Filming for the Winter Concert is happening on Thursday, which requires students to wear white or grey depending upon if they are a snowflake or a snirt.  The reason we are asking students to come dressed in their costume is to avoid crowding and having students changing in the bathrooms.

Unfortunately, there has been a conflict with Crayon Day.  In speaking with Divisions 12, 13 and 14, we have decided that we will have our own Crayon Day tomorrow so that we can be as bright and as colourful as we want.  Students are encouraged to bring in a loonie or a toonie as part of Crayon Day in order to support families in our school in need.  Donations will be used to purchase gift cards for winter break hampers.

As you may have realized, I like to be prepared.  Before Friday, I will be sending home a duo tang of interlined paper.  Please keep this in your child’s quiet homework space.  This paper may be used if your child forgets their spelling duotang and needs paper for homework or it may be kept to complete writing assignments if we need to move to online learning.  If your child runs out of this interlined paper, more can be printed off of the blog.  The link can be found here.  Additional writing tools can be found under dropdown menu for Writing, found under  the Literacy tab.

I’ve had a number of questions come up about online assignments and would like to address them so that everyone has the same information.

Purpose of Online Assignments

I know as a parent and as a teacher, online learning can be very challenging for both students and families.  The online assignments are intended to explicitly teach the skills students may need to have if online learning becomes necessary.  (I have been given no information about that possibility).

Homework assignments are provided to allow students to practice skills that have been demonstrated in class on their own devices at home.  Since everyone has different devices, each child will have a different experience at home.  The goal is to give students and families the opportunities to ask questions before it becomes necessary to use these skills for homeschool assignments.

What if my child can’t complete an online assignment?

Great!  It is way better to know that there are skills I need to explicitly teach/review now rather than when everyone is at home and sharing screens is much more challenging.  If you child can’t complete an assignment, send me an email and let me know what your child is struggling with.  We will work on it in class on Mondays or Fridays, when we have the IPads.  Often if I get one email, it means that there are several children that are struggling and it helps me to know what to review.

What programs do I need to use to annotate photos?

There is no need to purchase any programs!  In class, we used Preview on the iPads to write and draw directly onto photos.  You can use any photo editing program you already have.  We used Preview because it comes loaded on the iPads and most students have told me they have access to iPads at home.  (You are not expected to have iPads at home, just access to any device that will allow them to work online).  I wanted to show them using a program that most would have access to.  If you are using a tablet or computer, use what is available.

On Friday, we used Pic Collage to create posters that could include backgrounds, pictures, text, and stickers.  We did this mostly for fun but it provides a second way of annotating photos for a presentation.  Pic Collage is free for download from the App Store but we did discuss as a class that the program has in-purchase add-ons that are not necessary.  This is a way the company tries to make money but they are not to ask/use add-ons.  The basic version has a lot of flexibility and will do everything we need for school.  You may want to have the same conversation at home if you choose to download Pic Collage for your child.

What happens if I am late handing in an assignment?

Using Teams is challenging for students, so is using technology in general.  There will be times when assignments are late.  Please do your best to have your child complete the assignment as soon as they are able.  Assignments stay open until they are complete.  Since many of these assignments build upon skills we will use later, it is better to go back and complete old assignments before starting more recent ones.

What if my child (and I) don’t understand the assignment?

Please email me if an assignment is unclear.  Teaching online is very different from teaching in the classroom.  In class, students are often able to ask questions right away.  It may be necessary for me clarify instructions or add more examples.  This is part of the reason why it may be necessary to revise hand-in times/dates.  Please be aware that it may sometimes be necessary for me to revise an assignment after the fact if I am finding that students are finding it very challenging or I realize that they need more time to complete it.

What should my child be working towards being able to do online?

Skills we have been working on completing in class include having students being able to independently (without your help):

• log onto Office 365.  Yes, they can use their planner to help them.
• get into Teams and read the posts on the main page.
• find assignments in Teams
• be able to use Immersive Reader to have to computer read assignments for them if needed
• be able to take pictures with a phone or iPad
• be able to annotate a photo using Preview or Pic Collage (or another program of your choosing if you choose).
• be able to attach a photo or assignment to an assignment in Teams (You may need to help them find where photos and documents are saved on your device since this will be different than at school.)
• be able to find their “Hand In” section in Class Notebook to add their work.
• type in their work in Class Notebook.
• Post a comment or question on the boards in Teams for peers or myself.

This is a long list and students will need to continue practicing before they are completely confident in these skills.  Please support them by encouraging them to do as much as they can on their own and prompting them with the next steps when they need help rather than doing it for them.  I know that this can take longer but it will save us all time in the future if they can learn these skills now.

What should I do if I do not have a device for my child to use at home or I do not have internet access?

Please be sure to let me know as soon as possible so that we have time to make arrangements to ensure that your child will be able to continue learning if schools eventually need to be moved online.

Students will be given poppies to wear on Tuesday, November 10th to show respect and remembrance for those who have fought for our freedom here in Canada.  Please consider sending in a donation to Royal Canadian Legion to offset these costs and to support our veterans.

We will have library tomorrow (Monday, November 9th) at 9:30 to make up for missing our regular library time this week.  Please remember to bring your library books back!

The Cascade Heights Fine Arts teachers, Ms. Griffiths and Miss Jessi, are excited to announce that we will be presenting a
Winter Musical for the Primary Classes (K-3/4).  Although we are not able to present to a live audience this year, we are still going to have the students perform on stage.  We will video record each class and then will make the performances available to all families online in December on our fine arts websites.

Flakes

It’s wintertime and all of the Flakes are showing up to shiver and shine.  Flakes reminds us that although we are alike, everyone is unique in their own way.  Just like no two snowflakes are the same, neither are two humans.  Now that is something to sing about!

Each division will be responsible for creating their own costumes at home.  Here are some general guidelines:

Snirt Costumes (muddy snowflake):

• Grey clothing such as pants t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, skirts and tights etc.
• Accent with silver pieces such as belts, headbands, scarves, tinsel, glitter etc.

Snowflake Costumes (UPDATED!):

• White clothing such as parents t-sjirts, long sleeve shirts, skirts and tights etc.
• Accent with silver pieces such as belts, headbands, scarves, tinsel, glitter etc.

Pleaser send your child to school in full costume on:

• Tuesday November 24
• Thursday, November 26
• Tuesday, December 1
• Thursday, Dec. 3

Website link for viewing Flakes…  Stay tuned

Thank you in advance for the time and effort that will go into designing your child’s special costume for our musical.  If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Ms. Griffiths, Division 13’s music teacher, through the school website.

Take good care,

Ms. Griffiths and Miss Jessi.

Dear Families,

Please check out the Technology section for reposted videos on how to log onto Office 365 and how to use a great Microsoft Feature –  Immersive Reader.

New Math resources have been posted under the section for Counting.

Look for a post tomorrow for our first online homework assignment.