Deirdre Bailey and Jocelyn Monteith “I just feel really confident since the “all-girls” elective. I feel like I could go into the backcountry with boys or girls and do everything and feel strong. Knowing that I am capable is something I will for sure carry … Continue reading Girls in the Backcountry
by Dan McWilliam In 2011 staff at the Connect Charter School, Calgary Science School at the time, were asked “What does exemplary teaching and learning look like?” The process and rationale for the creation of the frameworks is described here. “In addressing this question, reference was made to the work that has been done on student assessment through our AISI project; the Galileo longitudinal research study of the Calgary Science School one-on-one laptop program and student engagement initiatives; the expectations for exemplary teaching outlined in the Alberta Teaching Quality Standard and a variety of artefacts including school evaluation reports, survey data … Continue reading Exemplary Teaching and Learning Frameworks
-by Abby Saadeh In an Inquiry based environment, we get excited and enveloped in our questions and ideas. At Connect Charter we want to take these opportunities to incorporate Spelling into our explorations and develop skills into our practice. Together with the Grade 4 Humanities team, we identified a need to develop some ideas on how to approach Spelling. I gave the students a Spelling Questionnaire that would give me more information about how they felt about Spelling and what they thought about themselves as Spellers. From the information gathered, I came up with the first discussion question, “What is … Continue reading An Inquiry into Words and Spelling
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Abby Saadeh ~ Inclusive Practices Coach When starting the position of the Inclusive Practices Coach at Connect Charter School in 2012, I was asked time and time again, “What does Inclusive Practices mean exactly?” And to be honest, at first … Continue reading Evolution of Inclusive Practices at Connect Charter School
Marla Paxton ~ Student Services and Counselling “Peer tutoring is partnering a younger student who may be struggling in one or more subjects with an older student who is willing to take on a leadership opportunity, be a greater part of our school community and may have a strength in a certain subject area. Parents, teachers or students themselves can fill out a Peer Tutor form and Ms. Paxton, the head of the program will match a struggling student with a tutor. This program has allowed me to connect with other students in different grades and review past subjects. The … Continue reading Peer Tutoring at CSS
This year, one of the significant changes we have made at our school is the inclusion of a regular block of time, called “Learning Strategies” into our schedule. This block is designed as a support to ensure that all our students are successful learners at CSS. The Learning Strategies time is available for teachers to provide additional support to particular students, or a way to meet the needs of students in different ways. Our grade 7 team started the year using Learning Strategies as a way to build reading skills across all the subjects. Working with the students, 7 reading … Continue reading Learning Strategies: Reading Skills