Category: Important Reminders

Essential Agreements

During the last week, MACC 4/5 students discussed the difference between rules and agreements.

Rules are things that are hard line statements designed to ensure our health and safety, and they are usually set before we even arrive at a place. For example, Suncrest has some rules designed to make things run smoothly such as walk on the right side of the hallway, don’t talk while making transitions between classes and stay within the boundaries during recess time. In our classroom, we have a few rules set by Ms. DeTerra such as no hats, gum, toys, and food during classtime, and raising your hand to speak during discussions.

Agreements are different, because with those, we all have some input and come to consensus about what the behaviour in a great learning environment should be. Through discussion and input, students are agreeing to a set of behaviours they know will help us have a positive year. Students brainstormed in small groups ideas for agreements and then shared them with another small group. One person was then nominated between the two small groups to share the best agreements from the list with the whole class. We now have a draft set of essential agreements on our whiteboard, and we hope to revisit and reword as needed during the coming week.

Ask your child about our agreements and how we use them in class!

Reading Around the World!

By now, your child should have shown you their green READING AROUND THE WORLD folder! As homework, I asked them to have you sign the letter at the front (in the top corner is fine) explaining the program so everyone understands how it works. Some quick pointers about this program designed to help students read a variety of fiction and non-fiction resources during the year:

  • When a student finishes an entry, they need to record it on the reading log, and then either a parent or teacher can sign in the teacher comment box.
  • If you run out of reading log sheets, ask Ms. D. She has more that you can add.
  • When you finish a continent in its entirety, please show Ms. D, and she will verify it is complete. Then, you get to choose a prize from the prize box.
  • When all continents are complete, then you get a free lunch with Ms. D that will be provided at the end of the year in June.
  • Students can read in any language. If you have Chinese or French books at home, for example, please use them!
  • All items read should be resources the student read THIS YEAR, not before coming into MACC.
  • If a prompt is specific, such as “Kiribati: read an online article about how this island is sinking”, then, you need to read an article about how the island is sinking. But, if it is not specific, such as “Maldives: read any mystery book” then you can read any mystery book, long or short, easy or hard, your choice. It doesn’t have to be a mystery book related to the country.
  • Don’t fill in the reading log entry until you are done with the book or resource. This is a year-long program, and you have lots of time to complete it, so even if the book is long, you need to finish it first. Some of the items on the list are quite short, so that will save you time, too.
  • This program’s purpose is fun and reading. Participation is expected, but I am not marking students on how many books they read or what they read. The purpose is to get us reading from a variety of resources throughout the year.
  • If you have trouble finding a book under a specific country, let me know!

Thank you for your support of the program, and please email me at andrea.deterra@sd41.bc.ca if you have questions.

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