This week’s #ocsbFridayFeeling is simple: joy is the lesson. Not a reward for finishing the work, not something saved for the end of the day. This week, joy was the whole point.
It showed up in the most wonderful places. Grade 3 students became published authors, their hard work bound and shelved in the school library for everyone to read. That kind of pride comes from making something real, something that lasts.
On the race course, students ran during Ottawa Race Weekend with perseverance, effort, and sportsmanship. On the baseball diamond, a Toronto Blue Jays program helped students discover just how much fun the sport can be, as base-running skills grew right alongside smiles. In gym class, bocce ball, ring toss, balance beams, and a very energetic round of rock-paper-scissors turned movement into pure, active joy.
Then there was National Paper Airplane Day, where students designed, launched, and measured their creations, turning a single piece of paper into a math lesson and a whole lot of laughter. Elsewhere, Kindergarteners celebrated ‘Dinosaur Day’ with dinosaur masks and races. Learning does not get more alive than that.
Quieter moments had their own kind of joy, too. Students harvested cherry tomatoes from the classroom garden and turned them into a full mathematics exploration, counting seeds, estimating and sorting their way through the afternoon. Outdoor learning centres opened up under open skies, and a read-aloud found its perfect setting in the fresh air and sunshine.
This week, our students were laughing, running, publishing, planting, flying, and roaring their way through every single day. Joy was not the reward. Joy was the lesson all along. 🍅✈️📚⚾🦕✨
