Family Literacy Night

The Spark   

Within my last post, I mentioned completing my Primary Education Specialist with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) in December of this year. It was during one of the modules within my Specialist course where we were presented with the opportunity of self selecting a topic of inquiry. A new reading program was being rolled out earlier this year that is based in the Science of Reading and I realized that I would like to learn and engage more with this topic so I decided to focus my inquiry on Reading. I decided to reach out to Marisa Weinberg, our Primary Literacy Coach, MLL Teacher, Math Lead Teacher, and P/J/I SERT, for support in the learning process.

Parent Voice

As you know from previous years, I have been the chairperson for Moraine Hills Public School's Annual Family Math Night (see 3rd Annual post, 2nd Annual post, and 1st volunteer post). I always wanted to have the opportunity to be chairperson for a Family Literacy Night and connected with Marisa about the idea. It was then she mentioned that our Parent Council expressed interest in our school holding a Math and Literacy Night. We decided that it would be perfect to host a Literacy Night so that we can support families in learning more about our shared literacy goals. Marisa and I became co-chairpersons for this event.

We held our Family Literacy Night on February 28th, 2023. It was so nice to see families from our community come out for an evening of Literacy learning, fun games, and cool prizes! It's very important to build partnerships with families in our community and extend learning from the classroom into homes.

The Event

Here are some snapshots of some of the learning opportunities, resources, games and prizes at our event.

Connections to the Ontario Language Curriculum

"By reading a wide range of materials and being challenged by what they read, students become receptive to new and widely varying ideas and perspectives and develop their ability to think independently and critically. It is also important to give students opportunities to choose what they read and what they write about, in order to encourage the development of their own interests and pursuits"- Ministry of Education

Roles and Responsibilities of Parents:

"Studies show that students perform better in school when their parents are involved in their education"- Ministry of Education

"Effective ways in which parents can support students’ learning include: 

 -attending parent teacher interviews

-encouraging child(ren) to complete their assignments at home

-encouraging their child(ren) to read every day; talk and play together at home; take out a library membership; join a book club, a computer club, a camera club, or a community group; participate in an online pen pal program; or subscribe to an age-appropriate magazine.

-participating in parent workshops and school council activities (including becoming a school council member)"

Roles and Responsibilities of Teachers:

"Teachers are responsible for developing appropriate instructional strategies to help students achieve the curriculum expectations, and appropriate methods for assessing and evaluating student learning" - Ministry of Education

-"They bring enthusiasm and varied teaching and assessment approaches to the classroom

-Addresses individual students’ needs and ensuring sound learning opportunities for every student

-Use variety of instructional, assessment, and evaluation strategies, teachers provide numerous opportunities for students to develop the skills and knowledge in reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and representing that will enable them to make meaningful connections between what they already know and what they need to know

-They provide students with frequent opportunities to practise and apply new learning and, through regular and varied assessment, give them the specific feedback they need in order to further develop and refine their skills

-By assigning tasks that promote the development of higher-order thinking skills, teachers enable students to become thoughtful and effective communicators. In addition, teachers encourage students to think out loud about their own language processes, and support them in developing the language and techniques they need to assess their own learning. 

-Opportunities to relate knowledge and skills in language learning to wider contexts, both across the curriculum and in the world beyond the school, motivate students to learn and to become lifelong learners."

Roles and Responsibilities of Students:

"Students’ responsibilities with respect to their own learning develop gradually and increase over time, as students progress through elementary and secondary school" -Ministry of Education

-"Mastering the concepts and skills connected with the language curriculum requires work, study, and the development of cooperative skills

-Their understanding and skills will grow as they explore their world and engage in activities, for their own purposes, that involve reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing

-Students develop their literacy skills when they seek out recreational reading materials and multimedia works that relate to their personal interests and to other subject areas, and when they engage in conversation with parents, peers, and teachers about what they are reading, writing, viewing, representing, and thinking in their daily lives."

Roles and Responsibilities of Community Partners:

"Community partners can be an important resource in students’ language development. They can provide support for students with literacy needs, both in the classroom and as living models of how the curriculum relates to life beyond school" - Ministry of Education 

-"Such modelling and mentoring can enrich not only the educational experience of students but also the life of the community

-Schools and school boards can play a role by coordinating efforts with community partners. They can involve community volunteers in supporting language instruction and in promoting a focus on literacy in and outside the school. 

-Community partners can be included in literacy events held in the school, and school boards can collaborate with leaders of existing community-based literacy programs for youth, including programs offered in public libraries and community centres."

Connection 

Wellington Public School included Community Partners within our Family Literacy Night event by inviting the Aurora Public Library to attend. The Aurora Public Library set up a booth and participated in our event by:

-Informing parents of programs/services available at the Library and opportunity to register (ie. March Break camp)

-Offering library card registration to families who would like to join and access resources

-Providing fun robotic coding activities on site for the children and families to enjoy

The Team

"Teamwork Makes the Dream Work"

Thank you so much to the dedicated staff members who collaborated in planning, organizing, and facilitating the event:

Mr. Jonathan Weisinger (Principal of Wellington Public School), Mrs. Weinberg, Mrs. Massimo, Ms. Cherutti, Ms. Sherifovski, Ms. Krasovitskaya, Ms. Fung, Mrs. Serpa, and Ms. Zuchlinski. It was such a pleasure working with each of you!

We also had many dedicated Intermediate Student Leaders assisting to create posters and run stations at the event. We thank and appreciate you as well! At my old school, we had name tags for all educators and students running the event so that families can distinguish us from the crowd and assist/engage them better. I decided to carry this on to our event at this school too.

Last but not least, I would like to extend a special thanks to Deborah Joyce, Superintendent of Education for attending our Family Literacy Night Event. It was a great pleasure to have you at Wellington Public School!

Personal Reflection

I was beyond grateful for our team throughout this experience because I understand the importance of building community, partnerships with parents, and extending the learning that takes place at school into the homes of our students. Family event nights are a great way to engage students and families in this learning and allow them to gain a greater understanding of what is happening in our schools. It also provides parents with ideas and tools to support learning at home. It was really great to work with such a dedicated team! I found this to be the case at both schools I was teaching at. Now that I have had the opportunity to co-facilitate a Family Literacy Night Event and maneuver through the logistics and implementation of it, I feel confident in implementing another one. There is always room for improvement and I have made note of things I would like to add/change for next time. One of the things being that I would like to offer learning opportunities that encompass all strands of the Language curriculum, just as when I implemented a Family Math Night we offered learning opportunities for all strands of the Math curriculum. We focused on Reading for now because there has been a shift in our Reading program and families expressed interest and had inquiries towards reading. Our delivery was based in parent voice and feedback.

Overall, it was a great experience and I look forward to co-facilitating Family Literacy Night events within any school community I am part of. 

"Reading is the gateway for children that makes all other learning possible" - Barak Obama

Thank you for reading!

~Mrs. Rose Najafi, OCT, RECE

I'm Back!

    Hello Everyone! It's been a while since my last post in 2019. Last you heard from me, I mentioned being married to an amazing Real Estate Agent named Aryan (you can visit his Property Fellaz Website & Instagram). Since then, we had our lovely daughter and I was off on a Maternity Leave for a year. Being a wife, a mother, and a teacher have truly been the greatest joys of my life!

    I then came back from Maternity and began my journey at Wellington Public School. I taught Primary/Junior SSC & Intermediate Math SSC online (during COVID). I then taught in the Primary ASD Community Class using a Blended Learning/Hybrid platform. Following this, I taught a year of Grade 5 and a 3/4 year of Grade 2. In previous years at Moraine Hills Public School, I also taught Kindergarten, Grade 6, and Grade 3. I am currently back as a substitute teacher until I obtain another LTO or preferably contract. In the meantime, I am manifesting my longstanding professional goal of becoming permanent contract teacher. I have had this goal since I was 8 years old! (See the "YRDSB's Newest Supply Teacher" post here).

    This past December 2022, I also obtained my Part 3, Primary Education Specialist with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. I had applied for, and gained equivalency status of part 1 & 2 with the Ontario Collage of Teachers (OCT) back when I graduated many years ago. This was due to my extensive experiences within my educational background and practicums directly working with children from Infancy-12 years of age. For those of you who would like to learn more about my educational journey, click here. This was also one of my professional goals, to achieve a Specialist, in a desired area of focus. I love teaching both Primary and Junior divisions and will happily accept a contract position for either of them.

I look forward to continuing to share my Teaching and Learning journey with you on this blog, along with my Instagram (@Educate.Invest.Inspire) and Twitter (@Edu.Inv.Inspire) pages!

"Small steps help us create valuable habits, which help us to achieve big goals" 

& "The achievement of one goal should be the starting point of another"

Thank you for reading!

~Mrs. Rose Najafi, OCT, RECE

A New Year Reflection

Throughout any school year I have taught, I have acquired new knowledge, strategies, and resources that could help further shape my teaching. Instead of waiting for the next LTO to implement and adapt, I have decided to start as of next week when we all return to our lovely students. This post will contain a reflection of the changes I wish to implement in my current Grade 3 classroom. Kind of like  how we do 2 stars and a Wish with our students, I too will reflect on what is going well and what I would like to do differently.

Overview

• Birthday Wall
• Daily 5 Schedule 
• Morning Entry Routine
• Classroom Materials
• Computer Schedule
• Classroom Jobs
• Visual Schedule
• Mindfulness Area
• Kindness Inquiry
• Student Self-Assessment and Goal Setting
• @Educate.Invest.Inspire

Birthday Wall

This is something that I have seen done in one of the Kindergarten classes at our school back when I was a Designated Early Childhood Educator and I LOVED it! I was meaning to put it up during the first month/s of school but they just flew by! I finally got around to it on the last day before the break and I really recommend having one in your class. It is nice for the students to see themselves reflected in the classroom environment and it makes it easy for us as Teachers not to miss out on birthdays.

Daily 5 Schedule 

When I first implemented the Daily 5 schedule, I would continuously shift around each name, individually, each day. This over time was not sufficient for me, and after observing what other teachers in Primary were doing, I have adapted the schedule to be more efficient. 

Morning Entry Routine

Each day I am very consistent with the morning entry routines and often find myself having to repeat them even though they never change. I decided to record them on a piece of chart paper and I have posted it onto the whiteboard at the front of the class. Instead of repeating individual instructions multiple times, I am now just saying, "please show me 1, 2, 3, 4". This has been an effective strategy during our morning routine and I will be continuing it into the new year.

                          

Classroom Materials

I am still uncertain how classroom materials can disappear so quickly (mostly pencils). I have created 5 bins, 1 for each of the 5 table groups we have. In each bin contains a variety of needed classroom materials that the students at that table group can use as they wish. As a group, I had the students do a material count and create  their own material checklist. Each day a different member of the group will  be responsible for retrieving and returning the materials bin for their group. At the end of each day, as part of end of day routines, they are to go through the checklist to ensure they have all their materials. If anything is missing, they are encouraged to look around the classroom and also to ask other groups. This is a great responsibility task for the students and a great way to ensure everyone has what they need. 

Computer Schedule

Whenever there was an opportunity for free choice, many students would rush over to the computers and arguments would always occur for who was there first or who was not getting off when the timer was finished. I quickly realized that this needed some organization so that harmony could be restored. I decided that since we have 5 groups and we also have 5 days in the cycle, that the schedule would commence as follows:
Day 1- Group 1
Day 2- Group 2
Day 3- Group 3
Day 4- Group 4
Day 5- Group 5
This means that only that group could be on tech each day, which eliminated the arguments and unfairness of tech time. Not everyone in that group likes or wants to be on the computer, and you will often have empty computers. Some students may beg to play on the computers from other groups because they see it not being used. It is up to your discretion to let them play. I did in the beginning and quickly realized that it still caused the same issues, so in January when I go back I will be more firm on the schedule. This way, each student will have equal turns throughout the week-no one excluded and no more arguments over computers.

Classroom Jobs

The classroom jobs are a hit or miss. Some students actively fill their responsibility and some students disregard it completely. In my class, I choose names out of a container and when the student is called, they have the option to choose one of the available jobs listed or to go the following week (you can only postpone once, not multiple times in a row). I decided to add some pictures to the cardholders for each classroom job to make it look more appealing to my Grade 3's and it also helps to have a visual representation if you don't know what the word means. I also added brief descriptions of what each job entails, in case they forgot. Hopefully this draws more interest and we can continue to keep the class nice and tidy and running smoothly as a team!

Visual Schedule

At the beginning of the year, I had only posted words on the visual schedule for the students. I constantly had questions like "when is it lunch?" "when is it recess?" "do we have gym today?". I decided to also add pictures to each of the items on the schedule so that the students can make the association between the pictures and words- it looks nicer too!

Mindfulness Area

When I was a DECE working with Mrs. Dutt-Lym of KindieKorner, she taught me of the importance of spaces, including one where students can use it to self-regulate. I have carried this throughout my years as a DECE, and into a classroom Teacher with my own grade 3 class this year. However, I noticed that the area was not really being used. In January, I will be asking the students what they would like to see in the mindfulness area and how they would like to use it. Perhaps the student input will generate more use for the area and its materials. My grade partner Mrs. Gaffen shared a wonderful Zones of Regulation resource which I posted closer to the area so it can be utilized there.

Kindness Inquiry

In the new year, classes at Moraine Hills Public School are going to take part in individual kindness inquiries so that we can share our learning with the rest of the school. Each class will co-create and research their own inquiry question and document their learning throughout. Future blog post to follow about our class inquiry! Our Vice Principal Mrs. Cariglia-Bull and one of our teachers Mr. Harber had created the logo above for our school :) We also have had t-shirts made.

Student Self-Assessment and Goal Setting

Not only, is this a time for Educators to self-reflect on current teaching practices, but a time for our students to self-reflect as well. Visit "Capacity Building Series: Student Self-Assessment" for ways you can support this for your students.

@Educate.Invest.Inspire

Thank you for reading my first blog post of 2019! I look forward to sharing more of my learning journey with all of you. Please feel free to follow my other Educational Social Media Accounts by clicking on the links below:

Instagram                Twitter                 Pinterest                 TeachersPayTeachers

"Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success"- Richard Carlson 

& "We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience"-  John Dewey

~Mrs. Rose Marcelli-Najafi, OCT, RECE

Behaviour Management Strategies Part 2

Over the years as a Teacher, I have adapted certain behaviour management strategies that work best with varying situations. Each situation will require an individual response based on the severity of the situation and the student's history, triggers, etc. Below is a general outline of how I apply behaviour management strategies in my Grade 3 classroom.

To gather students attention

I like to use a clap sequence, rain stick, or TRIBES strategies to gather students attention, and this seems to work well. It is important to ensure you have the attention of all your students and you wait for quiet before giving instructions, otherwise you will find yourself repeating them several times.

A lesson during instructional time

I am a very calm and patient teacher, many little things such as fidgeting, do not bother me. However, if someone is disrupting a lesson during instructional time which prevents themselves or others from learning, that is not fair or kind. I always start with a warning which is usually a non-verbal cue or the students name. If they are still disrupting the lesson I show them the number 2 and tell them if they continue they will get a note home to their parents in their agenda. I may also ask them to relocate to a different spot on the carpet if their current spot is a distraction to them. If the disruption persists, then I ask for their agenda and write a quick note to their parents. This strategy has been very effective in my class so far and I will continue to use it. Another helpful strategy which I have not had to use too much this year, is the first/then approach (ie. first finish your work then you can play on the computer for 5 minutes). The reward can be any preferred activity of the student's choice.

Independent work period/free choice period

In contrast, if there was an issue happening during a work period it would look a bit differently. First step would still be a warning. Second step, I would speak with the child 1:1 at eye level and inquire about what has happened? how can I help? and discuss what will happen if the behaviour continues (this part is difficult to do during a lesson in instructional time because there is an audience present). Third would still be a quick note home to parents in the agenda. It is important for parents to understand how their child is learning and behaving at school.

A conflict between 2 or more students

If there was a conflict between 2 or more students, I like to use the YRDSB Restorative Approach. Find out what has happened? who was affected? what were you thinking or feeling? how can we make it right? what might you do differently next time? Depending on the severity of the situation, I would document and contact parents. There are some instances where I am unable to meet with the students to resolve this issue in a timely manner and I would contact the office for EA support. Our Educational Assistants at our school are really supporting and skilled in managing conflict resolution. 

CPI Support

In the event that the student has escalated their behaviour and are now harming themselves or others or may be threatening themselves or others, I would just call the office for CPI support. CPI would also be called if a student is displaying signs that they may be escalating. It is important to check if your students have a Safety Plan or Individual Action Plan and respond accordingly. 

Thank you for reading! A New Year Reflection blog post is coming shortly!

~Mrs. Rose Marcelli-Najafi, OCT, RECE

MHPS 3rd Annual Family Math Night

On Thursday May 24th, 2018 Moraine Hills Public School hosted our 3rd Annual Family Math Night. This is the second year in a row that I have had the honour of being the Chairperson for this event! It takes wonderful and supportive Administrators like Principal Deborah Snow and Vice Principal Jonathan Weisinger and dedicated staff members and volunteers to help make this event so successful. This post will highlight the new additions we made to this year's event, as well as some Tips for Educators who wish to implement a Family Math Night at their school next year. Click here AND here for more information about Family Math Night at Moraine Hills P.S. in past years).

New Additions

• Passports

This year we decided to create passports so that the students and their families had the opportunity to participate in all of the Mathematics Learning opportunities that we had to offer. At each station they visited, they were given a stamp on that corresponding page in their passport. At the end of the evening, the families drop their passports in the drop-off bin on their way out. Completed passports were drawn for the grand prize which was a 1-2 Hour Coding Session for the student and their entire class from Hatch Canada. To learn more about Hatch Canada or their programs for your children, click here.

• Community Partners & More Prizes

I like to keep some prizes the same, oldies but goodies; but also wanted to add a bunch more options to the mix to keep things interesting and exciting. Prizes are usually for the top 3 winners of each Estimation question. This year, the top prize at the Estimation Station was a Learning Resources STEM Robot Mouse Coding Activity Set valued at $59.99. This prize also connected to one of the Math stations we had available called, "Bee Bot Challenge" where the students had the opportunity to practice basic coding skills. To obtain this Coding Set click here. Other amazing prizes included: SimonAir, Blokus, Q-Bitz, Wooden Tetris, and Math Storybooks such as "The Action of Subtraction."

• Outdoor Learning Opportunities

As a school and school board, we encourage learning in the outdoors as we believe the outdoors to have many benefits to our well-being (Click here to learn more about Outdoor Education). This year, we started small and offered two really great learning opportunities outdoors and that was: Outdoor Math Story Walk and Transformational Geometry. The Math Story Walk allowed students and their families to take a walk outside, breathe in the fresh air, read a story together, and participate in some hands on learning experiences about addition and subtraction. The Transformational Geometry station allowed students and their families to physically experience the concepts of Translations, Reflections, and Rotations.

• ELL & Math Booth

Our English Language Learner Teachers put together a variety of assessment samples that show how modifications or accommodations can be made to that piece of assessment which meets the needs and abilities of English Language Learner Students. This gave families a better understanding of what it might "look like" in practice.

• Be Kind to Yourself & Town Hall Booth

Moraine Hills has done a lot of work around promoting and raising awareness for Kindness. Kindness to Yourself, Kindness to Others, and Kindness to the Environment. We have also conducted and analyzed research for our Town Hall initiatives around Grades and Student self-worth and well-being. This station facilitated the creation of a Wellness Toolkit so that students and their families were provided with some information and coping strategies to use at home. The information and strategies that were presented at this station were very well received by students and their families.

• Coding Activities

To support Modern Learning and technology use, we also had some educators facilitating a coding station called, "Bee Bot Challenge". This station allowed students and their families to gain exposure to the basics of coding and learn more about the curriculum connections.

• Math Night Banner

This year we decided to purchase a professionally made banner from VistaPrint. Since Family Math Night has become an annual event at Moraine Hills, we decided to create a reusable banner for efficiency and aesthetic.

Math Night Tips

• Stay Organized: Have a plan and organize achievable steps to attain your plan. If your event is on the beginning of May, start planning the beginning of April. Some web-based APPs/Programs that helped me stay organized this year were: Google Keep and Google Drive.

• Meetings: Try your best to arrange for meetings that meet the needs of your volunteers and try not to schedule meetings too often because all Educators are busy. Also, have an agenda prepared to help guide your meeting and stay on track.

• Accept Input: It is important to listen and accept input from other Educators/volunteers. You may not agree with everything, but everyone should feel welcomed, supported, and that their ideas are valued.

• Offer Help: Offer extra periods of time that you will be available to support staff who would like assistance with ideas for a station, gathering or creating materials, etc.

• Make Yourself Available: If you are the person running the event, it is important to make yourself available for the "just incase" circumstances. Try not to station yourself at one activity. I like to be responsible for the Estimation Station. This activity is self-run which allows for me to go where I am needed. For example, one year someone had to leave early so I was able to cover their station. This year we had more families than anticipated and we ran out of passports, so I (among others) were able to run and create more passports (a good problem to have).

• Document the Learning: Keep a Math Night Binder which includes all activities and resources for each of your events so that you have a repertoire to choose from/refer to when needed. It also makes for a nice portfolio ;)

• Share Resources with Staff: Many of our staff have volunteered for the Math Night event so they know all the activities and resources but I have also encouraged that everyone upload everything to our school shared team drive. This will allow all staff at our school community to access and implement these activities in their classrooms. *Resources and activities have been shared with families at Math Night

• Have Fun! : The most important tip is to have fun and enjoy the event because a lot of planning goes into it and it goes by very quickly.

I have said it once and I will say it again...

Thank you to everyone who dedicated their time and resources to the event! It is really valued and appreciated, not only by myself but by our Administrators and our school community!

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