Looking Back and Looking Forward - March

 

LOOKING BACK…

 

March is here and on March 21st the first day of spring will be here.  February has been a busy productive month.

 

Talking with you

The first full term of the 2011-2012 school year has finished and we sent home report cards on February 16th.  Some of you came to visit with your child’s teacher and some of you read the report through at home.  It is one of the 4 things we must do – “teach, assess, evaluate and report to parents”.  We continue to look for ways to report to you on your child’s progress.  Thank you for your feedback on how we are doing.

FAMILY LITERACY EVENT

In late January Humberwood celebrated Family Literacy Day.  Middle School students sat attentively as author Alan Stratton shared how he writes a book.  Storyteller Cheryl Thornton brought a smile to the faces of children and parents alike in the evening when she told tales from around the world. And all the primary students loved the literacy games day.

 

VISITORS

In February we had visitors from John G. Althouse Middle School in Toronto who were interested in grade 8 single gender classes.  We also had 20 teachers visit from the Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto.  They were interested in learning more about student assessment and maintaining high standards of written work.

 

DANCE-A-THON

February 24th saw us have a Dance-a-thon for JK to grade 8 students.  It was exceptionally well organized thanks to Ms. Roopnarine, Mr. Dempster and Ms. Celli.  They lead the fundraising initiatives.  We are waiting for a few more envelopes to come in and we’ll communicate the final total to you.

 

MATH TRIVIA

Math is everywhere.  We are currently doing math trivia – one question per grade per day.  Students are asked to show their work in pictures, numbers and words.

 

LOOKING FORWARD…

WORLD MATH DAY

World Math Day is coming on Wednesday, March 7th.  Students from around the globe will be logging onto computers and answering computational math questions at their grade level.We sent home directions for your child to log on at home.

 

PARC – Pupil Accommodation Review Committee

In January we shared that the TDSB has established a PARC (see above) for this North West area of our board.  We have some schools that are declining in enrolment and some who are at their maximum.  This committee will meet 10 times before June 2012.  They will respond to a variety of options.  Their final recommendations will be brought to the Board of Trustees who will make their final decisions.  Our representatives are Mrs. Khan, Mr. Weir and Mr. Mehta.  We will keep you apprised of developments.

 

STUDENT PERFORMANCE – George Weston Recital Hall

On Tuesday, March 6th, Ms. Moon’s grade 8 class will complete their two month participation in a chorale project.  The concert for their performance will be at George Weston Recital Hall.  We are proud of their efforts and Ms. Moon’s initiative.

 

DRUMMING WORKSHOPS

The workshops will be starting March 27th for grade 7 and 8 students.