HOJA Fun

Once again the HOJA performance was a smash. By all accounts the students responded very well to the music and the message.

I've also heard that a special participant was 'pressed' into displaying unknown talents for singing and dancing. If anyone knows who this unknown performer is, please leave a comment with his stage name. Click on picture for a better view. I think Simon Cowell will want this man on his star list.

I'm sure sorry I missed this...

Innisbrook Fund Raiser

The fund raiser that Kristie has set up for the PA is in full swing. There have been a few questions concerning the logistics. Kristie has provided this summary:

• Order online at www.stanbridge-innisbrook.com, select EZ Parent, enter the school code that was sent home in the agendas, if you need the code email me.
  
• All online ordering has to be completed by October 30th.
  
• Print out voucher, return it to the school in agendas or drop it off at the front office with your cash or cheque(s) made payable HMSPA. All payment must be received by November 2nd.
• Orders should be in by the middle of November
  
• All orders will be delivered to the school. Smaller packages will go home with the kids, larger ones will be available at the school for pickup on Friday the 20th (if they all arrive that week) after school at 2:25 - 3 pm. This date may change but you will be notified.

Thanks again to Kristie for all her work on this fund raiser.

Meeting Last Night

This is just a quick entry outlining the meeting last night.

First - thanks to everyone who came out. It was great to see so much engagement and support for our school. The format of the meeting (which was a bit of a surprise to everyone) was a 'mixer'. There were no formal presentations or speakers. All the principals were there (in both senses of the word) but they simply mingled around and engaged people in conversation about the process and the recommendations.

There were displays mounted on large Bristol board presentations outlining a number of things - most of which we had already seen or had access to. The final display was, in my mind, the most important. It addressed a lot of the concrete questions, feedback and conceptions from the "World Cafe" that occurred three weeks ago. This display will hopefully be made available to us on the CEOPs web site shortly.

The next and final step of this part of the process is one more Focus Group Meeting held on November 2. This will be a return to the original three person teams from each of the schools meeting with the CEOP team. Stay tuned for more updates and information. If you have any questions about last night's meeting please let me know.

CEOP Meeting Tonight - Open House

Don't forget that tonight is the final public forum for the CBE recommendation on school closure in our area. So far their proposed recommendation is to close the Queensland Downs School and divide those students across a geographic boundary into Haultain Memorial and Deer Run.

Tonight's meeting is an open house, everyone in the community is invited to come and participate. I'm not sure what forum the meeting will have but that it is part of the CEOP community consultation process. Parent involvement levels are noticed so the more engagement we can have the better.

Please plan to come and have your voice heard about our school and this issue - Wilma Hansen at 7:00. See you there.

Swine flu vaccine approved

By Meagan Fitzpatrick, Canwest News Service

OTTAWA — Canadians who want to roll up their sleeves for the H1N1 vaccine should stay tuned for details about local immunization clinics, now the vaccine has been authorized and the country's biggest vaccination program in history can get underway.

The vaccine, named Arepanrix by its manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, was given the green light Wednesday morning by Health Canada, paving the way for provinces and territories to start using the doses of the vaccine that were shipped to them last week.

Full story here.

Deer Run residents worried about field's future

From the CBC Calgary website.

A petition to save a sports field is circulating in the southwest Calgary neighbourhood of Deer Run.

The field in the 2000 block of 145th Avenue S.E. is popular with football and other sports teams. It's one of 16 surplus school sites that the city is considering developing.

Full story is here.

Student Enrolment Climbs at the CBE

I Just found this story on the CBE website, and thought this might be an interesting addition to the blog after reading Shane's latest. Interesting that enrolment is down in older, established communities - and up in the newer ones. Read on:

Student enrolment at the Calgary Board of Education has increased for the new school year, according to figures submitted to Alberta Education on September 30th.

The number of students enrolled in CBE schools for the 2009-2010 school year is 102,413. That’s an increase of 591 students from the previous school year.

CBE Chief Superintendent of Schools Naomi Johnson announced the latest enrolment figures during a public board meeting last night, calling the increase “extremely good news.”


Click here for the full story.