Welcome to Division 2!

Dear students of  division 2,
We have been busy planning for an amazing year and we are both very excited to work together with your children this year. Here's where you'll find the information you'll need for school start up. Please explore the other pages to find out more about us and the things we'll be doing together this year.

Welcome back!
 Ms. House               Mr. Baldwin                                   
 lhouse@vsb.bc.ca     ebbaldwin@vsb.bc.ca                                                            
                    

Agendas and Housekeeping:
All students will be receiving an agenda book in which they will write assignment information, keep field trip forms, etc. If you wish to arrange a meeting with the teacher or have a question, you may write it in the agenda. Please be sure that your child shows us the note as we will not be checking all agendas on a daily basis.

All students will be responsible for keeping our class clean and organized.

School Supplies:
The school provides very basic materials for all students including writing implements,  most art supplies, calculators, and paper.

We are requesting that you provide the following items for your child:
- a small photo of your child
- a water bottle
- a binder (1.5" width)
- 8 dividers
- a pencil case
- a student Gmail address*: (for in-class work on the Ipads, classroom blog accessibility, and the sharing work with group members)
- a USB stick for project work
- a box of Kleenex
- 1 fineliner pen and 1 sharpie for art
- headphones for Ipad use
- A Compass Card for travelling on BC Transit on field trips
- optional:  basic geometry kit (protractor and compass)

 *We will not be sharing this email address with the public. It will only be used for VSB approved apps and programs. If you are not comfortable with this request, please speak with us.

Goals for This Year:  

This year, we are implementing The Ministry of Education’s new curriculum. As such, our goals are linked to the core competencies that are woven through all subject areas.

Personal and Social:

• Students will learn to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.
• Students will have leadership opportunities through buddy reading, reading the announcements on the PA, and helping the community at large.

Creative and Critical Thinking:

• Students will take concepts and content and transform them into a new understanding. The thinking goal includes reflection on thinking processes, considering issues from multiple perspectives, and recognizing bias in the context of current events and the upcoming elections.

Communication:

• Students will express and exchange information, experiences and ideas in order to explore the world around them. They will also learn to effectively engage in the use of digital media.

Field Trips:
Whenever possible, we like to explore beyond the classroom. Here are some of the major field trips we will be doing this year.

Evans Lake: Students will be heading to Camp Evans Lake in May 2016. There will be more information and a meeting for parents at the end of September.

Vancouver Art Gallery: We will be enhancing our arts instruction by visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery each term. We will be learning about Emily Carr, black and white photography of Walker Evans, and an exhibit on emerging Vancouver artists.

Dance Performance: Arts Umbrella's version of the Nutcracker, "Mixed Nuts".

Winter Sports: We will be learning new winter sports on Cypress Mountain in the new year.

Amazing Race: Combining communication, creative thinking and problem solving skills, students will embark in teams on a daylong amazing race across the city in the spring (parent volunteers, we’ll need you for this one!)


Homework Policy:
We hope that you share our thinking that students should generally use after school and weekends to engage in other types of learning such as sports, arts, hobbies or family time.

Homework is only assigned to our students if they are not able to complete work previously taught in class. However, larger projects will require research and additional time at home.

How to Reach Us:
We’ll be posting most pertinent information on our blog.
Please check here first: http://div2cavell.blogspot.ca

The best way to reach one or both of us is by email (addresses at the beginning of this letter). We will respond when possible during the work day but will not be checking emails after 5 pm. For any urgent matters, please call the school directly.

We sincerely hope that your child will have an engaging and enjoyable year!