Principal’s Message December 2020
We did it!!! We have kept everyone safe with no Covid-19 cases coming into the school during 2020. Thank you to our staff, our students, our families, and our community for doing their part! We could not have done this without the whole team effort.
Over the last few months, we have been working on family engagement and our learning. Social media has really supported our engagement with families and community members. We hope that you continue to follow our Facebook pages as well as our Instagram and Twitter accounts. It may seem a little much, but we can reach more people this way. We want our families to stay connected and see the good things we are doing in the school.
Our School Community Council has also supported the school in different ways this year. The council has promoted parent and family events and parent resources to better support mental health and learning at home. They also have spoiled the students and staff with unexpected treats and kind words. In 2021, the SCC will be working on a fundraising plan to support new sensory playground equipment. In the spring, they also have a little something planned to connect families even more to the school community. Stay tuned…
The students and staff are working extremely hard on our Learning Improvement Plan goal for the year: By June 2021, 70% of Avonlea students, in grades 1-12, will be meeting ALL curricula outcomes in Math and ELA. In April 2020, we moved to supplemental learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The supplemental learning rates were high to start, but most students were not completing supplemental learning and formative assessments as the year continued. As a result, students are academically behind, especially in Math and ELA. As a school team, we have been working on the essential skills and building bridges to fill the learning gaps. Although the beginning of the year was all about reconnection and safety, we did assess where students were since March and have done a lot of heavy lifting to support student growth. Currently, we have 66% of students meeting ELA outcome and 82% meeting Math outcomes. How does this compute across grades? Specifically, we have 75% of our grade twos and only 53% of our grade threes reading at grade level.
We need to keep working on this goal, but we cannot do this alone. Family involvement is crucial if we want to continue to improve. What can parents and families do? Read, read, read! Snuggle up with your little ones and read every night. 10-15 minutes is all that it takes. For the older students, it could be finding a great book series and reading it together or reading magazines or non-fiction online. Students have access to the public library through Mrs. Duncan as well as EPIC books online. In 2021, we will be introducing SORA which we have purchased for our students to access even more books at school and at home. For comprehension, watch a movie together and discuss the events of the story together. What was your child’s favourite part? Why? What did they think of a particular character or plot? Additionally, Math scores can improve with discussing basic math facts. Card, dice, and board games are a great way to reinforce these skills. The possibilities are endless.
As 2020 comes to an end, as a school community, we need to continue to do great things to keep everyone safe, families engaged, and students learning. Together, we can do this. We know that Christmas will look a little different for most families this year, but it is our hope that the health orders are followed, safe practices are continued, and everyone enjoys their family time. With this, we WILL see all of our students again in January safe and sound. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! #wegotthis #wegotyou
~ Candice Krawetz
Other items of interest:
- Merry Christmas from our wonderful students. Please enjoy their rendition of 12 Days of Christmas
- There will be some happy fur babies at the Moose Jaw Humane Society! These amazing students raised over $1,600.00 to donate to this great cause.
- Our teachers and students have been having fun creating a virtual, Covid-friendly Christmas caroling experience. Watch for the video on the school Facebook account.
- For some great nutrition ideas and resources, check out the attached Nutrition Update Newsletter Dec 2020 sent out by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Thank you ~
- to SLC and SCC for providing all students and staff with hot chocolate and cookies on our PJ day.
- to everyone who ordered school clothing. Orders have been submitted and we are hoping to have all clothing here mid to late January.
- to the Avonlea Lions who have kept up the tradition of providing treat bags for our students.
The Avonlea School Staff wishes all of our school families a quiet, restful Christmas season and a healthy, happy 2021.