Musquodoboit Valley Education Centre

2015-2016

Mrs. Reid (P/1 and ELS) Mrs. Keddy (1/2 ) Mrs. Dillman (2/3) Mrs. Smith (3/4) Mrs. Bekkers (5) Mr. Ashley (6 and VP) Ms. Ashley (P/1 & 6) Ms. Joudrey (Res.) Ms. McMichael (LC) Mrs. Ashley, Ms. Dillman, Mrs. Bell (EPA’s) Mr. Coldwell (PE) Ms. Bowers (Music) Ms. Young (French) Mrs. Erskine (Lib.) Ms. Bezanson and Mrs. Ashley (Lunch Monitors) Mrs. Monk and Mrs. Henley (Caretakers) Mrs. Joudrey (Admin. Asst.) Mr. Ashley and Mrs. Legge (Your VP and PrinciPAL!)

P-3 Curriculum Provincial Homework Policy Provincial Code of ConductCopies of the new policies are

available in the lobby and at our website

Go to www.ednet.ns.ca for details of their action plan

Your MVEC Team spends much time exploring ‘best practices’ in instruction and we are committed to:

Employing a ‘workshop model’ (whole- group lesson, small- group instruction, independent practice and individualized support)

Sharing learning targets with students with clear examples of how to achieve success

Fostering a social, collaborative learning environment

Providing effective feedback that is specific to students’ ‘next step’ in learning

Implementing strategies for self- reflection and self- assessment

Incorporating opportunities for frequent movement

Presenting concepts in a multi- modal fashion

We are anticipating changes from the EECD to the Provincial Report Card for Grades P-3 . We will share details of these changes as soon as possible.

We expect report cards for Grades 4-6 remain unchanged at this time.

If your child experiences difficulty, teachers will contact you as early as possible during

the term so there’s ‘no surprises’ on the report card.

As part of their learning, staff will encourage students to accept age- appropriate responsibility in an gradual fashion:

Keeping track of their own materials Bringing necessary items between

home and school (lunch can, communication, books notices)

Learning to organize their time, space and work

Completing and turning in homework

The EECD has implemented a Provincial Homework Policy that indicates all students will have some homework”

What does this mean for you and your child?

Like a good nights’ sleep that helps you perform your best, homework is good for practice. Just as we don’t punish students if they don’t get a good nights’ sleep, it does help in the ‘long run’ of learning; so, too, does some practice

We understand families are busy. For this reason, we advocate there be no homework in September, December and June, as these often represent busy times for families

We also believe in respecting family time, and will avoid assigning homework to be completed over weekends

All learners have unique learning needs, therefore homework will be differentiated to support your child’s learning at home

Effective homework has a clear purpose, serve to practice meaningful concepts, and also be able to be done efficiently and independently. We strive to meet these aims

If homework is frustrating or difficult, please let your teacher know and stop working on it to avoid misconceptions and upset

Good communication between school and home is key to your child’s continued success!

Teachers have their own classroom communication methods, which may include our new student handbook, and email addresses linked to our school website.

We will soon begin to try using an automated messaging system (Please patient with us as we learn to use this tool).

Please ensure calls to the office to make alternate arrangements for bussing are done on an ‘emergency only’ basis to limit the possibility of ‘mix ups’ and human error All advance changes can be written in a note to the teacher.

As most of you are aware, the HRSB has a policy whereby every volunteer must first provide paperwork reflecting a ‘cleared’ Criminal Records Check and Child Abuse Registry, and must be renewed every three years.

Please don’t wait until the last minute to complete these. It would be disappointing not to be able to chaperone a trip because an avoidable delay.

Forms for these ‘checks’ are available both at the office, on-line and tonight, thanks to Peggy Redden, in our lobby!

Also, we are offering the book fair in the library, and our HRM library liaison, Amanda Fullerton, in the lobby for those who wish to sign up for a library card!

At this time, we’d like to invite Jessie Castle,

Chair of these committees, to talk to you about their invaluable

work, how you can get involved and

what involvement may look like for you

…for taking the time to attend curriculum night!

We look forward to working with your children this year.

Thanks, again, for your continued support