Dear all,

This blog is very full today, so make sure you read it right to the end; it is a mix of information, both new and old, and also celebration. Along with an important teacher news announcement.

We have a fun holiday assembly planned for Friday. This includes the annual teachers’ dance, along with a visit from Santa and Christmas song singing, so bring your best voices and dance moves!!

Thanks to Beth and Patty for organizing the five days of snacks, it is the season for treats, so I am sure these will be enjoyed.

Thank you all for the planning meetings, which have now been completed; this is something we will plan to do towards the end of each quarter as an opportunity to support you with planning and documentation.

Some questions to focus on going forward into 2023:

How is guided reading going in my class?

How am I using read-aloud in my class, and is this benefiting children (see article below)?

Do I need support with planning?

How are my Math groups?

Do I need support with inclusive practices?

Would Math enrichment activities benefit my students (see below for more information)?

I have added a focus on learning section to the blog, where things related to these questions will be shared.

I will see you all at the staff party tomorrow!

THANK YOU

Sandy

FOCUS ON LEARNING

See below; you are encouraged to read these ‘focus on learning’ short write-ups each week. Feel free to share things you think your colleagues might be interested in. In particular, anything to do with our year-long focus areas:

• Guided Reading
• Inclusive Practices
• Sustainable Development Goal

MATH ENRICHMENT & ASSESSMENT

Grade two has been learning about two-digit addition. To practice these skills and to show their understanding, they were asked to inquire into a provocation based on the Yangon Animal Shelter.  Not only is this relatable to students and engaging, but it also ties in with service learning.

This not only enriches learning but can be easily differentiated. Here is a link to Dan’s Google Slides with ideas on how to differentiate the task for leveled math groups.

When using a performance task like this, students will be able to think more creatively when faced with real-world math problems. Using a model like GRASPS to help create these assessments provide opportunities for students to actively apply what they have learned and create a product to demonstrate mastery aligned with standards.

Jay McTighe describes performance tasks as follows: A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and proficiency. Performance tasks yield a tangible product or performance that serves as evidence of learning. Unlike a selected-response item (e.g., multiple-choice or matching) that asks students to select from given alternatives, a performance task presents a situation that calls for learners to apply their learning in context.

During planning meetings, we can reflect on assessments and look at ways to integrate authentic contexts like the SDGs and Service learning. If you are interested in observing Dan, please let us know, and we can arrange cover. 

COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION MONTH

December is Computer Science Education month and one of the most popular activities to celebrate this is with the international Hour of Code.  At ISY we would like to encourage you to celebrate by having students participate in student-led coding activities.  The Hour of Code website has many tutorials for all levels of ability and interest.  Students just need to be provided the link and they can choose their own activities.  This could be posted on your Google Classroom, SeeSaw, etc.

 These activities could take place in math rotations or any other times when you use centres. You may want to introduce the concept to your class by showing one of the following code.org original launch videos- one minute version, five minute version. This is a great way to foster our ISY Learner Attribute of Creativity. Please feel free to give some of the tutorials a try yourself!

 If you need support, see Stacey or Lindsey.

Quarter 2 Reports Timeline & Instructions 2022-2023

We will work to basically the same timeline as we did for Quarter 1 reports. 

However, we will peer review our comments, and I will check them before they are entered on Powerschool. Therefore we will write our comments on a Google Document which will be shared with peer reviewers.

Monday, January 16

• Subject blurbs to be entered on Grade Level documents
• documents here

Monday, January 23, by 8am

• All comments (Subject Blurb + Personalized Comment = 800 characters max) are to be written on a Google Document and shared with the peer reviewer and Sandy.
• Monday afternoon is set aside for peer-reviewing report comments.

Tuesday, January 25, by 5pm

• Sandy will let teachers know comments are ok to be entered into Powerschool.

Wednesday, January 25, by 5pm

• All comments and grades are to be entered into Powerschool. Copy and paste comments from Google Documents to Powerschool

SAMPLES

Reports can be found here

SOLAR POWER

Kindergarten students are learning about the importance of solar power. They were able to go upstairs and see our solar panels this week. This was a wonderful opportunity for them to see the SDGs in action at ISY and the difference we are making. The opportunity to visit our solar panels is open to all grades. A great starting point for learning more about the SDGs is first learning about what we are doing on campus. Grade 4 are also doing an excellent project around this, where they are interviewing staff members about initiatives such as solar panels, meatless campus, and environmental consciousness initiatives e.g., recycling.

Professional Growth Plans

Everything can be found on our ISY Faculty Pages.

Thank you all for completing your Professional Growth Plans. 

Quarter 2 Colleague Observations / Assisted Reflections 

For Quarter 2, please arrange for a colleague to observe you and help you reflect on your practice. It can be very effective to ask your colleague to provide feedback on your Professional Growth Plan focus.

Just make another copy of the Assisted Reflection Form in your Professional Growth Folder. 

Observers, please remember to also complete the ISY Inclusive Practices Checklist (UDL: Engagement) at the top of the Assisted Reflection Form. This is an anonymous form that gives good school-wide data about the inclusive practices we are using.

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