| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, Last night I had the immense pleasure of welcoming the Class of 2036 to our school. We held our annual Kindergarten Orientation evening for all of our Kindergarten students starting school for the first time this fall. Some students entered the building excited about the possibilities of what lies ahead and some showed that they are feeling a little nervous. I asked the illustrious Class of 2036 a question. I said, ‘Who likes to play?” Lots of hands went into the air. I told those students if they like to play then they are ready to learn. The connections between play and learning are significant. I often argue that the best homework you could ever give your child is time for unstructured play. Play and exploration are at the root of creativity. Play teaches both independence and interdependence. During play, one learns how to solve both scientific and social problems. Children learn how to be active, fostering lifelong physical and mental health benefits. Play inspires curiosity, sparks new questions for learning, and fosters imagination. With this in mind, I have three homework challenges for parents this weekend. Take time to learn about the benefits of play. Simply Google that phrase to start your research. Second, take time to interact with your children, play together, take their lead, and witness the learning process happen. Finally, step back and simply watch your child play. What can you learn about them that you didn’t know before? It’s time to play. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, In the past number of months, artificial intelligence has taken another monumental step forward. Whether for good or for bad, the technology now exists to do your writing for you. Simply provide a prompt and let the computer do the work. Likely, we are just seeing the tip of the proverbial iceberg with respect to the implications of this technology. While this technology holds great potential, it is still very difficult to replicate the concept of 'voice' and 'creativity' in writing.
I've played with this new technology. Admittedly, I've even had it try to write my Principal's Message for me. Every time I try, the computer produces something that lacks a certain amount of soul. It doesn't sound like me. It doesn't replicate my quirks, my love of lists, my desire to connect with families. This is why we are attracted to certain authors. I could read a legal thriller and tell you whether or not John Grisham is the author without seeing his name on the cover. I've read enough of his works to know his style. Likewise, we also love creativity. This is why we don't read an encyclopaedia, or even a whole Wikipedia article, for enjoyment. It isn't written in a novel way that captures our attention. To use a plant analogy, an artificial plant may look like an authentic replication but it lacks the feel and smell of the real thing. Fostering children's voice and creativity in writing is one of our school learning goals. However, this same goal can be enhanced at home. Children love to tell stories; they are often fantastical in nature. When they do this at home, even if the story is vocalized, ask questions. Have them expand on their ideas and push the limits of their thinking. They will be happy to tell you more. Have them keep a creativity journal of ideas that inspire them. Pick fun and unique vocabulary to see how it may be used in a sentence. Find an interesting picture and have a 10-minute family writing time. See what unique pieces of writing everyone can generate. Voice and creativity can be learned, they can be fostered and they can be celebrated. Artificial Intelligence can write the boring things for us but we can still inspire others with our own voice, our own creativity, and our own words.
Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal
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| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, How much learning can be accomplished through the simple act of baking cookies with your child? It starts with buying the ingredients. This takes a basic understanding of financial literacy. Which brand of chocolate chips should you buy and what recipe will you use? This will take some critical thinking. Measuring out the ingredients requires math and deciphering the recipe requires reading comprehension. Placing the dough on the cookie sheet will need spatial reasoning. Watching the cookies bake takes observational skills, and removing the cookies from the oven is an opportunity for learning health and safety. Self-reflection and the acceptance of feedback can be taught when indulging in the final product. Sibylla Kiddle, our school’s namesake, understood the power of learning in baking a cookie doesn’t need to stop at the completion of the process noted above. Sibylla Kiddle understood what can be gained by giving those cookies away. She had a passion for serving the community. One of the ways she did this was by baking cookies and taking them to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. She learned that taking care of others not only brings the recipient joy, it brought her joy as well. May 25 is Sibylla Kiddle’s birthday. To honour her legacy and to celebrate her birthday, each of our classrooms has chosen to take on an act of service for their community. Teachers will be sharing more detail in their classroom based Weekly Updates. How can you give back to your community this weekend? How can you leverage that as a valuable learning opportunity for your child? Perhaps someone you know would benefit from a little plate of cookies. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, What are some of the complex things you have learned in life? Have you learned a second language? Maybe you have learned to excel at a particular sport or you have figured out the art of baking a cake from scratch. Learning isn’t always easy but it is often rewarding. Most of the time we don’t look back on our learning and say, ‘I wish I hadn’t learned that’. One very complex learning skill many of us face is how to be an effective parent. I can attest, it is difficult learning. If you are like me, there are days you learn through trial and error, you learn from your mistakes, you learn that success rarely arrives in a day. One of the ways we learn is from the wisdom of others. On May 25, our School Council has arranged a parent night with Connie Jakab. Connie is an author, speaker, coach and most importantly, a parent, whose journey has not always been easy. She will be speaking to our parents on May 25, 2023 at 6:30 PM on the topics of anxiety, supporting children’s mental health, parenting to impact positive behaviour and helping kids flourish. This is an evening you do not want to miss. I have personally heard Connie speak, I follow her on social media and I have been inspired by her weekly email distribution. She is a wealth of practical wisdom and ideas for supporting children. I am confident you will walk away with new tools in your parenting toolbox and the evening will be worth your time. For a teaser video, check out this link. You are encouraged to RSVP through your Healthy Hunger account. I look forward to learning alongside you at this special event. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| You have likely heard of the word trigger. We see it used as a disclaimer before reading an article, listening to a podcast or viewing certain media. It is a word meant as a warning that the content may illicit unpleasant or even traumatic memories within you. I recently learned the word trigger has an antonym, glimmer. A glimmer contains content that sparks memories and feelings of joy. Our brains are often wired to see, feel and perceive negative information. Scientists suggest this is a primal survival response in order to be aware of our surroundings and potential threats. It is important, however, to attune ourselves to the good that surrounds us. What are your glimmers? What are the things that spark a moment of joy within your brain? They don’t need to be complicated. For me, the smell of a fresh rain. The taste of cinnamon. Watching a spectacular play on a sports highlight reel. Being outwitted in a strategy based board game makes me howl with laughter. Can you identify your glimmers? Even better, do you know the glimmers of your children? Knowing their glimmers is a powerful tool for uplifting moods, de-escalating emotions and regulating feelings. If you know their glimmers, go ahead and leverage them as much as possible. If you don’t know their glimmers, it’s time to experiment. Is there a piece of music they like? Is there a place in nature they love to go? Is there a scent that puts a smile on their face? Once the brain has been sparked be a glimmer, be ready for the possibilities of what may come next. What new ideas will be inspired? What conversations might you be able to engage in? What learning will be ripe for exploring? Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, Rarely does a week, even a day go by without a student stopping me to let me know their birthday is today, coming up or about to happen. On occasion, students will let me know their birthday is some random date, months in advance. I find these interactions very endearing but also insightful. The conversations remind me kids love that there is something special about them and they love to be individually celebrated. Recently, a couple of our Grade 1 classes had a big celebration. It wasn’t someone’s birthday, instead, they celebrated learning. For many weeks, these students had been learning how to write a story. The learning wasn’t always easy. Students had to generate ideas, record their thinking, get feedback and adjust their work, just like an author would. When the entire process was over they took their stories and published them into an anthology of their collective work. They published a real book! To celebrate, their classrooms held a red carpet event, complete with photographers and fans (Grade 4 buddies) lining the carpet to cheer them on. Their faces beamed with pride as they were individually celebrated for their learning. What is worth celebrating at home? What does your ‘red carpet’ look like? What are the big accomplishments that took perseverance that are worth recognizing? Perhaps your child levelled up in martial arts or memorized a song for a music recital. Likewise, it is also worth celebrating smaller accomplishments. Your child asked to help dry the dishes, feed the dog or simply surprised you by cleaning their room. Celebrate! Pull out the camera and do a photo shoot. Celebrate! Make up a special ‘you’re awesome’ high five / handshake routine. Celebrate! It doesn’t matter what you do, watch your child beam and be proud of who they are and what they have accomplished. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, If your children are like mine, I’m predicting that cleaning their room doesn’t come naturally to them. Without prompting, reminders and even a little nagging, they will likely live in some state of disorganization. The irony is rarely lost on me as I am also not a natural ‘clean my room’ kind of person. After a long winter, one needs to look no further than the inside of my car or garage to determine that cleaning is a task I tend to avoid. Cleaning up after ourselves is not something most of us instinctually do, even as adults. One needs to look no further than the aisles of a movie theatre or arena after a sporting event to see the mess many of us leave behind. Walking along the river bank or through the community we can see the remnants of litter being uncovered after the recent snow melt. April 22 is Earth Day, a day to celebrate the goodness Earth has to offer and a day to remind us to take care of our planet. If cleaning up after ourselves is something that takes practice and intentionality, then it is a skill that can be learned. How will you celebrate Earth Day with your child? How might you foster the skill of cleaning up after ourselves not just in our homes but on our planet? I hope you are able to take some time this weekend, with your child, to brainstorm and then action ways to take care of Earth. Just like cleaning up our room, it starts with one step at a time. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families,
Do you have a favorite board game? Consider that game for a moment. Does it involve math? Language? Strategy? Take a classic game like Yahtzee. It's a simple dice game but it is filled with adding and multiplying. To do well, you need to strategize which category to put your dice rolls into. If playing to win, you are likely engaging in considerable mental math. However you approach the game, you are not simply just rolling dice. Learning through games can be more engaging for students than traditional learning methods. For example, take some simple language games like Scrabble or Bananagrams. In both games, you are given tiles with letters and you are tasked with creating words. This takes considerable mental manipulation of letters in order to be successful. When compared to traditional spelling practice, what requires more brain power? Spell 'forest'. Or, alternatively, what words can you make with tiles containing the letters in 'forest'? Softer. Frost. Sort. Rose. One task is rote (another forest word), while the second activity involves critical thinking about your knowledge of letters and word formation. The game you choose to play doesn't really matter. Most games will foster some form of learning and tap critical thinking skills. Traditional board games like Uno, Rummikub, Sorry or Boggle can be great places to start. Once you develop a family passion for board games, you may want to diversify into some more modern games like Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Kingdomino or Azul, many of which come with junior versions for younger children. No matter what you choose, the first rule of any game should be to have fun. So go have some fun – 'highest roll goes first'. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal |
| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families, I’m not an art expert. I have had the privilege of seeing original works by artists such as Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse but I’m not sure I could tell you what makes their work stand out against the paintings of lesser known artists. I do know when I see works by certain Canadian artists like: Jason Carter, Emily Carr or Ted Harrison that I love what I am viewing. I’m not sure what draws me to these works. Perhaps it is the use of colour, the interpretations on nature or the technique. I just know that I enjoy these artists more than others. You don’t need to be an artist to enjoy a painting. You don’t need a course in art critique or history to have an opinion. You don’t even need to really know what you are talking about to instill a love of art in children. Picture books are one form of art. Did you know every year a medal is given for the best-illustrated picture book, called the Caldecott Medal? Many of the winners and honorable mentions from past years can be found at the public library. When reading these stories, stop and consider the pictures with your child. Do they like the pictures? What do they like (or dislike) about it? How does the art support or even tell the story? If you are feeling more ambitious, consider a trip to an art gallery or museum. These can often be done in-person or online. Have your child choose a piece of artwork. What colours do they see? What do you notice? What patterns are present? How does it make you feel? What story do you think the artist is trying to tell? Why do you think the artist chose to do this picture? Do you like the painting? Why or why not? You don’t need an art degree to state a fact or give an opinion. Simply reflecting on a few basic questions can foster a love of art and plant a seed for representing the world through creativity and new perspectives. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal
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| Dear Sibylla Kiddle School Families,
What does it mean to be a scientist? Stereotypes would suggest you need white frizzy hair. You should probably put on a white lab coat and maybe get yourself a microscope. You could complete the caricature by mixing up some baking soda and vinegar inside a paper mâché volcano. I hold a slightly different take on what it means to be a scientist. I believe at the heart of a scientist lives a spirit of curiosity. Walt Disney once said, “Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Science is about wonderment, questioning and exploration. It is impossible to travel a new path, literally or metaphorically, without having a heightened sense of awareness and expectation. You don't know what you'll discover but your curiosity propels you forward with intrigue. This is where science is found. It the pursuit of making sense of those things that cause us to be curious. How does an airplane fly? Why can't I grow a palm tree in Calgary? Why does one person love the taste of asparagus and another finds it revolting? Discoveries are ultimately made in the pursuit of satisfying curiosity. How can you inspire curiosity in your child, especially over Spring Break? Start with listening to the questions they have about the world. Children start doing this as toddlers when they constantly ask 'why'. What is your child curious about? Maybe they have stopped asking why and don't feel inspired to ask big questions. Try a field trip to inspiring places and model asking curious questions yourself. Walk through downtown and wonder how buildings can be made both tall and strong. Take a stroll along the riverbank and consider how fish stay alive in the icy water. Visit an antique store and be curious about how an old device, like a clock, worked and how it has improved over time. How can you let out your inner scientist and inspire your child to do the same? What might you learn and discover together? Be curious. Have a great Spring Break. Sincerely,
Brad Emery
Principal
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