Home-Based Programs

PEP

Teachers:

• Annette Bright  Grades 1 - 3 annette.bright@westwind.ab.ca
• Carolyn Kain Grades 4 - 6 carolyn.kain@westwind.ab.ca
• Juliann Sommerfeldt Grades 7 - 9 (ELA, Social Studies, Humanities focused options) juliann.sommerfeldt@westwind.ab.ca
• John Creed Grades 7 - 9 (Math, Science, Life Skills focused options) john.creed@westwind.ab.ca

Educational Assistants: (EAs)

• Tyann Stuckey  (Cardston) tyann.stuckey@westwind.ab.ca
• Heather Ryder (Cardston) heather.ryder@westwind.ab.ca
• Janine Vere (Raymond) janince.vere@westwind.ab.ca

PEP Librarian: 

Kimberlie Milner

kimberlie.milner@westwind.ab.ca

School Administrative Assistant:

Terra LePage

terra.lepage@westwind.ab.ca

Fundamentals - Important Initial Information:

● Crucial clarification: The PEP program is ‘Home-based’ and ‘Distance Learning’ oriented. This means that the program is designed such that much of the learning takes place at home and off-campus and requires significant parent engagement. Our program is based on the premise that there is parent educational engagement at home during the day. The parent is, in effect, the ‘educator at home’, or at the very least functions like an ‘Educational assistant’ for the student(s) at home on the student’s day to day learning journey.

The parent(s) and teacher(s) collaborate very closely together in making sure that the Alberta Programs of Study learning outcomes are covered, and that there are appropriate levels of content and skill mastery being accomplished. This is done in the School’s weekly classes portion, and/or in teacher directed or the parent engaged home portion of the PEP program. And, further, that the essentials of the program such as attendance, assignment completion, home portion of the program, monthly portfolio submissions and/or ‘Celebration of Learning’ meetings, regular communication, etc., are  happening consistently. This type of educational program is highly collaborative with the parent, teacher and student operating as a cohesive team.

● Please note: In cases where some of the above (Parent educational engagement at home) is not possible, or less feasible, students will be considered for the program on a case by case basis, after an intake interview with the student’s parent(s). If the student is accepted into PEP at WAS then the following will be a mandatory part of the student’s program.

○ The student will be provided with a basic full course package (either in print or on our Hapara platform) and will be expected to work through the material supported by access to the teachers and EAs.

○ The student will be required to attend on an additional part day each week at WAS and work with our teaching and/or EA staff for instructional help and keeping up with their school work. *Please note that it may be the case that the student may or may not attend the regular weekly classes. This will be dependent on the individual student needs & abilities as well as classroom considerations.

○ Additionally, these students will also be required to be available for scheduled check ins, and/or teacher or EA instruction, via ZOOM or Google Meet, once or twice per week in order to help them stay on track with the week’s learning and schoolwork.

● NEW: An additional option for families this year includes the ability to be in the PEP or SRP program without the requirement of attending the weekly classes. ( It will remain an expectation for students to attend field trips and events.) This option is primarily available to families whose driving distance is more than practical or that actually live outside of our Westwind School Division boundaries. It may also provide additional flexibility where a different degree of Inclusive Education needs might be met. (such as extremely high anxiety, debilitating disease, or other scenarios that make actual classroom attendance impractical on the one hand or overly disruptive on the other.) In these cases we will still need to maintain a weekly student-teacher contact ratio (likely email, ZOOM, Google Meet or in person tutorial session at a school campus). All other aspects of the program would remain the same as noted. Students would require access to a computer and the internet to access Hapara, our learning platform.

○ Specific admission standards apply. For further information, please speak to Principal Mike (403) 653-1547 ext. 64502 or mike.devuyst@westwind.ab.ca

How the PEP program Looks…

Teacher Weekly Classes, Learning Extravaganza Days (Field trips & Events), Resources & Library.

(Collaborative home & school instruction model - More teacher led with high levels of parent engagement) The last ‘P’ in PEP is for Partnership

○ Math, ELAL (English Language Arts & Literature), Science & Social Studies.

■ Teachers provide a year plan (Scope & Sequence) and course outlines.

■ Teachers provide Outcomes lists that clearly show which specific outcomes the teachers will be ‘instructing’ in the weekly classes as well as the significant portion of course learning objectives that are to be covered by parental ‘instruction’ - student & family learning activities, family trips and family field trips, as well as the use of resources, activities and outings at ‘home’.

■ Teachers’ ‘class’ instruction and school Learning Extravaganza Days (field trips and events) generally revolve around the ‘Big Ideas’ (essential grade level outcomes) of the particular course..

■ Teachers provide a course of study and associated resources, developed or compiled by themselves, which includes a moderate number of assignments and projects for assessment purposes. (Leaves time & space for parents to provide instruction, assessment and/or enrichment activities on the specified topic/unit on a daily basis.)

● Note: For any PEP students who do not have a ‘parent as instructor’ at home, the teacher will provide additional assignments and assessments for the student to work on with our EAs at school, and at home.

● Note: For Jr. High grades 7-9, teacher course work and instructions, etc., will be on our Hapara learning platform.

■ Parents are encouraged to access supplemental curricular materials and resources from the PEP Library at WAS for use in the ‘At Home / Distance’ instructional component of each course as well as other resources, lesson plans and activities at home or in the community, or from other sources.

■ Teachers also gather & provide ‘Formative Assessment’ during class and tutorial times and at teacher - student and parent visits at the school, or on ZOOM, as well as at school ‘Learning Extravaganza Days’ (field trips and events.)

■ Teachers, parents and students in Jr. High grades 7 - 9 will co-create a ‘Digital Portfolio System’ to capture evidence of student learning mastery from ‘at home’ learning activities and projects which will inform teacher/parent/student collaborative assessment opportunities. Note: Submissions to the portfolio are required monthly at a minimum. For students in grades 1 through 6 this same ‘gathering of student learning’ will be accomplished by way of monthly ‘Celebration of Learning’ parent, student & teacher meetings. 

Additional Information

Celebration of Learning Activities PEP & SRP Grades 1 - 6: (Each Month - Required)

○ Grades 1-6

■ Student Led Conferences Zoom or Face to Face ■ A student led conference is an opportunity for students to share with their teachers the exciting things they are learning at home. During the 30 minute conference, the child is the main facilitator. They will choose 3 artifacts (one language, one math, one social studies or science) to highlight and explain why the learning arising from that activity was meaningful to them. Any remaining time in the 30 minute slot can be spent on additional highlights from family field trips, vacations, and hobbies. Some parents and students find it helpful to set the presentation up in Google Slides or keynote. It’s entirely up to each family how they would like to present their learnings.