September
2014
Dear
Parents and Guardians,
Welcome back! I hope everyone had
a wonderful summer! I would like to
introduce myself to you as your child’s grade 8 core/homeroom teacher. My name is Carolynne Waddell and I have been
teaching at Erin Public School for 14 years.
I am really looking forward to teaching the grade 8’s – we are going to
have an amazing year!
Over the next few months, our
goal is to meet the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum, and of course to
make sure the students settle into Erin Public School routines and activities
comfortably. I will be teaching the
following subjects to your child/children : Language, Math, Geography, History,
Phys-ed and Drama, and some Visual Art.
·
The language arts program will consist of grammar, creative writing and reading,
persuasive writing, novel studies, media studies, book reports (one per term),
and many other language-based activities.
The students will be working in small groups, guided reading groups, and
whole-class lessons and discussions.
·
The math program will cover many areas of study – starting off with
a geometry unit that focuses on line segments, rays, congruent and similar
figures, obtuse, acute and reflex angles.
·
We will be covering history term one and will then move into the
geography program in term two. Our first history unit will begin with a look at
the Confederation of our country. The focus in social studies this year will be
project-based learning. What is PBL? According to Edutopia : “Project-based learning
is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems
and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are
inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying.”
·
In phys-ed we will begin with team-building games, leadership skills
and soccer skills. The culminating task for the team-building/leadership unit
will be to design, practice, and carry-out a warm-up activity and a
team-builder activity to a Junior or Primary class. Health will focus on
healthy body image, and healthy eating.
·
In drama, we will be starting with small comedic skits.
·
In visual arts we will explore different aspects of colour,cartooning
and sketching.
During our first day of school, the students and I
discussed classroom rules and expectations that will be followed over the
entire school year. Please ask your
child to go over these with you. They
are posted in the room at all times. My
overall focus for the class is for the students to enjoy a happy, cooperative,
and respectful learning environment.
In the past, each student was
given an agenda at the beginning of the school year, to track homework, due
dates, and special events. With students having hand-held devices and access to
various forms of technology, it is much easier and current to track this
information digitally. Cell phones and I-pods with calendars/agendas will (with
my help and guidance),
be
used to track homework and assignment due dates. I will be checking these
devices on a daily basis to ensure that all needed information is being tracked
by all students. (We ordered 30
agendas
for students who will not be able to consistently access an online agenda if
need be). Another form of communication is our class blog. At www.misswaddell8D.blogspot.com
, you can check for up-coming
classroom activities and assignments.
The blog will also be updated on a regular basis. And finally, an
amazing way of communicating to you directly will be through a program/phone
app called Remind 101. This allows communication directly to you and your cell
through text message. I will be sending home a sign-up sheet and explanation of
this program. In short, it will allow me to send you due dates and upcoming
event reminders right to your phone.
A quick heads-up regarding a field trip that is on the
horizon. On September 16 and 17, the grade 8’s are heading to Island Lake
Conservation Area in Orangeville, for an entire day (9:00am - 2:30pm) to participate in
cooperative games - linked to the phys-ed program, and a pond study that will be linked to their grade
8 water cycle science expectations. Students need to dress appropriately, bring
a lunch, and wear appropriate footwear. Parent volunteers are needed - please
contact me if you are interested in going with us. Two classes are going on the
Tuesday, and two are going on Wednesday – I will keep you posted with info
regarding which day we go to Island Lake.
I look forward to meeting you at our Open House on Tuesday,
September 23rd! If you have any
questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the school,
519-833-9685, send me a note, or via our class blog/email.
Take
Care,
Miss Waddell
