Please post suggested agenda items below
or
simply post questions to which I will try to respond.
Agenda items need to be posted no later than the end of the day on Wednesday, January 4, so that I can compile the suggestions and post the agenda, linked from the Friday newsletters, on January 6.
Have a peaceful and pleasant holiday season!
Blannie
Hello Ms. Curtis and all,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'd like to express how useful this site is, specially to those of us who cannot be at the meetings. Concerning the change in teaching methods (formative work, non-graded homework, increased school time, etc.), I would like to know what prompted these changes. I do thing they are for the best, and I believe we parents are still trying to assess the results of these changes. Second, I would just like to suggest a stronger focus on parent information on the software (moodle, edline, etc): more instructions, possibly meetings on-site with Ms. Vera. And thirdly, I learned this morning about the fate of the trees and the plans to improve the school green areas, which I find very positive. I would like to suggest, if it is not planned, a small vegetable garden.
And that is all, thank you for the information provided here and all the best for the Christmas Season.
A Happy New Year for all !
ReplyDeleteI would like to post another issue to be discussed next meeting - unfortunatelly, once again I might not participate because of the schedule.
I started for being happy with this new "IT" method for classes and studies but now, I'm quite concerned with its results. I don't see it helping children to learn. They are much more "called" by other distractions like youtube or facebook ...They don't pratice enough exercises or reading. I have to confess that I think the old notebooks and books are much more effective. This worries me in all disciplines but even more in math where pratice and correction in class are fundamental. And this is true for MS or HS.
I would also appreciate if Ms. Curtis let me know when the Trustee's meeting will take place.
Thank you,
Vanda Guerra
I would like to wish a happy New Year to everyone!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I think having more info and formation for Medmmod and Edline would be very useful for parents of middle and high school. Even the students would benefit on some procedures, like for exemple how to have a proof that a homework was sent to a teacher, or where to write your name on electronic homework (not on the file name but une the actual document, or do a title page with name and info...) About formative work, is it possible for teachers to verify an notify parents if the students are doing all of the suggested formative work and are correcting it? Maybe the info is somewhere but I don't know where to go. I often consult Edline but a few mistakes on grades fueled loud discussions with my son where he had to go see the teachers and come back to me with some explanation why He had given him a F instead of an A. I think that this creates a lot of anxiety and is not fair to the student. Edline is great if it is up to date but do not reflect a good picture of the work of my sons. It is very hard for me,being a new parent, to find a way to check on my kids specially at the teen age years when they are not talking to us about their difficulties.
Thank you
Caroline Duquette
Blannie's response to "Mesa de Luz":
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments.
The move toward the separation of formative and summative assessments is one which the professional staff has been investigating for quite a while. Increasingly schools in the USA are moving to what is called "benchmark assessment"--meaning there is not one "grade" for a class (a B for Math, for example) but separate assessment reports for the various components (i.e. "student multiplies a two digit number by a two digit number"). Every marking period (such as a quarter) and every subject will have several benchmarks which teachers teach and students learn.
The first step in moving toward reporting on student progress on individual benchmarks is to make sure that nothing which is not actual learning of the benchmark is included in the assessment. That led us to, as a first step, separate formative and summative assessments.
I agree with your second point--about stronger focus on parental use/knowledge of the online resources. Ms. Vera Tamen will attend the Coffee Morning on 11 January as a first step toward this but we also would be interested in hearing from parents who would be interested in coming to evening "training" sessions. If you are interested, please post on this (or subsequent) blogs or email me directly.
As to your suggestion about a vegetable garden, the faculty is with you on this one and there are plans for having students plan gardens and and plant in the spring.
Blannie's response to Vanda Guerra:
ReplyDeleteI know that you and Mr. Chapman as well as some teachers have already discussed this issue and they and I would be glad to continue the dialogue individually with you.
However, to respond to the question of "IT" vs "notebook"--the issue is not an either/or one. Both can be appropriate, depending on the lesson and the need. To restrict students and teachers to the "old notebooks and books" is restricting their access to all of the available ways of learning. Not incorporating IT learning into a lesson is as wrong as insisting that only IT learning will be used.
As to distractions, distraction is a choice which students must be taught to avoid. Students today can choose to be distracted by youtube (although youtube is also the source of a wealth of learning materials) or facebook. In the past, students could choose to distract themselves with other things. It is not what the students choose to distract themselves with that is at issue, it is the need for the adults to insist on students focusing on what they need to focus on--and giving them valuable and challenging learning experiences to focus on.
As is indicated on the Friday Principals' newsletters, the next Board-Parent Open Forum is Tuesday, February 7, at 19h00.
Blannie's response to Caroline Duquette
ReplyDeleteIn response to your, and others, suggestions, Ms. Vera will join us for the Coffee Morning on January 11 and, if there is parent interest, we would also put together some structured training sessions for parents, either during the day or in the evening.
How to report formative work is an ongoing dialogue among the professional staff. We agree that parents probably should be receiving more timely data on this than they are receiving under the new system. This was the subject of considerable discussion before the Winter break and, hopefully, you will begin seeing more formative details on Moodle.
And, as you say, Edline needs always to be accurate and mistakes by the teacher can cause considerable uproar in a family. Students (and parents) should monitor Edline (regularly but not obsessively) and ask for clarification on any grade or calculation that is not clear to them. It is very easy for a teacher to accidently input reversed numbers or misread a line of grades. However, it has always been possible for these mistakes to occur but in the past they were only caught after grades were "final" and then correcting them was a major task. Edline lets us catch and correct errors when they it is easy to do so.
Thank you, Ms. Curtis!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to know about the garden plans.
I would be interested in those sessions, on mondays and tuesdays. I would like to take this chance to wish you a wonderful 2012.
Ana Vicente
Ms. Curtis,
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that home economics should become a subject for both middle school and high school students. Home economics gives students a chance to learn about the basic needs in life like cooking, cleaning and doing something as easy as changing a tire. This teaches students how to properly run a family environment and make the world a better place for generations to come. I also think that this class would not have to be a manditory course and the students should be able to pick to do it or not.
Hope to hear back!
Thank you
Blannie's response to "unknown":
ReplyDeleteFirst, may I ask that everyone who posts on this blog identify themselves. That is one of the essential requirements of this blog.
To respond to the the suggestion that CAISL teach "home economics," let me say that I think a class is "life skills"--topics such as cooking, sewing, basic car maintenance, basic home maintence--would be a valuable addition to a school's offerings. However, our course offerings are already such that adding classes to an already packed timetable and course offerings would be difficult. Also, while there used to be certified teachers of "home economics" teachers, I think these are very rare now. Additionally, the "life skills" I would support would not be within the training of a traditional "home economics" teacher. So the teaching skill set would be difficult to find.
Dear Ms. Curtis,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your response.
It is for me obvious that, primarily, you try to do your best, as I do the same as a mother, and, secondarily, that you can not run a school in a “taylor-made” format.
As we both remember, the idea for this blog came from the need of giving voice to all parents that would like to express themselves (and many times for some reason don’t do it) about any issue or concern regarding school.
I’ve been speaking with Mr. Chapman about different issues and yes, he’s been an enormous help. I’m very thankful to him (and for all the teachers that I’ve been speaking with) for all his/their support.
If I’m the only one that has some difficulty on keeping children away from internet distractions, I won’t bother anymore, I’ll have to manage this on my own. You’re absolutely right, distractions are a choice and I’m trying to teach them exactly that. Not easy when they’re alone at home but we’ll do our best.
I know that I’m free to meet you or anyone in school whenever I feel it might be useful and I thank you for that. Please, feel absolute free to do the same. I’m always “here” to positively cooperate with the school, for “our” children and/or school benefits.
Have a fantastic week.
Thank you,
Vanda Guerra