What season is it when you are on a trampoline in March? SPRING-TIME!
We would like to think that March is the month where spring starts to slowly appear, however that Lion is clinging onto winter. Hopefully the Lamb will appear over the “Spring Break” to bring us some relief.
With this being said, Onanole School was making the best of it, and started the month off with our Family Skate Night. It was a perfect evening of skating, conversation, hot chocolate, cookies, rink burgers, fries, and playing a few games at the games table. The night seemed to slip by so quickly. You know the old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun!”
The UNESCO group reps attended the meeting in Winnipeg on March 7th at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. They were able to take part in activities and share their ideas with other schools. They also had time to tour some of the exhibits at the museum over the lunch hour. The view from the top was incredible.
On the 11th and 12th, Grades 5-8 then Grades 1-4 went skiing at Ski Valley in Minnedosa. The students were looking forward to this especially the grade 5-8 class who’s previously scheduled date was changed due to the fringed conditions in January and February. The dates in March were perfect conditions for shredding up the slopes.
Parent Teacher Interviews/Family Meetings ended the busy week, it was nice to see all the families. I know many students enjoy displaying their work to show their progress since the last meeting. They should be very proud of their achievements and growth in the last few months.
On the 17th, students and staff dressed up in green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Unfortunately, we are sad to report that there was some disturbance in the grade ¾ classroom in the early morning on this day. Evidence of green footprints trailed throughout the classroom which led to continuous destruction of chairs tipped over, books strewn about, and there were tiny fingerprints left on the fish tank!! The students gathered all the evidence and concluded that it was in fact…. THE LEPRECHAUN who was up to no good!!!! Perhaps the grade ½ library class who made their Leprechaun doors let him in!!! Maybe we should not have read the story, Molly’s Magic Door by Kirsten Link.
On March 19th, the grade ¾ class welcomed Kyla, from Shur-Gro Farm Ltd in Shoal Lake, who sells seeds and products. She grew up on a farm and loves agriculture. Agriculture in the Classroom reached out to Kyla and she was happy to share her knowledge with students about her passion. Kyla spoke with the class about the different crops that are grown here in Manitoba. Some of the crops are wheat, barley, oats, canola, flax, soybean, corn, sunflowers, and wild rice. In addition to learning about what is grown in our province, she shared what some of these crops are made into and used for. Students were familiar with the different fruits and many of the vegetables that we grow in our gardens in our own back yards as part of the discussion of what we grow and consume. Next, they had the opportunity to play guess the animal, by the sounds they make. They guessed right the cow, goat, chicken, sheep, bees, and a few other animals, but were stumped by the sound a Bison made.
Kyla also shared some of the items that a farmer uses every year. She brought a feeding bottle for calves, ear tags-these are for keeping track of which calf belongs to which cow, and a measuring tool that farmers use for planting their seeds. It measures the depth and hardness of the soil, this way they can determine how deep to plant the seeds so the crop can successfully grow. Students were gifted an ear tag that they could keep and draw on. This will be a conversation piece with their families about what they learned on this day and how important agriculture is to us all.
On March 21st, students and staff wore colorful mismatched socks to bring awareness to World Down Syndrome Day. Wearing mismatched socks symbolizes the unique qualities of individuals with Down Syndrome and represents chromosomes, which are shaped like socks under a microscope. By wearing mix matched socks, we are advocating for all people’s rights, well-being, inclusion, and diversity. Thank you to Miss Cable for sharing the Story voice from Scholastic. Classes were able to connect to the live reading of, You Are Enough written by Margaret O'Hair. This is a story about inclusion and was inspired by Sofia Sanchez. Sofia is a well known actress and advocate for Down Syndrome. We had the pleasure of Sophia sharing a bit about her life and she read You Are Enough. Sophia also answered some questions after the story. It was a great opportunity to meet her and she is such a wonderful inspiration to others.