News from Vanier - April 27 - May 1

Dear Vanier students and families:
 
The gospel from Sunday’s Mass was the story of the two disciples meeting Jesus on the road of Emmaus.  The two disciples did not recognize Jesus at first and only realized, later, who he was.  It’s a beautiful story on the theme of despair turning to hope and unbelief turning into belief.  
What lessons can we take from this story of not recognizing Jesus immediately?  How do we make sure that the lives we live, or the situations that we face, don’t cause us to overlook or fail to recognize the presence of God in our lives?
 
The rhythm and routine of learning from home is starting to settle in for many students and families.  Here are a few items that may help as things continue…
 
Students: General information and announcements
 
Students may have noticed that an extra class popped up today in their Google Classroom desktop – “The Hallway” is a classroom that contains general information and announcements that pertain to a variety of things: Skills Room, Learning Commons, Grad 2020, Social Justice Club, etc.  Please check this classroom periodically for information only – there are no assignments or work required for this class!!
 
Students & Parents/Guardians: Getting extra help
 
As a school, we will start to reach out a bit more to those students who don’t appear to be engaging their course work so that we can offer as much support as necessary.  At any time, if you need specific help that is best supported by a teacher, connect to Vanier’s Virtual Skills Room or to a teacher. We do not want this “learning from home” to add undue stress or negatively affect family relationships. Please reach out if you need help!
 
Parent/Guardians: Productive feedback for learning at home
 
Hopefully, your children are able to do a lot of their school work independently from you. However, there will be times when they struggle or want to show you their work. When you notice that a child needs feedback about a task, there are some ways to ensure your responses are helpful.
 
Ideally, we need to help learners know what their strengths are and then provide information to help them adjust their thinking in order to build or improve skills. We want to avoid simple statements like “Looks good,” or “Not bad.” Feedback can promote learning – and benefit your relationship - when it is specific and builds on strengths. Try using these prompts to promote learning:

• I noticed that you …
• Next time, you might try …
• Have you thought about …
• This part is interesting. Can you describe your thinking for me?

 
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.  Simply reply to this email, email a staff member at [email protected], email [email protected] for general inquiries, or call the school at 667-5901 – take your pick!
 
Sincerely,
 
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal