​Last Saturday was Earth Day and Team Awesome was very excited to learn about and make posters with tips we can do at home to help the Earth. They also agreed that every day should be Earth Day and we should do what we can as often as we can. In 2018 the world's greenhouse gas emissions broke a new record. Global greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 7.6% each year until 2030 if we want to avoid average global temperatures increasing to more than 1.5C above pre-Industrial levels by the year 2100. There are many sites online dedicated to small things we can all do to help make a difference, including the David Suzuki Foundation. Spread the word and make sure everyone you know is doing their bit too. I know we all want our children to inherit a healthy, sustainable Earth. 

• Please send library books back for exchange by Monday.
• The Point of Progress reports should have made it home this week. If you would like a more formal meeting or have questions or concerns, we can set up a meeting at your request.
• Permission forms for our gymnastic activities at TCC went home and are due back by Monday May 1.
• May PAC pizza orders are due Monday May 1 with pizza delivered for lunch on Friday May 5.
• We have our first gymnastics trip to TCC on Wednesday, May 3. The second one is May 10.
• The fire drill that was scheduled for Friday, May 5 has been moved to Tuesday, May 2.
• Friday, May 5 is a possible Fresh Air Friday. Please dress your child for the weather.
• DeVry Flowers/Plant Fundraiser orders are due on May 5th and they will be ready for pick up on May 19th .
• We will begin our Jump Rope For Heart fundraising campaign with a presentation in the gym from the BEST skipping team on Thursday, May 11.
• Both Mrs. Farber and Mrs. Bowden will be away on Friday, May 12.
• Sunday May 14 is Mother's Day. 
• Friday, May 19 is a Pro-D day and Team Awesome will be home.
• Please send a water bottle with your child every day. Thank you!

• Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
• Sight words we are learning right now: all, boy, girl, his, not, some, that, what. Please feel free to practice at home.​
• Scholastic flyers are available here monthly. They are done online and sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
• Newsletters can be found on the BEST website at best.sd73.bc.ca.​
• If your child is exhibiting illness symptoms of any kind they must be kept home. Thank you. ​

Go forth and Lower Global Temperatures!

​When setting out expectations for a project with the children, Mrs. Farber and I seldom show them an example as they all want to make exactly what was shared with them and not create something of their own. With the catapult project we showed them pictures of a simple working catapult as many of them were unfamiliar with the term but did not show them how to make their own. The children had fun and did a great job figuring out how to use the materials given to complete a machine that would launch an object.  We revisited the catapult idea again later but the second time provided a 'how-to' video and an expanded selection of materials to choose from and reminded them to revise their original ideas and improve upon them as needed. As so often happens when shown how to do something, most of them chose to try and make the exact same catapult from the video rather than playing and exploring with the materials and coming up with or building on their own ideas from the first session. Some of them had a difficult time expanding their thinking beyond their first try and others rose to the occasion and eagerly modified their catapults to make them bigger and better. We will continue to work on encouraging the children to change and rethink and tweek their ideas to improve on them as the year goes on.

​​On April 6, schools across SD 73 held virtual assemblies and activities to honour and recognize Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux territory as well as other First Nations and Aboriginal groups. In Kamloops Thompson School District this is now known as the "Day of Sucwentwecw." Sucwentwecw (sook-went-wa) means to acknowledge one another. During this day a number of events, activities and gatherings were held to recognize the Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux Nation and to teach students and staff about the traditional aboriginal and First Nations people, their histories and the territories SD 73 now occupies. The theme for this year's Day of Sucwentwecw was 'Courage to Explore and Embrace Your Identity Which Involves Connection to Family, Community, and Culture'. 
At BEST we used the resources provided for us by the District. At the whole school gathering BEST students watched a story written and told by Trudy Nielsen called 'Fox's Coming of Age' and learned about medicine wheels and how they are used. We each proceeded to make our own wooden medicine wheel to take home. BEST students and staff also participated this week in creating a wonderful wall mural with our hand prints in the coloured quadrant corresponding to our birthday season. The mural was unveiled at our whole school gathering and will be hung near the entry to the school. Other activities were provided in individual classrooms throughout the day.
The Day of Sucwentwecw is a day to celebrate and acknowledge one another and we would like to think that we at BEST do just that every day and not solely on April 6.