Generosity

The dictionary defines generosity as "a readiness to give more of something than is necessary or expected".  At the beginning of the month we had our regular "School Read Assembly" and introduced the December virtue of Generosity to our students, and boy have they taken it to heart.  As we head into our final week of school prior to the Christmas Break I am humbled to see the many generous acts that are happening in our school on a daily basis.    We have many activities happening from our Pennies for Presents fundraiser, and Food Bank donations to a Sock Drive.  These are all organized by teachers, parents, and students, working together to give back to our community.

One of these generous acts occurred on Friday with our PAC Gift Day.  We had a great number of parent volunteers that spent their day helping students shop, wrap, and tag presents.  The smiles on the faces of our students (and parent volunteers) were impressive.  A smaller act of note, relates to one of our grade six students who decided that he would like to contribute by organizing a Sock Drive for the homeless.  He set up a box in our main foyer, wrote an in impressive announcement script and then read it over our closed circuit system.  The thoughtfulness and organization that this student has demonstrated is great to see, but the story doesn't end there.  After a week of the collection box sitting empty, another person decided to help out by purchasing several pairs of socks to get the project moving and make sure that the student had some success.  It is great to see that others have now gotten involved and the sock box is overflowing with contributions.

As educators, we work hard to introduce important lessons to our students through our monthly virtues and we sometimes wonder if the message is getting through.  This month has proven to us that the message of virtues, in particular generosity, is coming through loud and clear.  What a great atmosphere this creates in our school.  Thanks to everyone for the contributions they make to our school community.

Countdown to Christmas Holidays

Now that report cards have gone home, we have time to turn our attention to the many fun activities coming up over the next two weeks.  Our Parent Advisory Council is such a great group of volunteers.  They have organized some very cool events for our students.  First up is PAC Gift Day, something unique to David Cameron School (I certainly haven't seen it anywhere else).  This is a great opportunity for families to donate items from their homes that are then sold back to our students at very low prices.  This way, the kids get a chance to do their Christmas Shopping here at school and have their presents tagged and wrapped when they leave.  Following gift day is our annual visit from Santa.  He will visit each of our classes and bring the students a Christmas Orange.  The expressions on some of our students faces are priceless when the jolly man shows up.

This year, Mrs. Garry, our music teacher, has put together a great evening program for families to come and enjoy.  Each of our classes will be performing a couple of Christmas related songs, as well as our very own David Cameron Christmas Choir.  This event (on December 17), will be a great way to kick-off our holidays.  The concert will be followed the next day with our school sing-a-long in the gym for all of our classes.  It will be a chance for classes to perform their concert songs for each other and then sing a few carols as well.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at David Cameron!

Report Cards

I had planned to write about something completely different this weekend, however, I have spent most of my time reading report cards, so they seem to foremost in my mind.  Report Cards are an interesting thing, as they attempt to encapsulate an entire term's worth of learning into a couple of pages and a few symbols or numbers.  This is a difficult task as there is so much that goes on during the course of a term's worth of instruction.  Generally speaking, each report should contain a statement of achievement in key subject areas (e.g. approaching, meeting, etc), a few examples of what the student has done well and what could be improved upon.  In addition, teachers are required to describe ways to support the student's learning both at home and at school.  Each of the reports I have read shows a depth of understanding and knowledge about each student.

As I sit here and read through these reports, each one is different and seems to carry the essence of that teacher.   Comments seem to be an extension of what goes on in classrooms on a daily basis.  I can almost hear the teacher's voice, providing feedback and encouragement to each one of the students on those pieces of paper.  The "feel" of the classroom and the relationships that have been established come through in the "voice" of the writing.  It is a comforting feeling to hear the empathy behind the words, even when the words are sometimes hard for us to accept.  So, when report cards come home this Friday, read them carefully, think about what the teacher is saying and what we can do collectively to ensure a successful year for each of our students.

The importance of questions

The original intent of school was to learn answers.  Teachers were to be the dispensers of knowledge and students were to soak up the information.  This was the "empty vessel" theory.  Students brains were empty, waiting to be filled by the teacher.  Andy Hargreaves, a world renowned education researcher from Canada, calls this time "BG", before Google.  Students are now able to find the answer to any question they have, quickly and easily, using a simple computer search. He suggests that our role now has to switch to teaching students how to ask questions, to inquire, to wonder.

As Dale and I sat through Dr. Hargreave's session and listened to his thoughts on how classroom instruction is evolving, we began thinking about David Cameron School and what we would want for our students.  We began to think about the notion of David Cameron as a "School of Inquiry".  The idea would be that we encourage students, teachers, and parents to ask questions.  This would allow learning for deeper understanding.  The more we thought about this, the more it began to make sense for us, we saw the fit with some things already underway, most notably our Inquiry Question that a group of staff members are working to answer.  Our Inquiry is related to the effect that using Literature Study Circles will have on students' ability to become more sophisticated and strong readers.

Students who are willing to ask questions and be open to feedback begin to generate a "growth mindset"  that opens them up to learning as an active experience rather than a passive one.

Remembrance Day

This week marks Veteran's Week as well as Remembrance Day on November 11.  Our school will hold a special assembly on Tuesday, November 10 beginning at 10:30.

 I must admit, Remembrance Day has a certain resonance for me that dates back to an assignment I was given in grade 9.  At that time, my teacher set a task for us to interview veterans that lived in the local community and then write about their experiences.  I had the privilege of interviewing a World War II veteran who described his time in the European Theatre.  It was not a grandiose description, it was more matter of fact, including the descriptions of friends lost along the way.  The thing that struck me though, was the pride in his voice about being able to live in a place like Canada and that his efforts may have played a small role in allowing me ( a skinny 14 year old) to have the freedoms I have.

Years later I was reminded of this interview when I was visiting friends in the southern part of The Netherlands.  They were teaching at an Allied Forces Base and we happened to be there around Remembrance Day.  We were invited to join the Canadian contingent of Forces members, teachers, etc, to attend remembrance ceremonies in Nijmegan.  What an incredible feeling to be standing in the Canadian cemetary between the many headstones.  As the speeches carried on, we were able to wander between the graves and read the names and ages of the soldiers killed in that area.

So, as we head towards our assembly this Tuesday and the many ceremonies around the Capital Region on Wednesday, it is with a sense of pride that I remember all that was done by so many so that I could live the life I have.

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Now that we are in November our (school) mind begins to shift towards the reporting process.  Later this month (November 25 and 26) we will be structuring our formal parent/teacher conferences.  This is an opportunity to discuss your child's progress over the course of the first term and to help in setting some goals for the second term.

Reporting is an important part of our assessment, evaluation, and reporting cycle but sits slightly outside the regular use of assessment and evaluation.  The true value of carefully selected assessments and professional evaluative judgements is to influence the teaching-learning cycle.  That is, a teacher gathers information about student understanding, makes a judgement about where the student is in relation to the criteria selected for that unit or grade, teaches, and assesses again to see if the learning happened.  This cycle is continuous throughout the year as teachers make decisions about re-teaching a concept or moving ahead to something new or deeper.  The reporting part allows us to communicate beyond the classroom about a students progress at a particular point in time.  A variety of assessments and evaluations are made over the course of the term that allow us to create a "picture" of student learning at that time.  Because student learning is not static, by the time report cards come out students have continued to move forward with their learning.  For some students a concept that they have been struggling with suddenly becomes clear later when it is re-visited in another way or at another time.

The assessment/evaluation cycle is important for students to know what they did well and what they can improve upon.  Clear and descriptive feedback is important to assist with this.  Letter grades or numerical scores present only a summary judgement at one time in their year.  So when your child brings home their report card talk to them about what they can do well and areas that they could improve upon and focus less on numbers or letter grades.

A High Regard for the David Cameron Staff

On Thursday and Friday of last week Dale and I had the pleasure of listening to Chris Kelly once again.  Chris is the retired superintendent of Vancouver School District.  He is an amazing and insightful speaker, who shares his passion and understanding of the education system in a truly inspiring manner.  Chris' focus for our sessions was "What Matters".  Together we explored this concept in a variety of settings, eg within our District, within our administrators group, and within our schools.  One key message that resonated for me was the need for people to feel genuinely regarded by others for the work they do.  This got me thinking about the great things that happen in our school everyday.

I was watching a group of students heading towards the gym the other day.  Nothing unusual about that, other than in the middle of the group, was one of our students with special needs.  This is a student who would not go near the gym, much less line up with class mates, only a few months ago.  It is through the care, understanding and daily commitment of our Education Assistants and our teachers that this learning has occurred.  On another occasion I watched as a teacher masterfully worked with her class on a project.  The project was organized in such a way that students could bring their own interests and talents into it.  The engagement that these students showed because the teacher thought through their needs and interests in structuring, it was amazing.  On another occasion I had a conversation with a teacher on our staff who is in a new assignment this year.  She was talking to me about her concerns for meeting the needs of all of her learners and the work that she had put into planning the learning environment.  I was struck by the depth of understanding and care that she showed for each student.

These are three very small examples of what goes on every day in our school in every one of our classes, because of the care and commitment of our staff.  It wasn't until I began thinking of these (and many more) examples of the work done on a daily basis by our professional and caring staff that I began to truly understand what Chris was referencing.  Our staff doesn't do this for recognition or for accolades, they do it because they care, and for that, I believe they deserve to be genuinely regarded.

Writing for a Purpose

A few weeks ago we were pleased to host renowned children's author Julie Lawson to our school.  Julie has written a number of popular children's books, including her most recent effort, "The Dragon's Pearl".  Our students were able to listen to Julie describe the writing process and the amount of effort and research needed to make a compelling story.  This was a great way to extend our students' understanding of the writing process and the need to have a purpose for writing.

This week we will be hosting the dramatic duo called Sun Ergos.  They will be performing a theatrical version of Julie Lawson's book, which will create a great opportunity to compare the two.    After the performance students will be asked to write a letter to another school persuading them to invite either Julie Lawson or Sun Ergos.  This will provide the students with an authentic reason to write and will allow them to develop their persuasive skills.  Teachers will then mark the students work collaboratively and make decisions about areas that are strengths and areas in need of additional support.  Over the next several months, classroom teachers will work with their classes, teaching them the finer points of persuasive writing, which will then be followed up by another assessment in the spring to see how well the students have progressed.

Every Time Counts

This weekend I had two separate conversations with friends about private school versus public school.  One friend is thinking about taking her daughter out of public school and the other has decided that public school is the place for her.  In both conversations, the similarities were striking; they each described the importance of the personal contacts they have had with teachers.  The one that is thinking of leaving, felt that her concerns were not being heard, the one who is choosing to stay, has had great connections with the public school but was disappointed with the private school.

These two conversations got me thinking that "every time counts".  Every time we as educators have an interaction with a parent or a student we are helping to shape their perception of public school.  This is a huge responsibility that each of us carries.  It strikes at the core of creating a caring and compassionate system that is responsive to the needs of the people it serves .  Each time we speak with a student or parent we must seek to understand what they are asking of us and determine the best way to approach the issue.  This may be a student struggling with a concept or a parent wondering about something happening in class.

I always listen carefully when I hear someone thinking of leaving public education because there may be something in it that I can do differently in my school.  This was a wake-up call for me to make sure that every interaction counts and that people leave the conversation feeling heard and understood.

Great Things to Come

I had planned to talk about assessment this week, however, there are some exciting things coming up at school so I will have to put the assessment piece on hold for now.  We have some incredible opportunities for kids this week and the best part is, they are linked thematically and strengthen the work we are doing on assessment (so I guess this does tie in to my assessment theme).

Julie Lawson, a local Victoria author, has written a picture book called "The Dragon's Pearl".  We are fortunate this week to have Julie visit our school on Monday to talk with classes about the book and the writing process.  We will then have the return of the performing group Sun Ergos on Wednesday.  They will be doing a performance of the same Julie Lawson book.  This is a wonderful opportunity to link the book, the author, and a live theatrical production.  Pretty cool for our kids to see these connections.  It doesn't stop there though, as we will be using these two visits as the focus for our School-Wide Write.

Each year, we ask students to provide a writing sample at the beginning of the year and then again in the Spring.  We use a common theme that allows us to see where students are in their writing ability at the start of the year.  Through this assessment we can structure our instruction appropriately for the year and then see how much students have improved by the spring.  This year, we will ask students to provide a persuasive writing sample about what they have experienced this week, specifically, students will be asked to write about whether they preferred the book or the play of the "The Dragon's Tale".  They will choose one side or the other and then provide rationale for their choice.  Teachers will then spend time working together to mark the students work in relation to the British Columbia Performance Standards for Writing.

What an incredible opportunity for linking our learning and showing students the relevance of different forms of writing.  We at David Cameron are fortunate to have such a thoughtful and forward thinking group of educators to provide such seamless learning for our students.

The Emotional Bank Account

Last week I was speaking with one of our students who felt that he was getting the short end of the stick from his classroom teacher.  He thought that any time he asked for something he was denied.  I asked what he had done to build the relationship to the point where, when he asked for something, the teacher might be inclined to agree.  He said that he really hadn't done much, and in fact, sometimes talked too much in class.  We began discussing the notion of an "emotional bank account".  I told the student it was just like a real bank account where you have to make deposits before you can make a withdrawl.   This is how we all respond to others in our lives, if they have contributed (made a deposit) emotionally to us, we are more likely to respond favourably when they ask for something.  This is consistent with the idea of contribution versus consumption.  We have to make a positive and worthwhile contribution to our community and to those around us, before we can ask for something.  The student began to understand the idea that it wasn't an obligation on the part of the teacher to meet his requests, but rather it was part of an ongoing relationship that needs to be built by both parties.  The student thought this was a good idea and returned to class ready to make a few "deposits" before he really needed to make a withdrawl.  I had to draw the line however, when he suggested the idea of bringing an "emotional bank card" to class.  I had to admire his sense of humour and felt that the lesson had been learned.

The Little Things That Matter

I was watching one of our parents the other day. She was working on a bulletin board in our main entrance hall. I had asked her if she would be interested in doing a 'Welcome Back' message. She readily accepted and has created a wonderful piece of art that helps to make our school more welcoming and inviting. The thing that struck me though, was that she had her brand new baby wrapped tightly against her in a little "snuggly" baby carrier. It made me think of all of the selfless work that happens in our school on a daily basis by parents, students, and staff. It is this commitment from all of us that has come to make David Cameron School such a great place for kids.

This year we will continue our work on developing our school community. I can't think of a single thing that is more telling of the kind of community we want than these individual contributions. I heard it said this summer that we are creating a culture of consumers. People who are only interested in purchasing and using, not in contributing or giving back. We have begun talking with our students about the importance of being contributors to society, not just consumers. I am heartened by the many contributions already being made in our school. Last week, four students came to me to ask if they could create a club that contributes to our environment by cleaning up. They took it upon themselves to pick up garbage on our playground and to sweep our main student foyer that is covered in grass each day. They didn't want anything for it, they weren't looking for recognition, they just wanted to contribute. What a wonderful thing. As we go through this school year, we will revisit this theme, and I am sure, continue to be amazed by the incredible capacity of those around us.

After the Dust Settles

We made it through the first week and managed to get all of our students into their new classes by Friday. Last week was an extremely busy week for our staff, in addition to the usual hubub and business of our Homecoming Week, we also had to replace and balance class lists twice as new divisions were added Tuesday and then again on Thursday. This requires a huge amount of additional work on the part of the staff to ensure the very best placements for our students; a job our staff takes very seriously. We think we have done a good job and have created a structure that reduces our intermediate class sizes and creates some positive student groupings. With this work behind us now, we can begin to move forward with our main task of ensuring a strong academic year for all of our students.

We look forward to working with families over the course of this year in support of our students' education.

A New Year On The Horizon

Happy New Year may be an appropriate expression at this time of year as we get set to welcome our students and families back. The summer is a great time to re-charge for everyone and prepare for the year ahead. I have heard it expressed that there are no "bad" summers, it's just that some are better than others and this one has been great.

We are excited about the prospect of this new school year here at David Cameron. We survived the often hectic and chaotic blending of Glen Lake school and David Cameron, and as such have emerged as a stronger entity, built on strong beliefs about student learning. This year promises to be an excellent opportunity to solidify the work begun last year and to continue the development of a positive and vibrant school culture that welcomes and values all members of our school community. In fact, one of our school goals this year is to continue the development of our school culture.

We look forward to working with our returning families once again and also getting to know our new families. Welcome to another great year. I look forward to seeing all of the bright, excited faces at school next week (oh, and the kids too).

Planning Cycle

Each year, school's across the province are required to develop a school plan that reflects their goals and direction for the next school year.  The School Planning Council (SPC) at David Cameron has shown tremendous interest and understanding in supporting us as we build our plan.  We have chosen two areas of focus for the 2009/2010 school year, they are: the continued development of our school culture and, an increased use of assessment for learning practices.

This year with the addition of students and families from Glen Lake Elementary we have been working to create a new school culture that is reflective of all of our new school community.  It was felt that this was an important area to continue our work.  In particular, focusing on the development of social responsibility for our students.

We have also determined that a focus on assessment for learning practices will strengthen the academic development of our students by clearly stating learning intentions and providing descriptive feedback to students.

These two areas will provide a strong foundation for student learning and create an environment that is engaging, supportive, and focused on success for all.

June Already?

It has been a fantastic year at David Cameron, albeit a busy one.  We are well on our way towards our new entity as a blended school, having spent the last nine months working together.  This of course leads us into the final month of the school year and as always June is chock full of activities (see our calendar page for exact dates and details).  

Here are a few hi-lites:  District Track and Field meets coming up this week, followed by Bike Roadeo, Parent/Staff Appreciation luncheon, Talent Show, Beach Day, Grade Six Farewell, and our Year-End Assembly.  These of course are only the school events, each class has a number of field trips and/or special events planned to mark the year-end as well.

Each of these events creates another opportunity to build our school culture and connect with the broader school community.  Between the school and our PAC, we have managed to host many wonderful things during this year.  Which brings me to the Fun Fair held this past Friday.  What an amazing thing to see so many David Cameron families turn out for a beautiful, sunlit evening.  The parent organizers behind this event were amazing and pulled off a fantastic event, thanks so much to them and to everyone who pitched in (make sure to come to our Parent/Staff Appreciation Luncheon or at least stop by for a coffee and a muffin before school on June 12th.).  It is this kind of community spirit and connection that makes this school such a great place for everyone.

Let The Planning Begin!

At this time of year we are in the midst of all of the excitement that year-end brings, but more importantly, we are already planning for the next school year.  Our School Planning Council (SPC) has been engaging in conversations about areas that, we as a school, might focus on as a goal.  

School Planning Councils were initiated several years ago as a means of ensuring meaningful consultation with parents in relation to the actions of the school.  Since then, Planning Councils have been a cause for concern from the BCTF, resulting in teachers withdrawing from the conversations.  This obviously complicates the process which is mandated through Ministerial Order and School District Policy.

The David Cameron SPC continues to work in the best interest of students and the school as a whole as it considers information from a variety of sources including Satisfaction Surveys, FSA, and personal judgments regarding areas for potential focus.  Setting and working towards goals is an important part of the continued growth of our school.  We are excited about what the next school year will bring us and the opportunities we have to improve the achievement results of our students.

Looking Forward by Looking Back

What an incredible year we have had so far!  We are so fortunate to live where we do and to have the things we do.  This certainly applies to our school as well.  We have come a long way this year, as we are well on our journey towards the "new" David Cameron.  This year, we have been able to successfully blend staffs, students, and PACs to create a school that all can be proud of.  Over the course of the year we have continued to work on the writing skills of our students as well as their physical health and understanding of nutrition.  These have been important areas for us to focus on as a school.  In support of these goals we have had two "Family Grouping Days", with a third scheduled for May, each focusing on these key areas.  We have instituted a School-Wide Write that was done in the Fall with the follow-up assessment to come in May., and we have created our Home Reading Program and Marathon recognition as well.

As we reflect on our successes (and our failures) we begin to look forward to the next school year and where we as a school community should be putting our resources (human and monetary).  It is important to have a few areas that are our focus so that we can ensure a streamlined process and attainable objectives.  Too many goals become frustrating and overwhelming for people.  At this point, we are just beginning to engage in conversations about where we want to put our efforts next year.  As always, we are interested in the perspective of our school community, so if you have areas that you think need to be worked on don't hesitate to contact me at school.

Satisfaction Surveys

My apologies for not being consistent with my blog posts over the last while.  Thanks to those of you that check in to read what I have written.

This month marks the start of our planning toward completing a new school plan.  We have sent home our individual FSA results to families, with the next key data gathering piece being the Ministry Satisfaction Surveys.  

Satisfaction Surveys allow us to gauge the perception that parents, students, and staff have of various facets of our school.  Perceptions can be a tricky thing as we try to discern if it is a true issue with a particular program or simply how we communicate the information to families.  As a result, we often have to spend time looking at the "stories behind the data" in order to make an accurate judgement of where to put our efforts.  While these surveys pose an issue for our teaching staffs from a political perspective they still offer value to the school for parent and student feedback.  This year, we have added a few school specific questions to get a clearer picture for our planning purposes.  The results of the survey will be shared with our staff and School Planning Council to determine what areas emerge as possible areas for development in the next school year.  Information regarding the Satisfaction Surveys has been sent to parents of students in grade 4 specifically, however, any parent may complete the survey, all you need to do is contact the school for a logon number and you are set to complete the survey on-line.

The information that we gain from this and other data sources provide us with a good starting point to investigate and discuss certain issues in greater detail.

The Pause That Refreshes!

A good friend of mine once said that "it doesn't seem to matter when Spring Break is, it comes at just the right time".  That was certainly true this year.  Prior to the break, our staff had been putting in many extra hours meeting with parents and preparing report cards.  Spring Break is also an important transition point in our school year, it signifies the start of the final term of the year and all of the excitement that brings for year-end activities and grade six transition to middle school.  Hopefully the weather will start to cooperate with us and make it feel a little more like spring, but in the interim staff have already begun working hard with students to complete this school year and prepare for the next.  At David Cameron, we are excited about the many great opportunities both fun and academic that are coming up over the next few months.  We look forward to working with parents and students to make this a great ending to a great year.

Report Cards

Our second term report card will be coming home on Thursday, March 12.  By then, our teaching staff will have been in contact with most families to discuss student progress over this term, through parent-teacher interviews.  As always at this time I like to remind families that report cards represent only a snapshot of student performance.  Each report card "is a picture" of how students have done to this point in the school year (strengths, areas for development, and ways to support their learning).  Letter grades for intermediate students are a symbolic representation of the work students have done in relation to the criteria and prescribed learning outcomes for the term.  Letter grades do not include student behaviour or attitude/effort as a component of the mark.  These areas are reported separately by the teacher.  Primary students are generally given a statement of achievement in relation to the expectations for a child at this point in the year (eg fully meeting expectations).

Please make sure to discuss your child's report card with them so that they are able to see what they are doing well and what they could work on.  Our students are the ones that need to be able to use this information in order to improve on their work.  More focus should be placed on the descriptive information than on the letter grades as you talk with your child(ren).

Professional Development Days

Professional Development days are such an important part of the education profession.  On Friday, many of our staff were engaged in a session on Restitution.  They spent the day examining ways for students to take responsibility for their mistakes and figure out ways to fix them.  At the same time, Dale, myself, and other principals/vice-principals from Sooke were exploring the question "What Matters?" with Chris Kelly, Superintendent of Schools for Vancouver School District.   In this session we were able to take some time to reflect on leadership and learning and what really matters as we work in support of student learning.  Chris spoke of the need for students (and others we work with) to be "genuinely regarded" and to have a sense of hope in order for learning to occur.  As a result, we need to  ensure that strong relationships (respectful and engaged) within our school communities are encouraged and fostered.  

Opportunities to take a pause from our busy day to day work to reflect on what really matters are only possible because of these professional days.  I look forward to the opportunity to discuss with our staff and school community the many learnings and thoughts acquired on our most recent Professional Development Day.

Building Community

As our school year has evolved, I have been giving a lot of thought to the kind of school community that we are collectively building for our children.  We are at the point where staff, students, and parents consider David Cameron Elementary to be there home, but we still have a long way to go to make it the best we can.  Community is about everyone working together to create a great environment to work and learn in.  So far, we have used activities like "Buddy Classes", "Family Grouping Days", "The Virtues Project", and many others to create opportunities for students to feel part of their community.

Where do we go from here?  Have we done enough?  Michael Fullen has said that "Good is the enemy of great", and so we must push on.  Our next areas of focus must be in support of a school tone that allows us to slow down and work/learn in greater detail; with more depth.  We must improve upon the ways in which we support all learners from those with difficulty to those with outstanding capabilities.  We must work on our disciplinary practices so that they have at their core, strengthening the student and allowing them to learn from their mistakes.   These are ambitious undertakings but are critical to students feeling successful and motivated to try and risk and learn.  Together we can, with the help of all, create an incredible place for all to be.  I look forward to our continued work together in support of our children.

A Busy Start to February!

This week is shaping up to be a very busy week at David Cameron.  Of course we are all excited about our two evening concerts with Paul Hann.  It is amazing to see how many details need to be attended to in order to offer something so worthwhile to our students.  From the initial proposal to the final details of performance night, many people have pitched in and made sure that everything has gotten done.  A huge thank-you to the David Cameron staff who have worked hard to get the students ready. 

We will also be conducting a review of our lunch-time changes in order to get feedback from staff, students, and parents.  Look for a short questionnaire to come home on Thursday. I will also be visiting all of the classes to talk with students to hear their opinions.

Monday is our regular School Read Assembly with a focus on our virtue of the month, Respect.  At this time we also get to recognize our students for their efforts in our home reading program and our marathon run.  Both of these recognitions support our school efforts towards our goals of Active Living and Active Learning.  Parents can also expect to see "Crunch and Go" cards coming home with their students.  These cards allow students to track the amount of physical activity and servings of fruits and veggies they are getting over the course of the month.

All of this in addition to our regular weekly routines,  which include boys and girls basketball, field trips, and of course our main focus on student academics.

Assessment Practices

There are lots of educational terms that get thrown around in conversation with teachers and administrators.  Two key ones are "formative" and "summative" in relation to assessment. Formative assessments are those that provide information to the teacher and student to guide changes in instruction or for improvement on the next try.  Formative assessments generally refer to the practice work that students do.  Summative Assessments are those that occur at the end of a unit or course of study that allow the teacher and student to see where they stand in relation to the established criteria.

Why are these important distinctions in assessment practice?  As we work with students we are constantly assessing their work and providing them with feedback in order to improve (formative). When we take this information and use it to determine a letter grade or final mark we change the perception of practice.  Practice can no longer be seen as a way to make mistakes and improve, it must be a finished product because "it counts". 

At David Cameron Elementary we are working as a staff to ensure that we understand the difference between these two forms of assessment and the impact that they have on student learning.  Our staff is constantly looking at our practices to ensure that we are supporting student learning in the best way that we can.

Change

Change is a difficult thing.  We are all confronted with change on a daily basis, it takes us out of our comfort zone, it forces us to examine our values and what is most important to us. Our school this year has certainly had its share of change.  As we navigate our way to becoming a new, blended school community, we continue to face the dissonance of past practice and future directions.  

Michael Fullen speaks often about the change forces that affect us.  In his words, "Change is mandatory, growth is optional".  This is to say that change is continually happening around us, it is our personal decision how we deal with it.  At David Cameron we are continually striving to find the best ways to support our students and to ensure learning for all.   L. Dysart said that "apparent peace should be continually re-examined."  It is not good enough to sit on our past laurels, we must continually strive for better, more efficient ways to support learning. This does not mean that past practice was wrong, only that it was the best we knew of at the time.  As more research is conducted and newer ideas emerge it is our professional responsibility to examine them and find ways to  embed them in our practice.  In this way we are no different than the medical practitioner who must adapt and learn new techniques as medicine advances in its treatments.

Keeping all of this in mind, we must still be cautious in our approach and reasoned in our decisions.  Change for the sake of change is not what we are after, we all want what is best for our children and being open to new ideas and ways of doing business is what's needed.

Artist In Residence Program to Begin

We are very excited that we will have the opportunity to work with noted children's musician Paul Hann for the next month or so.  The Artist in Residence program allows an artist to come into the school setting and share their expertise with students.  Paul Hann has worked in several schools over the past years and brings a tremendous energy and creativity to his music.

During the program, students will work Mr. Hann to create an original song that they will then be able to perform and record.  At the end of the program, Mr. Hann will record the students' songs, complete with the student voices.  We will then have CD's available for families as a great keepsake from their elementary years.  In addition, each class will learn one of Mr. Hann's existing songs to round out our concert performance.

This is such an exciting way to extend the musical learning for our students.  We have been fortunate this year to be able to offer music instruction to all of our students through the expertise of Ms. Garry.  I believe it is important to offer a balance of instruction for our students in academics, the arts, and physical development;  we have been doing a great job of this.

David Cameron Elementary continues to grow and become a truly remarkable place for students to learn, and families to connect to their community.

Happy New Year!

Well, it seems that we were just gearing up for the Christmas Holidays and here we are ready to come back.  I hope that the holidays have been restful and rejuvenating for all of our families and staff.  I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that the new year brings as we work together to create a great school community.

Our first change for the new year is a slight adjustment to our lunch hour routines.  We are going to do a test-run of having students play first and then eat their lunches.  Many schools have gone to this option for a number of reasons; first of all it allows students to burn off some of their morning energy and build up their appetites.  Secondly, we see many students anxious to get outside to play and therefore, many lunches go in the garbage, despite our best efforts.  Thirdly, students will already be in class, ready to begin the afternoon session rather than slowly making their way in to the school.  We will be encouraging students to take a snack with them if they are hungry at noon, and similarly if some students require a bit more time to finish their lunch they will be able to do that as the afternoon session begins (usually with silent reading).  We will be seeking feedback from staff, students, and parents towards the end of January to see how things are going.