Park West School: March 2012

PWS UPDATE

Park West School Newsletter

Phone: (902) 457-7800 E-mail: parkwest@hrsb.ns.ca Website: parkwest.ednet.ns.ca

Principal: Mr. D. Carter Vice Principals: Ms. M. Chiasson, Mr. B. Melanson

March 28, 2012

Receive the PWS Update electronically! You can receive the PWS Update electronically via e-mail. If you wish to be among the first to receive the latest editions of our school newsletters by having it sent to your e-mail address simply e-mail your request to Mr. Carter at dcarter@hrsb.ns.ca The PWS Update is published approximately every two weeks.

Mr. Carter is Back: Mr. Carter, our principal, has returned to work after a prolonged absence. He really appreciates the warm welcome he has received from students, parents, and staff. It’s good to be back!

No School: This Friday (March 30) is Assessment and Evaluation Day for teachers and staff. There is no school for students. Enjoy the long weekend.

Off to High School: Tomorrow morning (March 29) all grade 9 students will be walking to Halifax West High School for an orientation session.

Grade 9 Quebec City Trip: The final payment for the grade 9 trip is due on April 19. By that date the full amount ($860.00) should be paid in full. Account statements for each student (indicating credits and balance owing) will be sent home next week. Plans are well underway for this exciting excursion. An information meeting for student participants and their parents, with all the final details, will be held in late May. Please contact Mr. Carter if you have any questions or concerns.

SIS: Elementary and Junior High Schools in Nova Scotia are now in the process of converting to a new web-based student information system (SIS) called PowerSchool. High Schools began using PowerSchool last year. Information stored on this system includes demographic information for our students, grades, timetables, health alerts, attendance, and more. The system is designed to be used by school administrators, teachers, parents, and students. We, here at Park West, have been using the new system since September. Certain parts of the system are now available to our students and their parents. You, and your children, can now have access to grades, assignments, attendance, teachers’ comments, and school bulletins through the internet using the Student-Parent Portal website. The Student-Parent Portal is a public website available to parents/guardians and students to view school related information. Please be patient with us as we work to include more and more of this information for you to view. We’re just getting used to it. To access the system you and our students will need the website location, a confidential user ID, and a user password. Letters with this information included, as well as other information to help get you started, will be sent home with our students tomorrow (Thursday, March 29). Students in grades primary to eight will receive two letters (one for parents and one for students). Grade nine students have already been using the system, so will only bring home one letter for parents.

Dance Fever: The Park West School PTA is presenting another Family Dance on Thursday, March 29, 5:30 – 7:00 pm for pizza and ice cream, and 6:30 – 8:00 pm for music and dancing. Doors will be closed and locked at 7:00 pm. All students MUST be accompanied by an adult. Admission is $15 per family at the door; $5 for children/students attending with a family other than their own. Pizza, ice cream, glow bracelets, candy bags, popcorn, and water will be available for sale. Come on out and kick up your heals at this fun family event for our school community.

EXCEL Registration Information for 2012-2013: Families who are interested in participating in next year’s EXCEL Child Care before & after school programs are encouraged to mark the following important dates on your calendars:

Ø April 30th Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on April 30^th current participants of the 2011/2012 EXCEL program may submit an application for the coming school year via the online application system or by email. Current participants will receive a letter in mid-April identifying a user name and password providing them exclusive access to the online application system.

Ø May 7th General Registration begins for all EXCEL Before & After school programs at 8:00 a.m. on May 7^th. Applications may be submitted via the online system, https://secure.hrsb.ns.ca/excel, or brought to the EXCEL office at

25 Alfred Street, Dartmouth

This Year Has 195 Days: The school year in Nova Scotia is 195 days. Students who are absent for any of those days must have legitimate excuses (such as illness, medical appointments, family emergencies, etc.). That time is needed in classrooms to cover the outcomes for all subjects at each particular grade level. Students must be assessed so that we can determine if they have met the outcomes covered. When our students are absent for an extended period of time it may negatively impact on their academic progress. This year school does not close until June 29. Meaningful learning and assessing will be occurring in the classrooms of Park West School until that date. We do not stop working, party non-stop, show one movie after another, or tell students they should stay home because we ‘won’t be doing anything’. We are assuming that ALL our students will be in attendance until then so that their academic progress is not jeopardized. We cannot teach and assess our students if they are not here. Students should not be unnecessarily absent from school for extended periods of time. Teachers are not responsible for providing packages of work to students in advance so they can participate in extended vacations from school. Parents: please consider this when making your summer travel plans.

Order Your Yearbook SOON: Only one book captures this year’s incredible events and experiences at Park West School…….the 2011-2012 Yearbook. Our professionally produced Yearbook includes all students and all grade levels (primary to nine). Preserve your child’s memories for the 2012-2012 school year at Park West by purchasing a Yearbook for only $25 (cash or cheque). Order forms will be sent home on April 3. All orders are due by April 16. Only a limited quantity will be produced, so don’t forget to place your order before the deadline. You may also order by dropping by our school office (Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 3:30 pm).

REPORT CARDS: This year all elementary and junior high schools in the Halifax Regional School Board will have three terms and issue report cards at the end of each term (in December, early April, and June 29). Students at Park West School will receive their 2^nd term report cards on April 12. Parents are to keep the copy of the report card received. You are invited to write comments regarding your child’s report card and sign the accompanying form. Please return the signed form in the report card envelope.

Your son or daughter’s progress is assessed based upon a standard set of goals, or “curriculum outcomes”, for each subject taught at his/her grade level. For instance, a curriculum outcome for grade three mathematics is: “Students will be expected to use simple fractions to describe situations.” All curriculum outcomes are prescribed by the Nova Scotia Department of Education and used by all schools in our province as a basis for student assessment and evaluation. Curriculum guides for each subject with curriculum outcomes are available to the public through the Department of Education website: http://www.ednet.ns.ca/Cart/index.php?UID=20040204095917142.227.83.129

Because all students at the same grade level are assessed and evaluated using the same set of standards (i.e. curriculum outcomes) you may have the opportunity to notice some report cards within a certain class, written by the same teacher, to be very similar. Comments, phrases, terms, and descriptions may be similar, or even identical. This is inevitable, despite teachers’ efforts to make each student’s report card personal and individual. Nevertheless, be assured that teachers have assessed and evaluated your child thoroughly and individually. Statements recorded on the report cards reflect your child’s progress.

The report card you receive should give you a clear idea of how your child is progressing with the program at his/her grade level. All references to individual achievement and progress will be in relation to the prescribed curriculum outcomes for each subject at his/her grade level. If, after reading your child’s report card, you do not have a clear indication of his/her progress, please contact your child’s teacher to review the report and clarify any concerns or questions you might have.

Progress with the prescribed outcomes will be indicated using LETTER GRADES (A, B, C, and D) for grades one to eight, and NUMERICAL GRADES (percentages) for grade nine. Explanations of these letter and numerical grades will be provided with the report cards. Grade primary report cards do not have letter or numerical grades, only anecdotal comments.

Report cards are only one component of the assessment and evaluation process. Teachers at Park West constantly use a variety of strategies to assess and evaluate student progress. Assessment is the process of gathering information on student progress. The information gathered during the ongoing assessment process may include: work samples, test and quiz scores, projects, oral presentations, informal observations (by the teacher), student conferences, portfolios, guided reading assessments, etc. The list goes on! As the information is collected it is evaluated. Evaluation is the process of analyzing, reflecting upon and summarizing the assessment information, and making judgments or decisions based upon the information gathered. The report card you receive for your son or daughter will reflect this process.

Communication between home and school regarding your child’s academic progress should be continuous throughout the school year, and not only occur during scheduled parent-teacher interviews and at report card time. Communication can occur in many ways: telephone calls, notes, e-mails, communication logs, student agendas, class newsletters, school/class websites, students bringing tests home to be signed by parents, personal visits, etc. The report cards are intended to provide you with a more formal, thorough, and personal perspective on how your son or daughter is progressing academically in relation to the prescribed grade level/subject outcomes. Report cards should be combined with all other forms of communication to provide a complete picture of your child’s academic progress.

The next date for formal Parent-Teacher Interviews at Park West School is April 26 (afternoon and evening). The dates and times for these sessions have been coordinated between Halifax West High School and its feeder schools to make it as convenient as possible for parents who have children attending more than one of those schools. Remember: you do not have to wait until formal Parent-Teacher Interviews to discuss your child's progress with teachers.

Dates to Remember:

*April*
2	Term 3 begins
4	PTA Popcorn Sale - $1 per bag
6	Good Friday (no school)
9	Easter Monday (no school)
12	Report Cards go home today
18	SAC and PTA meetings	*5:45 / 7:00 pm*
19	Last payment for Grade 9 Trip due
20	School Spirit Day – *“Crazy Hat Day”* *Students and staff are encouraged to wear a favourite or outrageous hat to school. Be creative and decorate one!
26	Parent-Teacher Conference Day to discuss student progress. Early Dismissal for students at 11:35 am/no school in the afternoon.

Happy Easter

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

March 28th Newsletter

Sunday, March 25, 2012

iPad fundraiser for Learning Center