Good afternoon,

One area of IB that I have a great deal of admiration for is the concept of teaching to the 'whole child'.  In the IB Primary Youth Program (PYP) it has known that a child cannot properly develop when their academic side is the only area that is being challenged.  Instead, the PYP asks students and teachers to challenge themselves emotionally, academically and socially to become the most well-rounded, successful, happy and independent adults they can be.  As we know, life is not only about how well you can score on a test.  To be happy and successful we also must know how to connect with people, understand the world around us and be active in our own learning and success.  These initiatives we have in our daily lives share the vision of the PYP and are the framework used to create their pathway for success.
Students at St. Jude's are now nominating their peers for showing characteristics such as balanced, or principled.  Students at St. Jude's are taking their learning and putting it into real life situations.  Students at St. Jude's are introduced to a topic and creating their own paths towards inquiry.  These steps are possible because of the wonderful students we have the pleasure of working with everyday, the amazing staff at SJA and also because of the visions of the IB PYP.

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

I wanted to remind all parents and families that Remembrance Day falls on Sunday of this weekend.  This is a very special holiday that helps Canadians remember the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace.  Canadians often wear poppies to show their support of veterans and for the sacrifices they have made for our country and its citizens. 

This Sunday please remember to show your support at 11:11am with either a moment of silence at home or at your local cenotaph.

I know that I will be attending a ceremony at John McCrae school.  This is an important landmark in Guelph, as this is the hometown and childhood house of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, the author of the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'.

Additionally, any child who participates in Remembrance Day events will be awarded 10,000 house points from their homeroom teacher.

Have a great week,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

During the month of October St. Jude's Academy was focusing on the 'Risk-taker' attribute of the Learner Profile.  Congratulations to all the students who showed this important quality!

JKA: Andreas Savva

 

JKB: Jordan McPherson

JKB: Sarah Padovan

SK: Anastasia Callon

SK: Dolapo Kasumu

Gr. 1: Kian Sargood

Gr. 2: Aziz Patrawala

Gr. 3/4: Lukas Vokner

Gr. 5/6: Aaron Sun

Gr. 7/8: Evlyn Sun

French: Ninara Yousif

P.E: Cadance Tan

Drama: Kurtis Warner

 

For the month of November we are going to be looking for students who are 'Principled'.  This means that teachers are looking for students who 'act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.' (ibo.org).

Please help your child by reminding them of the Learner Profile attribute at home, and showing them examples of how one can act as a Principled citizen!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

A couple of times last week the teachers at St. Jude's Academy were lucky enough to spend some time at professional development sessions with other teachers from IB schools in Ontario where we learned about important IB initiatives.  These sessions gave us a chance to meet and share ideas with other teachers who are also going through the IB authorization process, have recently completed the process, or have been certified IB schools for years and years.  These events are always great because as a staff, we come back to SJA with new information and new ideas of how to better incorporate the IB framework into every part of the school environment.

One concept that was brought up a great deal at the various events was one that is close to the heart of the IB- International Mindedness.  The IB prides itself in its inclusiveness to all people and cultures around the world.  IB's mindset is that societies should be proud of and respect the differences in people, rather than try to ignore what is unfamiliar or what you don't yet understand.

Students who are a part of an IB school will be encouraged to become global citizens by being aware, educated and appreciative of the various cultures around the world.  As individuals living in or around the GTA, the perspective we have of family, public health, technology, politics and society are very different from an individual living in any other country around the world.  By being Internationally Minded, our students will not only recognize this, but they will start to seek out answers from another perspective or another culture to have a more deeper understanding of an issue.

Martin Luther King famously wrote 'What effects one directly, effects us all'.  International Mindedness shares this view that we must realize we are not alone and that we are only one piece of an enormous puzzle.  It is an exciting challenge to bring this way of thinking to the students at SJA. We cannot wait!


Have a great week,

Mrs. Nelson

Good evening,

One area of the IB program that I personally have a great deal of respect for is the concept of 'Actions'.  IB believes that teaching children is one thing, but to have true understanding of a concept students should be able to put the learning into action.  This is a theory that I have come to strongly agree with myself and since becoming a part of a school working towards its IB certification, I have started to be on the look out for students showing actions based on their learning.

One simple example of this would be a student who has learned about capitalization in their SK class.  Over many days this student has heard how important it is to use capitals at the beginning of every sentence, and how it helps readers to better understand their writing.  After a few days of listening about and practicing their capitals while writing, this student goes home and notices her mom hasn't used a capital in her note on the counter and mentions to her mom how important capital letters are in writing.  This is action!  This student has taken her learning and put it into use in the real world.   

This example may seem like just small progress but the concept of action eventually leads to bigger things like a student learning about poverty in Toronto and helping to start a community food drive, or a student hearing about discrimination against another student and organizing a school awareness assembly.  Action can be big or it can be small but either way it helps us to see that the students' learning has 'stuck' and that it is helping to make a difference in their lives and possibly the community.  This is the number one goal of a teacher.

If you witness any actions taking place from your child that you find interesting, exciting or inspiring please let us know.  I am looking to feature students in the monthly newsletter who have shown actions at home or at school.  Please send me an email at cnelson@stjudesacademy.com or speak with your child's teacher.

Have a great week,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

It is the start of October today and this means some exciting things are going to be happening at St. Jude's Academy.  Halloween is coming up and on the 31st of October students are encouraged to come to school dressed up for the holiday or wearing fall harvest colours.  This coming Monday is Thanksgiving which is a day for us to spend celebrating with our families.  This coming Friday is SJA's first PD day of the year, which means there is no school for students.

Another exciting part of October is the new Learner Profile Attribute for the month.  For the month of October we are going to focus on Risk-takers.  A Risk-taker will 'approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.' (www.ibo.org).  Teachers and students will be on the look out for individuals who are showing qualities of a Risk-taker and one student from each class will be chosen to win the award for the month.

As a reminder, the Learner Profile is a large part of the IB program.  It is a way for students and teachers to recognize and develop important attributes in our students that fall outside of the' traditional' academic world.  Our philosophy is that by nurturing the emotional, spiritual and academic parts of our students, we will give them tools to become successful in all areas of life.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

If it wasn't for the cool nights and mornings it would be hard to believe that the first month of school is already over and fall is now upon us. As I have been popping in and out of the school this year I can see that the first month of school has been as big of a success as I hoped it would be. 

St. Jude's Academy has begun sending out monthly newsletters to all parents and families on the St. Jude's Academy email list.  This newsletter has important updates, reminders and a reflection on what has taken place over the last month at SJA.  If you have not received the newsletter or would like to and are not on the SJA email list please send me an email to receive a copy cnelson@stjudesacademy.com.  As this month is winding down so is the first IB Unit of Inquiry for the school year.  I hope that you have seen the fun, knowledge and life-skills that develop from these units. 

Each of the six IB units taught in every classroom at SJA has two 'key concepts' that are linked to the unit which are skills, questions and thinking patterns that the teachers hope to encourage in their students.  Please take a look at the key concepts that have been highlighted for your child's current Unit of Inquiry on the large board in the front foyer.  We have this information posted there so that parents can join in on the development of their children at home as well.  I have a break-down of the IB Key Concepts listed for you below so that you can see the skills and thought processing your child will be developing throughout this school year through these important key concepts.  These key concepts form questions that you can be asking your child at home as well to give them extra practice with these inquiry based skills.

Enjoy!

 

Form:  What is it like?	Describe, Name, and Tell
Function:  How does it work?	How does it…?    Why do we…?
Causation: Why is it the way it is?	Compare/Contrast How was it formed? How did it arrive at this state? Why did it happen that way?
Change: How does it change?	What if…? How does it adapt? What changes have occurred? Why did it change? In what ways…
Connection: How is it connected to other things?	Compare/Contrast How are these concepts interdependent? How are they the same/different? How are these ideas connected through time, space, people, things, or beliefs?
Perspective: What are the major points of view?	How many different ways…? Feeling, opinions, personification questions, advantages/disadvantages… What are the consequences of this point of view?
Responsibility: What is our/my responsibility?	How should we/I behave? Opinions, feelings, rights. Who should describe this? Ethics questions
Reflection: How do we know?	What did I know?  What do I know now? How did I know that to be true? What resources did I use to help form my opinion? Do you agree with the results?

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson