| Our students and staff are continuing to learn outside and to get outside. We are enjoying the Winter season and all it has to offer. Thank you parents for being so responsive and helping get your children prepared for learning outside on the land. Our Kindergarten classes are looking at indigenous birds and animals and geometrical patterns and forms outside. Other students are measure their shadows and looking at animal tracks and habits outdoors. We have really appreciated coming to school with the sunrise the last few weeks and being able to get outside. Teacher’s Convention was a real success with our teachers attending sessions regarding literacy, math, inclusive education, anti-racism, technology, indigenous ways of knowing, mental health, fairness and wellbeing, cognitive and behavioral, and many other Professional Development Sessions. You will see new activities happening in our school as our professionals test out their developing skills. Convention was all on-line for the first time and teachers and support staff missed that human connection and interaction. We all feel so lucky to be at school with our colleagues and especially with our brilliant and dedicated students. Let us continue to wear masks and physically distance and keep safe. We have celebrated in style our 100 days of school. Please check out our twitter feed @williamreid_CBE as we post what goes on inside and outside the building regularly. I encourage all parents to check out the new CBE High School scenarios that will be posted to the CBE corporate site on Feb. 23, 2021. There are many ways to engage in the process and I encourage you all to have a look at this. Staff deployment and budgeting will begin soon so please attend School Council sessions and check our website for news stories regularly. Excellent deep learning is happening at our school. Our focus continues to be in reading and decoding. All students should be setting a reading goal with their teachers. I want to ensure all parents and guardians that this has been a good learning year. In speaking with our teachers they believe children are not stunted in their ability to learn and grow because of the pandemic. Our teachers work hard every day to ensure the program of studies and curricular objectives are met. Students are working hard and continuing to improve in their studies every day. Thank you parents for all of the home reading you do to support their growth in school. Reading in English or your child’s first language is an excellent way to increase their literacy and abilities in French. Do not hesitate to read to your children or have them read to you. For the younger kids, even letter recognition is reading. This has not been an easy year for all of us but we are more then half way there and we have done this together very successfully. We’ve got this! Christine Stiles, Principal |
