Principal’s Message

Calendar of Events 2

Drama Festival 2

Year End Procedures 2

Student Recognition 3

Grade 9 PAT’s 4

School Fees Update 4

Mental Health Awareness 4

Career Practitioner 5

Skills Development 6

Grad Info 7

W I N S T O N C H U R C H I L L

H I G H S C H O O L

WCHS Newsletter

Churchill students and staff continue to engage actively with learning, service initiatives, co-curricular activities, and a host of other engagements that make our school a vibrant and active centre. Churchill students consistently show their true colours as hardworking, benevolent and caring members of the community. They take pride in what they do and carry their passions beyond our school walls. These acts are certainly admirable and recognised by many. We currently have a number of “in season” athletic activities on the go: Track and field, rugby, and badminton. The Churchill Fine Arts community is also in full swing. The band and choir programs participated in the Kiwanis Music Festival and are currently preparing for spring performances. Drama is preparing for the annual One Act Play Festival with a large group of students contributing and participating. The Co-curricular activities give our kids another opportunity to grow, excel and express themselves in ways other than academics. Our students continue to represent their school and community with Churchill pride in all their endeavours, and we are very proud of their commitments and accomplishments. The Churchill Moving Forward with High School Redesign project is well under way. Our visions and opportunities for developing student ownership of learning coupled with teacher growth in assessment practices continues to show positive outcomes. We will always be in a state of growth and transition with these base principles. The Moving Forward with High School Redesign work has certainly given staff and students greater flexibility in what teaching and learning can be. Growth and change are not instantaneous. Group ownership of ideas and plans are critical to success and improvement, and we are on a positive path. The Churchill project was built on experiences we have found successful to date and allows us to move forward with plans to enrich and enhance the teaching and learning opportunities in our school. Our current work continues to explore the I-2 experience and opportunities for students as well as other direct classroom and school practices that will empower our students as learners. To view the project summary go to:http://wchs.lethsd.ab.ca/documents/general/MFWHSR%20Summary.pdf We are in the early stages of planning and preparation for the next school year. Returning students should have already completed their online course selections and meetings with their advisors to confirm courses and requirements for school completion. The week of April 24, students will bring home a registration package for parents to verify demographic information. Return forms to advisors by April 27 to complete the registration for next year. Students are not “registered” for next year until these forms are signed by a parent/guardian and returned to the advisor. In closing, we appreciate your ongoing cooperation and support in helping your kids be successful at Churchill, and for engaging with us to help them achieve their goals, aspirations and dreams for the future.

Carey Rowntree

Lethbridge School District #51

April 2017

P A G E 2

W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

Semester II

Calendar Of Events

Your lockers must be cleaned out with the lock left on. Any items left

in your locker after Friday, June 16th will be donated to local

charities.

June 6 Grad Luncheon 9 Colour Day 14 PSC Meeting 16 Last Day Class 19-30 Exam Week 29 Student Last Day 30 Grad Convocation & Celebration

May 17 PSC Meeting 18 Recognition Assembly 19 Staff Learning Day (No School)

22 Victoria Day (No School)

April 12 PSC Meeting 13 Report Cards Digital 14-21 Easter Break (No School)

24 Staff Learning Day (No School)

Procedures for Year-End Closing and

New-Year Start-Up

In June, students will receive a sheet listing all the books signed out to their ID card. Please make sure the books that you have match the barcode on the sheet.

Please return all your textbooks to the Textbook Centre by June 16th or no later than the day of your exam (if you require the textbook to study). DEADLINE for all textbooks is June 29th! Please ensure that you return all of your textbooks ASAP. Textbooks should not be given to teachers, left in classrooms or left in exam rooms. They should be taken directly to the Textbook Centre or left on the cart in the office if the textbook centre is closed.

Library books need to be returned to the Library by Monday, June 12th.

Lost books must be paid for prior to the end of the school term. Unpaid bills may result in a delay in receiving yearbooks.

Report cards and an information newsletter will be available online during the first week of July 2017.

Grade 12 students will be able to access their marks and diploma information on MYPASS.

Registration information and schedule for the 2017-2018 school year will be posted on the WCHS webpage.

Online fee payments should be available by August 18th. Parents are encouraged to register early at https://lethbridge.schoolcashonline.com

(link on WCHS webpage). Registered families will be notified by email

when fees have been added to their account and are available for payment.

The Southern Alberta High School Drama Festival will be held on Thursday, April 27th on the Main Stage at the University of Lethbridge. We are presenting What’s Going On Back There? The show takes a look at the what happens backstage during a high school play. Twenty-four students are involved with the production. We are looking to win our eighth consecutive Southern Alberta Festival.

The performances start at 7:00. At this time we are unsure

what time our play will be presented. You may come to only

our show. You do not need to be there for all the plays as

there is an intermission between each show. Please call the

school the week of April 24th to check the exact time.

Admission is $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for students

and seniors. Tickets will be available at the door.

Southern Alberta High School Drama Festival

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W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

University of Waterloo Math Contests

Math and Science Students

Math Students of the Month February Math 9-2: Israel Suzuki Math 10-C: Jaixann Persigas Math 20-2: Hannah Vanderhulst Math 30-1: Darian Bagnall March Math 9-4: Dawson Bernhart Math 10-3: Scott West Math 20-4: Lauren Bowyer Math 31: Jesse O’Connor

Science Students of the Month February Science 10: Caden Roelofs

Physics 20: Candace Chan Biology 30: Kasydi Whillans March Science 14 KE: Garret Van Braak

Chemistry 20: Azia Burton Science 30: Kaitlyn Orr Biology 35IB: Emily Han

The following students participated in the Waterloo University Spring Mathe-matics contests this April. We will be finding out results in May. Congratulations to those who took the challenge!

Fryer (Grade 9) Mina Akbary-Zheng David Basil Amber Conarroe Dewuni DeSilva Ben Hall Jackson Lowe Ailene McMahon Aroma Pageni Nicholas Parra Matthew Ryabov Michelle Wu Alice Zhang

Galois (Grade 10) Trinity Alles Nicolle Araque Jannis Boenn Jack Derbich Brooklyn Fowler Lauren Platz Andy Sun Rosie Terrazzano Jessica Van Gaalen Wade Zhang

Hypatia (Grade 11) Andrea Aquino Nimaya DeSilva Josiah Lotecki Kendra Nilsson Euclid ( Grade 12) Mark Betts Shelly Lee

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W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

Notification of Grade 9 Achievement Testing Parents of Students in Grades 9:

In May and June of this year, all Grade 9 students throughout the province will write provincial achievement tests in language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Results from these tests will provide Alberta Education, school administrators, teachers, parents, students, and the public with information about what students know and can do in relation to provincial standards at the end of Grade 9.

Achievement tests are based on what students have been learning throughout the school year. These tests will be marked by the classroom teacher before they are returned to Alberta Education. This allows us to get an initial look at the performance of students in classes and will enable us to use each child’s achievement test score as a part of their final grade in each subject tested. A Preliminary Individual Student Results report based on the teacher scoring will be included with your child’s June report card.

In the fall, an Individual Student Profile showing your child’s achievement test results will be sent home. This profile is prepared by Alberta Education after the marking and scoring of tests has been completed and final scores are calculated; it will present your child’s performance on each test in relation to provincial standards. This information may be useful in planning your child’s instructional program for the coming year. You are invited to review your child’s results with his or her new teachers and to discuss how results will be reflected in the instructional program that is planned for the coming year.

Reports that show how well our students did as a group in relation to provincial standards will also be available at our school in the fall. All parents and other members of our community will be invited to our school to discuss the results at that time.

R U getting enough Vitamin ‘N’ May 1-5, 2017 is mental health awareness week. Research has shown that spending time outdoors improves performance on short term memory tests, increases our sense of well-being, and reduces stress, depression and anxiety. There are lots of ways to spend time in the outdoors that are good for your physical and emotional health. Mindful walking has proven to be a great way to reduce negative thinking, which contributes to men-tal illnesses like depression and anxiety. Next time you go for a walk focus on what you see, what you smell, what you hear and what you feel.

In recognition of mental health awareness week the Churchill Wellness team is planning a fun scavenger hunt activity which will encourage students to get outside and enjoy nature.

2017-2018 School Fees Update Lethbridge School District No. 51 has eliminated the $70.00 high school resource fee. A number of course fees do remain as an authorized and necessary fee at the school level to assist with the costs related to consumable supplies, transportation and rental of facilities. The WCHS student fee supports general student programs and activities outside the classroom that benefit and enhance the high school experience for all students. We work hard to keep these fees as low as possible while still providing a quality learning experience for students. Specific course fees will be shared in the June newsletter and will not change significantly from previous years.

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W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

Career NEWS! Our Career Centre has been busy dreaming up new ways to encourage students to engage in activities that will help them explore career options! Here are some of the events we offer or are able to take advantage of on an annual basis.

Post-secondary Education Fair - October, 2016

Annual field trip to attend SAIT (Calgary) Open House and gourmet lunch – October 2016

EPIC Career Exploration Day (Career Transitions event for southern Alberta students) February 2017

WCHS Volunteer Fair - February 2017

WCHS Job Fair - March 2017

World of Choices (Junior Achievement) - April 2017

Job Shadow experiences (grade 11 and 12 students) – November 2016 and May 2017

Student for a Day experiences at Lethbridge College and University of Lethbridge (fall 2016 and spring 2017) If the student in your home has not accessed services from Lettie Croskery, our

Career Practitioner, please encourage him or her to book an appointment. Lettie is always available to help students research career opportunities, complete self-assessment exercises, complete a resume, practice for upcoming interviews, learn about the advantages of volunteering in our community, participating in regular career and post-secondary events. Please feel free to be in touch with Lettie through our school Career Centre webpage.

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W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

P A G E 7

W C H S N E W S L E T T E R

Grad 2017 Update

Your graduation is an exciting and important time. We are looking forward to celebrating this accomplishment with you and your family. There are two main activities involved in graduation. Convocation recognizes the academic achievement of completing requirements for a High School Diploma, Knowledge and Employability Certificate, or a Certificate of High School Completion. No tickets are issued for this event, it is open seating. Students are requested to arrive an hour early to have a group photo taken in cap and gown and line up for the processional. The evening celebration includes a program, grand march, reception and dance (open seating). Optional reception Food Tickets will be sold in May (no limit). Parents need to understand that High School Diplomas are mailed out to students individually in early fall of 2017. Correct demographic information at the school is important so students receive the official High School Transcript. At convocation, students receive a certificate of completion from the school for their specific program. Students will also be given access to myPass where they can request High School Transcripts and see grades for diploma exams.

You will find the complete 2017 Grad Booklet on our website under the GRAD section. This booklet provides you with information regarding your graduation day!