Welcome Back to Playing and Learning:
Recess at Pythagoras Academy
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Welcome back to learning, playing and making new friends. As a community, we know that it is important to promote health and wellness and have taken into consideration all of the procedures that trusted health officials have put in place as well as implemented a strong focus on routine Social Emotional Learning opportunities. It has been a joy to see the sparkling eyes of students eagerly engaging in new learning and embracing practices of empathy and kindness.
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Recess time is arguably one of the most important and dynamic parts of a student's day. It serves as a time to engage in self directed play, where students practice social skills and form new and important friendships. Supervisors actively engage with students, assisting in the establishment of recess rules and and facilitating problem solving methods while encouraging sportsmanship, teamwork and safe play.
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Messages from Across the Grades
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Junior Kindergarten "JK"
Our Junior Kindergarten department was very pleased to begin our school year with a special gathering to demonstrate our appreciation of our families and students of Pythagoras Academy. The "JK Appreciation Social" not only provided an opportunity for the families to connect with staff and fellow parents, but it also created opportunities for our students to foster new friendships and connect with friends from the previous school year! Our JK team is looking forward to an exciting and meaningful school year ahead!
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Grades K/1
Kindergarten has started the year off strong by focusing on letter and sound recognition with the help of "Fun Family Phonics." In Numeracy, students are diligently working on numbers and how they can be decomposed into smaller parts. Grade 1 classes have started off the year with learning the routines of their classrooms including, lining up procedures, beginning of day procedures and establishing class rules. Using their 5 senses, they are discovering the world around them. They have already started working in their new guided reading groups with their levelled readers.
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Grades 2/3
Grades 2 and 3 have started off the year with a variety of hands-on learning opportunities to inspire community building, inquiry and engagement. In grade 2, students are learning about the water system by embracing learning opportunities outside, studying rainfall and analyzing salt versus freshwater; meanwhile, grade 3 students prepared science lans to test the buoyancy and density of various states of matter.
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Grades 4-8
Grade 4 students have been exploring genre and paragraph writing, while in numeracy students are learning place value and number sense up to 10,000. Alongside making new friends and forming classroom community, grade 5 has delved into a better understanding of Canada and the importance of recognizing Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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Grade 6 students have been exploring the theme identity and truth in search of deeper understanding of Orange Shirt Day and Visual Arts to create self-identity portraits. Grades 6-8 are eagerly participating in their weekly collaborative Numeracy block where students share strategies, explain and justify mathematical ideas, and communicate using critical thinking skills.
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Pythagoras Academy offers a unique opportunity for children to promote their creativity and imagination through the Arts. Art in early years plays a pivotal role in their cognitive development, sensory skills, and social-emotional development. Teachers nurture students creativity by providing materials, going outside for still life inspirations and to explore their five senses.
JK Musical Theatre's pedagogical approach incorporates most prominently movements, kinesthesia, and high-order imaginative thinking. During class, children use creativity and critical thinking through dramatic play. When singing children learn new songs it increases their interest in language. Students become more knowledgable about rhythm, timing and how sounds are formed. When dancing children develop their fine-gross motor skills, and their confidence to explore new dance movements.
"As a teacher, my role is to support and create an environment where they will engage deeply and meaningfully in Visual Arts. The experience provides children the freedom of choice, feeling and connection."- Ms. Cheri Tuan
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Social Emotional Learning
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Promoting Social and Emotional Learning 'SEL' opportunities for all students in classrooms involves teaching and modelling social and emotional skills, providing opportunities for students to practice and hone those skills and by giving students an opportunity to apply these skills in various situations. One of the most prevalent SEL approaches involves training teachers to deliver explicit lessons that teach social and emotional skills, then finding opportunities for students to reinforce their use throughout the day. By providing spaces, like Zen Dens or Calm Corners, that are designed to assist students learning self regulation aids in students identifying when they themselves or a peer is feeling stressed or anxious.
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At Pythagoras Academy, teachers use programs such as Mind-Up and Second Step to teach and model social and emotional skills throughout their classroom and integrate it in cross-curricular units within English Language Arts, Social Studies and Mathematics. Furthermore, staff wellness at Pythagoras Academy has been enforced through various wellness workshops by Lisa Baylis and activities to promote mental wellness and self compassion. To find out more about this, explore Lisa Baylis on Twitter, and witness how staff shared their knowledge from the sessions and expressed their thanks.
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Literacy and the Library Commons
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Back to school means back to routines involving reading, writing, listening and speaking. Located at the centre of the school, the Library Commons is one place to practice all of these skills. Students come in to find a storybook, a handbook to learn how to play a game on the playground or bake a cake. Many questions are asked about fiction and information books. Students can be heard talking to each other about the latest book in a series or looking up the location of a favourite book on the Destiny Library System. Come and visit the Library Commons soon!
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We are excited to begin our new PA’s "Student News Broadcast" by planning, recording and editing. This is our third year of reporting important events, celebrations and successes at school every week. All news is planned and recorded by PA students. This is a great opportunity for students to practice leadership skills, be engaged with the events that are happening at school, be resourceful and look for new interesting excerpts to be included in their news.
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Students are learning about newsworthy material, journalism, ethics, broadcasting, producing, and working as a team to create something that the entire PA school can be proud of and enjoy. Students have so much fun creating the news that they don't realize the real-world skills that they are gaining and utilizing. Hopefully, this wonderful learning experience will encourage some students to pursue a career in electronic media in the future.
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The beginning of each year means a heavy emphasis on routines and procedures. Teacher's diligently reviewed and implemented new or improving classroom management strategies to facilitate the best experiences for students. Continuous improvement through self reflection and establishing rigor leads to a school culture and classroom filled with a sense of empowerment and positivity.
Our featured teacher's this month are: Mr. Purcell (Musical Theatre Specialist), Ms. Claman (Elementary Teacher), Ms. Gallagher (Elementary Teacher) and our PA leadership team who collaborated on leading efforts in these matters. Collectively, teachers and staff have extensively planned and prepared for the new school year, ensuring the strongest start possible.
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Upcoming and Important Dates
October 5- Picture Retakes & JK Picture Day
October 6- Grades 6/7 Immunizations
October 6- Silly Hat Day
October 8- Student Release Drill
October 11- Thanksgiving (No School)
October 20- Fire Drill
October 22- Pro D Day (No School)
October 26- Pumpkin Patch
October 29- Halloween Celebrations and Virtual Assembly
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