Transcript Curriculum Night - Halton Catholic District School Board

Curriculum Night
Welcome to Grade 8!
Mrs. Vanessa Szwed
AGENDA
• Introduction & Welcome to
Grade 8
• The Grade 8 Classroom:
• School Resources
• School Expectations
• Punctuality/Illness/Going Home
with Friends
• Agendas: The Secret to
Communication Success
• Class Portal: Class Web Page/elearning (D2L)
• Tests/Assignments
• Learning Skills
• Curriculum
• Q&A
HOMEWORK POLICY
Students should not spend more than 90
minutes per night. The time should be
budgeted in the following manner:
• 15 minutes looking for assignment
• 11 minutes calling a friend for the
assignment
• 23 minutes explaining why the teacher is
mean and just does not like kids
• 8 minutes in the bathroom
• 10 minutes getting a snack
• 7 minutes checking the TV listings
• 6 minutes telling the parents the teacher
never explained the assignment
• 10 minutes sitting at the kitchen table
waiting for mom or dad to do the
assignment
LONG TERM ASSIGMENTS
These are given the night before they
are due. This explains the name – “long
term” is a long commitment to the time,
it begins at 9:30pm and ends at 11:55pm
(or later). It is important that the whole
family is involved in this project. It is
imperative that at least one family
member races to Zellers for poster board,
and at least one family member ends up
in tears (it does not have to be the
student). One parent needs to stay up
and complete the project.
School Resources
Students have been supplied with the
following:
• Textbooks
• Notebooks for certain subjects
• Pencil, Ruler, Eraser
Students are expected to bring in the
following:
• Binder and/or Duotang
• One notebook for English
• Three-ring paper
• Pens, Pencils, Calculator, Sticky-notes,
Highlighter
• Indoor Shoes
• Self selected novel
• Kleenex
School & Classroom Expectations
• Collaboration Agreements
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Mutual Respect
Attentive Listening
No Put Downs/Appreciation
Right to Pass
• Ready to Go: on time and prepared
• Homework complete according to
grade level expectations and
following guidelines provided
• Knowing when to talk and when to
not
• Agendas
• Discipline
• Grade 8: A year for leadership
Punctuality/Illness/Going Home with
Friends
• If you know your child is going to be late
or absent in advance please send a note
• If it is not possible to send a note please
call the school
• Going home with friends on a bus the
student does not normally take requires 24
hour advance notice with the office
• Parental communication with other
parents is important when allowing
students to go home together
Agendas:
The Secret to Communication Success!
• Parents are asked to check student
homework and agendas regularly
• If the teacher signs the agenda here at
school please sign the agenda at home
• Do not sign the agenda if you doubt the
work is completed
• Please send any notes or concerns
through the agenda
Class Portal
The Class Web Page is now up and
running!
www.haltonrc.edu.on.ca
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Click Schools – School Listing
Then to Our Lady of Fatima
Then to Class portal on the right side
Then to Mrs. Szwed Grade 8
This web page is updated daily and
contains homework and other
important dates and announcements.
This presentation will be posted on the
website. Please note that the agenda
is the primary source of information.
Remind 101
Grab Your Phone!
Follow the steps below to sign up
for your Grade 8 messages.
Enter this number
(450) 823-0101
Text this message
@mrsszwe
Blended Learning
• http://hcdsb.elearningontario.ca
Blended learning may be a new
experience for you. If so, it is an
exciting way to present information to
students both using traditional
classroom approaches and
electronically using the tools and
content in the provincial learning
management system.
Blended learning can help students to:
• become independent learners
• develop time management and
organizational skills
• acquire technical skills for living and
learning in a digital world
• are able to go through activities as
often as they wish. The course
material is always available.
Thank you for taking an interest in your
child’s education. Parental
involvement increases the chances of
your child doing well in school.
Tests/Assignments
• All marked tests and assignments will go
home
• Please sign the marked work and return it
to the school to go in the student file
• If there are corrections to be made
students should make corrections before
returning to school
Learning Skills
 Responsibility
- Completes and submits class
work, homework and
assignments according to
timelines
- Takes responsibility and
manages own behaviour
 Organization
- Devises and follows a plan for
completing work and tasks
- Establishes priority and manages
time to complete tasks and
achieve goals
 Independent Work
• Uses class time appropriately to
complete tasks
• Follows instructions with minimal
supervision
 Collaboration
• Accepts various roles and an
equitable share of work in a
group
• Builds healthy peer-to-peer
relationships
 Initiative
• Looks for and acts on new
ideas and opportunities for
learning
• Approaches new tasks with a
positive learning attitude
 Self-Regulation
• Sets own individual goals and
monitors progress towards
achieving them
• Seeks clarification or assistance
when needed
HRP (Home Reading Program)
• Whole School Initiative
• Implementation may differ across divisions
• Intermediate Goal:
– 25 pages per week (any text: book,
magazine, newspaper)
• Track reading in reading journal
• HRP Log Sheet will be checked weekly on
Fridays
• How Parents can Support the HRP
Curriculum
• Religion/Focus on Faith Essential
Question: “How are we Church in the
world?” Theme: Solidarity
• Math: POW’s, Assignments,
Tests/Quizzes
Explain how you are able to get the
answer = higher level of achievement
• English: Variety of literary genres;
Reading Workshops (whole class,
small group, literature circles,
individual); Writing Workshops; Word
Study: Graffiti Wall; Thematic units of
study
Curriculum Continued
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Religion: Mrs. Szwed
Science: Mr. Da Silva
History/Geography: Mrs. Szwed
French: Mme. Buergler-Rajczyk
Music: Mr. Da Silva
Visual Arts: Mrs. Bertram
Phys Ed: Mrs. Szwed
Health/Fully Alive: Mme. Paul
Drama/Dance: Mrs. Hughes
Career Studies: Mrs. Smith
The expectations can be obtained from the
Ministry website address:
www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elemetary
What does our school do to help your
child prepare for a successful transition
to high school?
• Provides a challenging and engaging
academic program that prepares
your child for the secondary school
curriculum
• Helps your child fulfill Catholic
Graduate Expectations through
participation in the sacraments and
community service
http://www.ocsoa.ca/CatholicEducation/interactive/intro.swf
What does our school do to help your
child prepare for a successful transition
to high school?
• Uses career planning activities to identify your child’s
strengths and interests
• Communicates with you
about your child’s
progress through:
– Report Cards
– Phone Calls
– Interview Evenings
• Coordinates with
secondary schools
• myBlueprint helps students plan their
education and make the most informed
decisions about their future.
• See more at: http://www.myblueprint.ca/
• You will need the activation code to
create an account.
Activation Code - jeanvaniercss
Key Events in the Transition Process
• November 6th: Grade 8 Orientation
Day
• November 21st @ 6pm: Grade 8 Parent
Info. Night
• February: Option sheets are typically
due by the end of this month
As a parent, what can I do to help?
• Help your child understand who he or
she is
• Identify your child’s strengths, interests,
and learning styles
• Talk to your child’s teacher about his
or her achievement and learning skills
• Help your child explore a variety of
occupations
• Think pathways: It’s about the journey
as well as the destination
Q&A
At this point feel free to share
any questions or concerns
you might have