Hello Again!
Hello again, CRS Community!
It's been a while since I've published a blog, despite the many amazing things that have been going on at Chester Ronning School. From monthly theme days to a delayed Winter Walk/Wellness Day, we've had a number of fun and engaging learning experiences taking place! In my opinion, one of the best things about these special events has been the opportunity for our students to have a voice and step up to take on leadership roles in our school. In particular, our Grade 5 students have planned and organized our Literacy Day, Winter Walk and Pink Shirt Day, with their teachers' support of course. Throughout the year, our Grade 5 students have also served as our school photographers and authors of our monthly slideshows!
One upcoming "event" that I should highlight is our second round of Parent-Teacher Interviews, which will take place in the week before the spring break, March 22-25. In previous years, we have held two rounds of PTIs, one after each interim reporting period. This year's quarter system, however, has challenged our usual approach toward PTIs since we still only have two rounds of interviews but now have 4 shorter reporting periods. Because of this, following the early February report cards with interviews felt too close to our November PTIs and would have left a very long stretch without formal interviews for the remainder of the year. As well, waiting until after the next report cards would have placed interviews in early May, and that seemed awfully late in the school year to us. As a result, we have settled on mid-term interviews. Obviously, this brings its own set of challenges since we won't yet have the Q3 report cards to guide conversations, but our teachers will still be able to speak to how students are doing academically and socially and they will be able to provide previews of the achievement that late-April report cards are likely to illustrate.
Due to the ongoing pandemic-related guidelines, we will once again offer phone interview or video conferences, depending on each family's preference. You should expect your child to come home with a note by Monday, March 15, which will indicate when your interview slot has been scheduled during the week of March 22 and whether the teacher is planning for a phone call or a Google Meet. When you receive this note, please contact the teacher if you need to reschedule or if you would prefer an alternative format for your conversation. Of course, if you would like to have a conversation with me or with Mrs. McLeod, our assistant principal, please call the school and we can make those arrangements as well. Personally, I can't wait until we are able to invite you back into our school building and once again hold "normal" PTIs and student-led conferences - hopefully next year!
And, finally, I've been trying to think of a good way to deal with the growing collection of lost and found items that we have collected. Over the past two weeks, we have had all of the items out on tables in our front foyer and teachers have been leading classes past them on the way to and from the gym each day. While a number of items have been claimed, there are many sweaters, gloves, hats, shoes, etc. that still remain... and they must belong to someone! Below, you will find a slideshow with pictures of the unclaimed items. Admittedly, the pictures are not all that great but I hope they will help families to identify some of these things so we can get them back to you. If something in the picture looks like an item that should be in a closet at your home, please call the school and we will gladly help to make arrangements to have it returned to you! Any still-unclaimed items will be donated to charity on Friday, March. 19th.
Take care and be well!
Reid Lansing