Hi Everyone,
Welcome to October! Thank you to the many of you who are communicating with me regularly about the learning that is happening for your children. I really appreciate the effort you put into this and will be commenting more thoroughly on those reports you send. I’ve been focusing on making sure that the SLPs are getting completed and communicating with those families who are still working through that process. Thank you for your patience!
SLP Parent / Guardian Sign Off
It is time for families to review your child(ren)’s SLPS (student learning plans) in Encom. As a Ministry of Education requirement, a parent or guardian needs to sign off on the SLP. When you view those online, you will see the information that you sent/discussed with me, as well as some added ideas for activities and sometimes goals for courses that no specific goal was stated. Please have a look at these documents and let me know if there is anything you would like changed. If you are satisfied with how an SLP looks as it is, then please fill in the screen saying that you accept the SLP as it is (“completed collaboratively with the Support Teacher” as it represents your input and mine). If you would like to change something, add something or remove something, then let me know directly. Keep in mind, we can alter these documents at any time. We are just required at this time of year to make sure that the parents have reviewed these documents.
When you log into Encom, this is what the screen should look like. Click on the green “Student Learning Plan” button to review the SLP. You then type in your name as the parent/guardian and then you type in your name a second time as your legal signature. Finally, you click the button at the bottom of the screen that says “Save SLP Sign Off.” Done!
A couple of you may find that the SLP is incomplete. If so, then I am waiting for some more information from you. If you have already sent it, then please send it again as I must not have received it – likely some email glitch that happens occasionally.
Proof of Work Samples
Over the next 2 weeks, I’m collecting student work samples of work that each student has done between Oct. 1 and Oct.18, 2016. I’m required to provide evidence that your child is working as a Home Learner and the Ministry of Education has decided that teachers must upload 2-3 learning samples for each student, all completed during the first half of October. I need 2-3 samples total for each HCOS student.
These need:
1. The student’s name.
2. A date from Oct.1 to Oct. 18 when the work was completed.
3. Must be from different subjects/courses.
When I receive those work samples from you, I save them as PDF files, add a teacher comment on each (indicating the course, an evaluation or a personal response) then upload them into your child’s Encom account. I can use photos, .doc and .docx files, pdf, text, images loaded on facebook or google drive, images on blogs, or texts to my phone. If you would like to send those samples a different way, just ask as I may be able to work out different ways as well. These can be samples from workbooks, photos of models built, reading lists of books your child has read, tests they have already completed, score records from software programs for math or languages, pictures from a hockey game…hopefully you get the idea. ANY learning that your child is doing. J
**If any of you are interested in trying out an online portfolio, I have started to use FreshGrade, which would allow you to upload photos and videos into an electronic (or E) portfolio and leave comments or descriptions there. If you are interested, let me know and I’ll send you the log in information for your child in my ‘class.’ Here is their site, but don’t sign up so I can just invite you to be part of my class. FreshGrade
It sounds like the weather has kind of changed for many of you this past week! Bruce and I were blessed to be able to make a trip to Hinton this weekend where we ‘represented’ the family at Bruce’s brother-in-law's first service as the Pastor at Hinton Alliance. It was wonderful to be there to support Bruce’s sister and her husband and to also see the church’s welcome of them – what a blessing to our hearts to see how warmly they were welcomed and accepted into their new community and church. It was a quick trip but such a great reminder of how we long for people to speak life, love, truth, joy – Christ – into the people we love. I often hope and pray for that to be happening to all of you, especially when you feel alone or overwhelmed with the task given to you, to home educate your child. May you all be encouraged and affirmed this week and I pray that God brings that to you in a variety of ways.
