Holy Redeemer School

75 McCurdy Drive, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2L 3W6 Tel: (613) 591-3256 E-Mail: Holy_Redeemer@ocsb.on.ca

September 27, 2012 Dear Parents/Guardians:

Beginning October 1st, all grade 4, 5 and 6 classes at Holy Redeemer will be participating in the Global Read Aloud Project. We will be reading The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate and sharing our thinking about the book with other classrooms from across the world. Our students will engage in reading and writing activities matched to the Ontario Curriculum. Students will be learning about and using various electronic tools during this project. In particular, two forms of communication that we will be accessing include, Edmodo and Skype. Students will share questions, answers, and thinking using http://www.edmodo.com/, a safe social learning network designed specifically for classrooms. In addition to learning about a variety of digital tools, we will be learning and practising digital citizenship during this project. The school boards acceptable use of technology policy will be carefully upheld. Please read, discuss, and sign the attached student code of conduct form with your child and return it to your childs teacher. We will register students for Edmodo and use it under supervision here at school. You are welcome to login with your child from home and see our discussion. Students will record their username and password in their agenda. In doing this project we hope to make the world a little smaller, open our students eyes to the rest of the world and look at all of our shared experiences. It will be a fabulous experience for your child to know that the same book they are reading is being read in classrooms around the globe. We are excited about this project and the learning ahead. If you have any questions, please contact your childs teacher.

Sincerely, Holy Redeemer Grade 4, 5 and 6 Teachers

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Global Read Aloud Project Edmodo Code of Conduct

1. I will use one of the avatars included with Edmodo for my profile picture or use one that I have appropriate legal permission to use (i.e. in the public domain). 2. I will use posts to discuss school-related content only. 3. I will use a respectful tone of voice when posting. All school rules and consequences related to harassment apply. 4. I will use appropriate grammar instead of texting language. 5. I will not reveal any personal information on Edmodo. This includes telephone numbers, addresses, emails, etc. 6. I will not post photos or videos showing myself or classmates without permission. Student signature: _________________________________________ Parent signature: __________________________________________ Date: ____________________________________________________