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).