Term Overview

Hello Parents, Guardians and Students: In the rush of last week, I realized on the weekend that I completely forgot to include an overview of the term with your child's report card! I think an overview is important, to give context to the marks and comments that your child received. I have sent home a hard copy of the overview with your child today, and as well, am posting it below. The learning outcomes are posted at the very bottom of the blog. Advisory 63 Term Overview – December 2012 Teacher: Ms. Kilpatrick Advisory 63 has worked very hard this term, learning new Middle School routines, reviewing concepts from earlier grades, undertaking to learn new ones, setting and meeting our and their own realistic goals and expectations, and striving, with encouragement, to always do their best work. The concepts of respect, industry, setting and achieving personal goals, work ethic, independence, making good choices and decisions have all been emphasized on a daily basis. Organization and study habits have also been stressed, along with commitment to quality completion of assignments and personal responsibility. Language Arts, Science and Social Studies are integrated through a natural and realistic blending of content areas. Reading comprehension and reading for information have been emphasized across the core curriculum using numerous strategies. In Language Arts, we have been learning about predicting for meaning, accessing prior knowledge, visualizing and making connections, to improve reading comprehension. Most days the students go in to “The Reading Zone” for 20 minutes to half an hour, reading “just-right” books while I conference with individuals to ensure they’re engaging in their reading and maximizing their comprehension. In Socials, we have covered basic mapping skills (4 cardinal points, grids, legends, different uses of maps, etc.) and looked at mapping as a means of determining our community and “sense of place”. In Science, we have looked at the characteristics and needs of all living things and are exploring the great diversity of life on earth. I feel so fortunate that your children are benefitting from the expertise of other teachers: Ms. Hendra for Math (she is an expert extraordinaire!) and Mr. Stevenson for P.E., along with their Exploratory and Band or Mini-Ex teachers. By now you should all have received the information that I have a classroom blog as a means of communication for you. Some of our students do not use agendas, and we have found that students and parents appreciate being kept informed of homework, events, and miscellaneous items through the use of technology. You can view it through Google at advisory63.blogspot.com. I would encourage you to become a follower (it’s easy, just follow the instructions!) as you will then receive an email to alert you every time I put up a new posting. I do apologize that the blog has not been as current this fall as I have kept it in the past, due to unusual personal circumstances, but I will be endeavouring to keep it updated more frequently. It has been a rewarding experience to teach your children this term. As we come to know each other, the sense of community, caring, enthusiasm for the learning process and respect of each other is continually growing in our classroom. We appreciate the support you give your children at home, and encourage you to continue to help your children accomplish the goals they set for themselves. Please turn over to see the learning outcomes that I have taught to this term. Have a wonderful holiday season everyone! Ms. Kilpatrick