Parents getting ready for back to school and wondering what the new school year will bring can relax about changes to the school curriculum and report cards.
Many of the initiatives in the new curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 9 students have been in place for some time. For the past few years, School District 43 teachers have been updating and refining the way they teach using technology and more creative teaching strategies to inspire, educate and challenge their students.
At Dr. Charles Best secondary, for example, teachers brought Google Virtual Reality technology to teach science; coding is already being taught at middle schools using Sphero robots; Eagle Mountain middle teaches English, Science and Language Arts in an integrated way; and at the Inquiry Hub, students do projects based on their interests.
As for report cards, the only changes in place are requirements to assess thinking, communication and social skills in addition to regular subjects.
So for parents wondering how it's all going to look: Relax, we've seen this all before.
