Welcome Back: 2019 Edition

Community Week Activities - SIMS

Welcome! We survived Community Week, regained some of our 'school groove' after the break, and now have our homerooms. All the myriad tiny details of startup are coming together.

I have to tell you, first off, that this is a great class. Your student is going to be in a room full of really, really nice humans. I can already see enormous strengths in the areas of empathy, thoughtfulness, and willingness to learn.

Please excuse this very long email - I'll try to keep it organized, and it will be archived on my blog for reference.

In This Post:

• The Class in a Nutshell
• Forms and Fees
• Volunteers
• Other Ways to Help
• Technology
• Other Teachers
• Projects

The Class In A Nutshell
The style of our class is really going to depend on the learning style of the students. I've been a high-school band teacher, standing at the front and directing everything, and I've facilitated entirely self-directed inquiry learning. We will end up with a blend. I know that core literacy and numeracy skills are a huge factor in your student's future success, and we will be approaching those in a really systematic way. We also need to design, create, reflect, and think independently, so that's where a great deal of individualization comes in. The biggest goal is for students to become really excited about their learning, get inspired to take chances, and get passionate about making and following their own goals. It doesn't happen all at once, but the journey is worth it.

Forms and Fees
Student fees: $25 due this week. Cash, cheque, or e-transfer (talk to Cynthia in the office). September is a challenge for finances, so nobody is going to come knocking on your door if this is late.
Forms: They're really different this year. The yellow form is so you can confirm or change any information the office has. Please pay special attention to regular and emergency contacts, emails, phone numbers, etc. Good records really helped us last year during the 'hurricane'. The white form covers a great deal. Please read carefully and return with a zillion signatures this week. We are taking our consent and privacy standards to the next level this year, and we need to give the office all the help we can.

Volunteers
You never know when you might be able to volunteer, so please have the paperwork done right away. All volunteers need a criminal record check, and volunteer drivers need a yearly drivers abstract. Both are really easy to do by following Tania's great instructions on the school website. Please don't wait until the last minute.

Other Ways To Help 
The SIMS PAC  does great things, and needs you to help make them even greater!

Technology
Over the years people have started looking at me like some kind of technology Yoda, which does not make me feel young. We use tech for research, creating rich documents, learning coding, and as assistive technology so all learners can have their needs met. We have a class set of laptops, which are old but serviceable, and a lovely lab next door. We'll be working with cutting-edge microcontrollers and 3d design both in class and in exploratories. That said, I am pretty picky about computer use, and kids learn fast that tech is for learning and creating, not zoning out. Mobile devices (phones, tablets) are really not very welcome this year at SIMS: they'll live in lockers during the day if they do come to school. If your student has a learning or safety need concerning technology, or if you have any question at all about our tools or how we use them, let me know. I try to stay really up to date on best-practices, and I'd love to talk.

Other Classes
We will spend a lot of time as a homeroom, but there are times when we can work with master teachers in areas of particular expertise. We are currently scheduled to have art with Ms Allen, PE with Mr Langdon, and Mr Berendt has agreed to help get our reading program rolling (he has always had an amazingly successful reading program!). Students will also be in Exploratories block 8 Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Projects
We will do some inquiry projects later in the year.
If it turns out that your child is passionate about understanding 2-stroke engines, or using a serger, or traditional Hungarian horse archery, I'm totally into that. So much learning happens when kids really take the wheel, and I'll make sure that academic rigour is part of the fun... ...but I'll need your help.

Thanks so much for sending such great kids to the class. It'll be a memorable year!
Bryce Woollcombe