Newsletter #4 November/December)
Good Evening Parents,Guardians:
As your are aware teachers are now in the process of completing the term 1
report cards. We look forward to meeting you and your child either on
Thursday, December 3 (4:00 - 9:00 pm), or Friday December 4 (08:00 - 01:00 pm)
If you are unable to meet with me during these times and dates, please contact
me at the school and I am sure we can agree on a alternate date.
On Monday, November 26, students will be begin presenting their Power point
Religion projects "Religions of the World". Over the next two weeks the
students will be completing their novel study "If I Just Had Two Wings".
Students were asked to complete an interesting and creative diary of a slave
escaping on the Underground railway to Canada.
I hope you and your child are taking advantage of the Home Work Help, Tutor
online, that runs from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday. So far it has
been a very popular site for grades seven to ten.
Finally, my math classes will be completing a very interesting international
classroom project that teaches students aged 8 to 14 about statistical enquiry
and census-taking. In September, Students anonymously filled in an online
questionnaire about themselves - their height, time use, eating habits and
much more. We will now use these class results to learn statistical concepts,
practice data analysis and explore social issues. Their responses also become
part of national and international project databases that are used for
teaching statistics.
Statistics Canada's Education Outreach program manages the Canadian component
of the Census at School project, which began in 2003. The project originated
in the United Kingdom in 2000, and now also includes Australia, New Zealand
and South Africa.
Students respond well to working with data about themselves. The students
create graphs to illustrate their findings, such as the time they spend
reading vs watching TV, or the relationship between their gender and the time
they spend on homework (girls seem to spend more time on homework). They learn
from experience about the importance of accurate answers when collecting data.
Some of the students will examine and compare larger national and
international datasets, gaining skill in applying statistical analysis
techniques. The project also raises students' awareness about the importance
of Canada's national census for understanding the country and for planning
essential services.
To view more information about this project, please visit my web site, then go
the "Data Management Links", last entry.
Parent Note: If you require that I sign and visit your child's agenda every
evening, please note in your child's agenda. If you would like to discuss an
important issue, involving your child, please do not write notes in the
child's agenda that can be discussed in-person or by telephone.
If you have any questions, or would like to meet with me to discuss your
child's progress, or any other issue regarding your child, please contact me
at St. Faustina.
Again, thank you to the many parents who informed me that they do appreciate
this web site. It is intended for your student's education and kept parents
updated what we do in our class, especially math (201/202/203) and Language Arts.
I regret that during the past week I was not able to update the site as usual,
as I was busy with report cards and tutoring math.
Mr. Giovannini
