News Week of March 9 - 13, 2026

School Lenten Project - SchoolBOX 

Lent began with Ash Wednesday on February 18th. In the spirit of Almsgiving, the families, students, and staff of St. Gabriel School will be supporting SchoolBOX, a small, local organization with big dreams to support education and learning in Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario. SchoolBOX’s mission is to ensure Indigenous children in Northern Ontario have the same access to quality books as our students at St. Gabriel. Through this fundraiser, we will be helping to purchase books and support the building of libraries.

Sticker Store Fundraiser:

To support our SchoolBOX initiative, we will be hosting a school-wide Sticker Store on Friday, March 13th.

Students will visit the Sticker Store with their class during a scheduled time and choose from a variety of fun, kid-friendly stickers.

💰 Pricing

• 2 stickers for $1

• We recommend sending no more than $5 per student.

✉️ How It Works

• Please send money in a labeled envelope/ziplock bag (student name + amount enclosed).

• Students will browse tables, select their stickers, and place them in their envelope.

• At checkout, volunteers will count the stickers and return any change inside the envelope

To help the event run smoothly, please send small bills or coins (no bills larger than $10).

🤝 Parent Volunteers Needed

We are looking for parent volunteers to help on the day of the fundraiser with:

• Supervising tables & Restocking inventory

• Assisting students with counting stickers

• Managing checkout and change

If you are available to support this event, please sign up using the volunteer sign-up form. We greatly appreciate your time and partnership in making this event a success.

This is a joyful and affordable way for our students to practice generosity during Lent while supporting an important cause. Thank you for your continued support of our St. Gabriel community.

Field Trip to the Agriculture and Food Museum April 28th

On April 28th, Mrs. Rocco’s Grade 1 class, Ms. Vysochyna’s Grade 1 / 2 class,  Mrs. Maidment’s Grade 2 / 3 class, and Mrs. Lobo’s Grade 3 class, will be visiting the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum (Experimental Farm) to provide the children with a unique opportunity that will complement concepts addressed in the Grade 2 and 3 Science curriculums. The Grade 1 and 2 students will have an opportunity to visit various museum exhibits and participate in the Meet the Farm Animals exploration, and the Grade 3 students will participate in the Living Soils workshop. Please return both permission forms to school by Friday, March 27th.

Please note that we will require a few volunteers, at least 4 for our class. If we do not have enough parent volunteers, we will not be able to attend. We currently do not have any parent volunteers yet.

Volunteers wishing to accompany us on this trip must have completed a current Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) from Ottawa Police. The Ottawa Catholic School Board requires all volunteers to have this check completed. Please visit the St. Gabriel School website gab.ocsb.ca and under Quick Links, click on the Volunteer link. Please register as soon as possible.

Wacky Weather

Although we may still have some cold weather later this week, we are having some days of warmer, early-Spring weather. The warmer temperatures will mean that the schoolyard (both the pavement and grassy areas) will become even wetter and muddier. Please help us keep our students, school, and classrooms dry and clean by reminding your child to wear appropriate outerwear each day such as splashpants, boots, and a warm jacket. Extra socks and even a change of pants are highly recommended. Thank you for your support.

Our Learning

Language:

During our phonics lessons, we will learn about words that end in a long i and o vowel + two consonants (Long VCC word endings), such as in the -ild, -old, -olt, -ind, and -ost word endings. Examples of words with these endings include wild, child, mind, told, bolt, and host.

This week's new heart words: both

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, woman, women, *move, *both.

Math:

In Grade 3, we have been learning how to estimate and calculate the perimeter of various polygons using standard units of measure (e.g., centimetres, metres). This week, we will also explore how to measure the area of 2-dimensional shapes using non-standard units and standard units, such as square centimetres. 

Link to Perimeter MathUP parent summary letter #2 here

Link to Grade 3 parent summary letter area using non-standard units 

Link to Grade 3 parent summary letter measuring area using grids

In Grade 2, we will continue to work on adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers. Our focus is to explore strategies for adding and subtracting numbers less than 100 (e.g., using a number line, hundred chart, manipulatives such as counters or ten-frames, drawing objects, and using mental strategies). This week, we will review how to add 2-digit numbers by using multiples of tens (counting on by tens).

Link to Grade 2 Adding Two-Digit Numbers MathUP parent summary letter #1 here

Your child will also practise solving word problems that involve 2-digit addition and subtraction. We will review how to communicate and show our thinking (How did we determine our answer?; What strategy did we use? How can we explain our strategy?). We will review the steps to solving a problem, including writing the final answer in a complete sentence when solving a word problem. Please have your child practise adding and subtracting at home, with an important focus on encouraging your child to explain his/her thinking. 

 

Here are some other strategies your child may use to add:

Important Dates:

March 8 - Daylight Savings Begins (clocks set forward an hour)

Friday, March 13 - School Sticker Sale Fundraiser
March 17 - St Patrick’s Day
March 16-20- March break

Tuesday, April 28 - Field Trip to Agriculture & Food Museum