CAPSC Newsletter

The Calgary Association of Parent School Council has released their latest newsletter.

January meeting follow up - Report Cards Due to last-minutes set-backs, changes had to be made to the format of our January member meeting.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but appreciate all of you who were still able to attend our meeting and share your comments and feedback.  We have included a complete summary of the meeting, including some background information and a summary from CAPSC executive members.  Full details of member's comments, concerns and questions are also included.  Please read over the article and be sure to contact us directly with further comments and questions you have.  We will use the information to formulate our response and discussion with the CBE regarding the changes being made. CAPSC is here to advocate for you on all issues, so be sure to let us know what you'd like us to say on your behalf. Thank you for your continued support!

Upcoming Meeting - AGM Wednesday February 26th we will be hosting our regular meeting as well as our annual general meeting. Our regular meeting will take place from 7:00-8:00pm, with our AGM to follow starting at 8:00pm.  We will be hosting both meetings at AE Cross school (3445 37th St SW) in the library.   Our regular member meeting will focus on fundraising ideas for the sustainability of CAPSC.  This meeting is open to the public. The AGM that follows is also open to the public, however you must have a valid CAPSC membership to vote in the election or to run for a position (membership deadline is January 31st).  The CAPSC executive is looking for a few dynamic individuals to join us for the upcoming year and we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us if you have questions regarding positions or how you can contribute.  Commitment can be as much or as little as you'd like. We really do need parents and community members just like YOU!

AGM Tuesday Night

Please plan to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Wilma Hansen Parent Association and Council on Tuesday evening. The meeting is held in the library and starts at 7pm. Click here for the Parent Association agenda and here for the Council agenda.

Volunteers required for the financials of last year: We need two parents to review the books and statements this month. It will only take 1 or 2 hours, no experience or special book-keeping knowledge required. If you can help out, please email wilmahansenparents@gmail.com.

Check the calendar at the bottom of this page for various events/locations/times. Please submit any missing calendar entries to wilmahansenparents@gmail.com.

One more item for this blog entry: If you wish to volunteer for anything, if you want more information regarding Council/Association items, if you want a blog entry about a subject, if you want to contact us for any reason - just send an email - we'll get back to you, use wilmahansenparents@gmail.com.

Key Communique

Come out to next Council of School Councils meeting

The spring meeting will take place on April 17.

Trustees will provide a summary of the Trustee-hosted meetings held in February, an update on the 2013-14 budget and information about getting involved in the upcoming school board trustee election.

Read more

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Help the CBE strengthen its connection with school councils and parents

All parents are invited to attend one of the upcoming sessions to share their thoughts about parent and school council communications, and how we can work together to improve the parent experience.

Area II - April 24 - 6:30-8:30 p.m. - Mount View Centre, 2004 - 4 St. N.E.
Area III - April 23 - 6:30-8:30 p.m. - Marlborough School, 4711 Maryvale Dr. N.E.

Please RSVP to kldrummond@cbe.ab.ca, indicating which meeting you plan to attend.

Read more

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Province invites input on review of individual program plan (IPP) components

As schools and school authorities move toward a more inclusive education system, there remain high

Meeting Reminder: Council and PA Meet Tonight!

Join us tonight in the library (7:00 pm) at the school for this month's meetings.  Please click here to read the PA agenda.

CAPSC Meeting

The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils would like to welcome it's members back to the second half of the school year and we look forward to seeing you at our meetings in 2013.  First up is our January meeting which will take place Wednesday January 23rd at 7:00pm AE Cross School library (3445-37 St SW). 

This month we will be hearing from Jillian Drysdale who will be discussing her involvement with the Alberta Safe Streets initiative, which aims to extend playground zone hours to include all school start times.

Following her presentation the CAPSC executive will be hosting a conversation on how CAPSC as an organization can aid in promoting communication

Meeting Date Change

Unfortunately - due to scheduling conflicts, we need to change the meeting date next week to Tuesday, January 15th.  Here is a link to the agenda.

Back At It and Meetings Day Change

Happy New Year everyone.  I hope your holidays were fun, exciting, relaxing, rejuvenating, quiet, chaotic, or whatever it is that you needed. They are usually a mixture of all of the above in different measures.

A quick note to not only welcome everyone back (tomorrow) to school but also to remind you that our Council/PA meetings will be on Wednesday's from now on and the first one is scheduled for January 16th at 7pm in the library.  Hope to see you there next week.

From Karen Drummond, Communications Advisor for the CBE:

Making school councils the best they can be

The Board of Trustees initiated some changes to how CBE school councils operate this year. This was part of an effort to strengthen the Board’s connection to school councils, and is meant to serve as a starting point for improvement. Some of the key changes are as follows:

§ the creation of the “council of school councils”;

§ a different approach to system-wide and area meetings with school councils;

§ the development of the 2012-13 school council handbook;

§ more opportunities to connect with the Board of Trustees; and

§ a new date and process for submitting school council annual reports.

Another significant change is less emphasis on the key communicator role. That does not mean the role has been eliminated. What it means is that CBE administration now needs to examine how the role functions in light of these changes.

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School council survey results posted

An online survey was circulated to gather information about school councils early in the school year. The survey was open Sept. 28 to Oct. 18. There were 49 people who started the survey and of those, 42 who completed all questions on the survey. Another school council survey will be done closer to the end of the school year to compare perceptions and opinions.

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Parents advised about possible bus delays

Our school bus carriers are currently experiencing a shortage of school bus drivers. While the carriers are working hard to recruit new drivers, this shortage of drivers combined with winter weather conditions can cause delays for some school bus routes.

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Grade 4-12 students to complete Tell Them From Me survey

Beginning this December, an online school survey calledTell Them From Me (TTFM) will allow students in Grades 4-12 to give their anonymous input into school improvement initiatives.

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Kindergarten registration begins Jan. 14

Kindergarten registration for the 2013-14 school year begins on Jan. 14.

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Buy tickets for a night with the Hitmen Jan. 18

CBE students, staff and their families can buy discounted tickets to the Hitmen game Jan. 18. A portion of all ticket purchases will support the Fuel for School Breakfast Program.

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School councils eligible for grants from The Calgary Foundation

There are upcoming deadlines of Jan. 3 and Feb. 18 to apply for Neighbour Grants.

To apply for Stepping Stones grants, you can apply by midnight of the first day of every month.



For more information on these issues click here.

CAPSC Newsletter: November 2012

In which:

• Upcoming meetings
• Membership Dues
• Council of School Councils Update
• Online Learning

are discussed...

Parent Association: AGM

 The Parent Association Annual General Meeting will be held next week on Tuesday October 16th @ 7:30.  Obviously this is one of the most important meetings of the year as the budget will be presented and all parents have a chance for input, questions, and ultimately the vote.  The budget dictates how we will be spending the bulk of our casino money for the entire year so it's very important to get as many parents as possible involved with the input.
We will also be voting on the executive positions of the Association: Chair, Vice-Chair, Fundraising/Bingo/Casino Directors, Secretary, and Treasurer. If you are interested in any of these positions and want more information regarding responsibilities, please email me (scampsall@gmail.com) or Lynn (lejewitt@gmail.com).

Notice from CAPSC

 The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils would like to welcome you back for the new school year!  We are looking forward to a great year and would like to invite you to join us for our first meeting of 2012-2013.  Our September meeting will be held Wednesday September 19th 7:00pm at AE Cross School library.  We look forward to seeing our returning members, and we welcome all new attendees.

This month we welcome two guests from Alberta Education, Joan Engel, Executive Director, Education Program Standards and Assessment Division and Merla Bolender, Executive Director, Programs of Study and Resources.  They will be presenting "Bringing Inspiring Education to Life Through Curriculum Redesign".

Following the presentation they will facilitate a discussion on what opportunities the curriculum shifts offer for your child(ren) and how you as a parent might want to be involved in and/or kept informed about progress of curriculum redesign?

Debra Hidson from Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta will be speaking briefly on the various initiatives they are working on for the upcoming year

Please also remember that we are now accepting membership renewals.  For more information or to purchase a membership, please go to our membership page or contact our Communications Coordinator.

The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils is an incorporated not-for-profit association that provides relevant and ongoing information and support to parents and school councils in the Calgary Board of Education. Our monthly meetings offer a forum for discussion of important education issues amongst parents and with key education stakeholders such as trustees, CBE administration and Alberta Education.  Check out our website at www.capsc.ca and make sure to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.  Please feel free to forward this information to any interested parents.

Leanne Long
Communications Coordinator
Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils

First Meeting of the Year

A quick reminder that the Council and PA will be meeting on Tuesday September 18th in the Wilma library at 7:00 pm.

Last year, we were unable to create a council due to a dearth of volunteers.

This is a very important part of the parental process at the school.  It gives us, as parents, an opportunity to work with school administration on issues of school community and provide advice and input on all issues relating to the school.  We are very fortunate to have a principal and vice-principal who are more than willing to accept that input and communicate with our parents - we should take full advantage.  If you can commit a couple of hours each month to this worthy cause, please come to the meeting and let us know.  No training or background is required and all the help you need is available.  We just need more bodies...

Please note that the Wilma Hansen School Council and Parent Association meetings originally scheduled for May 15th have been re-scheduled to Tuesday, May 22 at 7pm in the Library.  

Topics include the Principal's report on our new Design Centre and its positive effect on student learning for next year, and information about upcoming Bingo and Casino fundraising opportunities.  

This couple of hours connects you closely to the school and community.  Hope to see you on the 22nd!

Meeting Minutes: April 17, 2012

Please click on links to the right under "Parent Association Documents" to read the minutes from the Council and Parent Association meetings held last week - April 17.

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: 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.

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