, syrup, or jam?

Today is Ash Wednesday, a day that marks the beginning of the Lent. We received ashes on our foreheads. The ashes used come from burning the palm branches that were blessed and used during the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. After the palms are burned, they are blessed by a priest before being used in the Ash Wednesday service.

Why ashes from palms? Palms are used on Palm Sunday to remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, when crowds welcomed him by waving branches.

How will you prepare during Lent? Will you give up or sacrifice something?

Category: Religion & Family Life, Teacher Talk | LEAVE A COMMENT

February 17

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! We celebrated by passing out Valentines, having a dance-a-thon in the gym with glo-sticks and some rockin’ music. We also had a Valentine’s bingo and Flashlight Friday as well. Phew! What a day.

You all make our classroom a great place to be. I am proud to be your teacher.

🙂 Love, Mrs. Sullivan

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February 10

What is a Biography?

We’ve been learning about biographies in class as part of our nonfiction reading unit. So, what is a biography?

A biography is a text written to tell others about a real person.

We’ve read in class the story of Viola Desmond, a black Canadian woman who famously challenged segregation in Nova Scotia in 1946. She went to a movie theatre and refused to move from the “whites only floor” to which led to her arrest.

We also have read about Ruby Bridges. This story was written by Ruby herself and recounts her experience as a 6 year old entering a whites-only school at a time when segregated schools had just become illegal. She’s alive today and continues to share her story and promote tolerance.

We’ve been exploring different biographies in class including people like…

Walt Disney
Mohamed Ali
Anne Frank
Alexander Graham Bell
Frederick Banting
Wayne Gretzky
Harriet Tubman
King Tut
and the list goes on and on!

Students will be choosing one person they’d like to research about. Who is someone that inspires you? Who is someone you connect with somehow? If you love art, is there an artist you’d like to know more about? If you love music, is there a famous singer or musician you’d like to learn more about?

Students should come up with their top 2 choices so we don’t have a lot of duplicates in class. We will be doing a project and presentation about this person. More information to come.

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January 11

Our First Week Back

We started the school year with a few fun Minute to Win It games and chatted about our holidays during our morning meeting. It was so nice to see everyone once again, ready to learn. Welcome back!

We understand the importance of knowing our math facts and so we continue to practice this skill using a deck of cards. We make 2 piles. If we don’t know a fact in 3 seconds or less, we put it in the “I don’t know this yet” pile. It’s a good idea to keep practicing our math facts at home, too. Even just 5 minutes per day!

January is an exciting time in our classroom, as it marks the introduction of cursive writing with Mrs. Sullivan. Each student received a practice book to apply and reinforce their learning. We begin each lesson together on the carpet, using our whiteboards to practice forming new letters. Every morning, we also read a cursive morning message to strengthen our recognition skills. Grade 3 is when we begin formally learning to write in cursive, and so far we have learned the letters a, c, d, o, e, and l.

Can you spell load, lace, decal, deal, and ace?

Category: Math, Teacher Talk, Writing Workshop | LEAVE A COMMENT

January 7

Reading Buddies

In our persuasive writing unit, some students wanted to get a class pet and try and persuade Mrs. Sullivan that we should get one. Mrs. Sullivan wasn’t so sure…Suddenly, and out of the blue, we had a delivery of some other special pets that needed a new home. We were introduced to our very own reading buddies that we would learn we would be adopting!

Amazingly, there just happened to be enough for everyone and each had a tag on it with a special message and the pet’s name.

Every student selected their new reading buddy which came with an adoption certificate. Our reading buddies stay at school and we can pull them out of our basket during reading times. Students will take them home in June.

Congratulations!