The Great Pick Up!

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

Thank you for all of your patience as we get our online classroom up and running. Please remember to email either Vanessa or me at the following vjblyth@cbe.ab.ca or lareeve@cbe.ab.ca if you or your child needs some help. If you reply to this email, I do not receive it. 

Please find the following from the office about gathering your child's items from the school. 

Dear Simons Valley Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for being the amazing parent group that you are! Your patience and support as we navigate through these uncertain times are so appreciated.  Our school mantra has been ‘We are all in this together!’  and truly what matters the most right now, is how we stay connected in uncertain times.

Many of you have asked about when you are able to come by the school and gather your child’s belongings as well as, returning library books. We would like to offer you the opportunity to come to SVS on

 Thursday April 9^th   AM (only) for student last names starting with A-L

 Tuesday April 14^th AM (only) for student last names starting beginning with M-Z

    ALTERNATE ONLY: Wednesday April 15^th

Please see the schedule below:

    IMPORTANT: In accordance with Alberta Health Services and social distancing:

·       If anyone in your family is ill, please do not come to the school.  Student belongings will not leave the school and we can make arrangements at another time for you to come in when your family is healthy.  We prefer to be cautious and not endanger the staff and their families.

·       Only one parent, (no students will be allowed) is invited to come to the school at their designated time. Please make sure you know your child’s/children’s teacher’s name.  Do not collect for any other families but your own.

·       Ask your child the description of their indoor shoes.

This is not a time to socialize and catch up.  We need you to be as efficient and quick as possible to help maximize the safety of everyone.  We do request that you promptly collect your belongings, not engage in conversation and respect social distancing for your safety and that of our staff. (We don’t mean for this to be so quick and impersonal but health and safety is our number one priority).

Kindly follow the schedule below with the first letter of your child’s last name and enter through the glass doors by the parking lot (Grade One doors) and exit by the front doors on Sandarac Drive. We ask you to try to make it on Thursday/Tuesday and only come on Wednesday as an alternate.

SVS staff is working hard planning and organizing learning materials. We ask that you check your emails and our website Simons Valley School, as it can be translated into a variety of languages. Please feel free to contact us at the school at 403-777-6660 or email your child’s teacher.  Although we have no idea when we will come out of this, if we stand by one another, we can somehow rise above it. After all, when this is all over, all that will really matter is how we treated each other.

Be Brave, Be Kind, Stay Positive,

Chris Snow, Principal

Gina Davidoff, Assistant Principal

Thursday, April 9^th, 2020

Students with the last name A                               8:00am – 8:20am

Students with the last name A                               8:30am – 8:45am

Students with the last name B                               8:55am – 9:10am

Students with the last name C                               9:20am – 9:35am

Students with the last name D                               9:45am – 10:00am

Students with the last name E/F                           10:10am – 10:25am

Students with the last name G                              10:35am – 10:50am

Students with the last name H-I                            11:00am – 11:15am

Students with the last name J/K                            11:25am – 11:40am

Students with the last name L                               11:50am – 12:05pm

Tuesday, April 14^th, 2020

Students with the last name M                              8:30am-8:45am   

Students with the last name N/O                           8:55am-9:10am

Students with the last name P/R                           9:20am-9:35am

Students with the last name S                               9:45am-10:00am

                                                                              10:10am-10:25am

Students with the last name T/U                           10:35am – 10:50am                               

Students with the last name V                               11:00am – 11:15am

Students with the last name W-Z                           11:25 am – 11:40 pm

Alternate Only: Wednesday, April 15th

Students with the last name W-Z                          8:30am – 8:45am

Students with the last name V                               8:55am – 9:10am

Students with the last name T/U                           9:20am – 9:35am                                    

Students with the last name S                               9:45am – 10:00am

                                                                             10:10am – 10:25am             

Students with the last name P/R                          10:35am – 10:50am             

Students with the last name N/O                          11:00am – 11:15am                               

Students with the last name M                             11:25am – 11:40am                               

Students with the last name L                              11:50am – 12:05pm                               

Students with the last name J/K                           12:15pm – 12:30pm                               

Students with the last name H-I                           12:40pm – 12:55pm                               

Students with the last name G                              1:05pm – 1:20pm                  

Students with the last name E/F                           1:30pm – 1:45pm

Students with the last name D                              1:55pm – 2:10 pm                 

Students with the last name C                              2:20 pm – 2:35pm                                   

Students with the last name B                               2:45pm – 3:00pm

Students with the last name A                               3:10pm – 3:25pm

                       

Staying Connected!

Dear Parents and Students,

Important Questions

We want to thank everyone for helping us to collect information on the needs of your family and your access to online learning environments.  

Communication

Blogger/ Classroom Blogs - Our classroom blogs will be used to share basic information with parents and students about new lessons and assignments that are posted through Google Classroom.

Parent Communication 

- All group emails to parents will come through School Messenger. If you do not think your email is up to date in School Messenger, please call Leslie Cropper at Simons Valley School (403-777-6660)

-Individual emails to, or from parents will come through Outlook using our emails which are lareeve@cbe.ab.ca and vjblyth@cbe.ab.ca

-If you would like to speak to us directly over the phone please send us an email at either of the emails above with your preferred phone number and we will call you back ASAP.

Student Communication

-Group emails or individual emails to students will be done through our gmail account. Please note that these are different than the ones above.  (lareeve@educbe.ca or vjblyth@educbe.ca)

-We will also work to set up Google “Meet” video chats with either the whole classrooms, smaller groups or individual students to discuss.  Google Meet is a part of the Google Suite/ Classroom.

Student Lessons and School Work 

-All lessons, assignments, assessments will be sent to students via Google Classrooms.  Your child and you will be sent a link via email to access the Grade 6C/D classroom. They will also receive one for Music and 6 C/D Phys.Ed.

Available Times  

-We will be checking our emails throughout the day and responding asap.  At this point, we will be making ourselves available for video chats, phone calls, etc with students at the times listed below. (However, if your child needs to have some personal help, we can also arrange a different time)

-Group Video chats will be Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 10-11 am and Tuesday, Thursday from 1-2 pm.

About Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free online platform that allows students, teachers and parents access to classroom lessons, assignments, assessment, resources and more.  Students in grade 6 have been working with google drive (docs, slides, forms) for a few years and will continue to use these tools. Google classroom takes all of these applications and puts them into one place.  Students and parents in 6C/D will have access to my Google classroom either today or tomorrow and all lessons will be distributed through this platform going forward. The video below is a brief overview of Google Classroom for parents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iowi-gmbys

Other Resources

We appreciate that this is a lot of information, along with all of the other resources/ emails you have received from the CBE. Please know that we are here to support both you and your children as we transition.  

Sincerely,

Laurie Reeve and Vanessa Blyth

lareeve@cbe.ab.ca and vjblyth@cbe.ab.ca

Grade 6 Check-In

Hello Grade 6 Parents,

Thank you for your patience during this time.  We are currently putting together programming appropriate for students and their access to technology.  Please fill in the form that was sent to you in your email through School Messenger so that we can have a better understanding of how best to reach your child.

  

According to the province, in grade 6, we will be focusing on language arts and math.  Science and Social topics will be covered with a language arts focus.  Students will be assigned an average of five hours of work per week.  Programming will be starting on Thursday.  More information will follow.

If you have any questions, we will be touching base with you by phone, later today.

We look forward to talking to you.

Mrs. Reeve and Ms. Blyth

School Update!

Dear Grade 6 Parents, 

Thank you for your patience at this time. These are definitely uncertain times and we are all trying to be safe with our families. Please let your kids know that we have been thinking of them and are missing them! 

As of now, all learning materials and non-critical items like shoes will be held at the school until after the break. Please watch for an email or our school website for plans, after the March break.

Just a reminder as well that students can check out our website:   https://sites.google.com/educbe.ca/grade6svs/home 

Please stay safe, 

Laurie Reeve

Week in Review-Important Information-Please read

****Important Message from CBE****

Schools have received information from Calgary Board of Education Communications in regards to gatherings from now until Spring Break.

Please note:

• Events including the school and regular staff population of the school MAY continue. This includes events such as after school clubs, practices etc. Schools with scheduled field trips may still continue at this time.
• Events that expand to include populations from other schools and/or parents or other community members should be postponed and further information will be provided after March break if they will be rescheduled or cancelled. This includes events such as Parent Teacher Interviews, school athletic competitions, drama/musical performances etc.

We have chosen to postpone the following:

• March 19th and 20th - Parent Teacher Conferences

Thank you to all parents who have offered to volunteer for the book fair. We will create a new signup sheet when we reschedule Scholastic Book Fair.

We will reschedule our Parent Teacher Conferences at a later date. Dismissal for Thursday March 19th will continue to be  EARLY DISMISSAL at 1:30 for Grades 1-6 as well as SKILL. Kindergarten there will be NO SCHOOL.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your support as we all share in these unique times.

****
Dear Grade 6 Parents,

We have had an interesting week of fielding questions about the COVID-19 infection from students who have heard rumors or had concerns.  We spoke about the importance of handwashing and avoiding touching your face, and worked to dispel some of the myths that often float around in a time like this. When a question was asked that we did not know the answer to, we looked to the Alberta Health Services website for information.

In math, we have been looking at how to multiply and divide decimal numbers by powers of ten (10, 100, 1000, etc).  The most effective approach to solving questions like these is to move the decimal either to the right to make a larger number (multiplication) or to the left to make a smaller number (division). With each question, we encourage the students to ask themselves, "is the answer I'm looking for going to be greater or less than the number I started with."

We concluded our Ancient Athens unit by completing our fictitious news article about an event in Athens.  Students wrote about the Trial of Socrates, a war between Sparta and Athens or and important vote send by the Council of 500 to the Assembly.  We also will have our Athens unit test on Monday and marks and corrections will be available next week. Students have Google slides in their Google Drive and a review sheet to study from.

In Science, we did our final unit test on Thursday for Sky Science. Students will receive their marks, next week. We will be starting our Air and Aerodynamics unit where students will learn about how the properties of air contribute to flight.

The students have been learning about how to write narrative stories. We have been focusing on how to create an effective ending. Next week, we will work on how to plan for a story and put all of the parts of a story that we have been working on together, to create a final writing piece.

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Reeve

Homework
-Jump Math Pg 31 to 36
-Weekly math sheet due Wednesday

Quizzes/ Tests
-Social Studies Athens quiz is on, Monday, March 16th. Marks will be coming home, next week.

Junior High School
Please use the link below to learn which school your child is designated to attend next year. If you are interested in having your child attend a different Junior High, please contact that Junior High school directly. https://cbe.ab.ca/schools/find-a-school/Pages/default.aspx

Don't Forget
-Don't forget to return or renew your overdue library books

Upcoming Events
March 13: Winter Sports Day (Cancelled)
March 13: Dress like your teacher day
March 19: Parent-Teacher Conferences (2:30pm to 8:00pm) (Cancelled)
March 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences (9:00am to 12:30pm) (Cancelled)
March 23 to March 29: Spring Break
March 30: Classes Resume after Spring Break
April 3: Family Movie Night

Website
Don't forget to check out our class website for grade 6 resources
https://sites.google.com/educbe.ca/grade6svs/home

Laurie Reeve
Grade 6 Teacher & Learning Leader
Simons Valley School
lareeve@cbe.ab.ca

Grade 6 Update

Dear Grade 6D Parents,

This week we have been reviewing how to add, subtract and order decimals.  We learned how just because a decimal number has more digits compared to another decimal, doesn't necessarily mean that it is a larger number (0.52 > 0.4325).  This is often difficult for students to understand and remember because it works differently than whole numbers (52 < 4325).  Next week, we will be reviewing how to multiply and divide decimal numbers.

We concluded our sky science unit this week and will have a unit test on Thursday.  The students need to answer multiple-choice questions similar to what they will see on the PATs, as well as draw diagrams explaining moon phases, planets in the solar system, the position of the earth in the four seasons of the year.  Study notes will be shared with them in their drive.

The students have been working on writing a newspaper article connected to what they have learned about Ancient Athens and democracy.  Students created the 5Ws and additional facts about a fictitious event, such as an important vote, the trial of Socrates, or a battle with Sparta, that might have been collected by a reporter.  Using a newspaper template in Google Docs, the students are adding pictures, headlines and the name of their newspaper.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Reeve

Homework
-Athens Newspaper Article due next Wednesday, March 11
-Weekly math sheet due Wednesday

Quizzes/ Tests
-Social Studies Athens quiz next Monday, March 16th. Use the class website and your notes to review https://sites.google.com/educbe.ca/grade6svs/social-studies/ancient-athens?authuser=0

Forms
-Please sign and return the Safety Expo Forms as we go on Wednesday, March 11.

Junior High School
Please use the link below to learn which school your child is designated to attend next year. If you are interested in having your child attend a different Junior High, please contact that Junior High school directly.
https://cbe.ab.ca/schools/find-a-school/Pages/default.aspx

Don't Forget
-Don't forget to return or renew your overdue library books

Upcoming Events
March 11: Safety Expo field trip
March 13: Winter Sports Day
March 13: Dress like your teacher day
March 19: Parent-Teacher Conferences (2:30pm to 8:00pm)
March 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences (9:00am to 12:30pm)
March 23 to March 29: Spring Break
March 30: Classes Resume after Spring Break
April 3: Family Movie Night

Website
Don't forget to check out our class website for grade 6 resources
https://sites.google.com/educbe.ca/grade6svs/home

Grade 6 update

Dear 6D Parents and Students,

Last Thursday,  students had the opportunity to participate in a school tour of Sir John A. MacDonald.  While touring the school, students completed a scavenger hunt and learned all about what options they could take.  A notice went home about how to register for the options in Power School for the next school year.

In Math, we have been learning about decimals.  Students have been able to take their understanding of fractions and interpret this into a decimal.  They will soon be working on adding and subtracting decimals. 

In Science, we are wrapping up our learning around Sky Science. Students completed their Planet trading cards and will be reviewing for their end of unit quiz.

In Social, we have been writing a news article about an event that happened in Ancient Athens.  The events are ranging from a decision made on Pnyx Hill, a trial that happened or an event that happened in the community.  Students will be wrapping up their article this upcoming week.

We will be having a meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 4:00 for any parents who are interested in having a conversation about what the Grade 6 Farewell is going to look like.  We will chat about what we have done in the past and people can share their ideas for this year’s event.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Reeve

Homework

-Jump Math (No Homework)

-Weekly math sheet due Wednesday

Quizzes/ Tests

-Math Quiz on Fractions was today. Results next week

Parent Math Resources

As students get older and start to move into the upper grades, math becomes more challenging for students and parents who are helping them.  Below is a grade YouTube resource for parents looking for a refresher.

https://www.youtube.com/user/PISDMathematics/featured

Don't Forget

-Don't forget to return or renew your overdue library books

Upcoming Eve

March 6: CAD

March 11: Safety Expo field trip

March 19: Dress like your teacher day

March 19: Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 20: Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 23 to March 29: Spring Break

March 30: Classes Resume after Spring Break

April 3: Family Movie Night

Website

Don't forget to check out our class website for grade 6 resources

https://sites.google.com/educbe.ca/grade6svs/home

Grade 6 Teacher