Celebrating our Achievements!

Staff took time on Friday’s PA Day to review our school goals from last year and to set new ones for this school year.  We are proud to share our results:

Literacy Goals:

Our reading goal was for 45% of primary students and 70% of junior students to reach level 3 or 4 in Making Connections in reading (measured by EQAO results).  We exceeded our goals here significantly.  67% of primary students and 85% of junior students achieved level 3 or 4.

Our writing goal was for 65% of primary students and 83% of junior students to achieve level 3 or 4 in knowledge of form and style in writing (as measured by EQAO results).  82% of our primary students and 81% of our junior student reached  level 3 or 4. 

These are great academic results!  They show that focused teaching strategies, targeting expectations and specific students reap great rewards.  I am proud of our students and teachers!

Community, Culture and Caring

We set other goals last year that will continue this year as well.  For Community, Culture and Caring we set a goal to become a bronze level eco-school with a reduction in waste by 10%.  In fact we achieved a silver level Eco School designation and reduced waste by 41%!!

We set another goal to participate in Me to We Haiti  project by raising $1000.  Our Me to We student leaders helped us raise $1519.01. 

Our healthy school goal was to focus on intramural programming with 75% of students taking part.  For most activities in most grades participation approached 100 % throughout the year.

We are working on setting goals for the 2011-2012 school year.  Our focus will continue to be on Literacy, specifically reading, and on Community, Culture and Caring, specifically EcoSchools project, Me to We, inclusion and safe schools. 

As we set those goals and work to achieve them we will share our progress with you.  We hope you will continue to support our efforts.

TV stars!

This anniversary is creating big excitement here at Eastdale! 

Today we had Steve Howe, the communications director here to interview some members of school council, a former teacher, myself and some students about the history of Eastdale and how we feel about the school.  Steve is going to create a video of the interviews to put on the school board's website; it will also be sent out to the board's media contacts.

I have to admit I spent some time this morning thinking about what to wear, and wishing my hair was different...
The students were the most calm and self-assured of the bunch of us. 

I will post the link to the video when I get it.

I'm also going to call my mom and tell her "I'm in a video!"  Cool!

Back to School

I've been officially back to school for 4 days.  My summer holiday is over, but I am excited about the new school year.

Some things to mark on your calendar:

September 6 is the first day of school.  Students meet at the back of the school, and then follow staff into the gym to find out which classes they will be in.  Parents are welcome to join their students in the gym.

September 13 is the first School Council meeting of the year.  It's from 7-8:15pm in the library.  Babysitting is provided.  We encourage everyone to come out and learn more about the "behind the scenes" of Eastdale.  Don't worry -- your presence does not commit you to a year of committee meetings or obligations!

September 20 is Meet the Teacher BBQ 5-7pm. 

September 24 is our Eastdale Annivesary Celebration.  I am pretty excited about the events the school council has planned.  Check out the Anniversary "page" above for details.

September 30 is a Professional Development Day for teachers.  We'll be working hard on setting and planning school goals for the year.

See you soon!
K

Giant Cookie Recipe for Fun Fair

    Recipe
Cream together: 1 cup softened butter – 1 cup packed brown sugar – ½ cup white sugar
Add: 2 beaten eggs – 2 tsp vanilla
In a separate bowl, stir together:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture
Add: 2 cups chocolate chips
Bake at 300F at least 25 minutes or until done
When cool, decorate as you wish

RULES
1.  Make the cookie recipe below and bake the cookie in a round greased pizza pan.
2.  Decorate it with whatever you want (icing, candies, cereal, marshmallows, paper, etc.).  Let your imagination go wild!
3.  Put the decorated cookie on a cardboard circle.
4.  Cover your cookie with plastic wrap
5.  Have your cookie to school by 10:50am on Friday, June 3 for judging. 

Cookies will be displayed at the Fun Fair and will be used as prizes at a Fun Fair game called THE COOKIE WALK (Therefore, your cookies become the property of the Fun Fair game committee.) 
    Play THE COOKIE WALK game at the Fun Fair...If you win you choose one of the Great Big Cookies as a prize.

Aprilmayjune

Principals often joke that after March there is only one month of school left -- it's called Aprilmayjune.
This is such a busy time of the year because while there is still plenty to do for the current year, we are simulatiously working on the next school year. 

Here's a few things currently on my "to do" list:
-Primary and Junior EQAO tests at the end of May for Grades 3 and 6-- there is quite a bit of organization and coordination of time and tasks to get ready
-board staffing processes -- this means a number of meetings
- class and grade organization for next year (once staffing is complete in mid May)
-timetabling for next school year (also starts mid May)
-Track and Field, School Council meetings, Jump Rope for Heart, 3-pitch tournament hosted at Eastdale, class trips, Gr. 6 JUMP, Gr. 6 graduation
-Mentoring workshops -- I will be a member of the board's administrator mentoring team
-Fun Fair!!
-Professional Learning Community meetings and School-in-the-Middle meetings
-as well as the usual "stuff" that piles on my desk and inbox every day.

I love being busy and I love the excitement of preparing for a new year. 
But -- time flies in Aprilmayjune.

Eco School

Eastdale is featured on our Board's website.  This post contains our quest to become an Eco School and shows some videos our Environment Club created to teach students about waste and energy conservation.
Check out this link:  http://blog.amdsb.ca/2011/03/21/eastdale-working-to-become-an-eco-school/

Letting our "babies" go

It's the time of year when I am starting to think about our incoming JK students.  I remember being the parent of the 4 year old destined for school and being terrified of what that would mean for me.  For ME.  There would be whole huge chunks of his life that I would not be able to control, even know about.  That's frightening for a parent, so know that I "get" it.  Also frightening is that in a year and a half that "baby" will be going to grade 9!  Gulp!

This post will be the advice/truth I wish someone had given me when I sent my children to school. 

First you have to come to terms with the truth that yes, there will be big parts of your child's life that you will not control, and indeed, not know anything about.  There is nothing you can do about that, so accept that you are sending your child to the teacher that will come to love/understand/nurture and teach your child to be the very best student/citizen they can help craft them to be.  The teacher will never know your child the same way that you do.  They can't; they don't have the history or the birth scars/stories to connect them.  But, your child's teacher will also know your child in a way that you cannot.  They will see your child learn to navigate a structured learning environment, follow rules, take risks, learn curriculum and grow emotionally and socially at school.  That can be quite different from what you see across the dinner table. 

You also have to accept that your child's teacher will not be able to fill in all the gaps in the day that you are craving answers to.  The teacher will let you know the things that you NTK (need to know) and can influence.  For example, the teacher will likely contact you if there are discipline issues, learning struggles, great gains or successes, unexplained changes in behaviour, difficulties with peers that affect learning etc.  If you don't hear anything you can expect that there aren't any concerning NTKs.  The teacher will not be reporting day to day events, that is your child's job. 

So then the conversation turns to the issue that "my child doesn't tell me anything."  The following is a close transcript of my school conversations with my oldest child:

Me:  How was your day?
Boy:  Fine.

Me:  What did you do today?
Boy:  Nothing?

Me:  Did you have a good day?
Boy:  Un huh (or Un Unh)

Clearly, I had no idea what he was doing, or  how he was doing 'cause "fine" and "nothing" aren't real answers.  

I learned quickly that I had to change the conversation so that it went something like this:

Me:  What did you do at activity time?
Boy:  I played in the building centre (it was almost always the building centre!)
Me:  So what did you build?
Boy:  Me and Boy A built _____.  We used the saws and the big blocks.  Mrs. let us pile them high (height was always a big thing.....)  etc. etc.

Me:  Who did you play with at recess?
Boy:  I played with Boy A, Boy B and Boy C.
Me:  What did you guys play?
Boy:  Soccer (or tag, or chase, or trucks etc.)

Me:  What story did Mrs. read today?
Boy:  ______
Me:  Did you like the story?
Boy:  Yeah.
Me:  Why did you like it?
Boy:  'cause Mrs. used funny voices and it made us laugh....

Me:  You had gym today with Mr.  What game did you play?
Boy:  We did running.  I was fastest (again, speed was a big thing.... still is...)

Every grade has specific routines and activities that you can ask about.  In older grades you might ask about literacy or math centres or writer's workshop, phys.ed, recess, computer programs etc.  You will soon see patterns in who your child is playing with (or not playing with), the activities they like, things they get excited about and things they've learned.  I learned that if I wanted to fill in the gaps in my Boy's day, then I had to ask specific questions about those gaps. 

This is also what I learned -- getting that information from my child in rich conversations is much more fulfilling that getting a second hand report from the teacher.

Mrs. B
Mama first, then teacher and principal....

Report Cards

I have finally come out from under the cloud that report card time causes, so now I can blog about it....

I overheard a comment at the arena on Feb. 14 from a parent who did not know that I was a principal.  She said something to the effect that reports were coming out and she'd see "what the teacher slopped on the page."  Slopped on the page???  I brewed about that awhile, but then I came to realize that most people probably don't know what goes into a report card.  So here is the explanation.  This is the explanation for how we do things at Eastdale.  The process won't be exactly the same at every school, but the time and effort involved is the same in every building across the province, I am certain.

Provincial assessment guidelines mandate that marks on the report card must be the most recent, most consistent marks.  That means that teachers must use several pieces of assessment for each subject to find the consistency required.  This assessment takes place over the term with an emphasis on the end of term to be the most recent evidence of student learning.

I estimate that each teacher spends about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per report card to translate the work in their mark books, and student work into comments that reflect curriculum expectations but written so that parents will understand them on the report card.  In a class of 30 that means an additional workload of up to 60 hours, crammed into about 2 weeks. 

Once teachers have finished writing the reports, they email me to tell me they are ready.  Our reports are done on an online forum, so I read each report for each student online.  This way I can fix up any typos or find things that have been missed.  That being said, the odd time things get passed me...  I can usually read a class set of report cards in about 1 1/2 hours.   I send them back to teachers for clarification or editing, if necessary.  I usually have about 3 days to do this.

Once the reports have been edited and revised they get sent to Mrs. Newman who prints them out for us.  She usually spends time having a look at each set to make sure the attendance has been added correctly and that no lines have been cut off etc. 

When she is satisfied she sends them to me.  I do a quick glance over each one and then sign them all. 

I pass them to teachers who also give them a quick glance, sign them and then fold them for the envelopes. 

I am so proud of how my staff recognize and respect the importance of the report card.  I have staff regularly email for advice for how to use the exact right words to convey what they need to say.  I tell them "be honest, but kind," and I think our teachers often agonize on how to do that.  No one wants a report card that crushes a child's spirit but we are also responsible for conveying next steps if the child is struggling.  Often the next steps come in the learning skills areas and teachers are aware that is also often the hardest thing for a parent to hear that their child is having trouble with the basics of character.

Report card time is not my favourite time of the year.  My eyes burn, teachers are stressed and I worry how the reports will be received.  It takes me weeks to catch up on my "other" work -- hence the "cloud" I mentioned earlier. 

One thing I can say for certain is that the information on the reports is placed there with utmost care -- there is no "slopping" what so ever.

As always, if you have a concern or question about the report cards then please contact your child's teacher or myself.  We will be happy to walk you through the comments.

Celebrating Character

There has been much emphasis at this school, in the community and the media around anti-bullying campaigns.  The Stand Up Campaign at Eastdale is an example.
But...
I've been thinking lately that we are spending much time focusing on the few who do not reflect the good character that exists at Eastdale; and I think it's time we celebrate the positive rather than dwell on negatives.
So...
I've come up with a plan.  I'm calling it Fine Dining at Eastdale. This morning I invited 20 students who consistently demonstrate good character at all times, not just when someone is watching.  These are children I've not heard a negative report about from students or teachers, and who generally try to do the right thing.  (There are far more than 20 such students at Eastdale, but this is where I've started.)  I sent personal invitations to these students to join me during nutrition breaks to eat in the "dining hall" on the stage.  We listen to soft music, have dimmed lighting, enjoy each others' company, maybe we'll watch a movie. 
Manners are required at Fine Dining so students must stay seated, use "please and thank you," and ask to be excused before leaving the table.
I think the students enjoyed their lunch times today.  I know I did. 
It's nice to celebrate with deserving little people.  I could get used to this Fine Dining.

This is the massive snowfort my kids and hubby have built in our backyard.  It's a work of art, I tell you.  It's been a week in the making.  My hubby assures me that it is structurally sound....

The "Fort" has caused me to reflect on the many woes of fort building at school....

I am regularly confronted with complaints on the yard the "so and so stole my snow" and "blank took our boulders" and "miss and mr took over our fort when we hard started building it last week..."  etc. etc.

I find by this time of the year I have very little patience for the snowfort battles.  'Cause really, we're going to argue about who owns which snow? 

I see how world wars start.  The need to control and possess property/land/snow is all the same mentality and suggesting that you find a way to share it often doesn't work. 

In the scope of my day, listening to who built which wall with which door often doesn't land very high on my list of daily priorities, but do understand the need to be heard.  Sometimes I am amazed at the solutions the students come up with.  They can be very creative with their boundaries and willingness to "add on" rooms so that more children can play.  These are good lessons on compromise.

And if all else fails?
I say, "I own the snow!"

What's a PLC?

PLC stands for Professional Learning Communities.  The purpose of the PLC is to allow divisions within schools to plan for, and implement and reflect on teaching strategies that are directly linked to specific curriculum expectations.

The first round of PLCs across the Board were based on a Reading Expectation that says, "extend understanding of texts by connecting, comparing and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them."  Students have been answering open response type questions to demonstrate this understanding. 

The process for the PLCs works like this:
Meeting one -- teachers meet to discuss the expectation, develop a rubric for assessing the learning, develop a diagnostic question to be given to all students in a particular grade or division, develop anchor charts and exemplars to help the students understand what is being asked of them.

Meeting two -- teachers bring the marked diagnostics and discuss trends they have in their class.  For example, in our first round many teachers found that students could either make connections to their own thinking, or to the text, but not to both (which is what we want to happen). Based on the information gathered from the diagnostic assessment teachers plan lessons together.

Meeting three -- schools are paired up with other schools in the area.  This is called a "Networked PLC" because there are multiple schools involved.  We meet as divisions with the Elma and Wallace staffs.  At this meeting teachers share best practice ideas, and brainstorm different resources and teaching strategies to help each other figure out how to best help the students.

Meeting four -- teachers bring their "summative" assessment (that's the final written work) and we mark them cooperatively.  This ensures that a Level 4 in one class is the same as a Level 4 in another. 

This PLC process and the cooperation, research and structured learning is vastly different from how teachers and schools have operated in the past.  Yesterday was the Primary teachers' Networked  PLC.  I so wish that parents could have sat in to listen to the conversations.  To hear teachers so focused on the craft of teaching, and talking about how to reach all students was really inspiring. 

The PLC process is relatively new to education.  I believe that it will change education for the better, for all of our students.  Teacher collaboration and the exploration of learning and teaching strategies is powerful stuff.  I am proud of how our staff works together, always with the question "how do I best help my students."  When you see how learning can change based on such conversations it gives me great hope for our children.  The sky really is the limit!

Gratitude

On January 1, 2010 I started a gratitude journal.  I got the idea from Oprah.  Every night (almost) before bedtime I write 3-5 things that I was grateful for that day. 

I reread my journal yesterday.  It's neat to look back at the year, and all the things that brought me joy.  Here's the thing that has caused me to reflect.  I am surprised at the number of little, mundane things that I was grateful for.  I didn't write any explanations, so I don't have a context to put the entries in.  I wrote things like "new pen," "___ made me laugh," "kids did the dishes without being asked," "it didn't rain" and "found my keys."  This has reminded me that the little things really do add up, and I need to remember to look for them.

Here's the other thing that rings true.  Many, many of the entries are related to my job, my school.  How wonderful to go to work everyday in a place that makes me glad to be there.  I don't know that everyone can say that.

So I start 2011 already grateful that tomorrow I will be back at Eastdale.  It won't be a snowday, and all the little "peeps" I've missed will surely make my day once again.

Happy 2011, friends.