McNab Public School

The FLIP program enables JK/SK parents to become more familiar about their child as a learner; promotes a bond between the child, parent and the school to create lasting connections and provides a sense of efficacy among parents built through exposure to leadership and learning opportunities. Come and find out about the FLIP program and how sessions given by Kindergarten teachers, the Early Literacy teacher, Early Years educator, Renfrew County Health liason, Speech Language pathologist and School Council members support parent engagement.

One of the best tools to promote positive parent communication is the monthly classroom newsletter which is set up in the format of a newspaper. It's easy to read and information is "chunked". With photographs of student activities as well as the season, the newsletter tells about...

• what is being taught and expectations for subjects as per the curriculum
• upcoming activities and presentations in the classroom
• teacher requests for volunteers and materials as needed
• teaching philosophies through quotable quotes (I often use H.D. Thoreau)

Make the most of a double grade classroom! Teachers involved in a team teaching approach to Grades 1 and 2 will discuss some of the strategies that have worked well in this unique learning environment. They will also discuss some of the challenges facing this team teaching approach, including timetabling, etc.

Grade One and Two teachers have prepared a support package which includes a variety of newsletters to offer primary teachers. Samples of newsletters include welcome poems and newsletters (September), "Meet the Teacher" information packages, monthly newsletters, etc. You will receive a copy of this resource on CD.

A primary grade teacher is opening her classroom to teachers interested in observing a whole group read-aloud session. This session will include questioning strategies, activities that encourage students to make connections to various texts, and reading response activities

Drama is a vehicle to enhance learning across the curriculum and it incorporates a variety of different learning styles. Using Literature as a springboard, students have opportunities to role play, develop communication skills, problem solve and implement drama techniques. Come and see dynamic learning take place.

Each day begins with a solemn oath to learn all that we are capable of learning. The quest is a theme that starts the first day of school with a mission and buried treasure. As the year continues students learn to follow the River of Wisdom through the Mountains of Ignorance. Students gain confidence by completing a 'rite of passage' each time they must cross the River of Wisdom, they complete secret missions that reinforce basic skills, they take responsibility for their own learning by tracking their progress on our classroom map. Most importantly students learn to battle the Dragon of Defeat that poisons their minds with negative thinking using their Sword of Truth and Shield of a Positive Attitude. Using the symbolic quest has transformed the grade 3/4 classroom into the Land of Learning. If you would like to know more, please visit.

McNab is please to offer an individualized intervention program to address the specific social and academic needs of students in grades six, seven and eight.

Students are placed in one of six programs depending on demonstrated need, academic and behavioural profile, and teacher recommendation. Programs are fluid to enable students to move between programs as needs dictate.

The organizational program is tailored for students experiencing difficulties with time and materials management. Time is spent checking and organizing students' belongings, requiring them to organize and display work based on models of good organization. This explicit, direct teaching model allows students to practice the skills they are lacking and return to class better organized.

The behavioural group engages in a flexible curriculum, often responding directly to the needs at a given time, driven by the experiences of the students in the group. Conflict resolution, problem solving and cooperation are taught through direct discussion of real life conflicts and through sports and games.

A social skills group meets to work on skill development and discussion with the School Support Counsellor. Through games and cooperative tasks, the group learns the skills that make a student a successful group member, class member and friend. Positive self advocacy and self-esteem building are core elements fostered in the group.

Each of these three groups has the opportunity to take on "special projects" that build community within the school. They are responsible for popcorn days; pre-selling, popping, bagging and delivering popcorn within the school to raise money for community outreach efforts. One of these efforts is the "Share a Gift" program wherein students take the money that is raised and buy gifts for a less fortunate family in the community .

Another community building project is building birdhouses with the support of a high class. This is a great opportunity for these students take part in a hands-on task that produces a useable product with the support and modelling of an older peer group.

The third group is a life skills group. Their program addresses basic social and life skills needed for success in the larger world. Students work with money in real life contexts, read for a purpose (such as baking a recipe), and complete real life tasks, such as planning an outing to shop for a meal. Students have access to culminating activities such as, ordering and eating in a restaurant, shopping in a grocery store and navigating safely through town.

A fourth group, apply for the "positions" and are involved in setting up the school's yearbook and website. They have the opportunity to hear guest speakers who use these skills on a daily basis. Their student success afternoon extends to regular opportunities within the school to apply their newly learned skills in photography and picture display.

The final group is a character education group that focuses on building character through story, improvisation, written responses, video and debate. Students have the opportunity to work in mixed age groups and listen and share perspectives on moral dilemmas. They explore character in the individuals they study and in themselves as they respond to the dilemmas with which they are presented.

McNab's student success groups meet once each week for an hour.

Would you like to empower others and move people forward? Do you want your staff working better together and achieving team goals? The coach approach works with leaders to support their individual success and sustain the work with the teams they lead. This session will empower administrators to listen critically, observe and provide feedback that elicits solutions, strategies and commitment from their staff, parents and peers.

McNab School offers programming for children with a wide range of needs. Although McNab does not have self contained classes for students with SLD, MID and DD diagnoses, programming must be provided to meet the specific needs of these populations. Meeting these needs, with the support of classroom teachers, SETAs, the SSC and parents, has to be a data driven process in order to best match student needs with available resources.

Philosophy

Special service development and implementation at McNab are "team focused". Principal, Classroom Teacher, School Support Counsellor, Special Education Teaching Assistants, SERT and parents work closely together to meet student needs. McNab is meeting its students' needs through a tiered special service model that is driven by response to intervention, curriculum based measures, normative assessment screening and progress monitoring.