From the Preschool/Elementary School Principal

 

*Today's images are from our "Use Your Head! Creative Hat & Hair Day" as well as the Grade 4 Inventions project

First Quarter Progress Reports

From this afternoon (Friday, October 27th), parents and carers will be able to view the Quarter 1 Progress Reports for their children in Kindergarten through Grade 5. The progress reports can be accessed through PowerSchool. 

The information contained in this progress report is a summary of your child’s learning progress for the first quarter of the school year.  The report is one of a number of strategies used by our school to communicate with you about your child’s achievements, attitude, behaviour and effort throughout the year. Additional progress reports are provided in January and March, with a final report on student achievement uploaded in June at the end of the school year.  Through the reports and, of course, formal and informal parent conferences, we strive to provide pertinent information about specific areas in need of improvement, the degree of progress/development being made in identified areas, and/or strategies for improvement that can be made by students. An explanatory guide for the Quarter 1 Progress Report can be found here.

As the progress reports are designed to communicate information about your child’s progress and learning habits, it makes sense for parents and children to review and discuss their contents. However, as Mr. Little mentioned in an article last year, it is important that grades are “kept in their place, and don’t become more than they should be.” This is especially true for children of Elementary School age. The progress reports should not be interpreted as a measure of a child’s fixed ability, but rather as indicators of recent learning and development which point toward the next steps that have the best chance to inspire and support future learning. Research has shown that an overemphasis on grades can serve to diminish children’s interest in what they are learning, can nudge children away from challenges in favour of easier tasks, and can increase levels of anxiety and stress. 

Author Visit

Next Thursday (November 2) and Friday (November 3), the Preschool and Elementary School students will have a chance to meet and learn from esteemed children’s author, Anna Kemp. There will be a chance for students and families to purchase copies of her books on Thursday and Friday at the end of the school day. Look out for more information on the Community Hub.