Waverley Elementaryhttp://waverley.vsb.bc.ca/Tel: (604) 713-4752 NOVEMBER 2017

________________________________________________________Principal: Laura Rhead lrhead@vsb.bc.ca Vice Principal: Susan Dent PAC Chairperson: Khay SeeDirector of Instruction: Magdalena Kassis VSB Trustee Chairperson: Janet Fraser________________________________________________________________________________________________A few Messages:

Farewell to two staff members this month—Mrs. Louise Mah and Mr. Michael Dinh will be moving on to

other schools. Thank you for the care and support you have given Waverley kids. We will miss you!___________________________________________________________________________

Are you interested in helping with Waverley social media and our school website? Contact Laura Rhead atlrhead@vsb.bc.ca to help…

Snacks, snacks, snacks… please remember to pack a recess snack for your child. It’s important to fuel the brain!___________________________________________________________________________

What’s New with “Communicating Student Learning” This Year? The changing face of report cards…Many Vancouver Public Schools, along with schools throughout British Columbia, are moving from a model of ‘reporting to parents’ on a regular and pre-determined schedule to ‘communicating student learning (CSL) with parents’ on an on-going basis throughout the school year.

This year, a team of teachers at Waverley (10 classes) will be participating in a district-initiated pilot project along with other Vancouver schools and their teachers. These teacher teams will work with the school district to provide parents with timely and responsive communications of student learning throughout the school year. Children in these classes will receive five communications from teachers within a school year:

a written progress report at the end of January a written summative report at the end of June a minimum of three ongoing communications of student learning

in various subject areas.

The written reports will include descriptive comments and a summary of student progress in relation to the learning standards from the BC Curriculum. Detailed information about these changes will be sent home to parents/guardians if your child’s teacher is involved in this pilot project. Watch for a letter coming home to participating classrooms’ families, next week.For more information, visit the Ministry of Education’s Redesigned Curriculum pages, or the VSB’s information about Communicating Student Learning in Vancouver.

Questions?Want to learn more about this step towards authentic, formative assessment?

Come to our Waverley CSL Information Night for PAC:Monday, November 20th at 7pm in the Library.

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We look forward to the Vancouver Aquarium AquaVan visiting Waverley on Tuesday, Nov. 14th! Thanks to a Canada 150 grant, the Aquarium is offering a free, full day of programming at Waverley, for every student! We look forward to this exciting learning event.

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Congratulations to the Running Club and Volleyball Teams… Waverley kids are active and involved! Thank you to all our athletes for their dedication with training and practicing, and with their positive representation and sportsmanship! Keep up the great work and have fun doing it! Thank you to all our coaches and teacher sponsors!

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Did you know??Waverley staff ask that students use personal devices (i.e. phones, tablets), as RESPONSIBLE, DIGITAL CITIZENS. We encourage students to use school and personal devices with teacher discretion. There are many learning opportunities provided via technology; however, we ask that students do not use personal devices at recess, lunch, or during unstructured times such as before and after school, without permission from Staff.We want to encourage genuine “facetime”. Please talk with your child about their technology use and in particular, social media usage. Discussions on these topics will be ongoing, this year. We look forward to including you in the conversations!

The Kids’ Lit Quiz is coming to Waverley… Thursday, November 16th!

What is Kids’ Lit Quiz™? An established international literature competition for 10 – 13 year olds:

Showcasing readers worldwide for 25 years Created by Quizmaster Wayne Mills, who writes hundreds of new

questions each year Over 1000 schools compete in annual tournaments in Australia,

Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and USA

A fun, rewarding experience!

Teams answer 100 questions over 10 categories based on any children’s book published in English

Students train by reading voraciously, and working on collaboration skills to create the strongest team possible

Children explore a wide variety of authors and genres Regional winners compete in a National Final; the winning team advances to the KLQ World Final Prizes are awarded at every level

And all this is happening at Waverley, on November 16th! Check out this link for more information about this engaging opportunity: http://kidslitquiz.ca/ .

Thanks to Mrs. Chong for bringing us this literary adventure! You are invited to attend as an audience form 9:30am-12:45pm. See you in the gym for a Kidsbooks sale table and this exciting competition!

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CALENDAR Information:Please check our school website regularly for all the updates. This site also includes our year-at-a-glance calendar for holidays and Professional Development Day information. Check it out, here: http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/waverley/Pages/default.aspx and bookmark it at home!

Important to note:November 10- Curriculum Implementation Day (NO classes)November 13- Holiday (school closed)November 14- Vancouver Aquarium AquaVan at Waverley!November 16- “Kids Lit Quiz” event

November 20 @7pm- “Communicating Student Learning” Information Meeting for PAC

November 30- PAC hosts a Dessert Potluck Night!December 1- Professional Development Day (NO classes)December 22- last day before Winter Break

You are welcome to join us on November 9th for our Remembrance Day Assembly 11am. This will be a special ceremony/assembly to honour peace and the Veterans we remember each year.

VSB SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWSFrom our last newsletter:

“Report Cards” are seeing some changes this year…

In June 2017, you saw a new report template for students to self-assess based on the new curriculum’s Core Competencies. This year, some divisions will participate in a new method andtimeline for Communicating Student Learning. The VSB is piloting TWO terms instead of three,

but still including 5 communications with families about student progress. Talk with your child’s teacher about the Core Competencies and/or regarding the reporting timeline for your child’s class, this year.

Come into the office anytime with your questions—it’s time for us all to focus on FORMATIVE assessment and helping kids understand what they are learning and why; time to help guide them to ask questions and set goals about where they are going next with their learning.

IMPORTANT- NEW for VSB:To Report Your Child’s Absence – Please Call 604-713-5159 (Ext. 91 for Waverley) before 9:00am.

__________________________________________________________________________________________REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Kindergarten registration for children born in 2013 begins on November 1st.All Kindergarten applicants are required to submit an application to their English catchment elementary school. This includes families who wish to apply for choice programs (French Immersion, Montessori, etc.) and/or a cross boundary placement.The priority registration period for Kindergarten opens on Wednesday November 1st and closes at 4 pm on Wednesday January 31st. Students who submit an application within this priority period will be accommodated before late applicants. In the event there are more in-catchment applicants than the school can accommodate the following process will be used to prioritize enrolment:Kindergarten Applications Received Between November 1 st and January 31 st

1. In-catchment Kindergarten applicants with siblings in attendance at the school (and who will be attending next year) will be placed first.

2. The names of all other in-catchment registrants will be entered into a random draw for the remaining Kindergarten spaces.

3. Students who cannot be accommodated will be placed on a waitlist in the order in which their name was drawn.

4. Between January 31st and the second Friday in June students on the ordered waitlist will be accommodated as space becomes available.

Kindergarten Registrations Received AFTER January 31 st

In-catchment Kindergarten students who apply after January 31st will be accommodated if there is space. If there is no space their names will be added to the bottom of the existing waitlist.Note: There will be no priority given to registrants with siblings if they register after January 31st.

When registering your child please bring:1. Proof of residence in Vancouver 2. Child’s birth certificate3. Immigration documentation (if applicable)4. Immunization records

If you wish to apply for a Choice program or cross-boundary, you must first apply to your English catchment elementary school. Applications for Choice programs and cross boundary placements will be accepted in early 2018.

For more information on kindergarten registration visit: http://www.vsb.bc.ca/kindergarten* Available Space includes physical capacity, resources, staffing, or educational programs available or planned for a school as defined by the district. (Policy Regulation JECC-R)

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See you in the hallways,

Ms. Laura RheadPrincipal