**Please check the Meeting Schedules (in the sidebar) and the calendar at the bottom for information regarding this week's meetings and events. Laptops are not required unless requested. Thank you for leaving them in your classrooms.
***Please bookmark the Mindset link so you can access it easily.
~from the ES BBE
~from the Elementary Office
Newsletters will be sent home next Friday, just before 4:00 pm via instructional leads on behalf of the grade level and encore team (note: the new template combines both core and encore).
The template can be found in this folder.
Encore teachers please go to the grade level folder to input your information into each grade newsletter by Wednesday, noon. Instructional leads, please ensure your monthly newsletter is available by Monday, 8:00 am the week it goes live, so encore teachers have ample time to insert their updates.
Instructional Leads, please give both Krista and Leigh editing access no later than Thursday, by 10 am, so they can review it. Please embed on or before Friday at 10 am so Tracey can check formatting of the newsletter and cross-check images.* Instruction Leads sen the composer email between 3:30-4:00 pm on Friday before leaving campus.
*Teachers and Assistants, are responsible for carefully checking all images chosen for upload against the Parent Permission and Agreements Responses to ensure we are GDPR compliant.
~from What on Earth? CBC News
• E-bikes, not electric cars, may hold the key to greener transportation
• Wildfires aren't the only thing heating up in Australia
• Algae: Carbon capture of a different sort
January
24- End of Semester 1
24- PD Day
25- Reports Due, completed (comments and indicators), on Veracross (already, reviewed and edited for tone and consistency) Please email your reader (KZ, LM, TR and Erika as soon as they are up).
28- Faculty Conversation
31- EC Big Sing 8:45
31- ES Gr. 1-5 Assembly 14:45
31- Semester 1 Reports Go Live 16:00
~from the Elementary Principal
I am excited to announce that we have offered the Associate Principal position to Diane Glawe and she has accepted. Diane was the preferred candidate of all three panels. Diane joins us from the International School of Genoa where she has been Elementary Principal for seven years. Before joining ISG, Diane worked in the Minneapolis Public School system for 19 years. She is joined by her husband, Gustavo.
We are excited to have Debbie Renn join our EAL team next year. Leigh and I had the opportunity to interview Debbie during the Director Search. Debbie has over ten years experience teaching EAL and has also taught Learning Support, Grade1, and Grade 3. Her philosophy and expertise aligns with our approaches to teaching and learning.
We are thrilled to make Corinne Maurice a full time Blazer this August. Corinne has worked as a substitute and long-term maternity cover teacher for us since 2015. Corinne has been a welcome and contributing member of our community. Corinne's grade level placement is yet to be determined as it is dependent upon enrollment numbers.
PD Day on Friday
~from the DTL
Please review the PD Day Schedule for Friday, January 24 and plan your time to make the most of this full day of learning. Although reports are looming, your colleagues have also put effort into preparing workshops for you, so please consider joining in - sign up here.
Learning for the Future Experience
~from the LFF team
We are excited to launch our first LFF experience for teachers, parents and students on Thursday, January 30. There will be 3 opportunities for you to join the conversation, 9:00 - 10:00 (MPR), 12:00 - 1:00 (MPR) and 3:45 - 4:45 (MS/HS Library). If you would like to bring a small group of students (3-4), please talk to Leigh in advance so we can maintain a balance of parents, teachers, and students. The learning will be real and relevant and the experience will bring us closer together as a community striving to be future forward thinkers! Don't miss out!
What are you learning about? What is your team learning about? How are your students growing as a result? Each week one of our teams will share their story or learning with the rest of us. Learning experience may be about a book you/your team read, a TedTalk, a conference attended, an online course, PIC progress, or reflections on a recent learning experience students engaged in. As part of our Culture of Learning, it is important we share our stories of growth and learning with one another. Reflections can take any form you choose (i.e., video, written, image, Sketchnote, etc). Talk to your team lead to find out more and learn when your team will be sharing their story of learning with others.
Learning Identities in Early Childhood
~From Kindergarten
~from the Innovation Team (Nate, Paul, and Vlad)
Out of the PSA breakfast conversation a consistent theme emerged related to the importance of building awareness. As students continue to explore the digital ecosystem, we must educate ourselves and continue paying attention to what interests and activities are shaping the digital experiences of our students.
One way we can promote safety at home is by promoting the use of certain options and settings on children's device(s). Settings allow parents to streamline their child(ren)'s experience and monitor their engagement in a potentially harmful and hostile environment. Settings can allow parents to filter out harmful content, manage access to certain apps, manage the ability to add/purchase new content, set screen time limits, and explore options for deciding what level of safety precautions are important to them as a family. Using restrictions in the settings function of a device is an important step towards ensuring a comfortable and safe environment for each child. Ultimately, parents can work toward establishing an environment in which they feel confident their child can safely explore.
If your parents express interest in learning more about their options, please tell them to contact a member of the Learning Innovation department ([email protected]) for assistance.
~from the ES Librarian
The Caldecott will be announced this Monday, January 27. The Caldecott Medal has been awarded by the American Library Association (ALA) since 1938. “The Randolph Caldecott Medal annually recognizes the preceding years most distinguished illustrations in a children’s picture book. It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.” - ALA website
For the past couple of weeks, I have been eagerly sharing previous winners with our kinder, first, and second graders. Favorites like Owl Moon, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee. We’ve been discussing what makes illustrations unique and the students have been reflecting on the different styles of the illustrators. Unlike other book awards, there is no short-list announced in advance; but, as a children’s librarian, I always try to predict who and which book may possibly win (or be awarded the Caldecott Honor Medal).
My predictions this year:
- ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market written and illustrated by Raul Gonzalez
- How to Read a Book written by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Melissa Sweet
- Another (wordless) illustrated by Christian Robinson
- A Stone Sat Still written and illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
- Hey, Water! written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis