Weekly Dragon Update: May 30th 
Parent Survey: How did Virtual Learning Go this Year?
Your child(ren) attend St Isidore Virtual Elementary School and we are inviting you to provide feedback related to how things went during virtual learning. Your feedback will be very important for helping us make sure that we are providing the needed supports for students, staff, parents and community members. If you have multiple children, please respond to each question as an overall response/sense for all of your children.
Your participation is ANONYMOUS and VOLUNTARY. You will not be asked to provide your or your child(ren)’s name, contact information, student number, or any information that can identify you or your child(ren). As well, no identifying information (e.g., email address, IP address) will be automatically collected through the online tool.
Please note the Parent Survey
Parent Workshop: Students Transitioning to In-Person Learning:
Waterloo Catholic Well-being staff is offering a parent session next Tuesday, June 6th at 6:00 pm to support students transitioning to in-person learning in the fall. WCDSB’s Dr. Anna Bowers shares “7 Tips for Helping Your Child through the Transition from Remote to In-Person Learning”. If you are interested in joining the session please complete the Intent to Attend Transition to In-person session. You will have an opportunity to include any questions. Please note the google meet link for the Parent Presentation: Students Transitioning from remote to In-Person learning.
Last month’s theme was Integrity and we would like to recognize the following students for their exemplary leadership:
Lachlan B Eva H Lily L Antonio F Eva H
Bela H Munera S Nikky V Rebecca Y Nolan V
Elijah R Cavan V Connor M Nenos P
Brindyl H Lucas Q Kieran N Link R
Nia C Mackenzie P Amelia V Jared V
Active Transportation to School Weeks – May 30th to June 9th 
Active travel is where it is at! Active Transportation Week inspires students to try riding a bike, roller blades, scooter board or skateboard to school for the first time, to learn new skills, or to just have fun, and explore and connect with people, the community, and nature. Since biking, skateboarding or scootering to school is hard to do when your school is virtual, we are encouraging students to travel around their neighborhood with friends and/or family and send a picture to their classroom teacher. Students submitting pictures will have a chance to win a St. Isidore t-shirt and/or hat. We will raffle the St. Isidore merchandise on June 9th.
Promoting Well-Being – Talking to Kids About Racism
Every family, no matter their background, should be having conversations about race and racism. If you are unsure how to start the conversation with your kids, use these resources to help guide you – from getting the conversation started to discussing more complicated topics as they grow up or seeing troubling images in the media. Read more athttps://www.onoursleeves.org/mental-health-resources/articles-support/mental-wellbeing/kids-race-racism
Umbrella Project
Welcome to Mastery month in The Umbrella Project. Mastery is a great way to wrap up the year because it requires us to use many of the skills we have learned about over the year. Mastery is our ability to work towards excelling at something – our craft, our relationships, our jobs and many others. The early stages of mastery requires many of our Umbrella Skills to push through the boredom, fear, impatience and other difficult emotions of the learning journey. Over time, we build strength and confidence and are able to accomplish great things.
“Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated.” —Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Help your child discover their natural inclinations and curiosities
The best masters start with a deep interest and curiosity in the area they are working towards mastering. The journey to mastery requires time, patience and overcoming obstacles so this interest (see intrinsic motivation skill tips) is paramount in persevering through the learning process. You may have a vision for your child but if this doesn’t align with their personal interests it is unlikely that they will go on to master this path while building their well-being. Trying to master something you don’t care about is arduous, requires lots of will power and depletes our energy and happiness.
When you start with your childs’ natural interests, they are much more likely to engage with the process of learning and mastering their chosen activity. Start by helping your child notice the subjects they are most engaged in and the problems they most want to solve. Try to be specific when having these conversations ie. “What unit in science did you like the most?” and “Why instead of that subject do you like…?” For example, this year my daughter noticed that she really loved learning about energy in science and is also concerned about the environment, which led her to thinking about the jobs that might exist in sustainable energy. She is far from having to make these types of life decisions but reflecting on things that peak her interest will help her engage and learn when opportunities present themselves.
Chat soon,
Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project
