Anti Bullying Presentation

October 3, 2014

MidSun Students were treated today with a presentation from singer, songwriter Rachel Ashley who shared her incredible and heart wrenching stories of being bullied as she grew up.  She has channelled her energy into writing music and talking to students across the country to stop bullying.  She reminded all of us that we can never know what another person might be going through and sharing a kindness to others can ghelp make the world a better place.  MidSun students were inspired and challenged to stop bullying and speak out when they see it happening.

On Tuesday, grade 7 ENVOE students went on an informative hike in the Kananaskis.  They learned how to layer their clothing, stay hydrated and some interesting facts about the Rocky Mountains. They saw fossils, waterfalls,  krummholtz ( a tree stunted by harsh conditions at the top of the mountain), and learned many animal facts.  The grade 8 students go out this week on a hike in Banff.
Grade 8 students will be heading out on the Bow River for Riverwatch and are asked to dress in layers to be sure they are warm enough while on the rafts.

Our staff continue to have great discussions around our new assessment methods and the indicator scale on the new report card.  The meaning of each number is important to keep in mind when measuring a student's understanding of the outcomes.  A two indicates a basic understanding of the outcomes and means that the student has demonstrated grade level understanding.  A three is a good understanding of the outcome with the ability to go deeper than level two.  A four indicates an excellent understanding of the outcomes and the student is able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills and apply their knowledge in new ways.

This example was shared in a math class last week.  Students were studying Cartesian
Coordinates.  They were asked to create as many squares as they could that contained the points (A, B).

The student who finds one square is working at a basic (2) understanding of how to create a square from two points.  Like this:

The student who can find two squares that share one side is going deeper and would be working at a good (3) level. Like this:

Students who are able to find a third square by creating a diagonal and using points that land midway between two intersecting lines would be extending their learning and applying their knowledge at a deeper level.  This would be considered excellent (4) understanding of the outcome.

It is important that we do not compare the indicator scale to our old measures of percentages.  This scale is about breadth and depth of understanding and does not lump together  achievement during the practice time or early learning stages.  It measures the understanding against an outcome and relies on teacher judgement of the entire body of evidence demonstrated by the student to determine their level of understanding.

If you want to know more about the indicator scale, join us at our next school council meeting on October 16, 2014 at 7:00 PM where I will be sharing exemplars of each level in a variety of subject areas.

Have a great weekend MidSun families!