Parent Resources (Conestogo Public School)

Report Cards:

For information on the Ontario Ministry of Education Elementary Curriculum, please visit the Curriculum section on the Ministry of Education’s website. There you will find comprehensive information about what students are expected to learn in elementary school, as well as policy and resource documents.
Understanding Your Child’s Kindergarten Reports: A Parent’s Guide to Kindergarten Communication of Learning: Initial Observations and the Kindergarten Communication of Learning – .pdf format
Parent Guides K-8 subjects

Conferences take many different forms and occur throughout the year. Meetings, telephone conversations and email messages can all be forms of conferences.

Open Communication with the School:

Parents/guardian and school staff form an important partnership to encourage a child’s success. Open communication is necessary in making this partnership work for the benefit of students, families, teachers and the school. Parent/student/teacher conferences support and are supported by open communication.

Purposes of Virtual/Phone/In Person Meetings:

to discuss your child’s learning
to set goals together for learning
to address issues that impact on your child’s learning at school and at home, and
to provide information about your child’s progress that is not covered by the report card

School staff will share information about how your child is doing in school and what is being done to help your child learn. You are encouraged to share information that might help the teacher better understand your child’s learning needs.

Many schools ask that students also attend the conference. In these cases, students will often talk about their learning and share samples of work.

How to Have Successful Communication

Preparing for your discussion with school staff:

read your child’s report card
discuss the report card with your child
think about what questions you might want to ask, and
ask the school to arrange for an interpreter to attend the conference if one is needed.

At the meeting:

During the meeting, you have the opportunity to:

discuss the grades and comments on your child’s report card
ask questions about your child’s learning
see work your child has completed
share information about your child that may affect learning (e.g., changes in behaviour, attitudes, likes and dislikes)
be involved in setting goals for your child, and
possibly reviewing your child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Questions you could ask the teacher

What are my child’s strengths?
What does my child do well?
What did my child do to achieve this grade?
Where have you seen my child struggle or have difficulty?
What are the next steps for my child?
How can we work together to improve learning?
How can I help my child at home?
How does my child relate to other children?
How does my child get along with adults?

EQAO – Education Quality and Accountability Office

The EQAO assessment questions are directly based on the expectations set out in The Ontario Curriculum for reading, writing and mathematics, which are what teachers teach in the classroom every day. The results of the assessment do not affect your child’s grades or report card in any way.

Each assessment includes a language and mathematics component, along with a voluntary student questionnaire. Students will have the opportunity to become familiar with the types of questions on the assessment and its platform through EQAO’s online sample test.

For more information about Grade 3 and Grade 6 EQAO and to view a sample test, visit EQAO’s website, www.eqao.com

EQAO has created a short video for parents and guardians of primary- and junior-division students participating in the assessments.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher.

Mathematics Resources

Science North – Coding Find professional learning webinar recordings and lesson plans to support the development of coding through the contexts of science and math. Also access, during school hours, a bilingual educator helpline for assistance in navigating, interpreting and implementing Science North learning materials
Knowledgehook is a free digital tool for Gr. 1-8 that makes learning math more interactive and fun. It provides students with math practice and helps them grow their confidence in math. If you’re a student in the Waterloo Region District School Board, you can use Knowledgehook to find activities that match your grade level. Try logging in today with the login code for your child’s grade for some fun with Math!
Everyday Mathematics (University of Chicago) – What an AMAZING website and project! Here parents can find twelve math units (Wow!) to work on with their children at home for each level from Pre-K to Grade 6. Units are broken down into several lessons and the concepts are taught online. Study links and answers to questions are provided as well.
Figure this! Math Challenges for Families (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics)
Tips for Math at Home