The school year is almost over, and we have so much to do! Our Butterflies are almost ready to emerge from their chrysalises and flutter about until we can release them outdoors. There have been no in person classes, but each day brings new delights as students share their last Portfolio of the 2022-23 school year. In between portfolio meetings I find myself puttering about preparing templates for SLPs and Activation Assignments for the 2023-24 school year. Like butterflies, my thoughts seem to flutter, alight for a moment, and then take off again! By now you will have received an invitation t ..read more

This post will be short and sweet because we are in the middle of our last round of Portfolio Presentations which continue until June 2. Thursday/Friday group DON’T FORGET that we will meet at 9:50am at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens on your first day which is June 8th. It is always such a delight to meet with students and parents during Portfolios. The diversity and breadth of learning activities happening in your families is just astounding! I often feel like I have the best job I the district because I get to see the range and depth of your creativity and resourcefulness. All current students ..read more

Our younger group certainly enjoyed our field trip to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens as we participated in the Pondering Ponds program. The facilitator was very impressed with their focus and their good questions. We learned so much about what happens on the surface, in the water column, and on the bottom of a pond. We saw some goslings and ducklings and BIG Carp as well. Marking more than 40 City of Vancouver Storm Drains with bright yellow fish shapes was a meaningful way for our students to help the environment. We learned that the water from the toilets and sinks in our homes gets treated bef ..read more

All families who were offered and accepted a placement for September Please Take Note:  Both the Monday/ Tuesday and Thursday/Friday groups are completely full. If you know that you Will Not Be Attending in September after all, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can offer your spot to another student on our waitlist. Families will soon begin receiving emails from myself and from the main Beaconsfield School Office. Please ensure that you mark both of these addresses as “Not Spam.” Among the items you will receive will be a calendar of important Home Learner Program Dates so ..read more

Last week two BC Lions players spoke to us about how to protect the environment by using energy sustainably. Through some fun games and lively discussion we learned how each one of us can work to save energy in simple ways. We used our electric microscopes to look at the world inside a drop of water! In the water from a tropical fish tank we discovered a world of very tiny organisms. So had legs and some might have been plants. Inside the cells of  some of the plants we saw some even tinier organisms that looked like they were being swallowed by some slightly bigger things. All of these o ..read more

As trees push out new leaves and insects emerge from their cocoons, we have discovered lots of interesting and intricate details in nature. We are using our math skills to enlarge the images we see in our microscopes and magnifiers as well. Rumor has it we may soon have cocoons INSIDE the classroom too. Stay tuned. Additionally, we have shared our perspectives on how good it feels to have curiosity and to show generosity. Together we are practicing logic skills as we learn how to play new math games. And we are even building game boards for some of these fun games to sell at our craft sale in ..read more

We attempted to harness the power of the sun and made several interesting discoveries about light and shadow along the way. We discovered that the temperature of the air does not affect the heat generated when focused on a small area. We used this concept to focus our attention AND a beam of light onto slices of cedar and alder to create art. Ask you kids to show you their first project competed this week. Later we will create game boards and other small objects to sell at our “Kids Helping Kids” craft sale in June. We’ve also been conducting experiments with levers and fulcrums. Ask your kids ..read more

As this round of Portfolio Meetings winds down I would like to say once more how delightful it is to celebrate your children’s efforts and accomplishments. It is marvelous to see how many students are using Reflection Journals, prediction & observations and other strategies to lift nature walks, and arts & crafts etc. to become S.T.E.A.M. activities. (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Several parents also used a highlighter on their child’s SLP to track completed outcomes for specific academic areas as learning happened at home. I thought I would pass along that idea as ..read more

We are now at the midpoint in the schedule for the second round of Portfolio meetings. I am constantly impressed by the outstanding efforts families are making on the days you work from home. I look forward to seeing the Thursday/Friday group on March 9. And look forward to seeing the Monday/Tuesday group right after Spring Break on March 27. Please bring your Dioramas on that day. I will email a suggestion for an animal and/or Influential Canadian to those students I have not yet heard back from. Let me know as soon as possible if your child wants to choose a different subject for their Diora ..read more

Portfolio season is now well underway. I am thrilled to celebrate your children’s efforts and accomplishments. It is indeed inspiring to see how much energy and creativity you are putting into supporting your child’s learning! Thanks to so many parents spreading the word about our program, the Primary Cohort is no full for September, and only a few spots remain for grade 4-7! However, please encourage interested parents to still apply, as there are sometimes changes over the Spring and Summer months. If you have not already done so, please send me your child’s chosen topic for their Animals of ..read more