This school year will be possible with the effort and joint work between parents and teachers. A concern of many families is about the assessment of learning. If parents are not teachers, then how do I know if my child is learning? The first thing that we must be clear about is that all the effort of the teachers is focused on finding a way to generate learning, so each week, according to the established schedule, different activities are presented aimed at developing the skills appropriate to the age of the students.

Having condensed the topics gives us more flexibility and time to develop and consolidate their learning. We must keep in mind that the degrees are related to each other. The competencies do not finish developing but are linked together with the following. Some years they open new themes and other years they reaffirm and close them. In other words, we work in cycles. The first cycle is Nursery, Pre kinder and kindergarten. Many parents realize that the themes are repeated year after year which is true, but the depth, focus and products vary and are taking shape according to the interests of the group. The direction it takes in sections A and B may even be different, which enriches the entire educational community.

First grade opens a new cycle that closes in second grade. Then third opens a cycle and closes fourth and so on. This year some students must start a learning cycle that will not stop until next year and another group of students must close the cycle that they started last year. In both cases there are great opportunities and challenges in terms of skills development, some new and others not.

By telling them that the competencies are in permanent development, it is very important that this chain does not stop. We cannot pretend to sleep for one year and resume the next one, that error would cause children to lose their investigative attitude, their curiosity would be limited, their reading skills, without the habit of reading daily, they would even go backwards, the same with writing, mathematics etc. The fact of staying in school is already guaranteeing learning, even if it is virtual.

All children are different and learns at their own pace. Teachers assume the responsibility of pulling that thread from the skein and getting the children to move from one level to the next with the help of parents from home, giving them adequate space to study, helping them to organize according to their schedule, having materials on hand and asking them about what they are doing as they would if it were face-to-face learning.

Positive reinforcement messages are very helpful for student performance, a calm work environment and parents who convey confidence in school, hope and good humor is very important to establish safety in their children. Parents have always helped to form habits and routines at home, that constancy bears fruit in terms of independence and autonomy.

Answering the initial question of How will students be assessed? We tell them that we will give priority to formative assessment, focusing on feedback and processes. Feedback allows students to act on it by improving their learning. In this process, the teacher values ​​positive aspects of the productions, offers examples and suggestions, asks questions. Then the student reviews his productions, answers questions, asks for help, asks questions; then the teacher evaluates the review, asks questions about the process, supports against difficulties; and, finally, the student improves his production, reflects on his learning process.

The delivery and fulfillment of tasks, projects, works, etc. following a rubric that guides the student and explains what to do and what are the steps to follow. The same work can be delivered and returned with feedback from the teacher three times or until it has been accomplished in compliance with all the requirements. Each delivery has a different grade following the scale proposed. Other means of evaluation are questionnaires, surveys, questions, and answers, and an entrance test that is repeated in the middle of the year and at the end with which we can see the progress of each student. Through video calls we will have access to the oral questions or the children’s explanation as metacognition (what I did, how I did it, what I liked, what I can improve, etc.). In this sense, evaluations can also be synchronous and asynchronous.

Another important feedback is the parents’ dialogue with the teachers, since they have the opportunity at home to observe where in the process their child “got stuck” and if they communicate it to the teachers in a timely manner, they will help to solve the problem. brevity. The same students can send emails to their teachers to clarify their doubts.

With these evidences of the development of the learning of each child, it is possible to determine the level in which he is with respect to each competence and prepare suitable material to make his progress and success possible. This year we evaluate together: the child (as the protagonist of their own learning), parents and teachers (as generative, motivating and feedback adults). Let us take on this great challenge that unites us as a team!

Education does not stop at VPS!

Janice Roeder McKay
Principal

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