Weekly eGryphon

Dear Junior Kindergarten to Grade 5 parents,

Student-Led conferences are one of our favourite times of the year, as it is an opportunity for all students to become leaders and proudly share some of their classroom work. This year, the conference will be in person in the classrooms.

Intents:

• Students reflect on their learning as they develop the Learner Profiles and Approaches to Learning.
• Students showcase their learning, growth, and future goals.
• Parents are welcomed as a valuable part of the Learning Community to engage in reflection, offer encouragement and collaboratively set goals with their child.

Role of the Student:

• Student-Led Conferences will happen with family at school.
• Students will have an outline or script to follow as they show their portfolio.
• The student should be able to communicate clearly about the work in their portfolio and why they are significant pieces.
• The student may remind parents they are to listen and offer encouragement 

Role of the Parents:

• Let your child be the leader, even if they are young.
• Actively listen to them.
• Prompt them for further reflections: Why did you choose this piece? What was most challenging for you? How can I help you with your learning?
• Offer Encouragement: Notice their strengths and challenges and give positive encouragement. (I can see you spent lots of time doing your best work. I like how this piece shows how much you have grown this year.)
• Be Supportive: Your role is not to teach and point out mistakes or problems. Turn on your eyes to see and your ears to listen. When you do speak, be positive and encouraging. Celebrate the thoughtful reflection, areas of growth, and plans for improvement.

Role of the Teacher:

• During the day, teachers will be available to reflect with families on the process and share compliments and goals. 
• Homeroom teachers will guide the reflections with prompts such as, what were you most proud of? What surprised you most about your child’s learning? How can you support your child’s goal?
• The teacher will celebrate the completion of the conference by briefly summarizing some of the student’s strengths and attributes. 
• As this is a day for students to be in the lead, teachers will not be engaging in Parent-Teacher conversations about student achievement, they will just be listening to reflections and offering encouragement.