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Lochearn Elementary February 2012When parents and schools work together, they make an unbeatable team.

LearningTogether

WeExcel

Thank you to Mr. Armitage and his recycling club for their very generous donation at

Christmas time to the Local Food Bank. This is very thoughtful.

Parent Information About the New Alberta Mathematics CurriculumHow will mathematics be assessed?

Mathematics today is assessed differently than when you were a child. As parents, you might

remember that what mattered in mathematics was that you had the right answer and youshowed your work. Your mark in math was based upon how many right answers you had.Today, mathematics is assessed in ways that involve the learner actively in demonstratingtheir understanding.Students still need to get the right answer when working on math problems. However, theteacher looks at more than just the right answer when assessing how your child is doing withmath. Showing your work may look different from student to student. The teacher willobserve your child as they are involved with a mathematics problem or activity. Sometimes,a teacher will have a conversation with your child about a piece of work that has beencompleted or about one that he is working on. Finally, the teacher will examine the product ofthe math problem, which might be written work, a graph, a diagram, a model, or equations

and numbers. All three of these strategies (observation, conversation, and product) are usedto determine your childs abilities and limitations with the math. With so much information,sometimes even with the incorrect answer, your child can still achieve marks in math! Parents sometimes see students working in groups and wonder how it is going to help theirchild achieve. In classrooms, discussion about the math, exploration of strategies andexperimentation with different approaches is best done when students work together.However, these activities should not be used for assessment. These activities supportstudents in their thinking and developing understandings. Often, students engage in groupwork that reflects an independent activity that students will be doing at another time. Workthat is completed by your child and explained by your child is the best work to assess howyour child is achieving.

Thank you to Lochearn for collecting so much food for our local food bank. You are very

thoughtful community members!

Ipods and Nintendo DSs

If your child is bringing handhelds to school please note that the school is not responsible for

these items. Please talk to your teacher about their expectations with ipods, iphones etc., in

the classroom.

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Safe Phone: 403-845-4068Please call the safe phone to inform the school if your child will be late or absent before 9am.

School Council is held at noon on the first Wednesday of every month in the Old Computer

room. Parents, grandparents, guardians, community members are all welcome. Please join

us.

Kids learn to ski with the jackrabbit ski program:

The Rocky Mountain Nordic Ski Club is once again planning to offer the Jackrabbit programto youth in Rocky Mountain House and area in the upcoming ski season. This program isoffered through Cross-Country Canada and Cross-Country Alberta. It is delivered byvolunteers trained under the NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) and CANSI(Canadian Association of Nordic Ski Instructors).The goal of the program is to introduce children to cross-country skiing as a life long sportthat can be best enjoyed once the basic skills and techniques have been mastered. Fun andgames are the major component of the program.The Jackrabbit program takes place at the Pine Hills Golf Course on Saturday afternoons

between 1:00 and 2:00 pm. The program includes 6 lessons and the first lesson isscheduled to start January 21st, 2011, pending snow conditions. Registration Fees are$30.00 for Club members and $40.00 for non-members. Registrations close January 20st.Registration forms can be obtained at the Town of Rocky Mountain House Recreation Officeor by requesting them via email at live4paddling@yahoo.ca. For more information or toregister, contact Lori Davis at 403-844-8570 or at live4paddling@yahoo.ca.

School FeesIt is very important to pay the $40.00 school fee. Please pay with cash or cheque (payableto Lochearn School). These school fees pay for student agendas, field trips and the use ofcommunity facilities.

Jump Rope for HeartOnce again, Lochearn School will be participating in the Jump Rope For Heart

program. This event helps teach students about the importance of healthy living and raise

money for this charity. The goal is for all Lochearn students to skip for a half hour at the endof the two week fundraiser. The kick-off assembly is on Monday, April 23rd at 11:30 and

finishes with the skipping challenge on Friday, May 11th at 2:00.

Our habit this month is Seek First to Understand, Then To Be Understood. Thishabits includes building the skills to prioritize and spending time on things that aremost important. Students learn to develop organizational skills by creating schedulesand following a plan. Check out our webpage for more information on this habit.