parent+night

Meet the Teacher night was on Thursday September 15. Thank you to all in attendance.

If you have any follow-up questions or need clarification, please do not hesitate to call 474-1492 or email pwhicker@wsd1.org.

If you were unable to attend and would like my handouts, please email me or ask your child to pick them up for you. I have extras. I will attach them here as well.



The overall message I hope parents came away with is that the students **who do well in Math are those who persevere.. who work.. who try.. who are actively trying to learn**. Math isn't genetic. The "we're not good at Math" message is hopefully not the message your child is hearing! Those who do the best aren't the most intelligent.. weren't born with "Math brains". They're the ones who **don't give up until they've learned it.** And then they **practice until they're good at it.**

Success in math is then linked to **how critical it is for students do complete their Math homework**.. and to **__make sure their answers are correct__** by comparing with given answers.. .and to **seek help** every time they don't know how to do a question and get correct answer. (**Students can seek help from a friend, a sibling, a parent, a relative. Also see the main wiki page for Math help offered at Kelvin.)** Students learn Math skills at this level by watching the demonstration and then __**practicing**__ (similar to practicing hockey before a game or piano before a recital). //__The more they practice, the better and more confident they become.. and also the more they will remember.__// **It is the responsibility of students to assess themselves in knowing whether or not they understand.. and if they should be seeking help.** (**They self assess by doing the questions and seeing if the answers are right. If they are unable to do the question or have the incorrect answer and don't know why - that's the sign that they need to ask for help. Doing homework and correcting is how they prepare for tests and exams - they are self-assessing to see if they know how to do the questions.)**

A quiz, test or exam is the teacher looking student work to give them another assessment of how they're doing. Based on those assessments, students can decide if they need to practice more and/or **seek help (**from a friend or relative **or p**lease see the main page for help offered at Kelvin in Math).

When students complete homework, they may initially use their notes to complete the work and/or ask for help. **They should however continue to practice until they can do the questions correctly and confidently __all on their own__**. The homework assigned is a **minimum** suggestion - some __may need further practice after completing the homework.__ **More questions** can be found in the **textboo**k, **online**, or the student can **ask the teacher** for more practice questions.

Parents may need to help their children this year in **getting used to this routine of doing and correcting Math homework**.. or at least for the first little while.. in helping them to __find a place__ to work in the home; in helping them to come up with a __schedule__ for homework that fits with their other responsibilities and activities; and in possibly __monitoring__ the Math homework and making sure it is completed each day. **Homework is posted on the wiki under "homework" (column at left).** There is a page posted for each week.

At the side of this wiki are some **links** for practicing these skills. It is also often easy to find practice on the Internet. As well our Math department site has some **videos**.

First test will be September 22. Students l have a test outline that will list the skills they need for that first test. After that, they'll be likely every 2-3 weeks.. usually on Friday. **__Please always watch for these to come home for a signature__**. They are a good way for you to know yourself how your child is doing.. to keep up to date between report cards. These tests are a very good indication of whether the efforts the student is putting in are enough to be learning the material. Looking over the test with your young person can lead to a __conversation regarding work habits__ preceding the test and possible ideas for improvement.