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Celebrating Learning & Eternal Life – November 2018

Our students and teachers have now completed the first two months of the school year. We have enjoyed a very busy and productive start with a wide range of activities that complement our classroom and extra-curricular activities. Events such as our school masses and prayer services, Walk-a-thon, fieldtrips, buddy activities, snail labs, soccer and volleyball are just a few of the opportunities that have helped engage the students in experiential learning and friendship building. Last week you received a “mid-term” report to inform you about your child’s work habits in school. We thank you for your continued communication with staff and being available to discuss your child’s learning plans & goals.

On Thursday, November 1st please join us as the Grade 5 class leads us in prayer at our All Saints Day Mass at 9am. On this day, as well as All Souls Day on Nov.2nd, we remember and pray for those living in Heaven as well as those souls destined for Heaven.

Congratulations

  • Soccer – The mighty T-Birds soccer team had an exciting end to their season with a 5-3 win last week! Although we didn’t qualify for the semi-finals this season, we have had a fun year and looked great in our new uniforms!
  • Grade 5/6 Volleyball has had a successfull season. Our team is commended for their efforts throughout the season and especially their nail-biter final game against St. Anthony’s. We’re very proud of how much our girls have accomplished this season.  Go Tbirds!
  • Our Grade 7 Girls Volleyball team continues to demonstrate Tbird resilience and grit as they head into the CISVA playoffs on November 6th. These T-birds are undefeated in their league and picked up a silver trophy at the St. Pius X tournament last week.  Well done ladies!

With Gratitude

  • To all our coaches, volunteer refs, scorekeepers, lines people, parent drivers and fans who supported our fabulous T-birds this season!
  • Walk-a-thon: Thank you for all your efforts in collecting pledges and donating funds for our school programs. We are still hoping to collect $20,000 and appreciate every last effort you can make to help us achieve our goal.  October 31st is our final collection day to determine class prize winners, but we will be happy to accept further donations to the end of the week.  Please note that you can have family and friends donate online using the CHIMP fundraising website: Edmund’s Elementary – Walkathon 2018.
  • To all our parents who purchased tickets to our parish’s presentation of “Right Here Write Now”. What a wonderful way to come together to “answer the cry of the poor” and also witness Fr. Jerry’s amazing theatrical debut!

Archbishop Miller’s Visit

  • Archbishop Michael Miller will be visiting our parish and meeting with various parish groups, including our school staff and students from November 30 – December 2nd. His Grace is looking forward to meeting our community and encouraging everyone’s participation in the life of the parish.

Reminders

Fine Arts:

Choir practice –  every Wednesday lunch hour in the small hall.

Cold & Flu Season:

If your child is not feeling well (sore throat, cough, stomach ache, flu, etc.) it is appreciated that you keep your child home or find alternate arrangements until the illness has subsided. An unwell child cannot focus in class and children return to good health much faster when given time to rest a few days. Just as importantly, we would not want your child’s illness to spread throughout the class to other students. It would be greatly appreciated that your child bring a note for their absence on the day that they return to school (An email note is also acceptable.)

It is also important to please send your child to school with appropriate outer wear for our cooler and wetter weather conditions.  Research strongly supports the need for fresh air every day!

Santa Breakfast – December 8th:  

Earlier this week you received an email regarding donations for our annual Santa Breakfast.  Last year, many families generously donated various items – thank you!  We are asking for your help again.  *Everyone’s contribution is very important towards the Raffle success. Suggested donations include:  Cash $20, Gift Card(s), Team Jerseys (Canucks, BC Lions, Whitecaps), Whitecaps Ticket(s), Canucks Ticket(s) for games after December 8, 2018), or Sports Equipment for children under the age of 14.

All Hallows Eve Events: (Penny Carnival & Dress-up Day) On Wednesday, October 31st, students will be allowed to come to school in a costume to celebrate Halloween. Students have been asked to dress up in a “hero” theme.  Parents are reminded not to send students with any toy weapons or send in costumes which are offensive to others. Students may be asked to remove parts of their costumes for safety or if they offend or scare other students.

 Safe and Active School Travel Program at St. Edmund’s:  We will be working with City of North Vancouver’s Safe and Active School Travel Program (SASTP)  to encourage safe and healthy school travel habits through outreach and improvements to the transportation infrastructure around our school. Please stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks!

Halloween Safety Tips

  1. Children should be accompanied by an adult.
  2. Children should wear clothing that can easily be seen at night. Retro- reflective materials are best.
  3. Children should trick or treat in one well-known area and not wander into unknown neighborhoods.
  4. All candy should be inspected by an adult to make sure that no one has tampered with it. If it looks suspicious, the police should be contacted.
  5. Children should avoid stray animals.
  6. Children should wear masks that do not interfere with vision. Better yet, they can avoid masks by wearing makeup.
  7. Children should watch for moving vehicles when crossing streets.
  8. Costumes should be short enough that the child will not trip.
  9. Trick or treaters should dress appropriately for the weather and carry a flashlight.
  10. For extra safety, organize a Halloween party for children in your neighborhood.

Good Shepherd Ministry Candy Drive – St Ed’s students have been asked to collaborate with STA students in collecting candies for our less fortunate brothers and sisters in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community.  This activity gives us a great opportunity to extend our CISVA theme of “What do you want of me, Lord?”  Please keep a look out for the paper lunch bags that will be sent home on Halloween.

Communicating Student Learning

In our ongoing implementation of the re-designed curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education, we are continuing to refine the manner in which we communicate your children’s progress to you.  Working in partnership with CISVA and the Ministry, we follow the Reporting Policy Guidelines which allows for some variations and flexibility in how schools can communicate with parents/guardians.  At St. Edmund’s School we will be shifting the way we communicate your child’s learning:

  • Proficiency Levels of Performance – Please be aware that we will continue to use the following descriptors to communicate a child’s growth and development in each curricular area: Beginning, Developing, Proficient, Extending.
  • Letter Grades – Letter grades are not consistent with the focus on a “growth mindset” emphasized in the new curriculum; however, we have been granted a variance and will be transitioning the removal of letter grades in our intermediate report cards, starting with grade 4 this year. Grades 5 – 7 will be assigned letter grades in Christian Education, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Socials and Science this year, but will be phased out in coming years.  Due to present policy, letter grades are available upon request for intermediate grades. 

We are working hard to create an optimal learning environment for our students, and that includes giving you the best understanding of your children’s learning over the course of each term.  Our goal is to provide a greater emphasis on communicating individual student learning relative to specific curricular skills and engaging students in personalized opportunities to demonstrate improvements in their learning.  Research indicates that this method of communicating student learning is more meaningful and informative for teachers, parents and students (Alfie Kohn, “The Case Against Letter Grades,” published in Educational Leadership, November 2011).

The progress report will continue to include one or two clearly-stated, manageable activities/strategies that will directly support the learning style and goals that have been identified for your child.  We are looking forward to implementing this positive change in communicating the students’ progress throughout the year.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the upcoming progress reports.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or speak to your child’s teacher.