Please welcome our guest blogger, Ms. Kaylea. She joined us for a day last week to observe our teachers, gather ideas, and learn what we do! As a teacher in a small school as well, Ms. Kaylea was hoping to gain insight into how she might be able to apply some of our philosophies to benefit her students. We were overjoyed to offer Ms. Kaylea some professional development that she could immediately apply to her own teaching. After her visit, she wrote us this little note to post on our blog. that we were eager to share with you! Enjoy the read! Hi! My name is Kaylea and I am a classroom teacher at a small school in rural Nova Scotia. I am currently teaching a class of students from grade primary to grade three. I contacted Adele for the opportunity to visit Via Vita Academy to learn how they run their multiage classrooms.
When I walked into the school I was greeted by the warm, smiling faces of the staff members. I could tell right away that they were oozing with passion as they engaged with students and parents. We started the day with a morning meeting. All teachers should run their mornings this way! There is a bullet point agenda written by the students on the front board. What makes it unique is that every person has an opportunity to add their thoughts, ideas and concerns to the agenda. I noticed immediately that teachers didn't have to waste time ordering students to pay attention and listen to one another. I couldn't help but smile while I watched all of the students sitting around comfortably. After we sang Oh Canada every student dispersed and knew exactly where to go and what to do. While I floated around for the day, I was able to see students bake, do yoga, read, write, complete individualized math activities and work on their term projects. I had the pleasure of watching a presentation from a student in grade 8, a theatre class, chore time AND I enjoyed delicious cupcakes to celebrate the April birthdays! I was amazed by the teachers’ abilities to question. They let their students draw their own conclusions and only ask more questions to allow them to dive deeper into their thinking. It made me realize how much more questioning I could be doing in my own classroom! As a public school teacher visiting Via Vita Academy, I left the school feeling jealous but also inspired. They're on to some big things and will be graduating students who will be ready for life beyond school. I can't thank the staff and students of this wonderful school enough for the inspirational experience!
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No holding back here! Our Bobcats (grade 5/6 class) were eager to share the straight up truth of what a student at Via Vita is all about. As they put it, #nofilterneeded. Here you go - right from the mouths of our most candid ones in the bunch, here is an honest recap of what they’re loving (and what they’re not lovin’) at Via Vita.
LOVE/NOT LOVE @ VIA VITA By The Bobcats LOVE: It’s like a TV show, you go to school, learn a lesson, come home, and it’s a happy ending at the end of the day. LOVE: We all feel like a family because it’s like a home here... Except there’s no beds and stuff to lay down and sleep, but there is a couch. NOT LOVE: We get a lot of homework. There’s so much I feel like can’t do it but when you get it done, you feel so good. Then your parents are like, “See, doesn’t it feel good?” And you really look at them like, “uuuuuuh!”. LOVE: Everybody’s friends and everybody just hangs out, different grades and all. No pressure to be anybody you’re not. Just be. LOVE: It’s so easy to be friends in a smaller school than a big school because in a big school you don’t know everyone, but here you know everyone. NOT LOVE: Teachers are always around you. They notice everything! LOVE: The classes are smaller and you get a better chance to get help when you’re stuck. I used to think Math was so hard. I, like, really know what I'm doing here. LOVE: Gym is everyday. It’s awesome because you get to run around. And be loud! NOT LOVE: They really push you to do the work yourself. It’s hard! LOVE: You have a lot of say in how you do your projects and what you do them on. You have so much control over your learning. LOVE: You can get here early and play in the gym or you can just sleep in and be late. It’s cool. But seriously, you still gotta get your work done on time. Trust me. NOT LOVE: They always find a way to talk to your parents. Like everyday. They know everything. LOVE: You can play together and not yell and punch, you can actually help each other be the best of yourself. LOVE: You get to play outside a lot. You gotta wear a coat though. It’s freezing out. NOT LOVE: No excuses on late work. You just have to do it. Like, if you don't do it, you're gonna have to eventually. LOVE: You don’t have to wear shoes inside. LOVE: At my old school I didn’t really do any fun activities, It was like math, math, math. Here we do fun stuff like hikes, go to the park, play mantracker inside the building on the last day, and create plays and stuff. NOT LOVE: They really force you to speak up. Once you do, it all makes sense and stuff, but oh man, it's like, I just don't know what to say! But then you do know. As part of a series, each class has put together their Top 10 things they think other kids will want to know about Via Vita. To start us off, please give a warm welcome to our Coyote Class! These students range from grade 1 to 3 and were excited to create their top 10 list for you to read! Enjoy the pictures, too, they really add something special to the post! We are the Coyote class and we’re so excited to tell you what we love about Via Vita Academy! We are in grade one, two and three. We’re Logan, Simeon, Payton, Danica, and Ms. Yolanda!
These are all the things we think you should know!
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