Principal Message
Dear Parents & Guardians,
We made it to Spring Break without any cohorts going into isolation and no staff member having to quarantine at home. Amazing! We are looking forward to seeing all students again on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Each student brought home a spelling workbook before Christmas break. I hope that your son/daughter has been working in it each and every day or at least most days. Practicing spelling is a foundational block for improving reading and writing. This week, I was doing my rounds through the classes and one grade 3 student asked me how to spell 'over'. This reminded me that I really wanted to check in with all of you in regards to the spelling book and how important it is to work in it. Working on reading and writing daily is an important habit to form. Playing Cribbage with your child in grade 2 and 3 is also the most engaging way of practicing basic facts for math with them (without your child realizing they are doing math work!)
I'm very excited to share that CWS will be a PILOT TESTING SCHOOL for K-3 reading assessment tools called LenS (letter name sound test for K-2) and Castles & Coltheart Test (CC3) for grade 1-3. These tests have been used in the Edmonton Public school board for a number of years now. The tests clearly show which SKILL the student should learn NEXT. Dr. Oakley school, the CBE's reading intervention school, has been using this approach very successfully for the past two years.
The CBE is allowed to put forward four schools to participate in the pilot project and CWS will be one of them! Even more exciting is the prospect that we will be part of the process to establish Alberta Norms.
I will receive the screeners (tests), instructions and a video during spring break. We will look at the material when we return from Spring break. On April 12 and 13th, we will have Bruce Raddatz come into the school to free up teachers to administer the new test one-on-one. I will keep you informed of how this is all rolling out as it happens. Our next school council meeting is on April 20th. Please join us to see what my update on this exciting project will be. The April evening will also involve my presentation on next year's budget and fees.
Warm Regards,
Meike Thomsen, Principal
