Principal's Message
|
Welcome Back!
I want to welcome everyone back for the 2019-2020 school year at Hidden Valley Elementary School (HVES). I hope that everyone had a beautiful and exploratory summer. This year we are opening our doors to 152 students. This number may not seem high; however, two and a half years ago, we had 78 students. However, we are still committed to the individualized needs of each of our wonderfully unique students. We have developed a new School-Growth Plan, which focuses on bridging the outdoors to our classrooms. Therefore, we will be learning outdoors throughout all seasons of the year. This shift includes teaching subjects such as math, science, language arts, art, Southern Tutchone, and others while students are connecting to the natural world around the school and Yukon. Assessment is still also at the forefront at HVES. Our assessment for learning practices start on the first day of school with our co-constructed classroom expectations. These practices continue right into the last days of the school year when students are finalizing their self-assessments included with the report cards. We will also be incorporating the students' voices within FreshGrade, more this year than ever before. As mentioned last year, please ask your children about the learning that they are engaged in every day. A simple way to engage with and support their learning is to ask three simple questions. (1) What are you learning, and why is it important? (2) How is it going? Lastly, (3) what is your next step? Another way that you can to engage in your child's learning is by logging into FreshGrade to view and comment on their progress through this online interactive portfolio. This year we will, also, be canvassing for volunteers to start helping with school programming and planning. If you are interested, please let us know. We will be looking for volunteers to assist with academics as well as school culture activities. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at any time at the school. Sincerely, John Duclos |