​Dear École Moody Middle School of the Arts Parents and Guardians. 

It is that time of year again when we ask parents and guardians to be partners in assessment and reporting process for their children. As we move back to some sense of normal in schools we continue to focus on mental health and wellbeing and authentic assessment for learning to help all students move forward on their own individual learning continuum. The structures we have in place are designed to support all students at different stages in their learning journey. 

Our reporting through the MYEducation Student Information System will continue to focus on the several familiar elements including both teacher and student feedback on both core and curricular competencies and working with the Ministry approved proficiency language. The BC curriculum, (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca ) continues to have an increased emphasis on core and curricular competencies across subject areas. Information about assessment and reporting is available through the BC Ministry of Education a t: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/classroom-assessment 

Some of the key highlights of our reporting process at EMMSOTA includes:

• Emphasis on parent, student, teacher conferencing (see info below) 

• Inclusion of student voice, student self-assessment of the core competencies and strategic goal setting 

• Focus on assessment of curricular competencies. This year we will focus on Numeracy, Literacy, Arts, Physical Health & Education, Career Education, French in all of our terms, and other subjects including Science, Socials, in all or some of our formal reporting terms. 

• Teacher feedback on student strengths and stretches as a learner, social emotional development, and collaborative goals for future growth. 

• Continued focus on supporting student learning and growth throughout our learning community, in and outside of the classroom. 

TERM 1 REPORTING CONFERENCES: November 15-17, 2022 

You are asked to attend your child's Parent/Student/Teacher On-Line Reporting Conference on Tuesday November 15th, Wednesday November 16th, or Thursday November 17th. 

** Early dismissals will happen at lunch (12:15 PM) on both Wednesday November 16th and Thursday November 17th, to allow teachers time to schedule appointments for all their students over the three days. ** 

Three-way conferences have proven to foster a positive and open home-school relationship. As we shift from reporting to communicating student learning, your conference will be an opportunity for your son or daughter to be part of the assessment process and involved in setting their own learning goals. We focus on proficiency language and mapping out a continuum of learning for your child. We moved away from letter grades several years ago to focus more on competency-based assessment for learning. It is essential that parents are partners in this process. During the on-line conference, your child will have the opportunity to share a portfolio of their work, representing their strengths, improvements they have made and areas that require further attention. 

Conferences that are conducted by students help to build self-esteem and confidence while allowing the child to take ownership and responsibility for their learning. By supporting students in the process of creating a meaningful conference; we can teach and model communication and organizational skills that are invaluable at any age, especially during the middle years. This will be a time of self-reflection for the students, while at the same time, foster meaningful communication between your child, their teacher and yourselves as parents or guardians. 

Parents'/Guardians' Role at the Conference 

This is an important area of your child's development and understandably, some students are still at the beginning stages of evaluating themselves. This is a skill requiring practice and refining. During the conference, please encourage and ask your child questions about their progress and give specific feedback where and when appropriate. We want you to discuss areas of strength and areas of difficulty. When discussing a difficult area, it is best to find out what the problem is and what you, your child, and the teacher can do to work on it. It is important that parents are part of the plan to support their child's continued progress. 

This year conferences will once again be in person, and we look forward to inviting you back into our classrooms for meaningful conversations. It will be very important to allow for some time to review either a digital or paper portfolio of work with your child before you begin the formal meeting with the teacher. Being able to draw from specific work examples is very helpful in creating a positive conference experience. Adherence to your scheduled time will allow teachers to get the most out of the meetings with each student and family over the designated three days of conferencing. 

Teachers have sent home an online registration (Doodle Poll, Outlook or Teams Scheduling) for the conferences. Please book a conference time with your child's core teacher by Monday November 14th with the times that are most convenient for you. Preferred time slots are limited so book early. 

Conferences will be scheduled according to individual teacher schedules. Teachers will be scheduling their own appointments and look forward to meeting you in person. Other online options can be worked out with your child's teacher, depending on your situation. 

Thank you for your engagement in this important work that is intended to enhance student learning. We look forward to seeing you on-line on November 16, 17th, or 18th and appreciate your ongoing support.