Welcome to April!

Hello everyone! 

I hope that you were able to enjoy some sort of change up over the past two weeks that brought rest, refreshment or joy in the midst of daily life!  I enjoyed getting to visit with my husband’s family and the 15 hours of driving in the car with him.  ☺

As you may be aware, besides being a support teacher with HCOS, I also teach part-time at a local Christian School in Kelowna.  Bruce and I feel that it is time for me to step out of that role and just work with HCOS.  I’m very excited about this yet I know it will be a big change.  I’m really happy thinking about how I can be a more supportive wife and also commit more time to supporting all of you, my HCOS families.  This means a lot of packing, sorting, down-sizing and managing my time clearly over the next couple of months!  I know that God is leading this decision and I’m looking forward to what He has in store for us.

Many of you may be familiar with our “Learning Commons” which is our school’s expanded library.  They host many school community events as well as provide resources (real and virtual) for our families.  With that in mind here is our learning commons Easter Newsletter with news about new unit study kits, Easter resources, contests, STEAM web links, and the recent subscription survey results.  

We have one term left everyone! Let’s work together to make sure the kids have a great term.  IF I can be of help with something, please let me know.  If you are waiting on something from me, please remind me in case that note fell off my computer in the shuffling that happened during moving my office… I tend to use a lot of post it notes…  ☺

Blessings everyone!

Tips for Increasing Your Kid's Attention

Every week, I try to either attend a webinar or read a few articles on topics that interesting educationally.  I sometimes weave these into interactions with different families, discussions with other teachers or share some specific ideas with all of you.

Six Engaging Ways to Help Children Pay Better Attention is a short article that I thought would encourage you and even remind you of some simple things you can do to increase your child's attention.  The article is focused on young children but I think that it applies to all children (and often adults!).  I hope that you enjoy the read.  :)

Email Frustrations

Hi everyone,

It seems as though I'm having trouble getting information out to people as I was sick for a week, helping the school with their information booth at Missions Fest and then having issues with my emails.

My inbox - each day!!!

If you are waiting for a response from me, or have not heard some information that you are looking for, please forgive me.  I'm trying to figure out why this is happening.  I'll try to keep you in the loop here and hopefully some of my emails are actually getting through...

For those of you whose kids are doing FSAs, please remember that the closing date is quickly approaching - February 17.  After this date, the online access will no longer be available.  Please let me know when your child has finished their FSAs.  Also, please return their completed booklets (with the written portions) in the included envelope address to the school as soon as they are completed.  They must arrive at the school office by the end of February.  Thank you so much for doing this!

Blessings everyone!

Welcome to 2017!

We are at the end of January and it is time to check in and evaluate our progress!  :)  You should be past the halfway point with your curriculum and lessons.  You may need to adjust your schedule to meet your end-of-year goals.

Just a reminder from the fall:  

"This year, portfolios will be due Nov. 8, Feb. 9 and May 31.  All weekly communications, work samples and portfolio submissions are used for these assessments."  Report cards can be viewed in Encom.  

One summer, we found a shark washed up on the beach!  Wow!

It seems like time is racing by and I have been enjoying chatting with many of you, through email, texting, messenger or by phone.  Thanks for keeping me up-to-date with how things are going with you child's learning and lessons.  There are some amazing things happening in our 'class' of families!  Please try to remember to include those 'unusual' activities that your child has been involved in as part of the portfolio - so much of what they do is an important part of their learning!

Have a wonderful week!