Blyth Academy Newsletter – Oct. 11 th , 2018 Page 1 Blyth Academy Newsletter Oct. 11 th , 2018
Blyth Academy Newsletter – Oct. 11th, 2018 Page 1
Blyth Academy Newsletter
Oct. 11th, 2018
Blyth Academy Newsletter – Oct. 11th, 2018 Page 2
UPCOMING EVENTS
Oct. 14-15 School Photos
Oct. 16 Short Day
Gr. 12 Field Trip
Oct.17 11/12 PE Field Trip
Oct. 18 Wear Pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness
Bake Sale to support cancer research
Oct. 20 Break Starts
Oct. 28 School Resumes
Oct. 29 Mr. Blyth Meeting parents at school (6:30pm)
School Council Thank you for those who attended, we had a lively and
productive discussion. School 3 year plan was introduced.
Qatar Accreditation Blyth Academy will be visited by an accreditation team from the
State of Qatar in February. We are now developing out self-
study and parents and students may be asked to join focus groups
to collect input. Members of SAC will be asked to participate.
Alberta Accreditation The Alberta accreditation team will visit Blyth in January.
School Photo’s Next week, please see attached information.
Tanzania Service Trip We are very pleased that this adventure looks like it will be a go
with several students and staff.
If you are considering this, we are purchasing flights within
the next couple of weeks.
Career Day Last year we had a very successful and informative Career Day
for our student’s. This year we do not, yet, have enough parents
or community members to run this helpful event. If you can help
out, please contact Ms. Abboud.
Dragon Boating Blyth would like to enter a Dragon Boat team, Dec. 7. If
interested please contact Ms. Abboud.
Picture Orders
Sunday and Monday the company will be on-site to collect
picture orders and payment.
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HIGH SCHOOL
Please see/contact our Sr. Guidance Mr. Bouakir for any inquiries at
Universities’ Fair (30+ Canadian universities) at CNA-Q on October 21st 2018 (starting
at 5:30pm – Building 1).
University Night at BAQ next month (Nov. 1st) for Sr. high students and parents. The
discussion will cover the application process and deadlines.
More than 50 universities’ representatives will attend University Expo Qatar on
November 28-29. Expo Timings are: 8:00am-1pm/5pm-8pm. Please register here Free:
https://www.universityexpoqatar.com/visit/?tracker_id=AZ3251GSearch&utm_source=G
oogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VIS&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpYfO2pz-
3QIV0jUrCh3bFgXKEAAYASAAEgI09fD_BwE
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Discover Education City will be held on October 16th and 17th. For more information,
please see below.
GRADE 4 – Ms. Antle
Lots of excitement this week discovering how to create electrical circuits in Science!
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GRADE 5
Just started a new unit on orders of operations in math in English taking a deeper look at story
writing students are working on presentations in social studies.
Grade 5 students reading to Grade 1 students:
Today’s Readers Tomorrow’s Writers
Students Hildegarde, Emmanuel and Evan from Grade 2 showcased their short illustrated books
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GRADE 6:
In English, they are having an descriptive essay with the title of “Freedoms English” as well as
they are planning a play to be held in class this Thursday covering the movie “Bread Winner”
However grade 6 are relived having finished their math test on Monday about “Patterns and
Equations”, and are looking forward for their new unit.
Students are also excited for the science experiment expected soon
In Social, they are taking a closer look at democracy.
GRADE 7
In PE student enjoy playing softball, which made them look forward to experience an actual
baseball game.
However, in English class they are currently brain-storming ideas for their novel assigned soon.
All the stress relived and grade 7 is done with the math test which took place on Sunday.
On the other hand 7th graders are looking forward for their new science experiment happening
next Sunday.
GRADE 8
For science student had a test on Monday to evaluate their understanding of the body systems.
GRADE 10
In math, the grade 10's are learning about exponents.
In Career and Life Management, they are learning about finances and resources.
In biology, students are going deeper and learning more about cellular respiration.
In English, they are looking more at identity; with a compare and contrast essay due Thursday
grade 11 are expected to put their ideas about this major subject into words.
Grade 11
In English, they are looking more at identity; with a compare and contrast essay due Thursday
grade 11 are expected to put their ideas about this major subject into words.
In biology, students are going deeper and learning more about cellular respiration
In math, the grade 11's are learning about quadratic functions.
In chemistry, they are learning about the chemical and physical properties of gases.
Grade 11 will be visiting Qatar National Library on Oct. 18th and grade 12 will be visiting on
Oct. 16th. Students will have a tour of the library as well as get some pointers on how to
research.
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Blyth Academy will be participating in the Global Goals Competition (website below).
Interested students not already in Socials Studies semester 1 should see Mr. Edwards for more
information. Project submission is due December 1st.
https://www.globalsocialleaders.com/ggcompetition/ (Zev Edwards).
POEM
Honesty Is The Best Policy
Honesty is truly a beautiful thing
We are not humans without this trait
Fill your hearts with honesty and truth
And get rid of all the unneeded hate
We will never be truly at peace with ourselves
Unless we let the weight of our chests
It's important to be truthful with yourself and others
Or you'll live your life constantly in distress
Honesty comes with relief and happiness
So you can go to bed feeling free
Without a concern or doubt
Honesty is truly the key
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Blyth Academy Art Competition for all grades. The theme is “I am Kind &
Positive!
Elementary, Jr. and Sr. high students are preparing for Celebration of Peace Day on November 11th.
Elementary, Jr. and Sr. high students are preparing for Celebration of the Arts.
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ART CLASS – MR. MUTTER
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Ryan Mac Rae Abraham Abdel Gawad
Fatima Zran Sara Nashbat
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WEEKLY TOPIC
Kids & Tech: Tips for Parents in the Digital Age
In a world where children are "growing up digital," it's important to help them learn healthy concepts of digital use and citizenship. Parents play an important role in teaching these skills. Tips AAP to Help Families Manage the Ever Changing Digital Landscape:
• Make your own family media use plan. Media should work for you and within your family values and parenting style. When used thoughtfully and appropriately, media can enhance daily life. But when used inappropriately or without thought, media can displace many important activities such as face-to-face interaction, family-time, outdoor-play, exercise, unplugged downtime and sleep. Make your plan at HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan.
• Treat media as you would any other environment in your child's life. The same parenting guidelines apply in both real and virtual environments. Set limits; kids need and expect them. Know your children's friends, both online and off. Know what platforms, software, and apps your children are using, what sites they are visiting on the web, and what they are doing online.
• Set limits and encourage playtime. Media use, like all other activities, should have reasonable limits. Unstructured and offline play stimulates creativity. Make unplugged playtime a daily priority, especially for very young children.
• Screen time shouldn't always be alone time. Co-view, co-play and co-engage with your children when they are using screens—it encourages social interactions, bonding, and learning. Play a video game with your kids. It's a good way to demonstrate good sportsmanship and gaming etiquette. Watch a show with them; you will have the opportunity to introduce and share your own life experiences and perspectives—and guidance. Don't just monitor them online—interact with them, so you can understand what they are doing and be a part of it.
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• Be a good role model. Teach and model kindness and good manners online. Because children are great mimics, limit your own media use. In fact, you'll be more available for and connected with your children if you're interacting, hugging and playing with them rather than simply staring at a screen.
• Know the value of face-to-face communication. Very young children learn best through two-way communication. Engaging in back-and-forth "talk time" is critical for language development. Conversations can be face-to-face or, if necessary, by video chat with a traveling parent or far-away grandparent. Research has shown that it's that "back-and-forth conversation" that improves language skills—much more so than "passive" listening or one-way interaction with a screen.
• Limit digital media for your youngest family members. Avoid digital media for toddlers younger than 18 to 24 months other than video chatting. For children 18 to 24 months, watch digital media with them because they learn from watching and talking with you. Limit screen use for preschool children, ages 2 to 5, to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programing. Co-viewing is best when possible and for young children. They learn best when they are re-taught in the real world what they just learned through a screen. So, if Ernie just taught the letter D, you can reiterate this later when you are having dinner or spending time with your child. See Healthy Digital Media Use Habits for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers.
• Create tech-free zones. Keep family mealtimes, other family and social gatherings, and children's bedrooms screen free. Turn off televisions that you aren't watching, because background TV can get in the way of face-to-face time with kids. Recharge devices overnight—outside your child's bedroom to help him or her avoid the temptation to use them when they should be sleeping. These changes encourage more family time, healthier eating habits, and better sleep.
• Don't use technology as an emotional pacifier. Media can be very effective in keeping kids calm and quiet, but it should not be the only way they learn to calm down. Children need to be taught how to identify and handle strong emotions, come up with activities to manage boredom, or calm down through breathing, talking about ways to solve the problem, and finding other strategies for channeling emotions.
• Apps for kids – do YOUR homework. More than 80,000 apps are labeled as educational, but little research has demonstrated their actual quality. Products pitched as "interactive" should require more than "pushing and swiping." Look to organizations like Common Sense Media for reviews about age-appropriate apps, games and programs to guide you in making the best choices for your children.
• It's OK for your teen to be online. Online relationships are part of typical adolescent development. Social media can support teens as they explore and discover more about themselves and their place in the grown-up world. Just be sure your teen is behaving appropriately in both the real and online worlds. Many teens need to be reminded that a platform's privacy settings do not make things actually "private" and that images, thoughts, and behaviors teens share online will instantly become a part of their digital footprint indefinitely. Keep lines of
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communication open and let them know you're there if they have questions or concerns.
• Warn children about the importance of privacy and the dangers of predators and sexting. Teens need to know that once content is shared with others, they will not be able to delete or remove it completely, and includes texting of inappropriate pictures. They may also not know about or choose not to use privacy settings, and they need to be warned that sex offenders often use social networking, chat rooms, e-mail, and online gaming to contact and exploit children.
• Remember: Kids will be kids. Kids will make mistakes using media. Try to handle errors with empathy and turn a mistake into a teachable moment. But some indiscretions, such as sexting, bullying, or posting self-harm images, may be a red flag that hints at trouble ahead. Parents must observe carefully their children's behaviors and, if needed, enlist supportive professional help, including the family pediatrician.
Media and digital devices are an integral part of our world today. The benefits of these devices, if used moderately and appropriately, can be great. But, research has shown that face-to-face time with family, friends, and teachers plays a pivotal and even more important role in promoting children's learning and healthy development. Keep the face-to-face up front, and don't let it get lost behind a stream of media and tech.