Friday 24 May 2013

Various Classes for Student Placement at M.B.C.I.


Regular Classrooms: Regular Credits, most are offered in one semester,4.5 months

 Semester 1: September until end of January Semester 2 February until end of June
  • time moves quickly to include as much material and course work as possible
  • less reminders and guidance regarding all parts of learning is based upon independent student skills
  • lessons are longer and include more information per lesson with some examples and then students work on their own, with the option of course to ask for clarification or support
  • assignments are presented with each part identified and then students work independently to complete the assignment as a whole and hand it in at a designated date.
  • homework is posted on the whiteboard or in blogs.Students are told about the homework then they are expected to record and complete their homework.
  •  material is both concrete and implied with less emphasis on drawing the links between the two types of information, students are encouraged to discover these links and express them in discussions and writing activities.
Tutorial Classrooms: Regular credits that exclude extra information and activities as approved by the Department of Education.
  • the same core information as the regular credit is provided and the same learning goals are worked upon in a tutorial classroom.
  • to ensure there is more time for students to learn material and do course work.
  • more reminders and more guidance to support each part of student learning.
  • teacher takes a mini lesson approach, does a high number of examples with students before students do the work on their own.
  • teacher breaks down each part of assignments and demonstrates to students how to complete each section until the whole assignmet is complete.Students pass in each part of of the assignment they complete until the whole assignment is done by a given date.
  • frequent reminders about homework and due dates as well as reminders to hand in completed work.
  • many links are made between concrete information and information that is implied.

Independent Study Option:ISO Regular credits delivered through modules/packages that  can be purchased from the Department of Education through Student Services here at M.B.C.I. The Guidance Counsellors Heather Marlow and Merrilee Hamilton are the ladies to contact about ISO's.
  • Students need to be very motivated and able to work independently to meet the deadlines for course work and exams. 
  • A minimum of two hours a day is required to work through the material and meet the course completion deadlines.
  • ISO's cost about $135.00 per course, the counsellors can speak to this more accurately than I.
Alternative Academic Program Classroom:(AAP) regular credits as described above with no teaching in front of the students, its a modular based way to complete credit work.
  • Core credits from grade 9-12 such as Math. English Language Arts, Science and Social Studies are taught in AAP.Advanced credits such as biology and precalclius are taught in regular classes.
  • Less students,18 at most, per period so very limited access to this class.
  • An educational assistant to support student learning.
  •  Each student works independently on packages or modules. 
  • The teacher provides 1 to 1 instruction as the student needs it.
  • Attendance is tracked carefully as students are still expected to attend on a fairly regular basis so that they can actually learn concepts. 
  •  If attendance drops too far then students are designated as skill building and are shifted to a study hall time slot until such time as their attendance improves with enough consistency to be reconsidered for AAP.
Modified Credits: identified students must meet very specific criteria to do Modified or M credits. There are very few students who do modified credits. Modified credits can be obtained in all the classrooms described above, as well as lifeskills below, it depends upon the student, family and realistic doability of the credit.
  • the same topics, where possible, as the Department of Education approved curriculum for each credit for example Grade 9 science has the topic electricity so a student attending grade 9 science and doing a modified credit still explores electricity with his/her peers.
  • less than 50% of Department of Education approved curriculum content and learning goals.
  • teacher selects the most concrete material and most doable activities for the student to do.
  • students are expected to complete the selected work and where possible master the content just like their peers.
  • IEP meetings happen 2 times a year where the teachers, families and resource work together to support these students.
  • Entrance to post secondary education programs is severally restricted by the modified credit high school diploma or completion certificate.
 Lifeskills Classroom:  Mrs. Angelika Bate,our other resource teacher, and her team of Education Assistants.

Individualized Programs involve:
  • more 1 to 1 instruction all core subjects math,English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies. 
  • work place experiences and training in local businesses around The Pas.
  • life skill training such as shopping, cooking, laundry etc.
  • community based activities such as skating, visiting the library etc.
  • involvement in classes with peers where ever possible. 
  • modified credits and completion certificates (see above)
  • Individualized Education Programs and family support agencies from our community.
  • Depending upon the need of the student there have been regular credit strudents associated with lifeskills who just needed a daily "home base and emotional support" .
Study Hall: Room 204
  • 1 to 1 help provided by an educational assistant
  • only 10 spaces per period; so extremely limited access
  • attendance is taken and monitored very closely so that those who really need it and use it have first chance to access it as a support. 
  • students must bring school work, it is not a free period or a spare
  • students sometimes write tests and quizes there.
  • the main office tracks students who do not have study hall in their time table and page visiting students into the room where the educational assistant records the reason for their visit.

Thursday 23 May 2013

M.B.C.I. Academic Student Support Services for Grade 8 S.B.M.S. Students Transitioning to M.B.C.I.


Parents of identified grade 8 students currently attending S.B.M.S. are invited to attend a Transition Meeting usually during the Month of May or first the part of June.

 S.B.M.S. Resource contacts parents of identified grade 8 students to arrange a meeting with M.B.C.I. Resource to take place at S.B.M.S. .

Transition Meeting Agenda can look like the following:

*an opportunity to meet M.B.C.I. Resource

*an opportunity for M.B.C.I. to meet the family and the student

*an opportunity for the family and the student to tell M.B.C.I. Resource about themselves and identify what they hope will be the best way to achieve success at the high school.

*the family and the student will learn about supports offered at the high school to assist the student with:


  • daily class work
  • quizes
  • tests
  • exams

*ask questions about what to expect at the high school regarding a wide variety of topics:

  •    types of credits
  •    how credits are taught at high school
  •    academic expectations to obtain credits
  •    academic supports
  •    current plans to achieve future goals for after high school
  •    volunteer and work opportunities

          
The Transition Meeting is a neat way for us all to learn about each other and look forward to the future for grade 8 students starting grade 9.

S.B.M.S. Resource

Wednesday 22 May 2013

English Language Arts Final Exams




Grade 9, 10, 11 English  are process exams. June 17-20, 2013.

Students need to be present for their English classes this week so that they receive every opportunity to prepare for the final write up.

Monday June 17, 2013: Theme of Exam is presented and group discussions occur.

Tuesday June 18, 2013: Readings of a variety of text about the Theme takes place.

Wednesday June 19, 2013: Taking notes from the text and organizing ideas to use in a final write up. Choose method of writing such as an essay, short story, letter, journal etc. 

Thursday June 20, 2013: Final write up day.

Friday 17 May 2013

Grade 12 Standard Exams Schedule for June 2013

Grade 12 Standard Exams Schedule for June 2013


Grade 12 English Language Arts Standards Exams: June 3-6, 2013


Grade 12 Math Standards Exams June 12-13, 2013


Pre-Calculus 40                       June 11, 2013
 

Essentials Math 40                   June 12, 2013 


Applied Math 40                        June 13, 2013




Grade 12 Standard Exam Department of Education Student Supports


 Grade 12 Standard Exams Department of Education Approved Exam Supports

The resource teacher and the principal request adaptations(3.3.1 Proceedures for requesting adaptations document pg.5, using the arrow button its pg. 11 ) Department of Education at the beginning of every fall and winter semester to obtain approval for identified students to receive exam supports.  
 
The Resource teacher organizes Educational Assistant (E.A.) support for students who write their final exams.   

Department of Education Approved Supports (supports.3.2 Adaptations pg7-8 of document, using the arrow button its pg.13-14) listed below:

*Alternate place to write exam, less distractions     
 
* Supervised movement breaks to refocus

*Reading the exam questions                                    
 
 *Use of computer to type answers
 
*Check the exam question and student’s understanding of what that question is asking them to do (this does not involve telling students the answer to the question)

*Restating the word with another word that means the same thing but is more familiar to the student

*Scribe: E.A. writes exactly what the student says with no changes to the answer given by the student

*Cue: remind student of an activity they did in class to jump start their memory 

Please know that support during the exam follows strict rules to preserve the validity of the exam and simply evens the playing field for your son/daughter to realistically show what they learned in the above courses.   

Lisa Holbert: Resource 

Department of Education Approved Final Exam Supports for Students


 

Department of Education approved Final Exam Supports

FR: Lisa Holbert, M.B.C.I. Resource

The Resource teacher organizes Educational Assistant (E.A.) support for identified students to better succeed when they write their final exams.  

Department of Education Approved Supports listed below

*Alternate place to write exam, less distractions   
 
* Supervised movement break to refocus

*Reading the exam questions                                    
 
 *Use of computer to type answers

 *Check the exam question and student’s understanding of what that question is asking them to do (this does not involve telling students the answer to the question)

 *Restating the word with another word that means the same thing but is more familiar to the student

 *Scribe: E.A. writes exactly what the student says with no changes to the answer given by the student

 *Cue: remind student of an activity they did in class to jump start their memory 

Please know that support during the exam follows strict rules to preserve the validity of the exam and simply evens the playing field for your son/daughter to realistically show what they learned in the above courses.