Dear DG Families,
Thank you to all of our parents who came to the Science Fair at our school. Thank you as well to all of our intermediate students and teachers for your hard work.
Jump Rope for Heart
Jump Rope for Heart is an educational opportunity for students and a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Students will learn about heart healthy choices at our kick off assembly on Fri. Feb. 21st. Students will also be bringing home donation envelopes on that day if they wish to fundraise. Envelopes are due back to school on Fri. Mar. 6th. In physical education with Ms. Leveque classes have been learning various skipping tricks and sequences to prepare for the Jump Rope for Heart event day on Friday March 6th. The event will be all day in the gym with multiple classes present, rotating through stations and sharing their skipping skills with peers.
This year is the 29th consecutive year that Devon Gardens has participated in Jump Rope for Heart. We have raised nearly $97,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation in that time! Way to go DG!
Parent Teacher Interviews
We have set aside Wednesday, March 4th for parent/teacher interviews (students are dismissed at noon). Interviews can be requested either by parents or by the teacher. If you have not heard from your child’s teacher requesting an interview but you would like to meet, please email your child’s teacher to arrange this.
March Focus – Growth Mindset / Mentalité de Croissance
In March, our school wide focus will be on “Growth Mindset”. If you have a growth mindset, you believe that with work, practice, and perseverance, you can learn and improve. A “Fixed Mindset”, on the other hand, is the belief that our intelligence, abilities and talents are predisposed, and either you’ve “got it” or you don’t.
A fixed mindset assumes that basic qualities, like intelligence or talents, are simply “fixed traits” and that talent alone creates success. A growth mindset is the idea that most basic abilities can be developed and improved upon through practice —brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.
Based on the work of Stanford’s Carol Dweck, we know that helping our kids (and ourselves) develop a growth mindset goes a long when it comes to feelings of happiness and success. It’s important to note, however, that having a “growth mindset” is not simply the “power of positive thinking”, nor are Growth and Fixed mindsets “opposites” of one another. We actually need to be able to operate in both/either of these mindsets, depending on the situation (and sometimes just “thinking positively” is not a very useful or productive strategy). For example, having a fixed mindset about your ability to fly when jumping (unaided) off a cliff is a good thing! No amount of belief in your ability to fly; no amount of “hard word and practice” (e.g. jumping off the stairs, a table, etc.) will prepare you to fly. Knowing that you cannot fly and that no amount of work will change your ability to fly, is a normal, appropriate (life-saving) fixed mindset. Growth mindset is not about fooling yourself into believing things will just magically work out. Growth mindset has more to do with our attitudes about failures and setbacks, and the ability to persevere when things are challenging.
Through her work, Dr. Dweck noticed that some people rebounded from failure while other seemed devastated by even the smallest setbacks. After studying the behavior of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can get better at something, they understand that effort (not just wishing!) makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement.
If you would like to follow along with us as we focus on Growth Mindset this month, here are some things to try at home:
- Verbally praise kids for skills that don’t sound predetermined such as hard work, persistence, rising to a challenge, learning from a mistake, etc., (rather than being “smart”, “brilliant” or “gifted”)
- Be a growth mindset role model. We’ve all heard ourselves saying things like Be “I can’t (cook/sing/draw)” or “I’m terrible at (sports/spelling/public speaking)” as if there’s no hope for improvement. As the adults in their lives, it’s important we’re sending the right messages when it comes to improving our skills (even a little!) or learning something new. Talking about your own struggles and improvements are a great conversation starter. For example, “I was having a really hard time with …. so I practised and ….” It doesn’t mean you’re going to become an expert. We’re just looking for opportunities to recognize the growth!
- Encourage your child embrace challenges or do the hard thing and avoid rushing in to rescue. It can be hard to watch our kids struggle with or feel upset about something. But, when we rush in to “fix” things for them, the message is we don’t think they can do it. Reading the same book over and over doesn’t help to “grow the brain” like a new, more challenging one. Even if some of the words are too difficult right now. Coaching your child about the next difficult step, rather than doing it for them, reinforces for them your belief that are capable of doing the hard thing – whether it’s in their academic studies or taking responsibility for a behaviour misstep.
- Growth mindset isn’t about “school”, it’s about life. Look for opportunities to have growth mindset conversations in a variety of areas. Having trouble getting the basketball into the net? Keep making mistakes on a guitar chord? Tried to initiate play with someone but it didn’t go well? Feeling frustrated training your new puppy? Discuss the next step for improvement.
- Discourage envy of peers or making excuses about/for another person’s successes or challenges. While there are definitely skills that come more easily to some than to others, try and avoid comments that put it all down to “luck” or “talent” (eg. “Well of course he …. he’s naturally good at …..” or “She’s not very good at …. so that’s why ….”). For even the most talented individuals there’s a (possibly unseen) element of practice, persistence, and hard work which leads to achievement. Talk to your child about what he or she can learn from others who appear more successful.
Here are two fun Sesame Street videos on the topic of Growth Mindset and perseverance!
CSL Report Cards
Please make sure you can access Parent Connect in preparation for Term 2 report cards. As you may recall from the information shared in Term 1, report cards are now online, rather than sent home in paper copy. Report Cards are viewable on Parent Connect! https://cimsweb.deltasd.bc.ca/schoolconnect/parentsignone.aspx
We understand there are sometimes extenuating circumstances. As such, any parents who require a printed copy of their child’s report card are asked to please send a note or email to the teacher by Friday, March 6th. Second term report cards will be available on Parent Connect on Wednesday, March 11th.
Flying Bob Performance
We will be having Flying Bob come to our school to perform for our students on Tuesday, March 3rd at 9:30 a.m. Parents are welcome to join us. Please come in through the office as we will be seating in a different arrangement. Thank you to the PAC for their financial support for this performance.
BC Green Games Submission
The BC Green Games is a celebration of positive environmental action taken by K-12 students in schools throughout British Columbia. Students create environmental projects, document them in photos or video, and share their stories online. You can even vote for the projects you like! This year, our school has 2 submission to the BC Green Games. Please read about Ms. Chan’s class and their battery recycling initiative here
https://www.bcgreengames.ca/project/battery-recycling-project3445
As well, here is the ECO Team’s project submission.
https://www.bcgreengames.ca/project/battery-recycling3473
We hope you will take a moment to read about the great work our students are doing and to show your support by casting your votes (hint, you can even vote for both projects!) Thank you to all of our students for doing their part to help our Earth. As well, thank you to Ms. Chan, Mme Santos, and M Lawler for being the teacher sponsors.
In March, our ECO Teams are continuing their great work – focusing on the importance of water conservation.
Sungod Skating Club Under the Sea Ice Show
Thank you to all who entered the draw for 4 tickets to Sungod Skating Club’s Under the Sea Ice Show. The winner of the random draw is C. Dixon. Congratulations!
Talent Showcase
DG’s got talent! As such, we are pleased to be having a talent show for our grades 4-7 students to audition and share their talent with the school. An information session for students interested in the talent showcase will held Monday at lunch.
Community Events
Community schools will be offering spring break camps. Please see the attached for information.
Save the Date
We have added several dates to our calendars.
Class and School Panorama Picture date April 7th in the morning
Spring Band concert date Friday, May 22nd at 2:00 p.m.
There will be PAC meeting at our school library on Monday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. All parents are welcome to join our PAC meeting.
Monday, March 2 – lunchtime meeting for gr 4-7 students interested in the talent showcase
Tuesday, March 3 – Performance Assembly 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, March 3 – Homework club Grades 4-7 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the library
Tuesday, March 3 – Grade 7 boys’ basketball DG at Gray
Tuesday, March 3 – Grade 6 boys’ basketball Gibson at DG
Wednesday, March 4 – Parent/Teacher Conferences (Early dismissal at noon)
Thursday, March 5 – Div 3 and 12 Field Trip
Thursday, March 5 – Division 5 field trip
Thursday, March 5 – Science Fair at Scottsdale Mall 4:00p.m.
Thursday, March 5 – Community Schools LEGO program 3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, March 6 – Jump Rope for Heart
Friday, March 6 – Popcorn sales at recess
Friday, March 6 – Go Girls Presentation for Grade 6/7 Girls
Monday, March 9 – Friday, March 13 – la Semaine de la Francophonie
Tuesday, March 10 – Hoop Shoot at Seaqueam
Tuesday, March 10- Delta Gymnastics K-3/4
Tuesday, March 10 – Homework club Grades 4-7 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the library
Wednesday, March 11 – All French Immersion classes to Greg LeRock Concert
Wednesday, March 11 – Second Term report cards available online
Thursday, March 12 – Science High Touch High Tech In class Sessions
Friday, March 13 – Green Day for St. Patrick’s Day
Friday, March 13 – Hot lunch day – Fresh Slice Pizza