Friday 21 March 2014

Spring Breaking News

Today MidSun says goodbye to our Assistant Principal, Mr. McKnight who has decided to retire after a full and robust career with the Calgary Board of Education.  We all appreciated the hard work and dedication that Mr. McKnight brought to his work. We especially appreciated the way he supported our staff with our move to outcomes based assessment and his ever present question "Is this good for kids?".  We wish him well as moves on to spending more time with family, riding his bike and playing a few rounds of golf!

On March 31, 2014 we welcome Sherri Chatani, our new Assistant Principal, who comes to us from Crossing Park School where she has been the Assistant Principal for the last 5 years.  Ms. Chatani brings leadership experience in technology and assessment.  She will be a great asset to us as we move forward with the new report card coming out in September.  Welcome Ms. Chatani!

Myths about the New Report Card
I have heard some parents say that they feel the new report card will tell them less about their child's learning when in fact, it will tell you more.  Percentage marks are often biased because they average your child's learning instead of looking deeper at their actual achievement.  Take this example:


Quiz 1
Assign 1
Quiz 2
Assign 2
Final Exam
Average
Sue
80
80
80
60
40
68
Mary
40
40
60
60
90
58
Joe
20
70
70
70
70
60

If we assume this set of data is around a certain learning outcome, a simple average would tell you that Sue, who declined in understanding over the course of the unit scored the best but did she demonstrate more understanding of the concept than Mary who consistently improved and scored a 90% on the final?  The average would suggest that Mary understands less than Sue but the data story tells us she understands more.
Joe's marks show he consistently works at a 70% but he only scores a 60 % as an average.  Should the 20 % he earned at the start of they unit count when later on in the unit he demonstrated his understandings of the concept?

Our new report card will start to tell the learning story of your child in a way that will help them understand what they are good at and what they need to work on.  It will change our discussion from what number did you get to what concepts do you understand.

If parents want to know more about the new report card, they are invited to join us at School Council meetings to ask questions and get informed.  The next one will be held on April 9, 2014 at 7 PM in the library commons.

Have a wonderful Spring break,
Veronica Saretsky





COBS-Fundraiser HOT CROSS BUNS

The MSSEES is pleased to announce our Spring Hot Cross Bun fundraiser. Freshly baked hot cross buns will be delivered to the school on Tuesday, April 15th just in time for Easter. The buns are sold in packages of six and come in three flavors:

Traditional Fruit
Cranberry Orange
Chocolate Chip

All orders must be returned to the homeroom teacher or drop box in the office by Tuesday, April 8th.
 
Order forms can be printed off our website and printed forms will go home on Monday, March 31st.
http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b691/council.htm For individuals placing large orders special arrangements can be made for pick up at Cobb’s on 130th if preferred 
All proceeds go to directly to MidSun programs benefiting all students.

Friday 14 March 2014

Important Notices


Our first official mark update for semester 2 will be available in home logic at the end of the day on Friday March 14 for subjects that students take daily.  Subjects that are held every other day will be officially updated in home logic at the end of the day on April 17, 2014.

English Language Learner reports and Results reporting will be brought home by your child on March 14, 2014.  We ask that you sign these and return them to your child’s home room teacher.  We will be holding Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences on March 20, 2014 from 5:30-8:00PM and on March 21, 2014 from 9:00Am- Noon.  The school will be closed the following week for spring break with classes resuming on March 31, 2014.


Parent Teacher Interview Booking Opens March 17th!

This is a reminder to go online and book for our upcoming parent student teacher conferences using Conference Manager. These are scheduled for Thursday March 20, 2014 from 5:30-8:00 PM and Friday March 21, 2014 from 9:00-12:00 PM.

Teachers have been contacting parents of students that they believe need some extra support and booking appointments this week.

The site opens for booking by parents at 8:00 AM on Monday March 17, 2014 and closes at 4:00 on Wednesday March 19, 2014. Each time slot is 5 minutes. Core teachers recommend booking two consecutive sessions. You may add any comments to let the teacher know if you have a particular concern you would like to talk about. Be sure to put travel time between interviews.

You are able to view marks and attendance records on HomeLogic on a consistent basis now. Please check your child’s information prior to your appointment so you can have the most up to date information available to you as you discuss your concerns. http://www.midsunschool.blogspot.ca/2013/12/midsun-homelogic-news-update.html For more information about Home Logic, please go to http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b691/parents.htm and click on HomeLogic introduction for parents. You can log in to HomeLogic by going to https://sirswebapps.cbe.ab.ca/homelogic/

We hope that this will allow our teachers to be prepared for your interviews and make the time more productive for everyone. Please call our office at 403-777-6430 if you have any concerns.

Parent-Teacher Conferences- March 20 & 21, 2014

The link for the Conference Manager is: https://midsun.schoolsoft.ca

A Parent Account is required to use the Conference Manager. However, you only need to go through the registration process the first time you use the system. If you have never registered in the Conference Manager use the link above and click the “Register Now” button.

Can’t remember your password?

If you already have a Parent Account, click on the link above, select “Forgot your password” and enter the email address you used to register in the system. You will then receive an email containing instructions for resetting your password. If you do not receive an email, you might have entered an email address the system does not recognize. Please also add appointments@schoolsoft.ca to your address book in your computer mail. This will override any spam filters that might be blocking the email. If the problem persists, please contact the office and ask them to access your Parent Account, confirm your email address and reset your password.
 
Step 1 - Conference Manager Opens to Parents – 8:00 AM March 17, 2014

If you used the Conference Manager in the past, your email and password are still in the system. You can simply access the Conference Manager using the link above.

Step 2 – Book your Parent-Teacher interviews

Select the teachers with whom you want to book interviews. You will see each teacher’s schedule. Select one session for a 5 minute interview or two consecutive sessions for a ten minute interview. Be sure to leave travel time in between your interviews.After booking your appointments you can print off your schedule. You will also receive an email confirming your bookings. You can log into the system at any time to view your bookings, print, cancel or re-schedule appointments.

If you do not have Internet access, you are welcome to contact the office and we will schedule your conferences on your behalf.
We recommend adding
appointments@schoolsoft.ca
to your address book


Important Dates:
March 17 – Start scheduling your interviews at 8:00 AM
March 20 – 5:30 - 8:00 PM Parent Teacher Interviews
March 21 – 9:00 – 12:00 PM Parent Teacher Interviews

If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to contact the school at 403-777-6430. Please let us know if you like this system! Special thanks to the School Council for purchasing the conference manager!

Friday 7 March 2014

Midsun School Council Agenda for March 12, 2014 @ 7pm


MidSun School Council


AGENDA


Wednesday, March 12th, 2014 7 p.m. MidSun School Library


 

Item No.
Minutes allotted
Topic                                 
Speaker
1
5
Chair's welcome and report
Reg Curren
2
20
Coffee with the Principal
·         Update on staff discussion on student awards
·         Times for next year’s classes
Veronica Saretsky
 
15
Guest speaker
·         Trustee Amber Stewart
·         Brief presentation and Q&A
Amber Stewart
4
5
Treasurer's report
·         MSEES year-end financial books review
Michelle Den Hoed
5
5
Volunteer/room parent report
Kim Bender
6
5
Approval of minutes of previous meeting(s)
Patricia Vercuiel
7
5
Other business
·         New fundraising requests?
·         Staff appreciation
 
Various
Total
60
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


MidSun School Education Enhancement Society


AGENDA


Wednesday, March 12th, 2014 8 p.m. MidSun School Library

Item No.
Minutes allotted
Topic
Speaker
1
5
Chair's welcome & report
Reg Curren
2
10
Treasurer’s report
Michelle Den Hoed
3
2
Approval of minutes of previous meeting(s)
Patricia Vercuiel
4
10
Fundraising
·         Grocery store gift card report
·         Spring fundraising program
·         Cobs Fresh Bread loyalty program
Michelle Den Hoed and others
5
5
Other business
 
Total
25