Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Personalised learning and AISI input

As mentioned at our last school council meeting, the CBE is looking at ways to engage the community and parents in our "phase V" Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) cycle. To qualify for provincial AISI funding, school boards submit project proposals to the government. The CBE's proposal is grounded in the personalisation of student learning. As such, we are inviting parents and students to share their ideas, understandings, and experiences, so that the Board might craft a proposal that is more reflective of all of its stakeholders.

Take a minute (or 10-15) to share your thoughts here. Your input is appreciated.

Monday, March 19, 2012

CAPSC Meeting

Please join the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils for our first meeting of 2012, which will be held Thursday March 22nd at 7:00pm, AE Cross School.  We welcome all to attend.

- This month we welcome Chief Superintendent, Naomi Johnson, who will be discussing the budget

- Trustee Bazinet (Wads 12 and 14) will be joining us, as well as Trustee Ferguson (Wards 3 and 4), who will be discussing the Education Act

- We are also pleased to welcome a local Principal, who will be speaking on their involvement with parents and the school council

- Following the discussions we will be facilitating a conversation on the accomplishments of our school councils.  If your school council has a great example of a success story, please feel free to bring it to the meeting or share it with our Executive.

The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils is an incorporated not-for-profit association that provides relevant and ongoing information and support to parents and school councils in the Calgary Board of Education. Our monthly meetings offer a forum for discussion of important education issues amongst parents and with key education stakeholders such as trustees, CBE administration and Alberta Education.  Check out our website at www.capsc.ca and make sure to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.  Please feel free to forward this information to any interested parents.
 
Leanne Long
Communications Coordinator
Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils

Thursday, March 15, 2012

You are missing some very important information...

We are in the midst of Council and Association as I type... and many relevant issues have been discussed. Next year's student projections and class sizes, possible school hours for next year, dangerous parking and road-crossing behaviour, our AISI project, student clubs... and then there's the spending!


Possible new murals, new programs, equipment, field trips... we touch on these each meeting and are spending as we speak. Have an opinion? Want a say? It's simple. Show up. A few hours once a month makes a world of difference.

Second languages survey

Parents,

The CBE is offering parents with students in kindergarten to Grade 6 the opportunity to provide input on second language education for students in Grades 4-6. Please note that we will be consulting with parents every three years on second language programs for Grades 4-6.

The link to the survey - http://language.cbeparentsurvey.com/ - can be found on the school website as part of the System Messages. Please complete the survey by March 16 to share your ideas.

Thank you.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The CBE wants to hear from you!

The CBE invites you to help us better prepare CBE students for their future. We would like to hear your ideas and thoughts on how we can work together to support personalized learning in our schools. This input will help us to plan for our Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) initiatives over the next three years as well providing the CBE with an overall understanding of people’s perspectives on personalized learning.

There will be concurrent sessions for parents/community and youth/students as follows:

March 10
9-11 a.m.
James Fowler High School
4004 - 4 Street NW

March 10
2-4 p.m.
Henry Wise Wood High School
910 - 75 Avenue SW

March 13
7-9 p.m.
Central Memorial High School
5111 - 21 Street SW

March 14
7-9 p.m.
Sir Winston Churchill High School
5220 Northland Dr. NW

Please choose a session and RSVP to Karen at kldrummond@cbe.ab.ca or 403-817-7951, noting when you plan to attend.
(And if you don’t RSVP come anyways)

For all of these dates and locations, there will be two sessions running at the same time. One session will be for community members and parents. The other session will be for CBE students of all ages.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Family Skate Night!

Please join us for our family skate night, tonight between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. Bring your family, and in-line equipment (if you have it) and share in the fun! Equipment will be available if you need to borrow, all for free! We do ask that EVERYONE wears a helmet, and that ALL children are accompanied by an adult. We hope to see you tonight! This evening is sponsored by our own HMSPA.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Staples: Video games have no place in the pages of the Scholastic flyer

 (Anyone care to comment on this article? Thanks, Roxane!)

Scholastic has been selling books to kids in classrooms for more than 50 years. It’s a fine Canadian tradition, an excellent ritual: A child gets the Scholastic flyer, picks out his or her favourite books, anxiously waits for the order to arrive, then has the excitement of getting the books in class and showing them off.

This has long been a great way to promote reading and to attach some prestige and excitement to the activity. But there’s now a new unwelcome spin on the old tradition.
Scholastic is selling video games to Canada’s schoolchildren, and not just educational video programs, but also fun games that do nothing but whet a child’s appetite for more video games.

Read more here.

Bullying should be a crime, 2/3 Canadians say in poll

(A timely article, submitted by Roxane - just POSTED in an untimely fashion. Thanks for the email, Roxane - and please keep the good articles coming!)

A majority of Canadians believe bullying should be considered a crime, according to the findings of an Angus Reid poll released Wednesday, Pink Shirt Day.

The poll revealed 65 per cent of respondents believe bullying should be regarded as a criminal activity, even if no physical violence is involved.


Read the full story here.

Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) and Personalized Learning at CBE Schools

(From Karen Drummond, CBE Communications Specialist)

We want you to take some time out of your busy life to help us better prepare your children for their future. We know this is short notice, but we hope you can help us take advantage of a great opportunity to provide your ideas and thoughts on how we can work together to support personalized learning in our schools.


There will be concurrent sessions for parents/community and youth/students as follows:


March 10

9-11 a.m.

James Fowler High School

4004 - 4 Street NW


March 10

2-4 p.m.

Henry Wise Wood High School

910 - 75 Avenue SW

March 13

7-9 p.m.

Location to be determined


March 14

7-9 p.m.

Location to be determined


Please decide which date you wish to attend and RSVP by replying to this e-mail, noting when you plan to attend. (Click here to email Karen, and RSVP)

(And if you don’t RSVP come anyways)

These dates and locations are concurrent parent, community and youth forums. If you have a child attending a CBE school, bring them along to participate in the youth forum.

Please let Karen know if you have any questions. She will send another e-mail when the other locations are confirmed.