​Dear Families of Montroyal School,

Week two is now in the books, and I continue to enjoy meeting all the students and developing a greater understanding of the teaching and learning that goes on in our classrooms and other spaces.

I am also enjoying learning the pulse and rhythms of this school. A trick I have been using recently has been to move my office to a more public location in a school, where students can see me, and I can see them. At Montroyal, the spot I have selected (for now) is in front of one of the display cases near the gym. Staff shared where I can find tables, and I am now set up with my laptop, notebooks and a good chair. To complete my portable office, I bring my cell phone and small Bluetooth speaker, which allows me to play some tunes (today's artist of choice was Charlie Parker – I recommend listening to Bloomdido).

It has been a treat to wave and say hi to classes as they make their way to gym or the Multipurpose room for music class. If students come down to the office, I get to stop them and guess their names. If I am wrong, they have been softly correcting me. I hope I get it right the next time. The Kindergarten class has a great silent wave for me when they go to gym and when they leave.

Here are a few more thoughts or observations to share with families:

• No matter how much we prepare them for the weather, some students will find that puddle and need a change of clothes.  
• The crows around here show up right after the recess bell (10:35 am) and are quite noisy as they searched for food. There were about 7 or 8 crows outside my window after recess one day, and they looked upset that the students at the picnic tables did not leave food behind. I appreciate the students doing a great job of cleaning up.
• Skipping rope continues to be a great option for students during our breaks. The nicer weather has made it easier for students to select skipping as a lunch break activity. It is great to see co-ed groups skipping rope together.

I continue to work on getting to know the names of all our students. Learning names can be quite a challenge, but it is worth the effort. I enjoy the look on their faces when I get their names right. When some students asked how I knew their names when I was visiting their class, I declined to tell them how. These students seemed to forget that they have name tags on their desk, which helped a lot. It is not my only trick for learning names, but names on desks or work papers can make things easier.

Thank you to everyone for their continued support of our COVID protocol and completing a Daily Health Check prior to sending your children to school. We appreciate seeing parents and caregivers on the playground wearing masks.

Thank you to the families I have been able to connect with in these first two weeks. COVID protocols limit the number of parents I get to meet, and I hope there will be opportunities to get to know each other soon.

Take care,

Doug Beveridge

dbeveridge@sd44.ca​