Monday, October 26, 2015

WHSPA AGM Recap

Here are a few items from the AGM last week that may be of interest to everyone:

WE Day, Tuesday, October 27th @Calgary Stampede Grounds  (15 or 16 students will be attending with Ms. Siska. Thanks to WHSPA for the transportation support.

October 26th @6:30-8:30om in the Wilma Hansen Library for parents in our community AHS partnership presentation: Respectful Relationships.

Halloween Week October 26 – October 29.

Parent/Teacher/Student conferences – Thursday October 29th 3-5pm and then 6-8pm first come first serve basis.

Remembrance Day Assembly is on November 10th at 10:30 am – Parents welcome!

Look for upcoming Purdy’s & Perogies fundraising campaigns from the band parents association.

Congratulations to our new & returning WHSPA executive rock stars:
  • Chair - Ardith
  • Vice Chair – Kari          
  • Treasurer – Cheryl
  • Casino Director – Ardith
  • Fundraising Director – Brent      
  • Secretary - Beverly

Monday, October 19, 2015

WHSPA AGM: Important Meeting Announcement

The WHSPA  AGM is Thursday, October 22nd at 7 pm in the library. You may not be aware that each of the executive positions are for a 1 year term. This year we have a number of positions available due to grade 9 students & parents moving on to high school. 

Nancy Staples has been an outstanding treasurer . Her connections with the Parkland community were invaluable in our last casino as was her organization and scheduling. 

Our fundraising coordinator, Kathy Waterman, is also leaving us. When Kathy took on the fundraising position for WHSPA, our general account was -$500. She leaves us with a solid $4797. My sincere thanks to both of these ladies. 

I am also stepping down as WHSPA Chair. I’ve enjoyed working with Kat, Daryl, the rest of the staff, and the Wilma parents. We have a wonderful community of caring families and I have been happy to look out for the needs of our kids. Our secretary is returning as is our casino director. We have also found a volunteer to replace our treasurer and she has been working over the summer to become acquainted with our system. 

We are however in need of a chair and a fundraising coordinator. If you feel you can dedicate some time for a very worthwhile cause – our children – please join us in the library on October 22nd.

Casino Volunteers Needed

 

Our WHSPA casino December 5 & 6th  at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino is approaching quickly. Ardith is still looking for 10 volunteers. Please help us fill this need quickly.Come to the next meeting to find out how best to help out or follow this link to information and sign up forms.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Guest Entry: Mrs. Wiebe and the Learning Commons

It's always great to receive blog entries from staff, the more the merrier. The following was submitted by Mrs. Wiebe who works with our students in the Learning Commons.




What has been happening in the Wilma Hansen Learning Commons this year?

Thanks to the generosity of the Parent Association; our Library Assistant, Mrs. Wiebe has been able to purchase more items for our collection than she would otherwise have been able to.  

Mrs. Wiebe has also introduced the Scholastic Book Club this year; she would encourage all students to consider purchasing books from these flyers as the rewards they produce provide new materials for our LC.  

With these two extra means of revenue, we have been able to add a number of new and gently used books in a variety of genres and reading levels.  It is a challenge to consistently engage junior high readers as there is a vast spectrum of reading levels, maturity and interests.
Some of the great new things you will see are:

 
·       - More graphic novels—this is a hot new genre that is seeing lots of interest from students and young people in general.  Many people are visual learners and there are many quality GNs that combine both good art and literature.  GNs also have value in that reading at any level is better than not having appealing books available. We know readers become successful people, and so it is important to engage as many students as possible, and make the Learning Commons an inviting and comfortable place to be.

       


        -  Over 20 of “The 10 best, most, greatest” books.  These are high-interest non-fiction books that deal with relevant material—both current and historical.  An easy, engaging read that surprises the reader into learning something!



·        -  Additional copies of high demand books such as “The Fault in our Stars”, the”Divergent” series, the “Maze Runner” series and others allow multiple students to sign out these books at the same time.  The dystopian genre seems to be the choice of young adults right now, followed closely by fantasy.  Also popular right now are series of books that are not all written by the same author.
 

·         - Replacement books—over the years, quality books in our collection have gone missing, often leaving series with gaps in them or unfinished.



·        - Periodicals—we will soon have some new magazines in the LC for browsing.


 
While these needs have not been completely filled, we can see a larger number of engaging reads now more readily available in our Learning Commons.  We hope students will take advantage of these new additions, as well as discover the many treasures that already exist in the LC.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

No PA Meeting Tonight


This is a quick blog notice to let you know there is no meeting for the Parent Association tonight.