2022-23 Parent & Guardian Communication:
September - Respect
Welcome back to school! Our goals to return to post-pandemic learning will focus on JOY, ENGAGEMENT and BELONGING. Staff is focused on building trusting relationships with students and performing initial diagnostic assessments to guide instructional practices in our classrooms. September is a month to learn about your new school, create partnerships with our staff and reinforce our high expectations for respectful social interactions and putting forth a strong effort to build academic skills for success. Click here to see what is happening in September at Chalkfarm PS. Join us at our first Parent School Council Meeting on September 22nd at 6:00pm!
October - Responsibility
Building on our classroom communities, students will be encouraged to develop their student learning skills. Students will be shifting their thoughts about others to focus on self-improvement as a student. Punctuality, initiative, time management and responsibility to attend to their learning are key features of our Character Education this month!
As the leaves change colours and the air grows cooler, we settle into our classroom learning communities and start to push our curriculum and data collection as we assess student learning. Students in different grades will be performing a variety of informal and/or standardized testing and health screening to support the whole child. Here is our parent newsletter for October. We encourage you to participate in School Council. We are meeting in the Library at 6:30 on October 27th!
November - Empathy
Students will focus on "putting themselves in someone else's shoes" in November. Our teachers will be promoting empathy and looking for students to treat others accordingly, depending on how they see someone feeling and how they can help.
Reports and Parent-Teacher Conferences will occur in November. Please continue to communicate directly with your homeroom teacher to form a partnership in support of your child's learning. Remember to arrive at school on time, and be dressed appropriately for any type of weather at this time of year! There are many opportunities for parents to be active at Chalkfarm! Check out our November newsletter for some opportunities!
December - Kindness & Caring
Our Character Trait focus for December is demonstrating Kindness and Caring qualities. Students are expected to show these qualities in all aspects of school and home life. Typically, our literacy programming will promote these traits in stories, novels, dramatic role-play, discussion groups and direct social skill instruction. At Chalkfarm, our staff like to "catch 'em doing the RIGHT thing!". When we identify a student sharing with a peer, helping a classmate, showing empathy and compassion to make someone feel good, or simply doing nice deeds for others - we take the opportunity to highlight their deeds and celebrate their kind words or caring actions as a model for others!
January - Teamwork
This month, students will be introduced and working on the skills to be an effective team player! Teamwork starts with good communication. Each member of the team should be able to communicate effectively and openly with other members to meet a collective goal. Teamwork also involves being responsible for your individual role and using your talents to support others. Teamwork involves building the sense of inclusion and belonging. Leadership is also a key ingredient to making a group achieve success. Most importantly, teamwork involves having a positive attitude, to contribute and participate with effort, and collaborating with others to problem-solve or cooperate fully to reach a common goal or purpose. "There's no "I" in "TEAM"!