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Building a Positive School Culture
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Building a positive school culture goes hand in hand with everything we do here at Pythagoras Academy. The atmosphere set in a school contributes to every facet of learning and growing together as a community. By cultivating meaningful opportunities for community celebrations, like Lunar New Year, we are able to share our cultural backgrounds and take time to appreciate one another in realms beyond the academics. The beginning of the month marked the start of the Year of the Tiger and was celebrated by eating traditional food together, like dumplings and pineapple treats. In addition, the head of school, Mr. Bouchard, spent time going class to class handing out lucky red envelopes to each student, welcoming the new year by saying "新年快乐" or "Happy New Year" in Mandarin. A positive school culture allows for a teaching of the child as a whole, which in turn supports academic success and a healthy learning environment.
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Messages from Across the Grades
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Junior Kindergarten "JK"
Our Junior Kindergarten classes have explored examples of kindness and have come up with a few of our own, including using kind hands and sharing with others! Students were eager to share their Valentine's Day messages with their loved ones and enjoyed dressing up for our 100 Years Old Day!
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Grades K/1
In Kindergarten, we connected with a Senior’s home in Quebec and have made Valentine cards to send to them. We have been discussing what makes a good friend and what positive behaviours help us to stay friends. In Grade 1, we prepared for Valentine's day by learning how to write letters and address cards. We are also practicing printing kind messages to our friends when we notice that they are doing something to care for the class or for each other.
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Grades 2/3
The grade 2 and 3 classes used their open hearts to celebrate friendship by inquiring into the themes of kindness, respect, and empathy. Grade two celebrated students' birthdays by writing them warm fuzzies, a way to share with peers why you are grateful for them. Grade three used their poetry unit to share creative gratitude poems with their families, friends and teachers.
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Grades 4-8
Grade 4 students have been studying friendships in the novel "Charlottes Web," which follows the storyline of a pig, named Wilbur, and his friendships with others, including a spider named Charlotte. Students made connections with the story by exploring friendship in their own lives. Grade 5 students have reviewed the "5 Chairs, 5 Choices" behavioural model and participated in interviews for the ISABC professional development day, giving them the opportunity to share their learning with others.
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In Grade 6, students explored the theme of open-heartedness and friendship while preparing for the Pink Shirt Day virtual assembly. Students worked hard on collaborating in creating and writing a skit based on the origin of Pink Shirt Day. Grade 7/8 students modelled friendship by being kind to others and participating in projects, like the grade 6 Pink Shirt Day assembly. Students assisted in the recording and visual aesthetic of the filming production, further enhancing our message and enriching our school community!
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Student Council and Committee:
Leadership and Service Projects
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Students, along with teachers, Mr. Cope and Mr. Purcell, have come together to form student councils and committees. Students and teachers alike are dedicating time outside of class to engage in opportunities that foster leadership, teamwork and public speaking skills. Recently, the Food Committee has taken part in a Zoom meeting focused on the PA lunch and snack programs. Prior to the meeting, students gathered and examined school wide data in order to bring talking points of appreciation and areas of possible improvements.
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Student senior leadership members stated, "Ms. Angela is doing a very good job at organizing the food and getting the lunches out on time. It is a big job and there are a lot of hungry students!" - Sienna, grade 5 student" and "Having meetings like this help us understand the process of ordering lunches and why some tough choices are needed to be made."- Jolin, grade 8 student. Meanwhile, the Student Council is arranging for a clean up day, creating posters and relaying important dates and events to their school community with their PA Newsletter. Be on the lookout for updates on these and other events!
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Literacy and the Library Commons: World Read Aloud Day
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Ms. Tang’s class visited Ms. Powell in the Library to discuss World Read Aloud Day, hosted on February 2nd. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the power of reading! Ms. Powell provided students with a meaningful read aloud, connecting with the Year of the Tiger, by reading about big cats and examining books that feature big cats in fictional and nonfiction genres- a popular and strategic teaching method informed by Adrienne Gear’s practices. Students listened intensively, asked questions and made connections with the characters, practicing predictions as the as the events in the plot unfolded.
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One Kindergarten student, James said, “I predict that the deer knows that it is a snake approaching the tiger in the book!” As the students waited and guessed what happened next, they were encouraged to relay their ideas and participate in an act aloud, “Oh no, I bet it's a beehive!,” shouted Grace. What are the bees going to sound like? “Bzzzz!,” all of the students exclaimed! At the end of the story, students carefully crafted their own World Read Aloud Day crown and proudly wore it throughout the day and for some, the entire week.
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Social Emotional Learning: Pink Shirt Day and Anti-bullying
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On Wednesday, February 23, 2022, schools across Canada took time to acknowledge and participate in Pink Shirt Day. This fantastic day promotes anti-bullying messages and the overall theme of open-heartedness and kindness. Pink Shirt Day is a movement that started in Canada when two boys saw another boy being teased for wearing a pink shirt to school. They went out and bought lots of pink shirts and started handing them out to friends. They all wore pink shirts to school the next day to support their classmate. At Pythagoras Academy, students and staff participated in various activities, such as the virtual assembly and visiting the “Heart” of Kindness. Throughout the day, students reflected on questions such as: What does kindness and respect look like to you? What are the characteristics of a healthy relationship? Why is it important to be kind and respectful?"
For further information about Pink Shirt Day and to familiarize yourself with bullying, please visit: https://www.pinkshirtday.ca/
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Informational Technology:
Celebrating Achievements Together
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Pythagoras Academy students have once again congratulated one another on their ongoing winning streak, awards and championships. Each year, students who have participated in the First Lego League have won trophies, medals and certificates in top scoring categories.To celebrate these efforts, Ms. Vihovska recently held an after school Pizza party.
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Students conversed, reflected on their hard work and played games in celebration of their achievements. This program, boasting a global community of students, educators, coaches, volunteers and alumni, poses real world challenges to spark innovation and work towards building a better future together. We can't wait to see what they come up with next!
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Featured Teachers:
Teaching with Kindness and Intentionality
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What does kindness look like? What does kindness feel like?
Ms. Cherie starts the day sharing a tune with her students and inviting them to respond by saying, “Good morning (student name) and how are you? What is one thing that makes me happy?" Students are eager to respond and to ask their teacher the same thing. “Juice! Summer! My Neighbours!” were a few of the responses. As Ms. Cherie led students through a read aloud, affectionately entitled “The Giving Tree,” students came across acts of kindness and empathy. Noticing and wondering about the weight that kindness has on friendships, students were asked to give examples of what kindness looks like or feels like. Then, add these words to their classroom door aiding in their responsibility and ownership of their learning.
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A few of these examples included, “Using gentle hands- Sebastian, jk student” and “Give hugs- Ariya, jk student.” Teachers, like Ms. Cherie in JK Davinci, facilitate lessons with kindness and intentionality, one of the teaching methods we pride ourselves in at Pythagoras Academy.
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Upcoming and Important Dates
March 3: Fire Drill
March 4: Pyjama Day
March 11: Grade 2 Virtual Assembly
March 11: Last Day of Term Two
March 12-27: Spring Break
March 28: First Day of Term Three
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