mates the way you have in

previous years.

Parents and Guardians,

you have been so helpful.

You have learned so many

new terms and concepts

over the last number of

months. You have played a

big role in your child’s de-

velopment.

We have had so many

people who have been

asked to step out of their

usual roles this year. As

mentioned last newsletter,

our custodial staff has re-

ally worked hard keeping

us safe, and they continue

to do an amazing job. This

newsletter I would like to

highlight another amazing

group, our educational

assistants. This is an ex-

tremely talented group of

individuals, that Polson

School is lucky to have in

Well…I think it is fair to say

2020 has been a memora-

ble year.

Let me start this last 2020

edition of the Polson

Newsletter by saying thank

you to so many different

groups that keep our

school moving forward.

I will start with our stu-

dents, both in class and

remote. Our students nev-

er get enough credit for

their resiliency. It is simply

assumed that kids will ad-

just and move forward.

This is not always the

case, and I truly want to

thank our students for the

great work they are doing,

and I really hope that

things will get back to nor-

mal soon, as I know you

really miss playing and

learning with you class-

our school. This team saw

a need as we moved to

remote learning, and they

filled that need better than

we could have every ex-

pected. Whatever was

needed our EAs stepped

up and were there to help.

We also had some EAs do

some remote lessons and

puppet shows with stu-

dents as well. Their dedi-

cation is truly appreciated

and our whole school com-

munity is better because

of their efforts.

I hope you all enjoy this

edition of the Polson

Newsletter, and I wish you

all a happy holiday and a

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays,

Dino Busceti, Principal

Princ ipa l’s Message

Special points of interest:

Boys and Girls Club—has gone

virtual

Jan. 4– First Day of Class, Tempo-

rary remote learning 1st day back

is January 18th

Feb 5th an 8th—no School

Feb 15—No School —Louis Riel Day

Polson School

Polson School

December 2020 Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Gr. 1 News 2

Kindergarten News 3

Grade 4 Zagrobelny

News

4

Physical Education

News

5

Gr. 5 Skoglund News 5

Grade 2/3 Gale and

Ens

6

Community Connector 6

Grade 2/3 Baines 7

ESD Committee 8

December 2020

Page 2 Polson School

Grade 1 News from the Classroom Mrs. Awang

Grade 1 News

In December, we have been having fun learning about Reindeer. We went on Epic books and read non-

fiction books about reindeer and recorded our facts. We learned that reindeer migrate the furthest of any

land mammal. Reindeer are also known as caribou and that is what we call them in Canada. Reindeer are

the only kind of deer species where both the females and males have antlers.

For the last several weeks the Grade 1 students have been busy learning all about their emotions through

the Zones of Regulation program with the help of Polson's guidance counsellor, Ms. Jaskiewicz. Together

they have been learning to recognize when they are feeling different emotions which are categorized into

"zones", with each zone being represented by a different colour (blue, green, yellow, and red).

We have recently started exploring how to recognize when we are in a certain zone and what makes us

stay in that zone or move into another.

When asked what makes them get into the green zone, here's what the students said:

I am in the green zone when I’m playing with my friends. (Parker)

I am in the green zone when I’m playing games. (Daniel)

I am in the green zone when it’s my birthday. (Callie H.)

I am in the green zone when I am reading a book. (Amelia)

I am in the green zone when I’m at school and at home. (Liam)

I am in the green zone when I’m learning about math and science. (Jemuel)

I am in the green zone when I get new things. (Ethan)

I am in the green zone when I play with my Grandma. (Peyton)

The Grade 1's are excited to continue learning all about feelings in the new year!

Tired Sad Sick Bored

Disappointed

Happy Focused

Ready to Learn Calm

Feeling Okay Good Listener

Excited Silly

Losing Some Control Annoyed

Frustrated Anxious Worried

Angry Upset Yelling Mean

Hitting Out of Control

Page 3

Kindergarten News from the Classroom Mrs. Matychuk -Ilg

Student Fees

Student fees are now due

in the office. The cost is

$30.00 for kindergarten

students and $50.00 for

Grades 1-5. If you are

unsure if you have paid

or are unable to pay the

full amount at this time

please phone the office

to make payment

arrangements.

Season’s Greetings from Kindergarten! To celebrate the change in

seasons and the upcoming holidays, our Kindergartens have been listen-

ing to stories and poems about snow, snowmen, gingerbread people and

Santa. Our class especially enjoyed one of my favourite Christmas sto-

ries, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” written and illustrated by Dr.

Seuss. The Kindergartens explored what we would do to make the

Grinch grin and I’m sure their creative ideas would certainly do the trick!

“To make the Grinch grin, I would play doll house with him.” Cierra

“To make the Grinch grin, I would bake him smiley cookies.” Arvelle

“To make the Grinch grin, I would play a prank and take away his stinky,

dirty socks.” Riley

“To make the Grinch grin, I would buy some toys for him.” Dominic

“To make the Grinch grin, I would give him a paper heart.” Codee

“To make the Grinch grin, I would have a dance party with him.” Finn

“To make the Grinch grin, I would give him a potion to make him happy.”

Sean-Joseph

“To make the Grinch grin, I would bake him some mad cookies.” Faith

“To make the Grinch grin, I would play hide and seek with him.” Kevin

“To make the Grinch grin, I would sing I Want a Hippopotamus for Christ-

mas. It’s a silly song.” Kemsley

In math, the Kindergartens are continuing to strengthen their nu-

meracy skills by demonstrating different ways to represent a number and

learning that good mathematicians know how to explain their mathemati-

cal thinking. In the new year, we will learn how to create patterns and ex-

plore a variety of 2-D shapes.

I recognize this winter break will look incredibly different than pre-

vious years, but my hope is that you and your family will be able to find a

little joy and magic this holiday season. From my family to yours, we wish

you a safe, healthy and peaceful holiday!

Thank you!

Mrs. Matychuk-Ilg

Wow, it's hard to believe it's almost Christmas hol-idays already! Both in class and remote learn-ers have been working hard on a variety of fun yet challenging tasks this term and we are all so proud of them!

A main topic of learning this month for the stu-dents has been on inter-net safety. They have taken part in a variety of discussions and research and are presently work-ing on a slideshow demonstrating their learning. It was great to see the wide variety of ideas students had on ways they can be safe online, and to teach them some new ways to stay safe too! I encour-age you to open this dis-cussion with your child at

Polson School

491 Munroe Avenue

Winnipeg MB

Phone: 204-669-4490

Fax: 204-668- 9343

Email: dbusceti@retsd.mb.ca

Home of the Porcupines and

our school mascot SPIKE!

For up-to-date

information check out

our website:

http://retsd.mb.ca/

school/pol/Pages/

home so that they know they can talk to you if they ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe online.

All of the students enjoyed watching the i-movies they made with their classmates on being safe at school. They have a great under-standing of ways that they can be ex-tra safe and keep others around them safe too!

Some other topics of learning included mapping the prov-inces and territories of Canada, learning about life in North-ern Canada, practic-

ing their basic math skills, learning about parallel lines and prac-ticing measurement, and gaining practice of seasonal words in French through French bingo! The students also created their very own Rudolph with a blinking nose for our unity tree ornament!

Wishing all students and their families a well-deserved break this holiday! Stay safe, and Merry Christmas!

Mrs. Zagrobelny

Grade 4 News from the Classroom Mrs. Zagrobelny

As part of our normal safety pro-

cedure Polson School will have 10

fire drills per year in accordance

with regulations prepared by the

provincial department of educa-

tion and the fire commissioner's

office.

There will also be a hold and se-

cure drill and 2 lockdown drills

this year as part of our emergen-

cy preparedness plan.

We plan and practice so that the

students will be prepared to take

correct action in the case of a real

emergency.

Fire Dri l ls/ Lockdown

and Hold and Secure

This has been an inter-esting first part of the year to say the least. I am missing doing the clubs and team sports that we have always been involved in throughout the year. As each class has pro-gressed this fall, we have had to change things up a bit to make sure that we are social distancing and keeping ourselves and the equipment sanitized so that we keep everyone healthy. So far I think we have done a pretty good job throughout

Polson School

491 Munroe Avenue

Winnipeg MB

R2K 1H5

Phone: 204-669-4490

Fax: 204-668- 9343

Email: dbusceti@retsd.mb.ca

Home of the Porcupines and

our school mascot SPIKE!

For up-to-date

information check out

our website:

http://retsd.mb.ca/

school/pol/Pages/

our whole school!

I hope that everyone is trying to stay ac-tive since so many things have closed. On my website (go to Polson School, click on About Us, then click on Staff Directory and scroll down to K. Christensen) I have posted many links to some fun workout videos that the whole family can do together. Also, over this break I hope that you focus on

healthy eating to boost your immune systems. Ask your kids what your plate should look like as they have all learned it in Health class. In case they forgot, ac-cording to the Cana-da Food Guide, half of your plate is fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of the other side is grains and the other 1/4 is proteins (this now includes meats and alternatives as well as dairy prod-ucts). Your drink of choice should be wa-ter.

Stay healthy, active and safe!

Ms. Christensen

News from Phys ical Education Ms. Christensen

GRADE 5 News—Mrs. Skoglund

Time is flying by so quickly and winter break is just around the corner. The warm weather has kept everyone

having fun outside both in gym and at recess!

The students have been building their knowledge of multiplication and division over the past month by using

the number pieces app from mathlearningcentre.org/apps and using a variety of strategies to solve open

ended math questions.

As part of our social studies/science inquiry everyone has been working on creating their own community

with a language, decided on the geography, created a unique sport with a brochure and is working hard on

finishing their community transportation before the break.

Our seasonal vocabulary in French continues to grow as does the powerpoint each of the students is creating.

Enjoy the holiday break and spend lots of time curled up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

Mrs. Skoglund

Page 5

Page 6

Welcome to the North Pole

-shared write by Room 4 Grade 2/3

Brrrr.... it sure is chilly at the top of the world. We have been exploring the North Pole where Santa

and his elves live, but guess who also lives in the North Pole? The North Pole is home to wolverines,

reindeer, puffin, polar bears, seals, Arctic wolves and many more animals.

If you look around, you will see lots of ice and snow. This flat land is called the Tundra. It might sur-

prise you, but mushrooms, grass, and small plants grow there. You won’t see any trees though in

the North Pole, it’s too cold!

You can see the Northern Lights in the North Pole. The Northern Lights are very colourful. Particles

from the Sun mix with gas on Earth to create the Northern Lights.

Fun Facts:

Reindeer have another name called Caribou. - Jai’von

A polar bear can be 7 to 8 feet long! - Lucas

Seals have blubber to help them stay warm in the cold. - Jemmah

Some blocks are bigger than others – Nevaeh

Picture A has 2 tens = 20, Picture B has 1 ten – Justin B

Picture A has 25: 10, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. Picture B has 3, 6, 9,

12, 15 ones and 1 ten = 25 – Lucas

There are more tens and less ones in A than in B – Ella

All together there is 50. I counted all of the tens to get 30 and then added on the ones – Justin D

What Baines’ Brainiacs have been up to…I can hardly believe that Christmas is just around the corner. 2020

has most definitely been a year we will long remember, with many firsts for us all. We have been learning and

growing together in ways we never could have anticipated. I am blessed to have been at Polson for over 30

years (yes really) and I am now proud to be teaching the children of many former students.

At our recent conferences we remembered when we received our first apple computer lab …6 clunky ma-

chines and one printer that did amazing dot matrix pictures and a little word processing…WOW who could

have imagined then that we would be doing online conferences in 2020! (only in the, “Jetsons”) Well we did it

and even more incredible it was successful! So, that was a major accomplishment for us all and I thank you all

for your patience and support.

Our boat is still a float and I think we are making great progress with the new routines and even the addition

of remote learning for some. The waters have begun to calm, and I am hoping this will continue as we move

into, the New Year. One thing we have learned for sure is resilience, we can do anything if we work together

as a team and support one another.

We have been moving forward with our academics, working on geometry in math, discovering more about our

Canadian provinces and territories in social studies and working on inquiry-based research projects in science,

social studies, and art. Our, “Little Green Thumbs” have continued to grow, we experimented and investigated

plants that can grow without soil, what happens to a squash if you just add soil, and how quickly some plants

can grow. We have been able to continue to connect with our “farmer” Shannon via live video visits, again I

am amazed by the technology of today.

In science now also starting to explore different kinds of forces and motion. We continue to build our daily

reading and writing skills. We are focusing on Nutrition, Zones, mindfulness and healthy lifestyles with Mrs.

Christensen and myself. We would like to welcome our new EA., Ms. Villanueva who has been working in our

classroom to support the students. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Enns and Ms. Villanueva for teaching the stu-

dents to sign (no singing yet) the song, “You are My Sunshine” this was the most heart-warming Christmas gift

I have EVER received. Yes, I cried, and you will too, please check it out on our class TEAMS.

Thank you for all the time and hard work that went into making it. We have accomplished all of this and much

more in such a short time. Your children are amazing, and your support is greatly appreciated! I wish you all a

peaceful, safe, happy, healthy holiday season and I believe 2021 will bring better days our way!

Sending you all virtual Hugs,

Mrs. Baines Grade 2/3

LUNCH PROGRAM

Hi All,

On behalf of the lunch program, we wish you all a happy and restful holiday!

Please note, in the New Year we will be looking to hire at least one lunch supervisor. Please contact Mr. Bus-

ceti in the office if you are interested in the position.

Lunch Program Committee

Grade 2/3 News—Mrs. Baines

ESD Committee

We want to remind you all that Sustainability is a priority at Polson School. Over the holiday season please remember to be Earth friendly, recycle, renew, reuse, and RESPECT you’re your environment. We only have one Earth and it is our job to look after it. Due to the current health pandemic we are continuing to focus on Goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being. Please visit the United Nations site for more information on the Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.globalgoals.org/