Welcome to a new school year! At this time we have 620 delightful and unique students enrolled in our school. We had a great first week back with the students engaged in activities to support reconnecting and community building. Today saw the first day of our students placed into their new 2015/16 classrooms.
The teachers spent a tremendous amount of time in June and again in September (when the number of students was more accurate) working together to create balanced classes that will best meet all students’ needs.
Although the process appears to be a simple one, it is actually quite complicated. There are many factors to consider in placing over 600 children appropriately:
- We attempt to create an equitable balance between boys and girls
- We try to balance the numbers of students who have English as a second language
- Social maturity is considered
- Teachers decide which teacher’s style will best compliment each child’s learning needs
- Academic achievement is taken into account and we try to create classes that are balanced in this respect. For example, if your child is in a combined grade 4/5 class, there will be a variety of ability levels in both grades. Years ago split classes were created with high achievers in the lower grade and low achievers in the higher grade. This is no longer considered best practice and there has been a great deal of research to support combined classes made up of children from a variety of age levels with a variety of abilities. Not all children learn to walk on their first birthday. Some learn sooner and some later. Not all children learn to read in grade one either. Some learn sooner and some later. Learning is a developmental process. Teachers assess where a child is in his or her development and proceed to raise the child’s achievement level from that point. Learning is open ended to accommodate the needs of all children. We teach children not grades!
We hope this information helps you understand why students were not in classes right away. We also hope that it will explain not only how much time and thought has gone into class placements but also the impact that requests for changes can have on the entire organization. Seldom do we have to make changes in class placements.
We strive to exceed your expectations in terms of communication! We want to hear your concerns, answer your questions and work together with you to resolve any problems that may arise. Please do not hesitate to call and arrange a time to meet.
Through my regular blog posts, I look forward to sharing my visits into classrooms to spotlight the love of learning that takes place everyday at Norquay.
Finally, a huge thanks to all the children, parents and staff, who have made our first week at Norquay School such a pleasant one. Here is one of my favourite children’s author’s, Todd Parr, checklist for going back to school. Enjoy!
Bathed in Books 