Message from the Principals 9/5/2025

Today's Topics:

1: Important Reminders

2: Student Incidents

3: House Points

4: Learning Highlights

1: Important Reminders

• Used Uniform donations can be dropped off at the Elementary office or to the supervisor on the 1F during pick up / Drop off

• Open School - Sept 23

  • Friends of Hope will also be holding their Used Uniform Sale!

• Oct 13-17 - Autumn Break NO SCHOOL

• In case you missed it, you can download the School year Calendar HERE.

2: Student Incidents

As we get deeper into the school year, we wanted to take a moment to discuss how the school deals with incidents, behavior, and ongoing issues. Our goal is to provide clear guidelines for parents, transparency in our approach to disciplinary growth, and the best methods for families to provide feedback or concerns to the school.

At Hope, the foundational guiding principle is "a safe and nurturing environment". All of our policies, expectations, and approaches stem from that principle. (There are also others that will be discussed in a future blog post.)

When an incident or behavioral issue occurs, we have a standardized (but adjusted for age appropriateness) process.

• We try to provide the misbehaving student with time to calm down and gain more control of their emotions. (Often for younger children, the teacher will provide guidance and support to learn how to control emotions.)

• We then have them reflect on their actions and how they can improve. We focus on building empathy and understanding of the situation.

• If there has been behavioral issues in the past (once or twice), we reach out to families to inform them and request support to reinforce the expectations at home.

• You can view our Policy HERE that outlines how we deal with ongoing issues.

  
  

Families may also wish to report information to the school. Teachers try their best, but we can't see everything at all times. If you have something to share or wish to know more about how a situation was handled, please message the homeroom teacher. They are always the first point of contact for a concern within the school.

Please allow the teacher at least 2 working days to investigate any issue and reply. If you feel the situation was not handled well, please then reach out to the Section Head (Mr. Yoshi for Elementary or Mr. Daniel for Secondary).

Our goal is teamwork with each family to ensure the growth and learning of all students within the school!

We always welcome feedback, both positive and constructive. Please collaborate with us to build the best school environment. Let us know if there is something you don't understand or agree with, an issue in the class, or send a message when you see something you're really happy about!

3: House Points

Basilisk: 807

Hydra: 659

Dragon: 651

Phoenix: 637

4: Learning Highlights

This week, G1M students learned about the continents and created a map of the world using a cut-out puzzle map. After completing the activity, they played a fun throwing game where students had to roll their ball near or on the continent named by the teacher. The closest ball to that continent would win a point, and the winning student’s house earned a house point.

Grade 2B has been busy preparing 3D rainforest dioramas to show where cacao trees grow. This project will take time and care, and we look forward to seeing the final results.

In Mathematics, learners practiced subtraction with two- and three-digit numbers and began working with borrowing, which we will continue next week.

In English Language Arts, we listened to Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl and explored vocabulary linked to our chocolate unit. Learners practiced using these words in sentences and enhancing them with adjectives.

Grade 3 learners completed the last part of Health and Well-being Task 2. Today, the learners learnt to create a simple infographic with no technology. They completed the research, drew pictures, and presented the information that they found.

This task was also linked to ELA as students had to source their own information, interpret and understand the information and present the info through text and visuals (infographics). This demonstrates their proficiency in reading and comprehension while also exercising their writing skills.

In the "Space Scientists" Unit, Grade 5 conducted a Science experiment using magnets and a compass targeting the following learning goals:

1) Know that bar magnets have two poles and that opposite poles attract

2) Be able to draw conclusions based on results and compare to original hypotheses of the real word

The experiment called for them to make use of their magnets and compass and observe what poles attract and repel, how does a compass function, and why do magnets interfere with a compass.

It was wonderful to see the learners collaborate and their excitement as they witness magnetic forces at work!

The grade 6s were introduced to historical fiction in ELA yesterday to prepare to read the novel When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park. They were able to link this to the PLG of empathy and the big idea, explaining that historical fiction can help us discover the past and how it shapes the world for better or worse, and how we can discover how people felt in certain periods in the past. They created acrostics of their own names and researched the etymology of their names in preparation to empathize with the protagonist losing her name. They ended with discussion questions which they completed in groups, swapping mind maps for each question. This has generated interest in the novel, and laid the foundation for the big idea and the literary themes.

 G9 History, learners have begun writing short responses to historical questions and were introduced to the PEEL structure to help strengthen their answers.

In this activity, they explored the differing opinions of the Big Three at the Treaty of Versailles, carefully reviewing each perspective and using evidence to support their responses. It was great to see them developing both their analytical skills and their ability to build evidence-based arguments.

To help create the best learning environment, learners had the choice to listen to music, access dictionaries and notes, collaborate or stand while completing the task—encouraging focus and comfort as they worked.

In G12 Research Writing Skills II, learners have been developing the introductions to their chosen research topics. They selected a variety of issues and composed their first drafts using the TIOC (Trends, Issues, Objectives, and Contributions) format. Below are some of the drafts they produced.

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend!

-Mr. Brandon