We're on our way! #camparnes

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Welcome to Grade 5/6 We (2013-14)

The following letter will be available at our Open House/Festival of Families on Wednesday.

I am very excited to welcome you and your child(ren) to our class this year.  This is my 14^th year of teaching, and my 3rd year at Beaumont School.  I have varied interests that tend to find their way into the classroom, including science fiction (Star Trek and Firefly are favourites), geocaching, place-based learning, physical geography and educational technology.  I value professional development opportunities that help me engage and challenge students to be flexible thinkers and strong problem solvers. 

Teaching your child is a tremendous responsibility and I look forward to providing enriching learning experiences in the upcoming year.  However, I can’t do this without the help of you, our parents.  We are partners in the learning process.

Home and school communication is of the upmost importance.  Luckily, there are several ways we can keep in touch.  Check out the Ms. Welbergen’s Class refrigerator magnet to see how!  Feel free to also contact me via email, and I will do my best to respond before the end of the work day (however this is not always possible due to scheduling), or sign up for our Remind101 updates.  Students will also continue to use Agenda books in grade 5/6 but are to take responsibility for passing on any notes or written communication within them.  Meanwhile, all forms between the office, lunch program and the classroom are to be submitted into the classrooms “housekeeping” drawer, while forms for Music and Phys Ed are to be handed in directly to specialists, Mrs. Isaac and Mrs. Antel.

Our school year is shaping up to be a busy one, and to ensure continued success and progress, students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to do their best.  In addition to completing any incomplete classroom assignments, students are expected to work on their reading stamina by reading a minimum of 20 minutes each evening.  On occasion, project work will also be sent home, as will any remedial work necessary to solidify math facts or other rote learning (memorization).

I encourage my students to share their learning with you daily, so please ask them to speak with you and reflect about their day.  One way to initiate conversation is to check out your child’s (or the classroom’s) blog daily and to challenge your child to teach you what they have learned, or to write additional blog posts from home.  I am eager to hear about your conversations!

 

Looking forward to an exciting year ahead,

 

S. Welbergen

swelbergen@pembinatrails.ca

Assessments are Beginning

Welcome back to all of our students and families!  Today marks the end of the "first week back" mark for teachers at Beaumont School and we are beginning our yearly Math and ELA assessments in support of Strong Beginnings later this month.

While results from Strong Beginnings are used to inform instruction and help me plan outcomes and strategies for the year, and are not shared with students and parents, I will be communicating with you if your child has not yet mastered their basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and addition.  To be successful in grade 5 and 6 math, knowledge of these should already be automatic, however students should also be able to use identified strategies to help them solve any unknown facts.  If your child requires additional practice, links to supporting websites and apps will be posted both on Edmodo and here on our blog in the upcoming weeks.

Thank you for your support!

S. Welbergen

Welcome!

Well, it is that time of year again; time to retire the flipflops, visit the barber shop (do kids still do that?), and practice earlier bedtimes... Back to School!

I had a fantastic summer.  My nephew Cameron came out for a great visit.  I drove him back home to Edmonton, where I got to attend a family reunion and visit with all my cousins (old and new), aunts, uncles and my grandma Myrt (I like to tell stories about her... ask me about her full name sometime).
I then returned home to head out to Wisconsin for a week of fun and relaxation.  In addition to some home renovations, a visit to Falcon Lake, and an epic day of geocaching (can you believe I found 285 geocaches in one very, very long day?), I also paid a second visit to Alberta for another family reunion!  It has been a crazy, good summer.  I hope that yours has been too!

I am really excited to get started with the new school year.  Mrs Wood and I have some amazing plans for the year ahead.  There will be lots of important information going home the first week of school in regards to some amazing ways I like our class to connect with home, family and the world!  We will be using some cool tools such as Kidblog, Blogger, Twitter and Remind 101.  They might sound intimidating, but they are awesome ways to communicate, celebrate and share our learning!

See you soon!