WEEKLY COMMUNICATION - November 20, 2020 - Blair Elementary School
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WEEKLY COMMUNICATION – November 20, 2020
November 23
Professional Development Day
No School
FOR ALL LEARNERS (in school and at home)
Staff Updates
We said good-bye this past week to Ms. Williams, one of our Educational Assistants. She accepted a position at
another school. We also welcomed our new evening custodian, Mr. Velasquez. We extend our gratitude to Mrs.
Williams for her work here and we warmly welcome Mr. Velasquez to our community.
MunchaLunch Ordering for PAC
The PAC is about to launch some fundraising initiatives to support our school (thank
you!!!). We will be using a new ordering platform for all PAC initiatives. MunchaLunch is
an online ordering system for school lunches and fundraising. It assists with running all
aspects of a school lunch program and gives parents a fast and easy way to order lunch
for their children. It can also be used for fundraising such as: movie nights, parent socials,
plant sales, hot food days, etc. It's an online system that is easy to use and has a proven
track record. Details are coming home soon on how to set up your account.
*Online Cash will still be used for all SCHOOL initiated orders (school fees, field trips, Spirit wear, etc)
Photo Retakes
Photo retakes will occur on Monday, December 7 in the morning (TL and In-school Learners)
All photos must be ordered this year on mylifetouch.ca using your Portrait ID and Access Code which
can be found on your Picture Day order form. Only online orders will be accepted this year.
Leaving for an Appointment
If you are picking up your child for a medical appointment, please inform your child's teacher(s) in the morning so that
they can plan for the day accordingly. Your child must also sign-out at the front office before leaving.
Early Warning Line
Did you know that if you are phoning in an absence that there is a special phone
number that is different from the main office? It is called our “Early Warning Line”.
Call 604-668-6318.
Potential School Closures Due to Weather
The district will make every attempt to determine school closures due to inclement weather by 6:30 a.m.
based on current weather and road conditions. We will communicate to parents as soon as possible using
a variety of methods including social media and school and district websites. If schools are open, and you
wish to keep your child home due to weather conditions, you may do so. Please let your school know of
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WEEKLY COMMUNICATION – November 20, 2020
this decision by leaving a message on the Early Warning Line at 604-668-6318. Parents/guardians are responsible for
their child's safe travel to and from school. To reach as many people as possible - as quickly as possible - we work
closely with our local media to share information. Please listen to local radio stations and follow local news outlets online
to also get information about the impact of severe weather or emergencies in our schools. No radio or television
announcement will be made saying that schools are open. Only school closures will be announced by the media.
Online Safety
We encourage parents to take an active role in supporting your child online. They need guidance and supervision. Have
ongoing conversations and join them in their platforms so that you can understand the places they spend time virtually
hanging out. Talk to your kids about their online friends and activities just as you would about their other activities.
Talk about the importance of safe and ethical social networking which might include:
• Only adding people you know as friends
• Treating people online with kindness and respect
• Not using a real photo as your main profile picture
• Using a nickname or first name
• Not sharing passwords with friends
• Teach your kids to always ask you first before sharing personal information online.
• Talk to your kids about their online friends and activities just as you would about their other activities.
• Talk about healthy sexuality because kids can easily come across online pornography.
• Encourage your kids to come to you if they encounter anything online that makes them feel uncomfortable or
threatened. (Stay calm. If you "freak out" they won't turn to you for help when they need it.)
• Protect your children from offensive "pop-ups" by setting your browser to block popups, disabling Java on
your computer and/or using blocking software. Ad blockers such as AdBlock can also keep kids from seeing
banner ads with inappropriate content.
*For further support I have attached a Tip Sheet for Social Media to this weekly communication.
Important Dates
• November 23 – Professional Development Day – No School
• December 7 – Photo Retakes
• December 18 – Last Day of School before Winter Holiday
December 19 – January 3
Winter Holiday
• January 4 – First day Back after Winter Holiday
Ms. Ludwig’s Reflection of the Week
Our young people do not always know how to communicate what they
think, what they feel, and what they need. And why should they? Really?
This is something they have to learn. Instead, they communicate through
their behaviors. As adults in their lives, our challenge is to learn how to
decode their behaviors rather than labeling, judging, or punishing them. I
like to say “If they could – they would.” Children need us to listen to them
as we seek to identify the causes of their behaviors, and then to respond empathically to what we discover. By
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WEEKLY COMMUNICATION – November 20, 2020
listening, not only are we making a stronger connection to our learners, but we are looking for clues in the
stories they tell for how we can best meet their needs. Our students are not “bad” when they make mistakes.
They are human. It is our job to teach and model the way. Too often the undesired behaviour becomes the
entire focus and we forget to ask “why”. We need to co-regulate their needs. Validation is a powerful way
to calm agitated children . It’s calming to be understood and felt by another. Yes? Even for adults.
Some things you can say to help a child (or adult!) feel validated:
o “That must feel awful.”
o “You seem really angry.”
o “You seem really frustrated.”
o “What a difficult situation you’re in.”
o “You seem to be really having a hard time.”
o “You must be feeling really scared of what might happen.”
Validation opens the door for us to discuss choices and consequences and it increases your
connection so your child feels held in your support.
Communicating Student Learning
This year all communication of student learning will take place on your child’s e-portfolio. You will find ongoing
formative posts (Formative assessment supports learning or informs students’ learning through feedback and next
steps suggestions) throughout the year and summative posts (Summative assessment summarizes learning from over a
period of time that makes a judgement on how well learning in progressing. Essentially a summary snapshot in time)
at the mid-point of the year and at the end of the year.
Summative posts will include the four-point provincial proficiency scale and will be used to communicate progress in
all areas of learning. The Proficiency Scale is provided to us by the Ministry of Education, which is the same scale used
on the Grad Literacy Assessment and Grad Numeracy Assessment.
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WEEKLY COMMUNICATION – November 20, 2020
I encourage you to check your child’s portfolio often and stay involved.
Here are some ways…
SD#38 RICHMOND OCTOBER 30, 2020
Eportfolios and My Child
Ideas for supporting the use of portfolios to support student learning
Access the
district
portal on
the internet
using
Safari, Chrome
or Firefox.
The address to the
portal website is
portal.sd38.bc.ca
Why e-portfolios? Log into the
portal with
‣ Share learning and accomplishments of children your child’s
username
‣ Enhance connection between school and home through more and
frequent and detailed communication password.
‣ Involve children more deeply in their learning and assessment Remember to use
‣ Increase children’s sense of ownership and pride in their learning the new username
‣ Provide children with greater accountability for their learning that the students
received in
‣ Involve all stakeholders (child, parent, teacher) in the assessment
September
process
‣ Participating in a safe online space, provides children with guidance Click the
and practice in navigating a digital landscape and becoming positive ‘Portfolio’
digital citizens button and
have a look
‣ Provide documentation of children’s learning stories from K-12
or read
about what your
son / daughter is
learning.
Leave a comment in
the ‘Comments’
section. If you are
not sure what
FILTER POSTS UNREAD POSTS RECYCLE BIN comment to leave,
Use tags to filter posts The golden halo Accidentally deleted we have provided
in various areas of around a post indicates posts can be recovered some suggestions
learning. there is new from the recycle bin on on the other side of
information to view. the portfolio page. this document.
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WEEKLY COMMUNICATION – November 20, 2020
Sentence Starters for Parents
We encourage you, the parents, to make positive comments about your child’s work on their
e-Portfolio. Here are some sample sentences to help get you started:
我們鼓勵父母們，在孩子的 e-Portfolio 給予積極的評價。 以下是一些示例句子，可幫
助您開始：
English Chinese Translation
I’m proud of you because… 我為您感到驕傲，因為…
I like the way you… 我喜歡你…的方式
I can see that you… 我可以看到你…
It’s interesting to see that you… 有意思看到你…
I made a connection to… 我與...建立了聯繫
Here are some questions I have for you… 我有一些問題想要問你…
Why did you…? 為什麼你…?
What were you thinking when…? 在…期間你在想什麼?
I noticed… 我注意到…
I’m curious… 我很好奇…
I wonder… 我想了解…
What is your next step…? 你…的下一步是什麼?
How will you…? 你將會怎麼樣…?
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