Queensland Downs - Big Farewell

More than 30 years after opening its doors, Queensland Downs School has shut its doors. On Friday the Community Carnival celebrating all that the school has meant to so many was a huge success. Please click here to read the full story.

The Haultain community wishes QLD all the best for the summer and is looking forward to September's school year with our 'new' neighbours.

Active play eludes kids in summer: survey

Summer vacation may offer a break from the books but only one-third of Canadian children will likely spend their free time being physically active, a new report suggests.

When the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario surveyed 500 parents of children aged six to 12 in the Greater Toronto Area, they found most choose summer programs by cost and availability, not physical activity.

Read the full story here.

The Horror(s)!

Members of the "Haultain Horrors" took part in the Hockey Night in Canada/CBC's "Play On" street hockey tournament over the weekend, crushing all comers into oblivion, and winning the "Legends" division title.

Autograph sessions will be arranged upon request.

Cameron Herold: Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs

Bored in school, failing classes, at odds with peers: This child might be an entrepreneur, says Cameron Herold. At TEDxEdmonton, he makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish -- as kids and as adults.

Click here to watch an interesting video.

A Lesson in Numbers

I had a conversation with Carol Bazinet on Wednesday morning concerning the public school budget for Calgary. As in my chat with Jenny Regal blogged here, we started out by both acknowledging the complexity, confusion, and mis-information surrounding this issue. Trying to boil it down in a few sentences is impossible if a complete understanding is desired. The media's rhetoric, sensationalism, and outright misinformation hasn't helped matters and getting the facts and figures right will definitely help us, as parents, decide the best course of action. Now that the budget has been unanimously accepted, I thought some basic facts might help in the understanding of the impact to public schools and what it might mean to us as parents...

School bell tolls for teachers

By Shawn Logan, Calgary Sun

Calgary public classrooms will have to make due with at least 192 fewer teachers when the school bell rings in the fall.

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education signed off on a tough budget for the coming school year Tuesday night that will also see 79 support staff and 6.5 custodial positions axed, even as the board is forced to swallow a $10-million deficit.

While board members unanimously agreed to the balance sheet, they also took aim at the provincial government for not covering arbitrated raises for teachers or increasing the annual education grant, leaving no choice but to dip into the red and trim staff.

Read the full story here.

Public school budget confirms teacher cuts

From the CBC website

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education have approved an operating budget with a $10 million deficit and job cuts.

The financial plan for 2010-11 confirms the loss of 192 full-time teaching and 85 support positions this fall.

After factoring in retirements and resignations, the jobs of 169 probationary teachers — who are in their first year of the profession — are in limbo. Board chair Pat Cochrane said final numbers won't be clear until closer to September.

The financial crunch comes after a freeze on provincial funding and a negotiated wage raise for teachers.

Read the full article here.