School Fees Forums

SCHOOL FEES!  

Confused? Angry? Indifferent? Opinionated?  Now is your chance.  The following is an open letter from the CBE asking you to express yourself about school fees.  Take the survey or go right to the Ed Centre and make yourself heard.

Parents,

The CBE is in the process of conducting a school fees review. This work provides parents with a valuable opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas regarding fees.

Some of you may have already participated in parent focus groups, but there are some additional opportunities coming up to share your views. We would really appreciate your active involvement. This is a chance for you to be heard.

How can you participate?

1.     Complete this 10-minute online survey by March 5 at the following link: http://www.CBEparentsurvey.com

2.     Attend a parent focus group to discuss fees 7-9 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Education Centre (1221 – 8 Street SW). Full details and to RSVP: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/New/spotlights11-12/120210-parents-share.asp. All parents are welcome to attend.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure the parents of our school community are represented in this process. It will have an important influence on decision-making for the coming year.

Alberta School Council Association - AGM

Every year, the Wilma Hansen School Parents Association sponsors up to two parent delegates to attend the Alberta School Councils’ Association Conference and Annual General Meeting (ASCA AGM) in Edmonton.  This conference is an amazing way to gain an insight into how the Education System functions within the Province. 

Hundreds of delegates from all corners of Alberta meet to exchange ideas, attend seminars and take part in round table discussions on the latest ‘hot topics’.

This year’s session topics include:

·       Online Community Connections

·       The ABCs of Mental Health

·       B.Y.O.B. Workshop (Bring Your Own Bylaws)

·       Anaphylaxis Canada “The First Kiss”

·       Digital Parent Resources

·       Student Wellness

·       School Improvement and Student Success

·       Straight Talk - The Culture of Drugs

·       Education Funding in Alberta

·       What are COSCs and How Do They Help?

·       Student Assessment and Standardized Testing

·       Bill 18 and Education

The ASCA Conference will be held on the weekend of April 20-22.  The event starts on Friday evening with registration and a welcome social. A (very) full Saturday agenda starts with breakfast, plenary and breakout sessions, address from the Minister of Education, preparation for the AGM and an evening banquet.  A resource gallery is presented, with over 25 exhibitors displaying products, services and information of value for parents in public education.  Sunday's business meeting starts early, after breakfast, and continues until all resolutions proposed for policy are debated and voted upon, as well as appointment of the new governing Board.

Please review the AGM package online at http://www.albertaschoolcouncils.ca/  Click on “ASCA 2012 Connection” and “AGM 2012 Information”  for details.  Some of the Resolution topics for this year are:

·       Scheduling of Provincial Achievement Tests

·       Assessment Measures of 21st Century Student Success

·       Single Enrolment Birth date across the Province of Alberta

The Wilma Hansen School Council will be reviewing the 2012 Resolutions starting at our meeting on Tuesday, Feb 21 at 7pm in the library.  Everyone is welcome.  If you are interested in learning more, or want to attend the conference on behalf of our Council, please come to the Council meeting and put your name forward. 

The Conference Registration deadline is April 10, 2012, so don't miss an opportunity to be involved, to be heard, and make a difference in public education.

Parent Nights at Lord Beaverbrook

Beaverbrook is hosting three events over the coming months for parents of middle school, junior high and high school students:

Each session starts at 6:30pm at Lord Beaverbrook: 9019 Fairmount Drive SE

February 29th: Helping your teen answer: "Where am I going? What am I good at?"
March 21st: Get in the know about drugs and alcohol with teens
April 25: How to support your teen in saying no to drugs and alcohol

The Facts About Ecstasy and the PMMA Deaths in Alberta

If you're like me, you've been alarmed and saddened by the news of nine Alberta deaths linked to the use of Ecstasy/MDMA in the province.  The use of ecstasy by a subset of our society has taken on a new and very deadly risk due to the 'party' drug being laced with a substance called PMMA.  Stories like this one and this one have hit home just how fragile and vulnerable our children can be when it comes to drugs and drug use.

Alberta Health Services has released a very informative community letter about the problem.  Read it here.  There are also some excellent resource links in the document, I've listed some of them below for your convenience:


PMMA: Frequently Asked Questions
MDMA: Frequently Asked Questions
PADIS: Poison and Drug Information Service
How to talk to your kids about drugs
Health Canada: Ecstasy

Power Bills and Pencils vs. Teacher Raises

Photo: Bruce Edwards, edmontonjournal.com

Tom Lukaszuk, Alberta's Education Minister says in an article published today by the Calgary Herald that the final offer is on the table for teacher's salary increases.  The overall budget allows for little to no teacher raises over the next three years.  The teacher's union's current contract is set to expire in August of this year.

Backyard Playground

 We are very fortunate to live next door to one of the world's largest and beautiful playgrounds.  The Rockies and Canada's Parks draw people from all over the world and even more people wish they could travel here.  Everywhere I've been the people I meet are envious of how close we are to such a class, world wide destination.  With that in mind, if you've been thinking you don't get 'out there' enough and want something budget-friendly, here is the article for you.  Many ideas and thoughts about how to enjoy the parks without having to re-mortgage the home to do it...

Thanks for the link Roxane, and the reminder.

Three Scary Words: " I Don't Know"

 
• Why is water wet?
• How do aeroplanes stay in the air?
• How do I do long division?

Do these questions stress you out? If so, you aren't the only one. I read this great article about parent's reluctance to say "I don't know" to their kids in the Huffington Post today by David Suzuki and thought you might like it. 

Many parents ... believe they must appear infallible in the eyes of their children. A U.K. survey found that some moms and dads fear questions such as "Why is the sky blue?" and "Why is the moon out during the day?" Math and science queries were the biggest stumpers. - D. Suzuki

 Beware though: this is David Suzuki, so it naturally leads to political and environmental issues... the linked article from the UK sticks better to the point of the story with some great examples.

Using the Outdoor Rinks? Read This!

This is a post to thank the talented and very dedicated volunteers who make and maintain our outdoor ice.  The QCA ice is among the best in the city; skaters come from other neighbourhoods because they know how superior the Queensland ice crew is at making a great sheet.

I've spent more time skating on the outdoor rink this year than ever before and many other groups and families from our community have been taking advantage of the rink as well so I wanted to use this forum to thank Panger and his 'posse' of talented volunteers for working so hard.

 

The outdoor facility gives many kids (and kids-at-heart) a safe and friendly environment to skate, play hockey, improve, visit, practice, meet, gossip, watch, help, teach, compete, congregate and be a community.  So if you see any of the volunteers who make it possible, say 'thanks - good job' because they deserve it.  Let the Community Association know how much you appreciate it too - it takes funding to keep the whole thing going so they need to know how much it means to us.  Let us know on the blog too - if you use the ice, click on 'comment' below and let the volunteers know what it means to you.

Some tidbits:

• Three 'senior' volunteers get up early each morning and spend about three hours sweeping, edging and flooding the ice - thanks Ken, Steve, and Wayne.
• Aaron (Panger), Stephan, Ryan, Michael, Jesse, and Tyler are the night crew who make sure the ice, boards, nets, lights, walkways, benches, dressing room are ready for the morning guys.
• Panger is always looking for help.  You don't need to necessarily commit to a huge amount of time but if you have an hour or two a week to spare; come by and ask how you can help or call the QCA @ 403-278-3366 and leave a message.
• Donations of hockey gear of any sort are always welcome, many kids come to play but not all of them have all they need, help them out with anything you have.
• The facility just had a huge upgrade with the installation of the fencing over the boards to keep errant pucks where they belong.
• The next big step will be the acquisition of a full size ice-resurfacer and shed to keep it in.  Look for future fund raising activity for that.

Ten Most Educated Countries in the World

Interesting finance article on Yahoo this morning.  Not a big surprise that there is a link between money spent on education and having large numbers of educated people in your country, but there's also a link between the highest numbers of educated people among the richest countries by GDP.  Look who's number 1!