DECEMBER 2007 VOL 5 No 2 |
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 Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 9:6 bookend the meaning of Christmas. Darkness is replaced with light, light that will shine on every aspect of creation. As we toil daily in Christian education, it is this Christmas light that we bring to our students through our curriculum and in our relationships. As you begin a well-deserved Christmas break, may you enjoy the peace and blessing of the Christmas season and the time away from school. |
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1. |
Mathmatics |
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| I have had some phone calls from schools conducting or preparing to conduct a math curriculum review. Three schools have gone through the process in the last two years and are willing to share their work: Laurentian Hills Christian School (Minnie Herfst), John Knox Christian School in Woodstock (Bernice Huinink-Buiter) and Trenton Christian School (Laurie Tuckey). Two OACS Mathematics Review documents are also available, one from May 1999 (7-10) and one from March 2005 (K to 8) (let us know if you need a copy). As well, the November 2007 issue of Educational Leadership has math as its focus. Two articles, “Mathematics and Cognition” and “Nine Ways to Catch Kids Up,” are worth reading and distributing. | ||
2. |
Teachers of Music - World Music and Rhythm Talk |
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 You may wish to investigate this resource. World Music and Rhythm Talk is a 36-week ECE classroom program for teaching the music and rhythms of the world to children ages 4 to 8 years. It has been approved and recommended by the Nova Scotia Dept of Education. World Music and Rhythm Talk includes lessons plans and accompanying CDs, and is geared for any early childhood educator, regardless of musical background. Link to the website for an overview of the curriculum guide, sample lesson plans, music samples from the CDs, and video clips of children actively involved in the curriculum: http://www.doremeandmaria.com. |
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3. |
WWF Canada Curriculum Linked Education Program |
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| World Wildlife Fund Canada has recently launched Schools for a Living Planet, a free education program for Grades Three to Eight Canadian teachers. Schools for a Living Planet offers printable in-class activities for each grade, focusing on unique environmental themes (organized by grade) and a curriculum connected to English, Social Studies and Science. Teachers enrol in the program through the Schools for a Living Planet website for access to printable in-class activities. Learn more here: http://www.schoolsforalivingplanet.com/learn_more.php. | ||
4. |
Kids In the Know Pamphlets |
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| This resource on Internet safety is made available to all schools at no cost by the OACS. A number of the pamphlets were distributed at the November 15 Leadership day and order forms have been sent out to all the schools for this free material. Those schools who have already requested the pamphlets will have their orders filled before Christmas. If your school has not yet taken advantage of this material, please complete the order form provided here. | ||
5. |
OACS Curriculum Coordinators Conference |
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| Thursday, January 24, 2008 in Brampton We have an interesting and diverse program for you. We’re planning the following presentations: |
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| Click here for a registration form | ||
6. |
Upcoming OACS Curriculum Conferences |
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| OACS Intermediate Curriculum Conferences (Grades 7 & 8) | ||
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| A conference for IT Coordinators is scheduled for March 27, 2008, for Primary teachers in April, and for Kindergarten teachers in May (dates for K teachers will follow in the new year). Plan for representatives from your school to attend and keep an eye on your electronic mail for further details. Stay tuned!If you have specific suggestions (especially for the Primary days) or topics you would like to see discussed or presented for any of the remaining conferences, please contact me at hugom@oacs.org! | ||
| OACS Primary Curriculum Conferences | ||
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7. |
Junior Social Studies Project Update |
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 The unit, One Body, Many Parts: Ancient Greek Trading Communities (Grade Six), is now undergoing final proofreading and will be available in early January. Our thanks go out to Lindsay Andeweg and Wilma Vanderkloet who piloted this unit and provided valuable input. All God’s Children: Our Global Neigbours, the template curriculum resource for Grades Four and Five, is well underway, and will also be available early in the new year. The work continues … We look forward to wrapping up this part of the Junior Creation Studies curriculum project. God has blessed us in this endeavour, and we pray that he blesses you and your students as you make use of these resources in your classrooms. |
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8. |
PowerPoint Presentation (Internet Safety by Det. Ray Ward) |
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| Det. Ward’s presentation on Internet Safety is available for download. It is offered as a pdf file. You can download it by clicking on Internet Safety Presentation. | ||
9. |
Leadership Development – ELDI (Educators Leadership Development Institute) |
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| Last January we began looking into the possibility of working with CSI to host an Educators' Leadership Development Institute (ELDI) in Ontario. Plans for an Ontario ELDI are still on track. The dates are still August 11 to August 15. The new ELDI site has not yet been updated by Calvin. Once it is, you can download application forms and related information. The purpose of ELDI to identify future leaders (an issue close to all of us), so if there is someone on your staff who you think has the potential for leadership, this week-long institute is for them. We will provide you with a link to the 2008 information and application form as soon as it becomes available. | ||
10. |
Scheduling of Curriculum Conferences 2008-2009 |
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Is there anything you would like to communicate before OACS finalizes its curriculum conference dates for the 2008-2009 year? You may have concerns about:
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11. |
High School News |
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| High School English teachers met at the end of November for a wide-ranging discussion on issues in the teaching of English in Christian high schools. Topics discussed ranged from the teaching of grammar and writing to selection policies for curriculum materials. It was agreed that opportunities for conversations such as this one were helpful to teachers, and that curriculum projects could come out of these discussion. Summer work on the writing of specific units will be planned. A similar meeting for Bible teachers will be planned for the spring. Please watch for details. One of the items raised at (and after) the English teachers meeting related to the importance of defining themes and essential questions when designing programs. It is important for teachers of English, for example, to clearly define what the overall goals are for the English program in a Christian school, and then how the component and the structure of the program serves those goals. The planning of summer writing projects will be done in that context. Teachers of English are encouraged to join these writing projects. Please contact Gary VanArragon for further information. |
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In His service, Gary VanArragon, Hugo Marcus, |
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