Week of February 17 - 20th, 2026

This week is Kindness Week at the OCSB. Here is how we are celebrating at St. Gabriel School:

Ash Wednesday:         

Wednesday, February 18th is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season on Lent. During Lent, we will learn about what it means to sacrifice things we enjoy in order to better understand how difficult it was for Jesus before He died for us. We will focus on the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (giving to those in need). 

                              

Our school will be having an Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. in our school gym. Our Grade 2/3 class is responsible for leading this liturgy, with several of our students doing the readings and prayers and leading the school in the songs. Parents are most welcome to attend.

*Your child is encouraged to wear black or dark grey pants and a white top (e.g., white button up shirt or white t-shirt) on Wednesday for the liturgy.

Our Learning

Math:

This week, we will begin our units on measurement. The Grade 2s will spend a bit of time reviewing non-standard measurement learned in Grade 1. We will measure the length of objects using non-standard units such as paper clips, snap cubes, toothpicks, etc. We will then learn about the standard units of measure, the centimetre and the metre. 

Link to Grade 2 Parent Summary letter about non-standard measurement

The Grade 3s will spend some time reviewing the standard units of measurement which were learned in Grade 2 - the centimetre and metre. We will then learn about the kilometre, and explore when these units are best used to measure length. At home, you can help by reviewing how to use a centimetre ruler to measure length, with an emphasis on starting at the zero on the ruler for accuracy. 

Parent letter about the centimetre and metre here

Parent letter about the kilometre here

Language:

This week in our phonics lessons, During our phonics lessons, we will review what we have learned about open and closed syllables.

A closed syllable has only one vowel and the vowel is followed by one or more consonants. The vowel sound is short. Examples of closed syllables include hop, kick, fast.

Open syllables have only one vowel and the vowel is the last letter in the syllable. In an open syllable, the vowel is long. Examples of open syllables include hi___, ro___, be___, .

This week we will learn that we can combine an open syllable with a closed syllable to make a longer word.

Examples include o + pen = open, hu + man = human, ra + ven = raven, si + lent = silent, mu + sic = music, se + cret = secret.

No new heart words this week. Review *friend, *because

Please have your child practise the heart words we have learned so far in class: the, I, a, said, to, do, of, see, he, be, me, from, you, what, have, look, book, are, was, your, want, go, no, so, goes, says, they, their, were, talk, walk, could, should, would, or, for, who, by, my, one, once, use, two, does, many, any, been, into, *friend, *because.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

February 17-20: Kindness Week (see above for daily theme)

Tues., Feb. 17: Shrove Tuesday; Wear rainbow colours

Wed., Feb. 18: Ash Wednesday liturgy 11:00

Thurs., Feb. 19: Wear pink for kindness

Fri., Feb. 20: Crazy Socks Day

Fri., Feb. 20: Library books due