Curriculum Vision
I'd like to thank everyone who was able to attend Curriculum Night on Tuesday. It was a great opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn about the new routines and expectations for the year.
During the presentation I spoke about the the skills that our students, your children, will need for 21st century careers and citizenship; namely Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, Collaboration and Leadership, Agility and Adaptability, Initiative, Effective Oral and Written Communication, Accessing and Analyzing Information, and Curiosity and Imagination.
Furthermore, we have moved from Generation X, to Y and now to Z-those born from 1995-2012. According to The Social Librarian, this last cohort of children posses the following attributes
I'd like to thank everyone who was able to attend Curriculum Night on Tuesday. It was a great opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn about the new routines and expectations for the year.
During the presentation I spoke about the the skills that our students, your children, will need for 21st century careers and citizenship; namely Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, Collaboration and Leadership, Agility and Adaptability, Initiative, Effective Oral and Written Communication, Accessing and Analyzing Information, and Curiosity and Imagination.
-incredibly sophisticated in technology
-immune to most
traditional marketing and sales pitches and as a result aren’t brand
loyal-they’ve been exposed to it all on the Internet
-they have learned to be
flexible and are constantly changing in views
-this group are much more
racially and ethnically diverse and more segmented because they can get their information from a variety of sources including cable, TV channels, satellite radio, the
Internet etc
-often they’ve been raised
in single parent or dual income families
-they will most likely
have to get a parent to co-sign their loans or credit card applications
Little is known about Generation Z, but we do know that schools will have to be more diverse and that technology will have to
be integrated more into the school system and allow for individual instruction,
remediation and acceleration.
Why
is it important for our staff to know this? It’s important because knowing what
are students’ will need is the first step in planning our programs. As a staff
we need to make sure that kids are engaged in their own learning. We will
continue to implement inquiry-based learning-a focus from last year, and
continue to our work on creating authentic assessments and evaluations. We must
continue to teach how to ask a higher level questions and give the kids the
tools to find the answers. Staff must
teach rote, paper and pencil techniques, but not make it their sole assessment
strategy. We will continue to balance these traditional assessments with more
creative ones.
I’ve never believed in throwing out the baby with the bathwater-but staff have
to be willing to change and try new things in order to improve student
achievement! And finally, technology must be incorporated into the program and
we are so fortunate to be working in a school community that can support this
aspect of learning. As many of you know, we are so close to having a Smart Board
in each of our classrooms which have been a wonderful teaching and learning
tool. We will continue to seek more IT learning opportunities in the future-as
we know-it’s constantly changing.
From Parent Council...
The following classes still need a Grade Parent. If you are interested in the position, please contact your child's teacher. Thank you.
- Mrs. Mandel
- Ms. Shklar/Ms. Najder-March
- Mr. Littlejohn
- Mr. Ellerker
- Mr. Kuru
- Mr. RossFlyers were sent home for September Pizza Day and the Fall Festival. Next week, the weekly Bulletin will be sent home electronically.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Important Dates to Remember
September 2014
15th-Cross Country Begins
15th-Cross Country Begins
24-Terry Fox Walk
25-Terry Fox Walk Rain Date; Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
26-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council
30-School Photos
October 2014
1-School Photos
4-Grade 6 Instrumental Music Camp
9-IEPs go home
13-Thanksgiving
14-Book Fair Begins
16-Parent Council Welcome Wagon-4:00-7:00
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
24-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
27-Parent Council
28-Photo Retakes
30-Parent Interview Bookings Begin
31-Hallowe’en Parade
November 2014
6-Parent Interview Booking Closed
10-Report Cards Go Home
11-Remembrance Day Assembly
12-“Grow Assembly”
14-PA Day
21-Kindie Sharing Assembly
24-Parent Council Meeting
25-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
December 2014
5-PA Day
12-Kindie Sharing Assembly
16-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
22-Holidays Begin
January 2015
5-School Begins
19-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m
23-PA Day
27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
28-Kindie Sharing Assembly
29-Parent On-Line Interview Bookings Open
February 2015
5-Parent On-Line Booking Closed
9-Report Cards Go Home
10 and 11-Kindergarten Registration
13-PA Day
16-Family Day
19-Kindie Sharing Assembly
20-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
23-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.
March 2015
16-20-March Break
24-Kindie Sharing Assembly
27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
30-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.
April 2015
3 and 6-Good Friday and Easter Monday
20-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m
21-Kindie Sharing Assembly
28-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
May 2015
18-Victoria Day
20-Kindie Sharing Assembly
25-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m
27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
June 2015
5-PA Day
12-Grade 8 Graduation
15-19-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
17-Kindie Sharing Assembly
19-Grade 1-7 Sharing Assembly
24-Report Cards Go Home
25-Day 0; Student Assembly; Lunch on Lawn
