Prince Charles Elementary School February News 2018

Prince Charles Elementary
School February News 2018

Principal's Message

It is hard to believe that February is upon us! We have had a busy and productive month at Prince
Charles Elementary with Intermediate Basketball, Spreading Kindness like Confetti, STEM Olympics,
SNOW Fun, Coding and Reading Challenge meetings.

This is the time of year when we begin to look ahead in planning for next year. Kindergarten registration
began January 23rd, but we continue to take registrations for the 2018-2019 school year. Parents of
children who will be 5 years old before December 31st, 2018 are invited to register for the coming
school year.

Term Two Report Cards will go home on Friday, March 16th, 2018 for all of our students. Many of our
students are making great progress this year. Parents are encouraged to discuss these reports with their
child/ren and help them reflect on successes from the second part of the school year while setting
achievable goals for the new term ahead. Ongoing and regular communication continues to keep our
families updated on programming and initiatives. School newsletters are published monthly; messages
are tweeted out (@PCAbbotsford) and the PAC Facebook page is also used for important dates and
events. Agenda planners, phone calls, emails or interviews are effective ways to have regular contact
with your child’s teacher. Research continues to prove that student success is enhanced when the
school and home plan collaboratively. Together, we are better!

Pink Shirt Day is February 28, 2018

It is from humble beginnings and the support of one bullied teenager in Nova Scotia that has led to a day
that has helped thousands of youth in Canada. Pink Shirt Day has its roots in Nova Scotia, started by two
incredible high school students. Here is a snippet of the Globe & Mail article that inspired Pink Shirt Day:
“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high school protest to wear pink in
sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand
against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing
pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school. ‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with
it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up
for a weaker kid.’ So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink
tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the
shirts to school in a plastic bag. As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked
in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled.
The bullies were never heard from again.”

Prince Charles Elementary School encourages all students to wear a pink shirt on Wednesday, February
28th to show their support for this initiative and to take a stand against bullying. We believe that all
students have the right to feel safe and welcomed in our school. Classroom teachers will be following
up with discussions in the classroom about what bullying is and how we can be upstanders in our school
community.

Mighty Mathematician Mindsets

Growth Mindset in Math

In general, a growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and ‘smartness’ can be learned and that the
brain grows from experience and effort. The opposite, a fixed mindset, is the idea that you are smart, or
you are not. In math, that translates into “some people are good at math, and some are not.”

Did you know that praising efforts rather than intelligence or results can impact your child’s ability to
persevere in challenges? The goal is to have children thrive on challenges and see failures, not as a sign
of low intelligence, but as a learning opportunity. Brain research tells us that making mistakes actually
wires more connections into the brain.

When a person has a growth mindset, they accept challenges, see their efforts as worthwhile, and are
open to learning from mistakes. Students with a growth mindset achieve at higher levels than those with
fixed mindsets.

How can you help? Some simple ways:

· Ask questions that focus on your child's effort and choices and get them to reflect on satisfaction of
that effort (e.g. What did you learn today? What mistake did you make that taught you something?
What did you try hard at today?)

· Adding “yet” when they claim they are “not good at this” (Respond: “You are not good at this yet.”)
Model this growth mindset yourself, as you work on Mathematics with your child(ren).

Thank you Parents!

Thank you to our Prince Charles parents who make our school a truly wonderful place to be. From our
PAC and the popcorn and hot lunch days, to parents volunteering their time in classes or on trips, to our
lunchroom supervisors out every day on the yard, to our infamous Highlighters out in the parking lot
daily, to the parents who come to help with a STEM afternoon with less than a day's notice, and many
more....THANK YOU! It takes a village to raise a child, and your partnership in our school makes the
experience that much better and more meaningful for OUR children. So thank you.