Welcome to the beginning of the second semester. With the new semester comes new opportunities for student success and increased achievement. In our commitment to continuous improvement we have been accessing and collecting data from a variety of sources. Parent survey results pertaining to school improvement have been collected and collated. The results of this questionnaire indicated that concerns pertaining to communication between the home and school was an issue for many parents. In order to address this concern we have set up a list server that you can subscribe to in order to have newsletters and extra-curricular information forwarded to you automatically as it is available. Instructions on how to access these list servers is contained in the body of this newsletter, courtesy of Mr. Wilf Gray, our new Vice-Principal. Other strategies being employed at the school level to increase communication consist of regular updates of our school web-site as well as the distribution of our newsletter to other community offices and agencies. Increasing newsletter distribution to the broader Adam Scott community raises awareness of the positive things that go on at Adam Scott.
 

One of the many positive things that go on at Adam Scott is the stellar work of our Fine Arts teachers.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Adam Scott Art Department. The display of student works in the main hallway, as well as at the board office, received many appreciative comments by members of the larger school and educational community. Such dedication to serving the creative needs of students and assisting them in developing their artistic talents to such a high degree is greatly appreciated.

The Science Fair is also an area where Adam Scott staff and students shine. A number of our Science students are preparing for presenting their investigations at the Science Fair in hopes of receiving recognition for their work at the national level. There has been a long history of Adam Scott student success both locally and nationally and we all wish these students success in their endeavors.

In a Grade 7 to O.A.C. school, such as Adam Scott, many benefits exist in having Intermediate and Secondary students co-exist. This year one of our Intermediate students Lauren Van Leeuwen served as a page at the provincial level. She learned about the workings of our democratic system and has been eager to pass on her knowledge to her peers. She is aware of the Civics classes that are available at the Secondary level and is looking forward to continuing to add to her current knowledge base as she moves through high school. Our Grade 7, 8, and 9 teachers are also adding to their knowledge base by working collegially in teams to develop literacy based plans for increased student success. Having all three grades in the same building facilitates this process and has resulted in above average success for our students in the areas of both math and literacy. Our test results can be accessed through the Adam Scott web-site.

In closing we would like to honor our support staff for all of the hard work that they do throughout our school. Today, we want to focus especially on our Cafeteria staff. We are blessed with the finest cafeteria staff in the board and wish to take this opportunity to thank Elsie, Lisa and Lynn for all of their efforts with both staff and students.

Adam Scott CVI now has three free "email mailing lists" that parents and students may wish to subscribe to. This is due to the generosity of a company called L-Soft that offers this service free to schools. http://netpals.lsoft.com
 

In essence, one email sent to the list will go to everyone on the list automatically. Please note that only school administrators can do this. This is known as an "announcement" type of email list.
 

The first email list called ASCVI-NEWSLETTER-L is for grades 9 to 12, bulletins, current events, the school newsletter and anything else that is of general interest to the school.
 

The second email list called ASCVIIS-NEWS-L is for the Intermediate grades 7 and 8, bulletins, current events, the school newsletter and anything else that is of general interest to the school.
 

The third email list is called ASCVI-NEWSEXTR-L is for the entire school to send out announcements about the extracurricular events that are happening at the school (sports schedules, music productions, fund raisers)
 

Please type the instructions as shown (ie. in Capital letters)

In order to subscribe or unsubscribe to any email list simply send an email to:

LISTSERV@NETPALS.LSOFT.COM
 

The body of this email must contain the required command. For example to subscribe to the "newsletter" Email List the command would be:

SUBSCRIBE ASCVI-NEWSLETTER-L Firstname Lastname
 

You should remove any other text from the email.
 

In order to subscribe to the "Intermediate Newsletter" list:

SUBSCRIBE ASCVIIS-NEWS-L Firstname Lastname
 

In order to subscribe to the Extracurricular news list:

SUBSCRIBE ASCVI-NEWSEXTR-L Firstname Lastname
 

To be removed from either list simply replace the word "subscribe" with the

word "SIGNOFF" in the command.
 

SIGNOFF ASCVI-NEWSLETTER-L
 

Here is an example using a sample name:

SUBSCRIBE ASCVI-NEWSLETTER-L John Doe
 

For security purposes you will receive an email reply asking you to confirm your request.
 
 

Approximately 5 percent of the surveys included with the last newsletter were returned. We have collated the results and in analyzing them have determined the following areas of strength for the school and areas of parental concern. In general, we are extremely pleased at the positive feedback we have received from our parent community and we would like to thank all of you who took the time to respond.
 

Areas of Strength:
 

98% of respondents feel that academic achievement is given priority at the school.

95% of respondents feel that the students are sufficiently challenged by the school to foster maximum development and learning.

93% of respondents feel welcome when they come to the school.

93% of respondents are satisfied with the school communication process re: coming events, student/classroom news, reminders, etc.

91% of respondents report that their son/daughter enjoys going to Adam Scott.

91% of respondents feel comfortable approaching the school if there is a problem they want to discuss.
 

Areas of Weakness:
 

28% of respondents feel dissatisfied with the suggestions provided about how parents can support their child's program at home.

26% of respondents feel unhappy about the arrangements made for eating lunch at the school.

26% of respondents feel unhappy about the school's interview/reporting process.

23% of respondents do not feel happy about their voice in school level decisions which affect their son/daughter.

21% of respondents do not feel adequately informed about their child's learning progress.

21% of respondents do not feel that they are adequately informed about assessment procedures.
 

The areas of concern outlined here emphasize the need for continual plans for school improvement. Even though the overall results of the survey indicate a high level of satisfaction in many areas of the school there is still room for continued growth in some areas. In order to address these concerns the following plans have been developed:
 

• Information for Parents: A section of each newsletter will be dedicated to suggestions for parents as well as a list of resources available to assist parents in helping their children be as successful as possible. Many of the suggestions will be related to organization and time management skills as these are the areas of greatest concern overall. For issues specific to the classroom please send a note in to your child's teacher so you can be certain of a quick response. The teachers at Adam Scott take pride in the level of communication that exists between home and school.

 

information sent directly to their email account so they can be assured of receiving the information as it is

produced at the school level. Detailed instructions regarding how one registers will be available at our web-site and are also included in this newsletter. Please take advantage of this advanced method of staying informed about what is going on at A.S.C.V.I/I.S. Parents are also reminded that many of our staff are posting homework and assignment information on the web-site for students and parents to access at home. Although all staff are not yet using this resource, professional development is ongoing in this area.
 

• Eating Lunch at School: We have a cafeteria that makes a variety of foods available to students throughout the

• Informing Parents of Student Progress and Interviews: At Adam Scott the teachers regularly communicate amongst themselves about the progress of their students. Guidance teachers are available throughout the day in the main office to talk to teachers, students and parents about student issues. All members of the school community are able, at any time, to make an appointment with one of these teachers to review progress between the different reporting periods. Secondary teachers report on all students' progress three times in each Semester. This level of communication results in 6 formal academic reports being sent home each year. If, as a parent, you are not seeing such information then please contact the Guidance office to discuss the progress of your child(ren). Formal interviews are offered to parents each Semester. These interview times occur in one evening to facilitate communication with families. This semester these interviews will occur on March 20, 2003. If more interview time is needed then parents can make individual appointments to meet with teachers on another occasion. If you have any concerns about your child's progress then please do not wait until the interview night. Contact the Guidance department to access assistance in addressing whatever issues you may have.

 
• How To Have a Voice in School Level Decisions That Effect Your Child(ren): School Council meetings occur on the third Tuesday of every month. These meetings provide a forum for parents to discuss the many issues that effect both the Elementary and Secondary students in the school. All parents are encouraged to attend these meetings. Our co-chairs, Monty Smith and Randy Romano can also be contacted directly about any concerns or positive feedback that you wish to share. Parents are also encouraged to contact the school at any time to talk about any concerns they may have. Our Vice-Principals (Mr. Wilf Gray and Ms. Penny Hope) as well as our Principal (Mr. David Myrvold) will be happy to discuss any school-based issues at 743-7373.

 
• Being Informed: Please take a few moments to access our web-site and review the instructions for how to subscribe to the automatic information delivery systems that we have available. Those instructions are included in this newsletter. Also, please attend the monthly School Council meetings that occur on the third Tuesday evening of every month and have an opportunity to become involved.

 
• Assessment and Evaluation Procedures: Each department has an outline pertaining to assessment and evaluation. These policies stand for each course in the department. For example; the Math department policy is followed by the Math teachers and so on. All students are given an outline of this policy as well as the class outline at the beginning of each course so there is a clear understanding of what is expected of them at the very beginning of the course. You may also contact your child's teachers at any time and request a copy of the policy for your own reference.

February 14 - Semester I Final Report Distribution

- Grad Photo Retake Day

March 6 - Semester II Progress Report

March 7 - Non-Instructional Day

March 10 - 14 - March Break

March 20 - Parent/Teacher Interviews

April 14 - Last Day Semester II - Day 1

April 15 - First Day Semester II - Day 2

April 18 - Good Friday

April 21 - Easter Monday

April 25 - Second Report (University & College marks) - Semester II