Lately we have been deconstructing song lyrics to look for strong visual language. Lots of tuneful and creative fun with old Traditional Folk Tunes these days! The Kindergarteners had their hearing tested this week… So…no more excuses for any “Selective Listening!”
September 2024: We are victims of our own success and are already bursting at the seams for next year. There is an extensive waitlist of families hoping to join our program. If you have not already done so, please email by noon February 16th me to let me know if you intend to keep your child in the program in September 2024, or will be moving on to other choices.
Students in both groups have been practicing giving and receiving constructive criticism. This week, please watch for a Student Self-Assessment page coming home which is focused on this Core Competency. Please return it to school with your child as soon as possible (or email it back to me) at least 2 weekdays BEFORE your child’s next Portfolio Meeting. These pages form part of the report card file which will be coming home in the week of March 11.
Included here are some parent resources about Core Competencies and Reporting Student Learning:
https://www.vsb.bc.ca/page/26696/assessment-and-reporting
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/reporting/resources-for-parents-and-caregivers
One way we have been applying these skills is to partner up an older student with a younger student when we are doing group work. I am so impressed with the willingness and kindness your children demonstrate during these activities.
I am going to offer one bit of constructive criticism here myself. Recently I’ve overheard students from both cohorts mention to classmates that they rarely practice writing skills or basic math computation skills on the days they are learning from home. While meaningful learning happens in all sorts of interdisciplinary ways, I strongly encourage parents to remember that frequent reinforcement of basic skills is an important step to understanding. And, more importantly, it builds confidence and fluency, thus freeing up energy for creativity and expression. There are lots of great math and spelling games and downloadable math and sight-word flash cards out there that can help in this area. An easy way for the parents of the Primary students especially, is to look up “Dolch Word Lists” and “High Frequency Word Lists” by their grade level.
February is Black History Month. The Intermediates have begun a novel study about the experiences of a bi-racial student. The Primary students have begun learning some songs that celebrate respectful interdependence. Included here is a link to more Black History resources: Black History Educational Package – Canada’s History (canadashistory.ca)
February also holds Family Day and Valentine’s Day. On the last day of classes before Portfolio Week (Fri Feb 9 & Tues Feb 13), we will be enjoying an afternoon of music, games and Friendship Fruit Salad in acknowledgement of the support of our families and other helpful relationships. Please send a container of washed and chopped up fruit to add to our happy concoction! Feel free to send along other seasonal treats as well.
by LBaker