Gift Subscription Reminder

This post is just a reminder that the magazine subscription fundraiser is still running and if you plan on giving a magazine as a gift for Christmas you can use this handy-dandy order form.  Scratch a few people off your list quickly and conveniently and at the same time, help out your school.

Ontario School Cancels Christmas Concert

The National Post today published a story about some angry parents in an Ottawa area community whose school admin has decided to cancel Christmas festivities.  Read more here.

For an alternative view which espouses secularity in public schools read this article.

Alberta Education: Engagement Through Social Media

I saw this today and was quite impressed, now you can 'like' AB ED.

Social Media Index 

"As part of an ongoing effort to participate in various conversations relating to education in the province of Alberta, we are active in a growing number of social media tools.  See the list below for links to our social media pages as well as a short description of how and why we intend to use them."

News and Info From the "Key Communique"

The CBE publishes a regular newsletter called the 'Key Communique' and has an intended audience of all the Key Communicators in all the School Councils under CBE jurisdiction.  I thought I'd share some information from the latest effort.

System parent meeting with trustees
The next system parent meeting has been confirmed as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012
Time:7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Place: Multipurpose Room, Education Centre, 1221 - 8 Street S.W.
Topic: Meet with your trustees
Parking:Free underground parking will be provided;
Please mark the date in your calendars!

Schools stand up to bullying
Learn more about what some CBE schools did to help prevent bullying in their schools on International Stand Up to Bullying Day.

Upcoming Events
Read about: an upcoming CBe-learn open house, GATE information evening, International Baccalaureate Programme open houses and other upcoming CBE events.

Beaverbrook High School Tour and Open House

February 21st High School Tour:

Our Gr. 9 students will be going to Lord Beaverbrook High School for a tour. Leaving Wilma Hansen in the morning immediately after attendance and returning at 11:55 am. Students from R. T. Alderman and Mountain Park Schools will be joining the group.

February 22nd OPEN HOUSE at Beaverbrook 6:30-8:30 pm:

Students are invited to return to Beaverbrook with their parents, guardians, relatives, etc. in the evening to view the many programs offered at LBHS.  The Showcase will start in the gym where there will be a demonstration of the Fine Arts and Physical Education courses. That will be followed by an organized Tour in groups around the school to allow students to visit complimentary courses.

Handy Calendar

The calendar at the bottom of the blog is updated now and shows major school events up to the end of the year. We will add events throughout the year so stay tuned and check it often. If you know the date/time of events that aren't listed please help us out by sending them in.  Just email them to us using the link at the right ("contact us") or send them to info.whparents@gmail.com.

The calendar displayed below is part of Google's suite of products and is very handy in many ways.  You can click on the 'agenda' tab on the upper right to see a list of events, you can print the calendar out, you can access it from a smart phone or tablet, and if you have a Google account you can even subscribe to the calendar and have it send you email/SMS reminders for events.  

Economics For Success

Volunteers needed!  

Share your money management and life skills with the next generation!

On January 27^th, 2011, the students at Wilma Hansen School would like to participate in the Junior Achievement Economics for Success (EfS) program.

JuniorAchievement is a non-profit organization that provides business and finance programs free of charge to schools. 

EfS is a program that assists students to develop a positive attitude towards education, and career planning while recognizing the financial costs of living on their own.

We are in need of volunteers to share their experiences and insights. As a volunteer you will work with students in one 4-hour session in the morning.

Training is provided free of charge. Please contact Matt Mitchell at 403-781-2581 or e-mail at mmitchell@jasouthalberta.org to sign up for this event!

More about EfS - Economics for Success: This program helps students explore and manage their job and career choices by focusing on the direct links between further education and personal goals. Students are encouraged to reflect on the advantages of remaining in school to acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for long-term career success.

E-Addiction: A Struggle of the Ages

An article caught my eye this morning reporting a South Korean government crack down on adolescent late night internet gaming.  This CNN article reports the effort at helping those addicted by forcing the servers that run the games to deny 16 year old users access after midnight.

Civilly right or wrong, this 'electronic curfew' is a reaction to a real problem.  According to their NIA (National Information Society Agency), 8% of those aged 9 to 39 suffer from internet addiction.  Alarming stats aren't exclusive to Korea.  A recent study in North America indicates that 4% of our teens are addicted in some way to the online experience.  Dr. Timothy Liu conducted the study examining internet use among Connecticut teens, click here to read his thoughts and conclusions on 'PIU' - Problematic Internet Use.  This study has raised a storm of concern and a flurry of alarmist articles across the 'ishpere' (and even in some

Minister of Education Teleconference: Open to All

The Minister of Education is hosting a teleconference with parents and school councils at 7:45 pm on November 29th to discuss education.

  The Minister believes that parents play an important role in the education system, and is interested in hearing directly from them.

  Parents and School Council representatives are invited to participate in the conference call with the Honourable Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister of Education to discuss priorities for the next several months for Alberta's education system.

  Participants are encouraged to gather as a group to dial in where possible.

  The call will begin at 7:45 PM on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 and will take approximately 1 hour.
Please dial in at least 15 to 20 minutes ahead of time to the number listed below, as it will take time for all participants to be queued into the call

Bingo For The Band

No - this isn't a fund raiser for Rick Danko or Levon Helm (for those of you old enough to understand that reference, thumbs up!), its for our school band members/parents.  Please see the entry from Nancy below for more information:
__________________________________________

Hello Band Parents

The Wilma Hansen School Parent Association (WHSPA) has dedicated the proceeds of their next Bingo to the Band Program.  That means that the entire proceeds that WHSPA receives from this event will go directly to enhance the band program.  In order to obtain these funds, band parents must volunteer to assist at the event.   No experience is necessary; all jobs can easily be trained in 1 or 2 minutes.

Our next Bingo is SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 from 8:30am to 11:30am

The location is the BINGO BARN, 1107 33 Street NE

The next Bingo is specifically for the Band Program.  Remember, if you volunteer for a Bingo, you will receive a 30point (1point = $1) credit voucher to be used like cash to pay for various school fees, like your band fees, band camp etc.   

For this Bingo, we are requesting 8 volunteers.  If we do not receive 8 Band Parent volunteers, the funds will not be allocated entirely to the Band Program.

If you and/or other family members are able to volunteer for this event, please respond to this [via Nancy's email].  Volunteers will be selected on a first come, first served basis for the first family volunteer.  If more volunteers are required, we will allow additional family members to volunteer.   So, check your calendars and respond asap!  (nstaples@shaw.ca)

Thank you

Wilma Hansen School Parent Association

a.k.a. WHSPA

Fundscrip Fundraiser Is Over, But Magazine Campaign Continues

 This post is a quick update regarding our fundraisers. 

As most of you probably know, the Fundscrip effort is over but the Magazine fundraiser is still on.  Thank you to all who made your orders for Fundscrip, for those of you who missed out - we will likely continue in the spring so keep your cheque book handy.

High School Open House Info From Mrs. Danylko...

Grade nine high school open house parent/student meetings:

Centennial High School

Thursday, Nov. 24  7-9 pm

Dr. E.P.Scarlett High School

Monday, Nov. 28   7-9 pm

Lord Beaverbrook High School

1) Tuesday, November 29 6:30: Advanced Placement and Art Centered Learning only

2) Wednesday, Feb. 22

And...

The Family and Community Resource Centre provides an excellent resource for parents:

The Community Education Service (CES) provides parents/caregivers and other community members with opportunities to access free, evidence-informed education sessions and resource materials to address child, youth, and family health and mental health needs.

Fundscrip Cards Delivery

There was a question posted in the comments section of the Fundraiser blog entry.  Our commenter wanted to know the delivery time for the cards: Kathy, our fundraising volunteer extraordinaire, says that the cards will all come in by the end of November so there will be plenty of time to gift wrap and/or send them out for Christmas. 

Remember the deadline for buying the cards is this Friday - November 18th.  Right click here and 'save-as' to download your form.

If you ever have a question about the school or blog or any post, you can post it in the comments section but we won't necessarily know who you are so it may be difficult to answer you.  Alternatively you can email me directly and I will do my best to get back to you asap.

Meetings!

The CAPSC (Calgary Association of Parent and School Councils) is a city wide organization that is an advocate for quality education within our city.  They hold monthly meetings and encourage membership and engagement from Councils and Parent Associations to forward their goals.  Their next meeting is this week on Wednesday November 16th at 7pm in the AE Cross School.  Two trustees will be attending and a guest speaker (Dr. Sharon Friesen) will be discussing the affects of class size on learning.  If you are a parent at Wilma and want to attend the CAPSC meeting please let us know if you would also be willing to come to our Council meeting and give us a quick report.  If you want to go a step further and become our 'official' CAPSC representative, please read this info and let us know if you have any questions.

Also, don't forget our very own Council and Parent Association meetings tonight at 7pm in the library - please plan to attend.

Reminder: Only 4 days left!!

The Fundscrip fundraiser is only open until November 18th.  Don't forget to get your orders and cheques in for this popular and potentially lucrative fund raiser.  Click here for all the details and here (right-click and 'save as' to download) for the form.

Open Invitation: Career and Technology Centre

This is an invitation to an open house aimed at Grade 9 students.  The open house will be held on Thursday November 24th at 6:00 pm.  For more details, please click here. - Thank you Mrs. Higgins for the blog submission.

Remembrance Day Ceremony

A submission from Mrs. Lori Taylor:

   Yesterday, we came together as a whole school in remembrance of those who fought for and continue to fight for our freedom. Our student body and welcome guests spent an hour showing our respect for all of these brave men and women.

   I would personally like to thank all of our parents that came to our Remembrance Day Assembly to show their support for the hard work of the students at Wilma Hansen. These times of remembrance and celebration are important to our students and they appreciate the time taken by our families to join us. - Lori Taylor, Assistant Principal

Reminder: Meeting and Interviews

Please join us at the next Parent Association meeting, Tuesday November 15 at 7pm in the Wilma Library.

Also - look for us at the parent/teacher interviews this week on Wednesday and Thursday.  We will have a table set up and manned by volunteers who can answer questions about the PA and advise on our latest fundraising programs.

Fund Raising

You may ask: "Why do we need to raise funds?  We already have Casino's and Bingo's that raise a lot of money...?"  The answer is simple; Bingo and Casino cash is controlled by the government.  Even though the PA gets the money, the Gaming Commission still restricts how that money is spent.

Money that we raise outside of Casino and Bingo is ours to spend as we vote on it.  The Gaming Commission won't let us pay for pizza parties or special awards, they restrict funds on social event costs and teacher appreciation and many other items that enhance the school's environment for our kids.

We have two fund raising activities going on right now that you can participate in and you will be helping yourselves as well as the school.  Neither of these involves 'pity sales', coupon books, or door to door visits. Take your pick or do both!

 1: A magazine subscription campaign: order for yourself or to send to friends and family as gifts.  The order process is online and very simple.  To order online right now, click here, put in the campaign code: AB633, start buying Presents - simple!  Share the campaign code with everyone and anyone to help us out.  There are prizes too, read here for all the info.

2: The very popular Fundscrip Gift Cards: order from a wide range  of gift cards from Starbucks to Superstore to PetroCan.

This is a 'revenue-neutral' funding option which means it doesn't cost you any more to purchase and use the cards - the difference is you'll be helping out the school.





Example1: you go to Starbucks on a regular basis and pay a couple of bucks for a coffee.  Buy yourself the gift card and it doesn't cost you any more for the coffee but Starbucks gives the school 5% (7% for November) of the value of the card.  This could really add up for the school and costs our fund raisers nothing!

Example2: You buy groceries at Sobey's.  Purchase the gift card for Sobey's for $100.00 and use it to purchase your groceries and Sobey's will give our school $3.00!  No extra cost for you.

There are over 100 retailers to choose from: click here to see the complete list.

To become involved in Fundscrip, click here and follow the directions.  The order form is here, simply print it, fill it out and bring it with your cheque into the school.  There is a November promotion on now as well.

Extra Fund$ For Wilma Hansen

As was reported earlier in the blog, our newest Premiere has returned some of the cut back funding to Alberta Education.  That money has trickled down and Principal Higgins has explained to our Advisory Council Chair just what she is doing with Wilma Hansen's share of the windfall.

From Mrs. Higgins:

We have a couple pockets of additional money we will be spending.

1.       We are receiving $17,313 that must be directly used to support AISI. We will use these funds to release Lori (AP) to directly work with teachers in an instructional leadership role. The funds are used to support personalization of learning in the school.

2.       We are receiving $61,810 in one-time funding. We will use these funds in two ways:

a.       Part of the funds will support late literacy. In our PAT analysis it is apparent that several of our students are significantly below grade level with their reading. We will be doing targeted intervention with a formal late literacy program.

b.      Part of the funds will support technology in the classroom. This will be a teacher that works directly with other teachers on implementing technology into their classroom. (This was a position that was surplussed in the spring with the reduced funding). 

With the combined $17, 313 and $61,810 we will be hiring a teacher. This teacher will be taking on the assignments of teachers currently in the building (i.e. Lori’s grade 7 Humanities class) allowing them to be free to do the work that needs to be done. We currently have the skillset on staff to do the pieces above if they are relieved of part of their current assignment. I also think the possibility of hiring a teacher at this time with the necessary skillset all in one is unlikely. This plan will allow us to directly impact student achievement with a minimum amount of disruption. While I agree it is disruptive to bring in a new teacher 2 months into the school year and this will impact a couple classes, we are not in the position of a full reorganization which is good news. 

This is all good news indeed and I for one am very happy that we have been able to benefit from the additional funding.

Meeting Follow Up

A quick post as an overview of the meetings held on October 18th.

The Council meeting was scheduled to go first and unfortunately did not achieve quorum.  As there was also no quorum at their AGM, the Wilma Council has been dissolved.  Because it is required that all schools in Alberta have a Council, Mrs. Higgins has consulted Alberta Regulation 113/2007 Section 16(1) and established a temporary advisory committee to take over the duties and responsibilities of the Council.  If you can help with this committee please come to the next meeting (Tuesday, November 15 @ 7pm in the library) and put your name forward.  Within 40 days of the start of the next school year, an establishment meeting for a new Wilma Hansen Council will be held.  Please consider volunteering.  If you have any questions about the roles of the committee and/or the Council, you can send them to

Take Our Kids to Work Day - Grade 9

"Take Our Kids to Work Day is an annual event sponsored by the Learning Partnership that encourages grade 9 students to spend a day with their parent/guardian at their worksite." - letter from Mrs. Higgins.

Sounds like a great way to spend some time with your kid(s), show off your job, and open up some lines of communication all at once.  More information and links in the letter.

Follow the Blog

Don't want to miss any stories/important dates/school activities that are posted on our 'blog?  Simply add your email to the white box on the right and you will receive any new blog post directly to your inbox.  This is a convenient way to stay on top of what is being written on the blog.  After you type in your email address you will receive an email confirming that you want to subscribe - simple as that.

Adding your email will also automatically get your name on the Council/PA Email List and is another way to make sure you don't miss any news or extra information regarding activities at the school.

You can unsubscribe any time.

Alberta Education Funds Returned

Although the focus of this blog is primarily local to our school; there is so much going on lately at the provincial level I feel compelled to follow up a previous post.

It was reported widely in the press that one of Alison Redford's promises if elected to lead Alberta's PC party would be to restore our education funding within 10 days.  Well she was elected and she has restored the funding.  This will hopefully reflect on our kids education environment directly and quickly.  For more, click here: a short article reporting the return of funds and introducing our new Education Minister Thomas Luckaszuk.

Bingo Correction

Please note that the December bingo has been changed to a 'Band' bingo. 

To learn about the bingo efforts and how you can participate in (and benefit from) the bingo fund-raisers, come out to the Annual General Meeting next week on Tuesday October 18th.  The meeting is in the Wilma library and starts after the Council meeting at 7pm..

Click here for the entire Bingo list.

AGM - Tuesday October 18

The Parent Association AGM is coming up on Tuesday October 18th, it will immediately follow the Council meeting which starts at 7pm in the Wilma library.  Click here to see the full agenda, the highlights of which include:

-nominations and elections for all executive positions
-update on possible Bingo fines
-the school's wishlist

If you only attend one meeting of your Parent Association, this is the one you should be at.

2010 PAT Results Released

The CBE has released the Provincial Achievement Test (PAT) results from last year.  Grades 3, 6, and 9 were tested province wide to provide a metric of learning.  Click here to see the results posted on the CBE website.

Controversy about the tests has been around a long time; some feel there is too much pressure applied to our kids, some question the applicability of the results, others feel it is more of a metric for schools and teachers, some feel its an indispensable tool for measuring success, and others a waste of tax payer money.  Our provincial Education minister, Dave Hancock, has this to say.  Our new premiere-elect wants to do away with them in elementary schools. What do you think?  Leave a comment...

For more on PAT's: From the Sun, from the Herald, from Alberta Education

Tell the CBE how to spend windfall...

 As reported earlier on this blog, Alison Redford made a startling campaign promise.  She said if elected to lead the PC party she would restore the reduced Educational funding to Alberta's school boards.  In a shocking victory over the weekend she finds herself in the province's driver seat.  IF Premier Redford is able to shake the money loose and IF the funds are unrestricted; the CBE would like to know how to spend the restored cash that may be coming their way.  Click the link below and answer the two question survey - let them know what you think.  This sort of input will have a direct effect on our educational environment!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CBEfunding

Alberta Schools the Best in the World

"Alberta is the jurisdiction with the best educational results of any English speaking jurisdiction in the world," said Prime Minister Cameron at the House of Commons on Thursday, calling Canada a home of "innovation and technology."

But we have to work harder says Education Minister Dave Hancock, "Although we are leading edge, we aren't successful for every student yet," he said. "We still have too high a drop out rate. We still have students who need more."

No More Junk Food

The CBE has announced a ban on junk food! 

"As of Jan. 1, 2012, foods not considered nutritional will not be sold through Calgary Board of Education contracted vendors..." - Damien Wood: Calgary Sun


This doesn't mean that your kids can't bring what they want to eat at school snack and lunch times but it is part of a process in educating our kids about healthy choices.  Naomi Johnson, Chief Superintendent of Schools says, "Children spend much of their day in our schools and therefore we must model, in all the ways we can, how to be health-conscious citizens"

28th Alberta General Election

As early as October 2011, Albertan's may be going to the polls for the 28th time in our history to choose our premiere.  With Ed Stelmach's announcement that he will not be seeking election, the PC party of Alberta has been in the throes of picking a new leader.  In the race, for what some are deeming the 'Coronation of Alberta' (PC's have 72 of a possible 83 provincial seats), were 6 candidates.

Since the first ballot was struck, the PC's are down to three candidates (Gary Mar, Alison Redford, and Doug Horner) and the second ballot, a preferential vote, will be cast on October 1.

As with most politicians, its very hard to pin down exactly what they plan to do if elected.  Policy on education with these three is no different. 

2010/2011 Bingo Form

If you're able to help out at a bingo, please print the document linked below and return the form to the school or the Parent Association.


The Bingo Form.

As it says in the form, last minute cancellations put our group at risk of $$ penalties so if you are unable to attend a chosen bingo, notify the Parent Association immediately.

First meeting of the year!

Welcome back all.  This is a quick post to remind everyone that the first meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, September 20th in the library at the school.  It will start at 7pm, the Council meeting will be followed by the Parent Association meeting. 

Wilma Hansen Blog

Welcome everyone to the Wilma Hansen Parents Blog. This 'weblog' is supported by your Parent Association. The complete author list is still to be determined but the vision is this will be a common spot for parents of Wilma students to learn about what's happening at the school, at the board, and within the province. From classroom stories to provincial budget issues, you will find it here.

You will have a chance to not only be a passive receiver of information but to become engaged with comments and/or story ideas. You can always add a comment by clicking on the word 'comment' under each post, or you can email stories or story ideas by clicking on the 'contact us' link to the right. If you have any feedback about the blog or if you'd like to see a feature that's not here, use the link.

You can receive updates directly to your email box by signing up on the right hand side in the box labelled "Follow by Email", we will also have an RSS feed soon.

As the disclaimer states - this blog and its posts are not necessarily reflective of the opinion and/or policy of the CBE.