Week of February 2 - 6th, 2026

Black History Month:  “Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations: From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries”

February is Black History Month in Canada, a time for people of all ages—students, families, educators, and community members—to reflect on and celebrate the significant contributions of Black Canadians to our nation’s history, growth, and development. It is also an opportunity to honour the achievements of Black individuals and communities, while recognizing that Black history is an integral part of Canadian history.

In our prayers throughout the month, we will take the opportunity to honour and pray for many of the achievements and contributions made by a variety of Black Canadian historical figures.

Black History Month at the OCSB

In our class, we will celebrate and honour the contributions of Black Canadians to the history and development of Canada. We will learn about Viola Desmond, and read stories written by or about Black Canadians for young children. We will also learn about some influential Black Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

St. Gabriel Winter Olympics Spirit Week February 2 - 6th, 2026

Our Learning

Math

In Grade 2, we will continue to explore how to sort and classify 2-D shapes using their geometric properties. We will also explore the congruency of shapes by creating and comparing shapes.

Grade 2 Parent letter Explaining How to Sort and Classify 2-D Shapes

In Grade 3, we will continue our exploration of how we can describe, sort, and compare 3-D solids, including their properties (e.g., faces, edges, vertices, angles, congruence). We will then learn how to decompose and compose 3-D solids into 

Link to Geometry Vocabulary To Know for Grade 3 here

Grade 3 Parent letter explaining how to sort 3-D objects here

Grade 3 Explaining How to Compose and Decompose 3-D Objects

Language:

During our phonics lessons, we will learn 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, go, she.

This week's new heart word: friend, 

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.

Reading Comprehension:

In order to develop reading comprehension, since the fall, we have been working on strategies such as making predictions while reading, identifying the important ideas in a text, making connections to our own ideas and experiences, visualizing, asking questions, and using text features to find information in a text. 

In both Grade 2 and Grade 3, the Ontario Language curriculum, and your child's evaluation and report mark, includes his/her ability to demonstrate, both orally and through written responses, comprehension of a text. Reading comprehension includes being able to reflect on and understand the deeper meanings in a text and answering comprehension questions about that content, even when the "answer" is not written explicitly in the text. This ability to infer meaning is extremely important.

In Grade 2, your child begins to learn how to provide written responses to comprehension questions about texts read. An emphasis is placed on learning how to find the answer in the text where appropriate, and then to use words from the question to begin their answer, followed by writing their answer in a complete sentence and provide a short explanation.

In Grade 3, the students are expected to clearly explain their thinking using evidence and details from the text to support the answer, as well as his/her own ideas and experiences. This can be a challenging skill for many students, but an important skill which they will continue to use for years to come, into high school and post-secondary education.

Science

The Grade 2s are learning about movement and simple machines. We have been exploring the forces of push and pull and how we can make objects move. This week, we will begin to learn about different types of simple machines. The Grade 2s in our class will participate in a Scientists in School workshop with Ms. Vysochyna's class. The workshop will be about movement and simple machines on the morning of Wednesday, February 4th.

In Grade 3, we have been learning about structures. On Friday, February 6th, our class will participate in a Scientists in School workshop with Mrs. Lobo's Grade 3 class. The workshop is about strong and stable structures, in which your child will build their own structure using what they learn. The important idea for the workshop is that a structure has both form and function, and that structures need to be strong enough to withstand forces acting on them.

Important Dates:

February - Black History Month

Wednesday, Feb. 4 - Grade 2 Scientists in School Workshop 9:15-11:15

Friday, Feb. 6 - Grade 3 Scientists in School Workshop 9:15-11:15

Wednesday, Feb. 11 - Report Cards and IEPs available on Parent Portal

Friday, Feb. 13 - Grade 2/3 Class Valentine's Day celebration

Monday, Feb. 16 - Family Day: No school

Feb. 17-21 - Kindness Week