News from Room 233

September
2 EFI Bayshore Public School
pamela.macknight-root@ocdsb.ca
stephanie.gal@ocdsb.ca
613-828-8698

Welcome back!
First of all, I’d like to welcome you all back to school! I am eager to meet each and every one of
you and am excited to get to know and work with your child. You are always welcome to contact me
here at the school. This newsletter is filled with LOTS of important information so please read it
through carefully and do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. This year I will be responsible
for your child’s French Language arts, Physical Education and Health, Visual Arts, Music, Dance,
Drama, Science, Social Studies. Mrs. Gal will be responsible for Math and English Language arts.  
 
Classroom overview 
Entering: ​We walk quietly upstairs through the RED DOOR and put all of our personal belongings at our 
assigned seat. Each child has a bin for personal items. Children are strongly encouraged to wear a mask 
while inside the building. 
 
Lunch:​ There are two nutrition breaks, we encourage healthy snacks and everything that comes to school 
must go back home, this includes all food wrappers. Students sit in their seats but can chat quietly with 
those around them. We do have a severe nut allergy in the room so please be mindful that ​NO NUTS​ are 
permitted.  
 
Our expected class behaviour: 
1) Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself 
2) Listen attentively 
3) Respect yourself, others, and property 
4) Speak in French 
 
 
 
 
Washrooms: ​We will have several assigned times throughout the day and we will always be using the 
upstairs bathroom. 
 
Water bottles:​ There is a refill station in our hallway and students must bring a water bottle to school, 
taking it home nightly to wash. 
 
We are working hard on being aware of how our actions can impact others, to self-regulate, and to follow 
class and school routines properly.  
Homework 
Homework time should take less than 30 minutes which will often include some sort of reflection or completion
of work, plus additional time for reading. Some projects may have work to be completed at home, but mostly
everything will be completed in class as I assess not only the finished product but the process as well. Please
take this opportunity to read with your child in both languages, play subject-based games and develop social
skills. The following activities will be completed at home:

Nightly:​ Reading for at least 10-15 uninterrupted minutes in French or English

Mondays:​ Oral presentation subject will be assigned
Wed-Friday:​ Oral presentations (a few students will present each day) 
 
Communication 
Teaching is a cooperative effort on the part of parents, teachers, and students. Strong communication is essential
in order to create a learner-centered environment. As such, I use various means to share important information
with parents.
(1) E-mail: I am available by e-mail for any questions or if you have a message for me about your
child. I will not comment about your child’s progress or behaviour over e-mail but feel free to
contact me this way to request a meeting or phone call. I will be sending out a weekly email to
remind you of any special events

(2) Google Classroom​: Our class has a site set up where we will post activities and assignments. As
a guardian, you will have access to view the assignments.

(3) Class website: For helpful resources, pictures of what we are learning, please visit our class site!
mmemacroot.com

(4) Our class twitter: @macrootfls will have pictures of lots of fun activities taking place in our
classroom!

(5) Cahier d’évaluation​: Rubrics and assessment tools will tell you what is expected for each
assignment and how I will be assessing your child’s work.

(6) Phone: Call the school (613-828-8698) and you can reach me. I will also be in contact with you
fairly regularly (especially with great news!)

(7) School Website: This has all the important dates and information regarding the community
activities. ​https://bayshoreps.ocdsb.ca/

 
So…what happens next? 
In French, we will begin by getting ourselves back into the habit of speaking in French! We will be taking part in
many fun activities to build our French vocabulary and work on building our reading and writing skills. Our first
big idea is how important is our name: showing how we are unique and taking pride in our identity. We will also
be reading books and discussing what it means to persevere through challenges and the power of YET.
Building our confidence as learners in an important part of learning a language.
In reading and writing, we will be doing lots of great thinking on various read alouds as we practice different
strategies to become stronger readers. To develop our phonemic awareness, we will study various simple and
compound sounds and work on various words with different activities.

In Physical Education, we are going to begin with physical education participation and enjoyment. We are
going to work specifically building endurance. Our gym classes will take place outside so remember to dress
accordingly.

In Social Studies, our focus will be on studying the global community. We will be learning how to read maps,
the parts of the world, and then we will focus specifically on French-speaking communities and how they live.

I encourage students to use their strengths, whether it is in math, science, art, language in all the subject
matter; therefore, assignments will constantly be integrating more than one area….Stay tuned for more to
come!!

MESSAGE FROM MRS. GAL 

My name is Stephanie Gal and I am very excited to be your child’s English and Math teacher this year! I know
there will be many different feelings about returning to school and I look forward to supporting your child in any
way I can to make them feel comfortable and excited to learn.

In the first few weeks of school we will be establishing routines and learning the rules of the classroom. I will
also be taking the time to get to know your child and begin to assess their reading level. In math we will be
reviewing basic math concepts as well as playing fun math games!

I am always happy to connect with families about any questions or concerns and can be reached at:
stephanie.gal@ocdsb.ca​.

 
Please fill out this ​Google Form​ to help us get to know your child!