Week Sept 12-16

Monday Meeting: 9:15

Monday Meeting: 3:45

First, some good news. The new desks and tables are arriving on the second and third floor! Also the playground and play area are coming together nicely. 

In addition to these physical improvements, we are going to be focusing on Curriculum Improvement. The information below is very important, please read carefully

Curriculum Improvement Initiative 

On Thursday you were introduced to the Annul Curriculum Plan document. This follows from the tradition that we started last year with the weekly planners at the end of the year, the objectives that we were using all year, and objectives posted on MIS weekly

 The Annual Planner has been shared with everyone.

Below is a list of Who, Why, What, How, and When.

Also “What if”, What if I do not complete it

And Support, What support will the school give

Finally, next steps

This is VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Please read carefully

Who:

Who does this apply to? All Teachers, Hourly, Part time, Full time, Primary, Secondary. If you are reading this, this probably applies to you, so please continue reading.

Why:

·        The annual plan is not just a list of lesson plans, but a map of learning that can help power teacher ownership, collaboration and reflection in school. An Annual Curriculum plan:

·         Promotes intentional teaching and learning

   Helps you increase the likelihood of your students obtaining the course learning outcomes.

·         Builds teaching and learning on previous experiences

·         Informs students why they are there and what they will do

·         Informs parents and families of the importance of learning in school and what to expect

·         Creates institutional memory

·         Supports your colleagues

We are doing this because this will make the school a better learning environment, and it will make teaching easier for everyone

What:

You will fill in the annual planning document based on objectives from Cambridge Hub.

Fill in for Semester 1. 

You Do not YET need to include dates

You should include this many objectives for semester 1, based on how often your class meets:

6 days a week=75-100 objectives as needed for the course

5 days a week= 75 objectives

3 days a week= 48 objectives

2 days a week = 32 objectives

1 day a week =16 objectives

This is based on Term 1, 17 study weeks, 85 days. There are also special events and assessments. If you teach a class:

How:

·         Go to the Cambridge Hub, See the schemes of work,

·         Copy the units and objectives from the schemes of work

·         Place the units and objectives on the annual planning table that has been shared.

·         Place the units in the shared folder, “Annual Plans” in a folder with your name. If there is no folder with your name, make one yourself.

When:

Before Wednesday afternoon

What IF:

What if I do not complete it by then? 

·         It is possible teachers will not be paid for each day it is not complete and the teacher is teaching without a plan. It is also possible the techer will not be allowed into the class

This is not new, it had been done regarding lesson plans in the past prior to the Pandemic Disruption. The school is reinstating this approach

This is a school wide initiative from the central administration of the school.

I am directed to share the names of teachers who start the year on Thursday without the planner submitted to the Central Administration of the school.

Therefore I will ask anyone who is having trouble with it to contact me by Tues so I can see how we can help.

Support:

You will have 4 hours dedicated to the task in school on each Mon, Tues, Weds. That is 12 professional hours dedicated to this in school

There is a lap top in each class room

The computer lab on the 4^th floor will be available.

You have already visited the Cambridge Hub and familiarized yourself with it and the objectives, we had at least 6 professional hours dedicated to that last week so we should be fluent with the schemes of work on the Cambridge Hub.

If anyone has trouble because you don't yet have a school email, Cambridge log in, were just hired a day ago, etc. Please see me so we can work out solutions together.

Next steps

Just as last year we had:

Daily Do now and Objectives

Weekly MIS postings

Weekly planners 

The creation of the Course Descriptors

We will build on the annual plan using these past experiences to develop lesson plans and weekly plans.

I will ask that people please re-read the “WHY” part above, this is work the whole school is doing, You are a key and important part of a major improvement the school is going through. 

In the end, we will be supporting each other, making our own teaching easier, and improving teaching and learning for the students.

YOU are an important part of this school improvement, and YOU will be better off for taking part in it.

YOU are important, the students cannot learn without YOU.