Reminder!

Tonight is the parent information session, Dare to Care: Bully-Proofing Your Child.  The evening will be facilitated by Lisa Dixon-Wells, an expert in the field of bullying. The Dare to Care program is the recipient of the Imagine Canada award, bringing a new approach to building a caring community.  Being informed is a powerful tool for actively standing up against bullying.  Please plan to attend.  The session is at Haultain Memorial School tonight, 6:30 to 9:30 pm. 

No Zero Policy Discussed at ABSA General Meeting

ABSA (Alberta School Boards Association) held its fall general meeting yesterday.  The association's conference runs November 18-20 in Edmonton. The public discussion was about student testing in the province.  Albertans are being asked about testing and marks in schools, including what the appropriate assessment tools for students are and who should apply them.


Read more about the story on Global News: Global Edmonton | No-zero issue sparks larger discussion about student assessment in Alberta

How Much Sleep Do Our Kids Need?

With the onset of winter days and dark mornings, it can become difficult to wake up for school.  How much sleep do our children need to be rested for the day?  According to The National Sleep Foundation, children between five and twelve years should get ten to eleven hours of sleep each night.  The foundation's website offers helpful advice and suggestions for parents regarding sleep for babies, preschoolers and school aged children.

Check out the website here.

From The Casino Director

A quick follow up to Roxane's previous post from Martine:

• Haultain Memorial School: Casino nights November 2 and 3 at Deerfoot Inn
• 2  16 hour days
• 36 volunteers, 3 back up volunteers
• Free:  food, enlightening conversations, new friendships formed
• Approximate hourly rate of pay: $2097 for the school
• We could not have done it without you!
• Thanks to the following parents, grandparents and friends of Haultain:  Marc, Ralph, Lucy, Nicki, Stephan, Steve, Amber, Shona, Carmen, Trevor, John, Bonnie, Nick, Terry, Amanda, Linda McD, Coleen, Damon, Cindi, Lisa H, Jennifer B, Jeff, Lisa C, Tara, Jennifer L, Lorraine, Melinda, Anna, Christy, Roxanne, Eric, Shane, Tammy, Susanne, Linda, Pat, Tanya, Gail and Martine
• New Casino Chairperson: Jennifer B. Please support her in 18 months when we host another fun filled Casino experience

Big Money For Haultain!

This past weekend, Haultain Memorial Parents Association had its huge fundraiser at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino.  A handful of parents, grandparents and CBE staff members volunteered their time to work at the casino, enabling our school to likely cash in between $67,000 to $68,000 dollars by the end of this year.  The money will be used to expand new educational resources for all of Haultain's students.  (Come out to the monthly meetings on Thursday evenings, in the library at Haultain, to voice your opinion on how the money should be spent.) This fundraiser is essential, as it brings in the largest quantity of money for the parent association.  Please consider signing up in eighteen months for the next casino.  It truly is a fun experience where you get to enjoy a nice meal, hang out with friends and meet new people within Haultain's community.  Thank you Martine for your amazing efforts in organizing this event and carrying it through to an incredibly successful end!

CBE eyes review of trustee pay and perks

By Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary Herald 

Calgary public school board trustees will be asked Tuesday to approve spending $25,000 on a consultant to review their compensation and benefits in comparison to other elected officials.

 Trustees are paid $46,618 a year, with chairwoman Pat Cochrane receiving an extra honorarium of $10,476, and vice-chair Lynn Ferguson an extra $5,238.

 That has remained the same for the past five years. This spring, a trustee remuneration committee recommended an in-depth review for this school year.

 In a report going to trustees Tuesday, they are recommending a consultant be hired to prepare an independent review that would look at “compensation philosophy” and what other jurisdictions pay. CBE staff would help prepare some of the information. That review would be submitted to the remuneration committee, made up of two CBE trustees and four members of the public. The committee would make a recommendation on pay and benefits in early spring.

Read more here.

RESP's: the earlier the better

$5238.00 - this is the 2010/2011 cost per year of classes at the University of Calgary humanities program.  This doesn't include any living expenses or campus fees.  The cost is going up. In fact since 2001, the costs have increased 32% and according to this article, tuition fees are increasing three times faster than inflation. Graduates are taking an average of 14 years to pay back their $27,000 (average) of students loans.

There are many people who feel education should be free for Canada's citizens, paid for by the government and subsidized by foreign students as it is in some countries (Germany, France, Italy, Norway, etc.).  Maybe someday that will be the case, but for now, a very expensive Canadian education is the reality.

There are ways to help absorb the impact when the time comes; bursaries, scholarships, and grants are very helpful if your student has the marks. Another option is RESP's. A registered education savings plan is a great way to plan for the future.

I came across an article this morning in The Windsor Star's 'money' section that has a great overview of RESP's; every family who aspires to send their kids to a post-secondary institution should consider this investment. As the article says, its better to start as early as possible to increase the benefit but its not too late even up to your child's 15th birthday year.  The government kicks in an additional 20% of your contribution up to $500 each year.