"Maria Montessori taught us that it takes three things to learn to read: time, a hero and books — not just any books but books that include their readers and books that are accessible to them. Until today, books that have included Aboriginal readers have been few and far between (a problem that now exists for many immigrant groups in our multicultural country) as have books that were accessible to them — books that they had the ability to read." - David Bouchard, author and Order of Canada recipient, CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK NEWS SPRING 2015. Kokum (Grandma), I Can Read! One of the most important things that parents can do to support their child's learning is to be the reading hero that David Bouchard refers to above. In addition to creating a special bonding time between parent and child, the time spent reading with a child reading reinforces that this is an important skill that you value. Please ensure that your child reads every night. This is my first weekly blog to update families about the important teaching and learning that is evident at Douglas Harkness School. This weekly blog post will replace the compilation and monthly printing of a newsletter. Please check the website for weekly updates instead. Some parents have commented that while they are enjoying the Twitter posts, they miss the agendas that students have previously been using for communication. We made the decision to move away from daily agendas because it was taking students at least twenty minutes per day to copy the message from the board. In most cases these messages were not specific to one student and therefore this seemed a disrespectful use of student time. Instead, teachers have begun to post to Twitter from each classroom every day. In addition to better utilizing student time, this move will decrease our operating costs as a school. Our hope is that through social media, frequent updates to the website, and this blog you will feel informed about school happenings. Viewing of individual student work and goals is available to parents when they visit Iris with students. This will allow you to see the learning that your child is involved with. Please know that our staff members are available through email or face to face if you have any questions. Next week each student will be decorating a large envelope that will stay in their backpacks until needed. When important communications come home, they will be placed in this envelope, so please be sure that it remains in your child's backpack. Updates from the office
Weekly events
Please visit us on Twitter to see daily updates.
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