Superintendent’s Memo · recipient of the APEGA Award, spon-sored by the Association of...
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Week of June 23—27, 2014 Superintendent’s Memo FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT This memo is the final Superintendent’s message for the 2013-2014 school year. Our students are heading into the last week of exams and our teachers are busy completing the final assessments in preparation to communicate this im- portant information home to parents. It is the culminating week of a very busy school year. Our work as a team to provide maximized student learning through supporting effective teaching is important work. Our model depicts the BTPS Mission and every per- son who is a member of our team is connected to our central purpose. All of you have made it possi- ble to achieve our goal of maximizing student learn- ing. In order for our work to make a difference, every person must be effective in their work. I want to personally thank all of you for your commitment and dedication to our students. Our team is made up of over 600 dedicated people in a variety of roles. A BIG THANK YOU to our entire team for their hard work in supporting our mission and caring so deeply for the students that we are priv- ileged to be with every day: Library Technicians Administrative Assistants Teachers Instructional Assistants Bus Drivers Custodians Bus Contractors Central Services Staff Principals Technology Staff Assistant Principals Board of Trustees Maintenance Staff Learning Support Teams WOW and VIBE Staff Family School Liaison Workers Continued on page 2. INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Supt (cont’d) ............2 Human Resources ...................2 Curriculum...............................3 FNMI Teacher Resources ........3 Policy Update...........................4 Technology...............................4 Student Education Services .....4 Payroll & Benefits………………...5 Transportation……………….…….5 Items of Interest…………………..6 MISSION: Buffalo Trail Public Schools is committed to maximizing student learning, in a safe and caring environment, supported by a highly effective team. This takes the cake! See what these photos mean on page 3!
Transcript of Superintendent’s Memo · recipient of the APEGA Award, spon-sored by the Association of...
Week of June 23—27, 2014
Superintendent’s Memo FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
This memo is the final Superintendent’s message for the 2013-2014 school year. Our students are heading into the last week of exams and our teachers are busy completing the final assessments in preparation to communicate this im-portant information home to parents. It is the culminating week of a very busy school year. Our work as a team to provide maximized student learning through supporting effective teaching is important work. Our model depicts the BTPS Mission and every per-son who is a member of our team is connected to our central purpose. All of you have made it possi-ble to achieve our goal of maximizing student learn-ing. In order for our work to make a difference, every person must be effective in their work. I want to personally thank all of you for your commitment and dedication to our students. Our team is made up of over 600 dedicated people in a variety of roles.
A BIG THANK YOU to our entire team for their hard work in supporting our mission and
caring so deeply for the students that we are priv-ileged to be with every day:
Library Technicians Administrative Assistants
Teachers Instructional Assistants
Bus Drivers Custodians
Bus Contractors Central Services Staff
Principals Technology Staff
Assistant Principals Board of Trustees
Maintenance Staff Learning Support Teams
WOW and VIBE Staff Family School Liaison Workers
Continued on page 2.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
From the Supt (cont’d) ............2
Human Resources ...................2
Curriculum ...............................3
FNMI Teacher Resources ........3
Policy Update ...........................4
Technology ...............................4
Student Education Services .....4
Payroll & Benefits………………...5
Transportation……………….…….5
Items of Interest…………………..6
MISSION: Buffalo Trail Public Schools is committed to maximizing student learning, in
a safe and caring environment, supported by a highly effective team.
This takes the cake! See what
these photos mean on page 3!
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT (FROM PAGE 1)
Your trustees are members of the Public School Boards Association of Alberta. As a part of their professional learning, they have what is referred to as Trustee University that is held in conjunction with their Fall General Meeting. This is a one-day learning event held on October 16th, 2014. This year, PSBAA is inviting school boards to have two guests to join them on this day. It will be held in Edmonton and it’s an opportunity for community leaders and advocates for public edu-cation to provide information on the most current topic in education. The trustees will be looking to identify individuals who are interested in at-
tending in one of these spots. If mem-bers of the public are interested, I en-courage them to speak with their local trustee to be considered for selection for this event.
Let’s end this final Superintendent’s Memo with two celebrations!
The first celebration is recognition of Dewberry School for the 2013-2104 Nutrition Innovation Award. A letter sent by Education Minister Jeff Johnson recognizes their achievement through their breakfast program and shares his appreciation of the community in-volvement in this nutrition project. Mr. Johnson wrote, “Your school’s initiative are not only encouraging healthy eating among students and their families, but are also helping to build strong ties between students, staff and the commu-nity at large.” Congratulations to Dew-berry School on their achievement. If you want to learn more about their program, please contact Mr. Orbeck at the school.
Secondly, last week I had the pleasure of attending a celebration at Provost
Public School. A student assembly was held to honor Mr. Brad Pylypow as a recipient of the APEGA Award, spon-sored by the Association of Profession-al Engineers and Geoscientists of Al-berta. This award recognizes teachers for their superior teaching skills and ability to inspire learning in math and science. Students at PPS were provid-ed an opportunity to share their thoughts on Mr. Pylypow’s exceptional skills as an educator and these became a part of the award certificate that was presented to him. While there were many excellent thoughts, one of them spoke so much to the attributes of 21st Century educators. Within their com-
ments, the student wrote:
“He demonstrates how the theories we learn in class apply to how things work in the real world.”
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire team, we want to extend our congratulations to Mr. Pylypow on his achievement.
When one of us is recognized in a positive way it reflects well on all of us!
As this week comes to an end and our students leave for the summer, I want to wish everyone a restful summer break! You all work very hard for the students of BTPS and sum-mer affords you the opportunity to recharge as we work toward yet anoth-er exciting year in BTPS. Take care and have a great summer!
Take care,
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HUMAN RESOURCES
C2 update—please click here
Register now for the 2014 Support Staff Conference!
When: September 19th, 2014
Where: Wainwright High School
Conference Booklet
Registration Link
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“You all work very hard for the students of BTPS and summer affords you the opportunity to recharge as we work toward yet another exciting year in BTPS.”
CURRICULUM
Registrations for CTS Lakeland and Dual Credit Courses are open. New this
year, is the Dual Credit Carpentry - a 10 month program, with VC classes at school
and Labs at Lakeland campus during non-school days. Options to record VC classes
to avoid timetable conflicts can be explored if requested. Successful students re-
ceive the technical training for their First Period Carpenter Apprenticeship, safety
tickets, CTS credits, Lakeland College credits and advanced standing with AIT.
View details: http://www.btps.ca/ About/News_Releases/ news05201401.aspx.
View video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytnHpR79lY. To register for all
courses mentioned above, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
ChatterHigh http://www.chatterhigh.com/ is a free tool for students to explore
post-secondary programs and career options, health and financial literacy and
Grad Transition requirements. This website is aligned with the four pillars of
CALM and can be used year round. Teachers can use the reporting feature to moni-
tor their students’ quiz participation and results.
Looking for help with assessment? Alberta Assessment Consortium has some
great resources: Performance Assessments http://www.aac.ab.ca/assessment-
materials-2/performance-assessments/
Rubric Tools http://www.aac.ab.ca/assessment-materials-2/rubric-tools/
A variety of Assessment Materials http://www.aac.ab.ca/assessment-materials-2/
PD Opportunity—"The 2 Sisters - Daily 5”: Classroom Structure that Increases
Literacy through Student Accountability, Independence and Targeted Instruction".
For more details and early registration opportunities, follow the links below.
Location: Red Deer (CARC) Registrations were recently opened online.
Dates: February 12, 13, 2015. http://www.carcpd.ab.ca/ GO BACK
FNMI TEACHER
RESOURCES
Here is a resource to be
used both during June to
honour National Aboriginal
Month, as well as anytime
throughout the year:
The Thinking Teacher at TC2
has a critical challenge in
which students infer the
story of a First Nations, Me tis
or Inuit group using evidence
found in an artifact collection,
while practicing their
archaeologist skills.
http://tc2.ca/ttt.php
Teachers; Have you started
planning for next year....
Alberta Ed has a number of
resources to support FNMI
education and student
success and are available on
the First Nations, Me tis and
Inuit Education
webpage. Information about
curriculum infusion and
Aboriginal language and
culture programs is also
available under FNMI
Programs. http://
www.education.alberta.ca/
resources/backtoschool/
aboriginal.aspx
Reminder - BTPS's FNMI
support site for more
resources http://
fnmisupport.wikispaces.com/
home
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The policy committee celebrated the conclusion of the comprehensive division policy/procedure review during their
June 18 Board meeting. Committee members, L-R: Rosanne Isberg, EA to the Superintendent; Lanie Parr, Trus-
tee; Dave Nelson, former Trustee and Chair of the policy committee (2009-2013); Jim King, Trustee; Bernie
Huedepohl, Trustee and current committee Chair; Alice McLaughlin, Trustee; and Bob Allen, Superintendent.
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POLICY UPDATE
The Board received the
following administrative
procedures and/or exhibits
for information at their June
18, 2014 regular meeting:
401.3AP Public Interest Disclosure (Whistle Blower Protection)
302.9AP Approval for
School Participation in Physical Activities & exhibits
503.1AP Community Use of
Schools & exhibits
701.17AP Exhibit 1 Yard
Service/Turnaround Application Form
701.7AP Exhibit 1 Rules & Regulation Form
701.7AP Exhibit 2
Alternate Drop-off Location Form
701.7AP Exhibit 3 Student Health Information Form
701.8AP Exhibit 1
Boundary Exemption Resident Students Form
These procedures and
exhibits have been posted on
the BTPS website.
Please refer to the website
when updating school
handbooks and
correspondence.
If you have any questions on
BTPS policies and
procedures, please email
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TECHNOLOGY
BTPS IS GOING GOOGLE….
Gmail migration—This last week every staff member of BTPS was emailed about the migration to email. Since this email went out many schools and individuals have stepped up to make sure they have migrated to Gmail be-fore the end of the year. The pro-cess can be done in as li ttle as 2 days. Staffs should be looking at doing this conversation before they leave for holidays. Being all on a common communications platform is the first step in going google that is to be in place by Aug 25 th for the start of the 2014/15 school year. Please email Jason at [email protected] if you want to start this process. Re-member this was decided that BTPS will be Google next school year.
GAFE training—We are pleased to announce that if you would look to get a head start in train-ing with GAFE we have the fol-lowing resources available to you.
Please look at the following web page going google https://sites.google.com/
a/btps.ca/goinggoogle/introduction
BTPS EdTech Cheat Sheet click to link
Next fall—Next school year we expect that all of our students will be communicating and work-ing in the Google suite. This pro-cess will take a few weeks to get every student familiar with the product. IN order for our staff to have some knowledge of the product it is hoped that you will look at some of the apps that are available after you have convert-ed to Gmail . All staff will be con-verted over to Gmail by the end of September. At this time BTPS will be retiring the exchange server and all staff communica-tion calendars will be on Google . When the exchange server is de-commissioned the Outlook pro-gram and web mail will be re-tired from the software offering of BTPS.
Helpdesk—Email us at [email protected] tech problems; [email protected] for PowerSchool PowerTeacher problems
Phone 780-806-2053
Text 780-806-9228
Twitter hashtag #btps28 GO BACK
STUDENT EDUCATION SERVICES
On behalf of the Department of Student Education Services we wish all of you and your families the best possible Summer Holiday ever! Please take some time for yourselves (you deserve it!!) and also please be sure that you take the time to see and share with those that you love the most. Create the memories that will last a lifetime and also that you can call upon on those days when you need a “happy place” to go to. To see remainder of this article, please click here.
World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10, 2014 and the theme is “Suicide Prevention 1 World Connected”. The “Walk of Remembrance” will be held at the Bud Miller Park, Lloydminster, beginning at the picnic shelter on Sep-tember 6th at 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a walk around the lake, followed by guest speakers, music, refreshments and a time to honor the memory of lives lived who died by suicide. It’s a time to become connected in dialogue and community awareness of suicide prevention and mental health and wellness. Let’s dialog as one World connected. For more information contact Shirley at the Walking Through Grief Society at 780-846-2576.
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“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” —Henry James
Are you getting married this summer? Please remember to let your payroll department know and we will provide you
with more forms to complete. If your name is changing we will change your name in payroll along with advising ATRF/
LAPP and ASEBP.
Forms will also be provided to add your spouse to your benefits plans. You may also want to update the beneficiary on
your ATRF and ASEBP. It is important to add your spouse within 31 days of marriage otherwise he/she would be con-
sidered a late applicant which results in reduced coverage. If your spouse already has coverage you may want to review
the section in the ASEBP handbook about coordination of benefits.
Having A Baby? - Please remember to complete forms to have your new dependent added to your benefit coverage. You
have 31 days to have the completed form in to the payroll office otherwise the dependent is considered a late appli
ARE YOU MOVING? Please complete the address change form located on the BTPS Staff Page under Human Resources
and forward it by fax to 780-842-3255, mail to the address on the form or email to [email protected] for non-
teaching staff and [email protected] for teaching staff. GO BACK
BUS DRIVERS AND CONTRACTORS NEEDED: Local contractors are in need of bus drivers in the following areas:
Marwayne (Regular Driver VR-M3 2014-2015 school year)
Paradise Valley (Spare Drivers)
Kitscoty (Spare and Regular Drivers)
Provost (Spare Drivers)
Innisfree (Spare Drivers)
BTPS also has the following Bus Contracts available for the 2014-2015 school year:
VR-K3 Blackfoot
VR-K5 Kitscoty (Morning Gold Es-tates Route)
VR-K6 Kitscoty South
VR-V11 Vermilion
If you are interested in driving the bus on a full or part-time basis, please call me at 780-806-2051 and I can put you in contact with a local bus contractor. If you are interested in becoming a school bus contractor, please call me as well.
FINAL MESSAGE FOR THE 2013+-2014 SCHOOL YEAR FROM TRANS-
PORTATION: Thank you to everyone for another safe school year in bussing. Despite the brutally cold winters and wet spring roads our bus contractors get their job done! Bus Drivers take great pride in their ability to ensure the safe delivery of the students to the school and home every day. This has been one of the most trying years for our bus contractors as fuel prices and maintenance costs have risen to all-time highs and yet the government did not reinstate the fuel funding. For those bus drivers who are going to stick it out for another year, I thank you for having faith in our Board and the Transportation Department. For those that are retiring or resigning and moving on to new adventures, I thank you for the time and dedication you gave to our students whether you did it for 30 years or 2 years. We sincerely appreciate all of our bus drivers.
Thank you to the schools, support staff and parents for the support you give to our drivers. The Transportation De-partment wishes everyone a relaxing and enjoyable summer. - Stacy, Jody & Chrysti
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PAYROLL & BENEFITS
TRANSPORTATION
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COMMENTS ABOUT
THIS NEWSLETTER?
Please send your comments
or suggestions to Ro-
[email protected]. We’d
love to hear from you!
BUFFALO TRAIL PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
1041 10A Street
Wainwright, AB T9W 2R4
P: 780.842.6144
F: 780.842.3255
www.btps.ca
Twitter: BTPS#28
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Jacquelyn Davidson (Gr. 12) and Brady Gabrielson (Gr. 11) recently represented E.H. Walter School and
the North East Zone at the ASAA Provincial Track and Field Championships in Calgary. Jacquelyn
participated in the long jump, triple jump, 100 m and the 4 x 100 m relay. She brought home a bronze
medal in long jump and finished 8th in the province in the Sr. Girls' 100 m. Brady finished 8th in the
province in the Intermediate Boys' 100 m hurdles and also competed in the 4 x 100 m relay. The staff and
students of E.H. Walter School are proud of the accomplishments of these athletes!
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On June 17, Grades 1-6 from Delnorte Innisfree school travelled to Edmonton bright and early to
watch the last of CTV Morning Live and tape 2 versions of CTV Innisfree Morning Live. It was a very
exciting field trip which opened everyone's eyes once they saw how complicated the process of
putting together a newscast can be. Huge thanks to Mrs. Barber's brother, Rob Williams, and the
rest of the team at CTV for making this field trip so memorable.
DELNORTE
ELEMENTARY
STUDENTS ROCK
CTV EDMONTON!
ri1230
Text Box
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