Dear Dr. Freda Miller Families,

Welcome March! It feels good to have extra light in our days as we move closer to spring equinox on Friday, March 20^th.  Until then, I hope your family has been able to get outside to enjoy the fresh new snow.

Our staff had a wonderful Professional Learning Day working with Andrew Baxter. Andrew has over 20 years of experience working in schools, private practice, developing the Mental Health Literacy initiative and is now working with the University of Alberta’s Department of Psychiatry to help launch a center focused on advancing public mental health literacy, with a broader scope that includes cross-sector work in prevention, promotion, and education. His approach is grounded in research, is practical to what is within our scope in a school, and he brings humour and understanding. Our focus was looking at a collaborative problem-solving model, unpacking and learning more about executive functioning (language processing skills, executive skills, cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and social skills) as well as learning about healthy stress and how to support students through it, and current research on ADHD, and Autism.

If you are interested in learning more about ADHD and executive functioning skills, a great podcast with recent research is:

Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD) Part 1 Encore with Dr. Russell Barkley — alie ward

The focus is on adult ADHD, but the information translates to students as well.

And our day ended in time to complete our clay pieces as we learn more about our school kiln and how we can use it moving forward with our students.

Conferences

Our next set of parent/teacher/student conferences are on Friday, March 20^th from 8 am to 4 pm for kindergarten to Grade 5. We will have a blend of online and in-person conferences that day. The conference booking system will open for bookings on Monday, March 9^th at 9 am. I will remind you in next week’s message.  

Kindergarten will have conferences on both Thursday, March 19^th and Friday, March 20^th to accommodate both the AM and PM classes.

Please note there is no school for Kindergarten students on March 19^th and 20^th and no school for all students on Friday, March 20^th.

Casino – Volunteers needed April 1 & 2

We are so grateful to our Dr. Freda Miller Enrichment Society for organizing the casino for our school. It raises up to 80 000$ that directly goes back to our students and school. It is only possible with the generosity of time by volunteering for a shift. You do not need any experience or police clearance. You can also recruit a grandparent or friend to help out. All are welcome!

 If you can, please sign-up at this link:

volunteersignup.org/WP9FF. 

Earth Rangers Assembly – Monday 9:15 am

We were gifted a free Earth Rangers show! This year’s show is styled like a fast-paced game show where students team up to answer questions, make eco-decisions, and tackle environmental challenges. With audience participation, storytelling, and loads of surprises, kids have a blast – while learning key science concepts

Here’s what to expect from the 45-60 minute Assembly, which will take place in your gym:

• An immersive HD multimedia experience
• Interactive components, including a fun trivia game to get students engaged
• Designed for Grades 1-6 (Grades K-8 are welcome!)
• STEM-aligned content: Built to support science and environment curriculum

Upcoming Dates

Have a most wonderful week,

Elan, Julie and the amazing staff at Dr. Freda Miller School