February Updates

It’s hard to believe we are at the end of February already! We have had a busy month at Vista Heights!






Staffing Changes


In February, we said goodbye to Mrs. Joe Kong (one of our L and L teachers in Grade 5/6) as she has gone on maternity leave. In her place, we have Mrs. Candice Riopel covering for her until the end of June.




Pink Shirt Day

February 26th, 2020 is Pink Shirt Day. Students are encouraged to wear a pink shirt (this is not mandatory) to celebrate friendship and kindness. Students will meet with their buddies for an activity.












Accountability Survey


The Accountability Pillar Survey was sent to Vista Heights parents in Grades 4/5/6. This survey provides feedback to Alberta Education on students’, teachers’ and parent/guardians’ opinions about their school, their school work and the opportunities their school provides. It also provides important information on the quality of education students are receiving. The results are used by schools, school authorities, and government to see what’s working and what needs to be improved; and shared with the whole community. If you have not yet completed the survey, it would be greatly appreciated if you could go online with the code provided or mail in the survey. The deadline is February 28.


Student Led Conferences
As we look ahead to March, please mark your calendars for Student Led Conferences. These will take place on March 19 from 4:15-8:00 and March 20 from 8 am -12:30 pm. The conference is an opportunity for parents to learn and engage with their child around their learning. Conferences will be in hour long blocks, and will include a time to meet with the teacher.








SoundKreations
We had a great week with SoundKreations to create Slam Poetry. We showcased our ‘work in progress’ with a Celebration of Learning. Thank you to School Council for this great opportunity.



School Council





Our next School Council meeting is March 10 at 6:30 pm.

"At VHS we believe in creating a safe learning community where students feel a

sense of belonging and

responsibility; inspiring creative,

collaborative and critically thinking citizens who are

empowered and resilient. "

                                                  

Thank you for your continued support!
Mrs.Bose

January Updates
Wow! January has just flown by! We are very happy to have some nice weather to end the month!


Staffing Changes
We are very fortunate to be able to add a staff member to Vista Heights. We would like to welcome Mrs. Dineen Brace to Vista Heights as our Resource Teacher. Mrs. Brace will be supporting our students with small group support, and supporting personalized learning in our classrooms.


Flexible Recess
Many schools in the Calgary Board of Education offer a flexible recess break. Vista Heights had a trial of flexible recess during the last week of school, and will be continuing this practice moving forward. This means that teachers will be taking their students outside for a 15-minute recess break when it makes sense for their learning. Often a scheduled recess can interrupt student learning as they have to drop everything at that moment to go outside. This gives students the opportunity to have the playground or field with just one other class. At lunchtime, half of the students are outside from 12:00-12:20, and then come in to eat their lunch. The other half of the students are eating first from 12:00-12:20, and then head outside for the remainder of the lunch hour. The exception is when it is below -20. We have blue days where students have different activities they can choose as it is too cold to be outside.


Report Cards

Report cards will be going home with your child on Thursday, January 30. There have been some changes to Assessment and Reporting this year. Teachers shared this information during the parent teacher conferences in November. You will see the indicator NATR for mathematics. This indicator means that the strand of mathematics has not been fully taught and assessed. Your child will receive a number indicator for the strands that have been fully taught and assessed. The mathematics strands have also changed from last year. CBE has created a video that explains all of the changes. 
Please click on the picture to view the video.            Assessment & Reporting



Professional Day Reminder

            

There is no school for students on January 31, 2020. It is a professional day.




SoundKreations Artist Residency
We will be working with an artist in Residence from February 3-7. The students will be learning about Slam Poetry. We will have a Celebration of Learning at 1:30 on Friday, February 7, 2020. Thank you to School Council for this great learning opportunity for our students!      

Students come first

"We believe that everyone can learn. Each student is unique and worthwhile. We acknowledge, recognize and celebrate the diversity of our learners. Success for each and every student is the goal of our work." (CBE Values).

Thank you for your continued support!
Karen Bose