Principal's Message 3/30/19
Dear Canyon View Families,
The month of March has been very busy for us and our students have been deeply engaged in their learning. Currently, we have over 13 Project Based Learning units taking place across the grade levels, and many of these instructional units will continue through the month of April. Project Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional approach where students work on a project over an extended period of time that engages them in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex driving question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a public product or presentation for a real audience. As a result, students develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills in the context of doing an authentic, meaningful project. The progress that our teachers and students have made with PBL has been quite impressive, and we are looking forward to collecting and utilizing valuable PBL feedback at the end of the year.
This month, our FFO brought in local author and illustrator Adam Rex who shared with us his most recently released book, Are You Scared, Darth Vader? Adam, accompanied by Darth Vader, conducted a read aloud for the whole school, and he took some time at the end of the assembly to field student questions and offer his unique perspective on the writing process. Adam also took the time to work with a group of third and fourth grade students on how to develop and organize ideas during the writing process. As the expert resource for this specific PBL unit, our students listened intently as he offered ideas and insight about the planning, drafting, revision and publishing processes.
As of today, 321 students out of 400 are registered for the 2019-2020 school year. We are asking families to register the remaining students we expect at Canyon View for next school year as soon as possible. The online registration process can be completed by visiting the Canyon View website and clicking on the Register for School link. If you need assistance, please contact our office staff at 209-7701.
This coming week, we will begin the standardized testing for grades 3-5. The testing dates are published below. Please help us support your child’s success by ensuring a healthy night’s sleep and arrival to school on time. Students should be in their classroom at 8:00 AM. You may learn more about the AzMERIT by visiting the Arizona Department of Education’s website: http://azmeritportal.org/sample-tests/
Third Grade
April 4 AzMERIT Writing
April 12 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 1
April 18 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 2
Fourth Grade
April 4 AzMERIT Writing
April 11 AIMS Science
April 12 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 1
April 18 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 2
Fifth Grade
April 4 AzMERIT Writing
April 12 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 1
April 18 AzMERIT Reading and Mathematics Part 2
Finally, below are just a few images that capture the variety of learning experiences our students have been engaged in over the past few weeks. The entire staff at Canyon View Elementary is deeply committed to the whole-child approach to educating our students, and we are routinely researching and exploring new ways to refine and improve our practice.
4th Grade student setting a critter cam in Sabino Canyon.
This PBL unit is focused on raising public awareness about mountain lions in Sabino Canyon.
Author Adam Rex sharing his insight with our 3-4 grade students as part of their PBL unit.
Author Adam Rex conducting a read aloud alongside his partner, Darth Vader.
Ms. Weeks’ students sharing their writing with their third grade buddies from Ms. Clark’s class.
Sincerely,
Rob Henikman
Principal