7+( FEBRUARY 2010 • ISSUE 6 • VOL .

THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL

Principal’s Message
The recent earth- after more than 40 years of service rounded education. Not only are
quake in Haiti has to students in Alberta and Atlan- there cognitive benefits to having
stirred the spirit of tic Canada. Gordon’s wisdom, his students study fine arts, but we
many, many CSS perspective, his humour, and his hope to instill in our students an
students and teachers. As Cana- no-nonsense approach to educa- appreciation for the arts and the
dians, Calgarians, and particu- tion will be greatly missed. On a role they play in our society. We
larly as members of the CSS com- personal note, I want to say how have undergone some restructur-
munity, we have a tremendous thankful I am to have enjoyed the ing in order to highlight the arts
reputation for humanitarianism. mentorship of Gordon over the and provide more student choice;
We step to the fore when we rec- past few years. It is not the norm the successful implementation of
ognize others in dire need of our that a Principal has such close those changes requires consistent
help. The students and staff at the contact and association with their and open communication. Addi-
school are planning a series of Superintendent, but here at CSS I tionally, there have been a num-
educationally based fundraising have benefitted immensely from ber of changes proposed at the
activities, all to take place in one our close working relationship. I provincial level to how the arts are
afternoon in February, that will al- have been incredibly fortunate to offered in schools. I encourage all
low us to contribute as a school spend much of my early career in parents to make yourselves aware
to the horrible tragedy that Haiti school administration under Mr. of the proposed changes, as the
is living through. We are calling Welch’s tutelage and I thank him implications might be substantial
the fundraising campaign Hearts for that gift. for all schools in Alberta. More in-
for Haiti. More details with follow formation can be found at http://
in the coming days, but we hope The last item I want to touch on in education.alber ta.ca/teachers/
to once again provide our stu- this Principal’s message is regard- program/finear ts/program-up-
dents the opportunity to make a ing fine arts. I have paid a lot of dates.aspx. If you have any ques-
positive difference for those in the attention to the fine arts in pre- tions about the fine arts program
world who are truly in need. vious newsletters and at council at CSS, please contact me.
meetings. I want to clarify why so
In this newsletter you will learn- much attention has been paid to
about the retirement of our Su- these subjects in a charter school
perintendent, Gordon Welch, who that is not fine arts based. First, Sincerely,
is leaving the feild of education the arts are integral to a well- Darrell Lonsberry
1
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Principal’s Message..........................1
or the past three and one half in the Golden Hills School Division
Message From years I have been honored to from 1994 to 2003. Since then he
Your Superintendent......................2
be the Superintendent of CSS. has worked extensively at the Uni-
Message From The Board............3 I have thoroughly enjoyed my time versity of Calgary teaching a variety
Upcoming Parent Sessions.........3 here and I have been so impressed of courses on involving leadership
by the commitment and support that development and inquiry based
2010-2011 Registration
Information & Guidelines.............4 parents provide to ensure the school’s learning.
ongoing success.
Acountability Pillar Surveys...........5
Garry brings to CSS a real passion
Message from your Volunteer However, after 45 years of involve- for leadership development, inqui-
Development Committee..............5 ment in public education I have decid- ry based learning and promoting
Message from your ed that it is time for a change. There- the potential for partnerships with
Fine Arts Team..................................6 fore, January 30th will be my last day other organizations including uni-
AISI Cyle Four Update...................7 as Superintendent. I think a change versities. He is undoubtedly one of
will be beneficial to me personally as the best known and respected edu-
Transportation Update..................8
well as the school. cators in this province.
Library Report...................................8
Girls Leadership..........................9 I am pleased to inform you that the Please join me in welcoming Garry
Grade 8 Students Get Political......9 Board of Directors has appointed Dr. to CSS.
Garry McKinnon to be your new Su-
Gr 5 Winter Camps.........................10 perintendent. Garry holds Ed.D. from Thanks to all of you for your sup-
Peace Festival...............................10 Brigham Young University as well as a port and dedication to this school.
Phys. Ed Update............................11 Masters Degree from the University of Working at CSS has been a wonder-
Alberta. ful way to end my career in public
Volunteerism..............................11
education.
Update from Mr Mcwilliian......12 Dr. McKinnon brings a wealth of expe-
Drama Dance Update...................12 rience to the Calgary Science School. All the best!
Lego Robotics.................................16 He was the Superintendent of Schools Gordon Welch
February Calendar.......................18
March Calendar............................19

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We need 40 judges for The
10th Annual CSS Science Fair.
Date:
Monday, February 8th
Time:
8.00 am - 1.00 pm
Training will be provided.
Perks:
Coffee & donuts in the morning &
lunch!
If you are interested please contact Jon Hoyt-Hallet at:
[email protected]

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I
wanted to thank Gordon Welch on behalf of the I for one am envious of Gordon’s grandchildren who
Board for a wonderful three years of involvement will now be the beneficiary of a wonderful full time
with the CSS community. The Superintendent role grandpa! Good luck Gordon in all of your future
is really like that of the CEO of a corporation. They endeavors and leave knowing that you have really
oversee school operations on a daily basis by acting made a difference in the lives of all those associated
as the link between our Board and the administra- with the Calgary Science School.
tive team at the Calgary Science School. In addi-
tion, the Superintendent is our pipeline to Alberta At the same time, the Board feels tremendously
Education and the Minister of Education. You can privileged to have attracted Dr. Garry McKinnon as
imagine that this position is really a bit of a balanc- our new Superintendent. We are looking forward to
ing act with many different stakeholders looking for forging a long and fruitful relationship with Dr. McK-
information and satisfaction, often at the same time. innon. His background and passions will go a long
Gordon’s charming personality and contacts within way to further inspiring our educators along roads
Alberta Education have helped us tremendously on into inquiry based learning in addition to building
all of these fronts. It has been an honour and privi- upon our strengths in outdoor education and tech-
lege to have worked with an educator of Gordon’s nology.
caliber and dedication. He unwaveringly put the stu-
dents first and has done a wonderful job of helping Dave Robinson
set the Board visions into daily practice at the school.

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Date Event Details Location
Wednesday Computer Gaming Addiction * Library
February 17 Many parents wonder and worry about the extent to which their children en-
7 pm gage in online, interactive, or stand alone computer gaming. Hana Mancuso,
a psychologist with considerable expertise in the treatment of addictions, will
help explore the myths and realities of gaming and what parents need to know
in order to make informed decisions around access and control of gaming tech-
nology.
Wednesday Kids and Drugs Program – Session #4 Library
February 24 What Parents Need to Know About Drugs
7 pm The concluding session in the Kids and Drugs Program will help tie together the
information necessary to keep children and youth safe and drug aware through
the teen years.
Wednesday Emotional Intelligence * Library
March 17 Ensuring that youth develop and maintain a capacity to manage stress and anxi-
7 pm ety is an important component of parenting. Jo-Ann Pawliw, Manager of the
Calgary Emotional Fitness Institute, will share information and strategies to en-
hance resiliency among children and adults alike, focusing on recognizing indi-
vidual emotional strengths and vulnerabilities to create an internal tool kit of
resources to manage all that life has to offer.
* Please RSVP to [email protected]
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Please mark your calendars with the important registration dates below. Note that returning CSS students
AND siblings will register at the same time, while new students begin registration a week later. There have
been a few changes to the information required for re-registration; please read all aspects of the on line docu-
ment before submitting. Please contact the office if you have any difficulty registering on line.

Current CSS Students & Siblings Students new to CSS in 2010-11

Re-registration opens on Monday March 1, 2010 Registration opens on Monday March 8, 2010

Re-registration closes on Sunday March 14, 2010 Registration closes on Sunday March 14, 2010
Busing registration and fee payment – early bird Busing registration and fee payment deadline April
deadline April 18, 2010 18, 2010, OR when offered a position at CSS after
(The Board will set Transportation fees during the April 18, 2010.
budgeting process. Every effort will be made to
maintain fees at current levels)

,QVWUXFWLRQVIRUFRPSOHWLQJWKH Important:
UHJLVWUDWLRQSURFHVV It will be assumed that any current students who are
not re-registered, including payment of fees, by Sun-
1. Go to the school’s website at www.cal- day March 14, 2010 are not planning to return to CSS
garyscienceschool.com
and those spots will be offered to other students on
2. Click on the login button in the top right the wait list. Please contact the office if you have any
hand corner of the page. questions or wish to discuss any extenuating circum-
stances.
3. Click on ‘Login as Family’.
4. Enter your username and password – your Completion of the on line registration process takes
username is typically an e-mail address. approximately 20 minutes. It is very important that all
You can retrieve your password by clicking sections of the document are completed thoroughly
on the ‘Forgot Your Password?’ link. and accurately in order to avoid delays in registration.
5. Once you have accessed the secure family Phil Butterfield
zone, follow the instructions on the pages
as you work your way through the regis-
tration and fee payment process.

Notice of Parent Council Meeting

F eb 03 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
POT LUCK RESOURCE NIGHT
Bring your favourite appetizer and your choice of parent resource material: magazine, article, book to share with
others. Be prepared to give a brief presentation (1-3 minutes) on the resource material that you bring in. The parent
corner will then pull together a resource list for all to access and the library may even order some of the resources/
books for parents to borrow in the future.

Please RSVP your attendance to:

Wendy Baillie @ [email protected]

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 Accountability Pillar Surveys

Y
ou may have recently seen newspaper arti- All surveys are anonymous and ask questions about
cles on Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) or experiences with this school. In addition to English
changes to the Grade 12 Diploma Exams. Both and French, the parent survey is available in Manda-
PATs and Diploma Exams contribute to the Account- rin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Arabic, Blackfoot, Cree, Ko-
ability Pillar, a tool used by Alberta Education to rean, Spanish and Tagalog.
evaluate how well the education system is meeting
the expectations of parents and the public. All par- As an annual check-up on the education system, the
ents want to know that their children are receiving Accountability Pillar provides an opportunity for Al-
a quality education. Grades are important but there berta Education and school authorities to ensure that
is more to it than that. A quality education helps all we’re equipping students for success. Your participa-
children make the most of their talents and abilities. tion in the survey helps, so we encourage you to re-
turn your survey promptly.
The Accountability Pillar uses a set of 16 indicators
consisting of surveys of students, parents and teach- Survey results will be available to school authorities
ers on various aspects of quality; student outcomes in May 2010, and will be reported publicly by school
such as dropout and high school completion rates; authorities as part of their 3-Year Education Plans and
and provincial assessments of student learning. Annual Education Results Reports.

From January to the end of February, Alberta Edu-

cation will be conducting the annual Accountabil-
ity Pillar Survey. In January, parents of students in Darrell Lonsberry
grades 4-12 will receive a survey from Alberta Edu-
cation. In February, students in grades 4-12 and all
teachers will be completing their surveys online at
school.

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The Volunteer Development Committee has been very busy this month and we are thrilled with the re-
sponse from parents. We are hoping to get a webpage for volunteers ready in the coming months so par-
ents can check regularly to see what volunteer opportunities are available.

We are currently in need of a volunteer to help with the science lab. This job would involve cleaning out the
beakers/test tubes and organizing the chemicals. They also have a terrarium that needs to have the glass
repaired and are looking for anyone who might have a contact in the glass repair business that could give
us a deal on having it repaired.

We also have a need in the drama department. Ms. Peebles is looking for someone who can author a DVD
that would showcase past performances. Once created, the DVD could be available in the library for parents
to sign out.

If you are able to help out please email us at [email protected].

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A Message from your Fine Arts Team
The Fine Arts teaching team is very excited to be portfolio. You may now access your child’s portfolio
implementing digital portfolio assessment. With using your own login.
the introduction of portfolios, we have moved away
from traditional reporting in the form of report Students will be part of this process through self-re-
cards. As this is the pilot year of this initiative, the flection and peer assessment. They will be held ac-
structure, technique and organization is still in the countable for all comments and reflections they post
developmental stage and your patience is appreci- on their own and peer portfolios. Student portfolios
ated. Assessment can be formative, on-going, or will record all comments and posts from any user,
summative, at the end of each reporting period. As therefore all feedback should be well thought out
some classes are by semester, and others are by tri- and in an appropriate and respectful manner. Cri-
mester, the summative assessment dates will vary. tiques are essential for growth, as constructive criti-
Communication is an essential component of digi- cism is encouraged in order to provide students with
tal portfolios, in order to provide feedback through- helpful information on how to improve. Periodic as-
out the creative learning process. Many forms of sessment of the digital portfolio will now be done us-
feedback will be used in the evaluative process to ing the information listed below.
encourage students to enhance and develop their
learning in the fine arts. Portfolios are currently password protected and only
accessible to CSS users. We have now added an up-
As a parent your role in this process is to review dated feature that allows your child to decide who
and reflect with your child on the contents of their sees their portfolio work. This is for security pur-
portfolio. This includes writing comments, initiat- poses to ensure we are abiding by FOIP standards.
ing in-depth conversation and providing feedback Should you have any concerns about any comments
in the student’s portfolio. Your child will be knowl- posted on your child’s portfolio, please contact their
edgeable in the different methods of sharing and teacher. We look forward to working with you and
posting your feedback, including, but not limited your child to develop an interactive and holistic digi-
to: podcasts, blog, movies, audio recordings, and tal portfolio.
written reflections. For further clarification on spe-
cific project expectations, please regularly check
for updates on class websites or your child’s digital The Fine Arts Team

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“A portfolio is a systematic collection of student work that outlines both specific achievements, accomplish-
ments, and reflection of their own progress over a period of time. It includes instructional goals and specific
examples of students work within the context of guidelines provided by the teacher. With the help of tech-
nology students can store audio recordings, video, photographs, and samples of written work. This is done
with the use of computers, portable digital records, digital camcorders, and digital cameras.”

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“Portfolios provide a more individualized approach to assessment as students can be evaluated both as
individuals based on individual growth, and within the context of curricular goals. Reflections on growth
encourage students to consider their own learning process and view assessment as a part of learning, rather
than an arbitrary mark given by the teacher. A well-designed portfolio can easily demonstrate learning out-
comes that can’t be represented by a simple mark on a report card or comment form the teacher. Report
cards are good periodic symbolic representations and brief summaries of students learning but digital port-
folios are an on-going representation of students work that can be visited all the time.”

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 2QTVHQNKQ#UUGUUOGPV
“An important part of the portfolio process is self-reflection. Peer, parental and teacher evaluation can also
be included as part of the portfolio process. This approach helps students take ownership of their own learn-
ing and to value the learning process. It also encourages students to consider the reactions of others to their
work.”
The above article is written by Kelly Demoline, a music educator and president of Kelly’s Music & Computers.
It is regarding the implication and reasons for use of digital portfolio assessment in the classroom entitled
“Using Portfolio Assessment in Music Education”.

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1. Go to the website: http://wiki.calgaryscienceschool.com
(please make sure you don’t add the www. or the link will not work correctly.)
2. Once you are on the CSS blog home page, click on the button labeled “Blogs”
3. Login using student’s login name and password
4. Click on the button “Log in” in the top left hand corner and log in using your login name and password.
5. To get to student’s blog click on the button labeled “Create my blog” or “Go to my blog” – it is on the right
hand side of the page.

Please note: Ms. Peebles, Ms. Emin and Mr. Bolen have their blogs setup as an example or guideline for stu-
dent’s to refer to, to help them with the process of setting up each portfolio blog entry. Search their names
to find them, specifically “Amy Peebles”, “Lorrie Emin” or “Andrew Bolen”. They also provide examples in class
for students to refer to. If you have any questions please feel free to email us at amy.peebles@calgaryscienc-
eschool.com or [email protected] or [email protected] or contact us
at the school.

Please check back frequently as student’s should be updating their digital portfolios regularly.

AISI Cycle Four Update

“…[T ]he key question is, ‘What information provides the most accurate description of students’ learning at this time?”
(Guskey, 1996, 21). Exploring the implications of Guskey’s key question is what guided our professional development
during our last two professional days. Teachers have been considering the vital question of what constitutes evidence of
student learning and, perhaps even more importantly, how we communicate evidence of that learning to our students
and their parents. This consideration ties in well with AISI Cycle Four Goal #3 that has teachers developing, collecting and
analyzing exemplars of student work.

Perhaps the most pressing question that we considered is “what types of information provide the most accurate descrip-
tion of student learning?” When we discussed this question, we also discussed what a student’s role is in communicating
what s/he is learning, what place a zero has when communicating student achievement, and what we should do when a
student fails to complete an assessment task. In other words, we are trying to ensure that students and parents always
know what their grades or marks mean in terms of reflecting what it is that students have learned.

This beginning exploration led to some fruitful conversation about our assessment practices and how best we can answer
a parent’s most pressing question: “So, how’s my kid doing?”
Jenn Woodard

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 Transportation News
Update on Late Bus Message System When you miss the bus
1. Confirm your subscription. Please log into your fam- If you miss the bus you can take your child to another
ily account and make sure you are signed up to receive stop. Please understand that you should get to the al-
messages if want them. After you log in, choose “Bus ternate stop in time to have your child waiting in the
Subscriptions” from the Family Zone box on the right. loading zone before the bus arrives. Go over your route
Enter any missing information and correct any inaccu- sheet or look at the route maps on the bussing page,
rate information. If your correct information is there available by link on the CSS home page. Choose an al-
and you are not receiving messages, please let us know ternate stop that you can get to before the bus arrives.
by email, [email protected]. Parents are never to block the bus or try to delay the
driver in order for their child to board.
2. Understand the system. This year, Southland is re-
sponsible to post messages to the CSS website, trigger- Looking Ahead to 2010/2011 School Year
ing texts and emails to those who have subscribed as Both the Transportation Committee and the CSS Board
well as displaying the message on the home page of the have begun planning for next year as well as looking to
CSS site. This replaces the system we used last year that the future. Your voice is important and we will be seek-
relied on students to post the messages. The student ing input from the parents. The system is a service for
system had variable results and the limitations of the CSS families and your views are needed to decide how
Southland system are emerging: it is delivered. At this point, no decisions have been
made as to how your opinions will be collected. The
• The drivers need to let dispatch know that they are committee will send an email in February to update you
running late. Cherilyn has asked Brent Storey, R9 on the plans for next year. Please watch for this.
driver and our bus captain, to remind the drivers
Transportation Comittee
that we expect that.
• On days when city wide traffic is slow, the drivers
may have difficulty getting through to dispatch and

•
so there will be no message.
Once dispatch gets the message they pass it on to Library Report
be posted. On busy days the message may not be As is our tradition at CSS, a Scholastic Book Fair was
posted in a timely manner. held during our November 2009 Student-led Confer-
• Southland does not usually post anything until ence times, and parents and students came out in
the bus is 15 min late. This is because when de- enthusiastic bunches to browse, select and purchase
lays are less than 12 minutes the bus may get back great new books for their own libraries.
on schedule and people who come at the later time
will have missed the bus. The total sales were $2694! From the profit made
• Late buses in the afternoon are sometimes a prob- from that amount, we selected 64 books to be added
lem as our Southland rep has gone home for the to our collection, valued at about $535.00. The re-
day. We are working on this. maining funds from the profits earned- $373.00- is
being donated to King’s Glory School in Uganda,
3. Apply Common Sense. If there is no reason to expect Africa (Ms. Savoie’s Volunteerism Elective), as previ-
any delay, please call Southland, 403 287 1335, when ously announced.
your bus is 10 or 15 minutes late and you have no mes-
sage. Either the bus will be along shortly or Southland Thank you to all parents and students who made this
needs to post a delay message. When traffic every- a celebration of books, a source of new books to en-
where is just crawling along, expect that your bus will joy in our library, and an opportunity to demonstrate
be late and Southland will be busy. If the bus is 20 min- generosity towards King’s Glory School in Uganda.
utes late and there is no message, phone Southland and
enquire where the bus is on the route. You will need Our webpage continues to be revised, and I hope a
to know your route and stop number. Understand that source of good information for parents and students.
their phone and radio systems may be overwhelmed. Any feedback or suggestions you’d like to pass on to
Everyone should have a back-up plan to cover any time me will be most welcome.
the bus does not come on schedule.
Donna Johnson Alden, Teacher-Librarian

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 Calgary:
Renaissance City or Medieval Village?
Why do some cities during certain periods of time grow
tremendously prosperous and become centers for an ex-
plosion of scientific and artistic activity? Over the course
of the last semester, we in Ms. Savoie and Mr. Scott’s
grade eight humanities classes have been exploring ex-
actly this question. Through our research of city-states
such as Florence during the Italian Renaissance, we are
seeking to find the qualities Calgary needs to become a
Renaissance city.

GIRLS
On January 19th, the Calgary Alderman for Lakeview,
Brian Pincott visited CSS and spoke to the grade eight
students about Calgary’s potential as a Renaissance city.
Leadership Through his discussion with our classes, along with the
questions we posed, we discovered that there are two
great obstacles that may stand in the way of Calgary be-
The Girls’ Leadership Initiative began over a year ago when coming a Renaissance city. The first of these is the fear
a few teachers put their heads together with an idea. Lat-
many of us have of failure. As he explained, when we
look back on the Renaissance, we only see the innova-
er, student representatives from each class came together
tions that were successful such as the printing press or
to talk about what the girls at CSS experience and what firearms. However, we don’t see the 90% of innovations
types of support they needed and interests they shared. that occurred that were failures. If we in Calgary wish to
In early December, two young women from the Cyber foster an environment where innovations flourish, we
Mentoring program came to speak to the girls about the need to not only except failure, but also embrace it. This
mentoring program and their work. Our leadership group will then provide a climate where risk taking and creativ-
was impressed to find out that one of these women de- ity can thrive. According to Brian another problem that
signed and tested video games like ‘Need for Speed’ while Calgary faces is that we are a city of urban sprawl where
the other was working towards acceptance into the as- our home, work, and leisure life are spread out all over
tronaut program. The Cyber Mentoring program matches the city. As he relates, it’s a city of boxes. We go from our
girls aged 11 to 18 with women in unique and exciting box homes, into our box cars, we then drive to a bigger
careers in order to answer questions, and provide support
box where we work all day, in our cubicle, which is also
a box. The problem with this is that the Renaissance was
and encouragement. http://www.cybermentor.ca/Home.
about interactions, connectivity and the spread of new
aspx ideas. His presentation really opened our eyes to some
of the challenges we face if we wish to live in a Renais-
At the December potluck, Jenna and Katelyn presented sance city.
the ideas of Jennifer De Groot from her book ‘Peace Is’
about the challenges that women face around the world, J.H (8.1), W.A (8.1), and E.P (8.1)
just meeting their basic needs.

A recent survey identified interests and activities that the

Leadership girls wanted to bring to the rest of the girls
in the school. Results will be compiled and activities or-
ganized to involve all interested girls at CSS. Thanks to
everyone who helped get this important Initiative off the
ground!

Emily Brown

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 Grade 5 Winter Camps
The Grade 5’s were very fortunate to have had the oppor-
tunity to go snowshoeing up at Camp Sweet earlier this
month. The timing of the trip was perfect as it took advan-
tage of the great snow conditions prior to the warm spell
we have recently enjoyed. 5.1 and 5.2 went first and had to
deal with colder temperatures, but enjoyed the trip none-
theless and came away with some great memories. 5.3 and
5.4 enjoyed a seasonably warm day with plenty of sunshine,
although a few students still managed to get snow in their
boots and have cold toes. Both groups were very lucky to
have had the pleasure of singing camp songs around the fire
with Mr. Sweet, who as always was there with his guitar. The
fire in the teepee helped warm everyone, as a few rounds of
hot chocolate were passed around by the wonderful parent
volunteers. Snowshoeing was the real purpose of the trip
and so after lunch, both groups were guided on a fun walk
around the property, disappearing into the forest for a quick
game of camouflage and generally having a really fun day in
the snow! This was another great day at CSS and hopefully
provided students with some wonderful memories associ-
ated with a unique winter trip to Camp Sweet! A big thank
you goes out to Ms. O who put this trip together, to the par-
ent volunteers who came along and to Mr. Sweet for making
Camp Sweet such a “Sweet” experience for the students.

Mr. Neil

Peace Festival
The peace festival has always been an important part of CSS tradition. This
year the volunteerism elective contributed a lot of effort to help put this event
together. The theme for this year’s peace festival was “Community Heartbeat”.
It consisted of a series of stations that brought forward our school commu-
nity. The volunteerism elective ran four stations spreading awareness of the
global community. These stations included “Music Around The World”, “Pen-
ny Drive”, “Jeopardy” and “Friendship Key Chains”. “Music Around The World”
played songs from different cultures and encouraged people to guess what
countries the songs were from. This helped students to develop a better un-
derstanding of different cultures. At the “Penny Drive” station students would
roll pennies that were collected prior to the peace festival to buy supplies for
a small school in Africa called “Kings Glory School”. This initiative raised close
to $1,500. The “Jeopardy” station included many different questions about
global. The “Friendship Key Chains” station allowed each student to create
two key chains; one for themselves and the other, which will be sent a stu-
dent at “Kings Glory School”. Through all of these activities the volunteerism
elective was able to raise awareness and connect our school community to
others locally and around the world.

Y.K and E.K 9.3

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 Phys Ed Update
The Grade 4 Field trip at The TRICO Leisure
Centre took place before the Christmas
Break. The activities included many fit-
ness activities, swimming and broomball.

Thank you to all parent volunteers.

Volunteerism
Last summer, Ms. Savoie and Ms. Coulliard visited Africa and
spent time helping children and families. One of their stops
was at The Kings Glory School in Uganda. They had a chance
to interact with the students and share different teaching
techniques with the teachers.

When school begun in August, there was a new grade 8 and

9 elective called Volunteerism. In this elective, students are
given a chance to pursue and carry out their enjoyment for
volunteering. We went on field trips to the Food Bank, Inn
From The Cold, and the Glamorgan Mental Health Center, and
organized fundraisers. Later, Ms. Savoie shared some photos
with us of the people she met in Africa. We then had a chance
to connect with them, as they became our pen pals.

Our pen pal’s name is Ssamanya Mwawebe (also knows as lit-

tle Obama because he is so smart). We sent him a letter with
detailed information of our lives and the way citizens live in
Calgary. We wanted to know what it was like in Uganda and
how our lifestyles differed from his. After many weeks, we re-
ceived a letter back from him. He described a bit about the
landscape, his appearance, and his family. We were blown
away with how similar, yet different our lives are. Similar in the
way that he is very family oriented and enjoys school yet dif-
ferent because of the many obstacles that he faces everyday.

The volunteerism elective has exposed us to many new peo-

ple and ways of life. We have learned so much in regards to
how different people live and ways to get involved beyond
the school. We look forward to continuing our relationship
with our new friend from Uganda.
R.S. and M.C. 9.4

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ZZZFDOJDU\VFLHQFHVFKRROFRP 11
Our year in Yeppoon has begun!

Hello kids and parents from Yeppoon,

Queensland. We arrived on New Years eve
and have had an amazing week in the heat.
Mr. Rooks has a great house very close to
the main street which leads to the ocean. It
is a short walk that we’ve done almost every
day.

It took some time to get over the time dif-

ference and get settled in, but with the help
of Mr. Rooks’ family and friends here it has
been an easy transition. As you can see in
the picture, we have seen several of the
Aussie animals and even got to feed and
hold some of them at Cooberrie Park, which
is only 15 minutes from our house. Today we
went to Mt. Archer near Rockhampton and
saw some Wallabies in the wild. I will get
to see my new class on Monday. I’ll email
another update soon.

Mr McWilliam

chemistry from this experience, it is far more valuable

6FLHQFH&RPPXQLFDWLRQ to these students to understand that science can be a
    :KDWDEODVW fun and creative pursuit for them and others. Here is
It was not all smoke and fire during this year’s Science a testimonial from a current Science Communication
Communication presentations. A lot of hard work and Club member:
dedication paid off when the Science Club visited the
University of Calgary, Telus World of Science - Calgary, “So far I have loved science club. It is a great expe-
and The Alberta Association of Public Charter Schools rience. The experiments are extremely fun to do es-
(TAAPCS) Conference in Red Deer to present some pecially when you have an awesome teacher like Mr.
unique demonstrations. Cheng. The whole reason why I decided to join science
club is because I really enjoyed the experiments that
This year’s Science Communication Club began in Oc- the kids performed last year, and thought that it would
tober with students excited to try things that they had be a “blast” to join. Another amazing part about be-
seen in the classroom, on the internet, or at a science ing in science club is the theater part about it. During
center. With a little bit of time and help, these experi- science club you get to travel and perform all around
ments were researched, chemicals and equipment Calgary and even Red Deer. These trips are tons of fun
were ordered, and a 30 minute show was put together because we get to show off all of our new acquired
to showcase the students’ knowledge of fires, combus- skills. Anyway if you are like me and love to try crazy
tion, redox reactions and other chemistry. experiments then science club is the place for you. All
of us who joined this year really enjoyed these amaz-
These last few months have kept this club busy with ing experiments and will be definitely joining science
preparation, and, like all other extra curricular activi- club next year. “ (S.L 8.1)
ties, students were not given class time to develop their
projects. This makes their accomplishment more im-
pressive because all this work happened on their per- If you have any questions considering science club
sonal time. While these students have learned a lot of then please talk to Mr. Cheng.

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12 ZZZFDOJDU\VFLHQFHVFKRROFRP
iConnect Grade 5
Our first extra-curricular dance recital was a smashing
success! The students had an invaluable, experience Lunchbox Theatre
based learning opportunity while performing at Lord The grade 5 lunchbox theatre team was very efficient
Beaverbrook High School Theater on January 1, 2010. and creative while performing for many parents and stu-
Thank you to everyone for all your support and dedica- dents over the lunch hours from January 18-22, 2010.
tion towards CSS’ dance program. CSS dance students Thank you once again to everyone for all their support
provided an excellent evening of dance, in a multitude and donations to the food bank. This was a strong be-
of styles. Students ranging from grades 4-9 success- ginning for the lunchbox theatre program and I look for-
fully employed color, stage balance and a variety of ward to exploring other learning opportunities within
dance styles through their exploration of performative the lunchbox theatre program for those students inter-
dance. Dance students are now beginning the early ested in grades 4 and 6.
preparations for our next dance celebration this spring,
Lazer Dance. Miss Peebles

Lego Robotics
“Lego robotics is DEFINITELY my favourite elective this year. I would’ve
thought programming a robot was something like rocket science, but
that’s not true. All you have to do is drag a few icons here, select a few
numbers there, and you have yourself a robot that will follow those direc-
tions. But, you have to build that robot out of Lego. The fun part, though, is
when you have to trouble-shoot. Adjusting and fine-tuning your program
is so much fun. You get to explore the icons, the big special words nobody
except teachers know, and do some calculations I never thought I’d do. You
get to meet others who love to build with Lego, regardless of age. The best
elective? Definitely.”

K.P (6.1)
“I think Lego robotics is an excellent elective, especially for peo-
ple who love to build with Lego. That’s why I decided to go in
Lego robotics. I love to build with Lego. I personally find it fun.
And then making it into a robot makes it even more interesting.
Lots of people in my elective class are very talented in Lego
building. Lego can also be a challenge. My partner and I some-
times get confused on where to put the Lego pieces. Although,
once you have your robot doing what you tell it to, you really
have lots of fun and you feel proud of yourself.”

A.H (6.3)

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ZZZFDOJDU\VFLHQFHVFKRROFRP 13
February
1
 DAY 5 2 DAY 6 3 DAY1 4 DAY 2 5 DAY 3 6

PROSPECTIVE PROSPECTIVE SCHOOL COUNCIL BAND WORKSHOP

NEW PARENT NEW PARENT MEETING 9:00 AM
ORIENTATION ORIENTATION 7:00 - 9:00 PM
7:00 PM (GYM) 7:00 PM (GYM) ENTRANCE LEVEL
TESTING 10:00 AM
Gr 6.2 Winter Camp
Gr 6.4 Winter Camp

7 8 DAY 4 9 DAY 5 10 DAY 6 11 12 13

Gr 6.3 Winter Camp

SCIENCE FAIR
GR 4/5 SSRP
11:30 - 12:30 PM Teacher’s
PARENT INFO Convention/Retreat
SESSION -
COMPUTER
GAMING
ADDICTIONS
7:00 - 9:00 PM

14 15 16 DAY 1 17 DAY 2 18 DAY 3 19 DAY 4 20

FAMILY DAY ENTRANCE LEVEL

SR GIRLS TESTING 10:00 AM
BASKETBALL
4:30 - 7:30 PM BAND FESTIVAL
GYM

21 22 DAY 5 23 DAY 6 24 DAY 1 25 DAY 2 26 27

SR BOYS GR 4/5 SSRP DRUG AWARNESS ORGANIZATIONAL

BASKETBALL 11:30 - 12:30 PM SESSION #4 DAY
4:30 - 7:30 PM 7:00 - 9:00 PM
GYM NO CLASSES

28

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14 ZZZFDOJDU\VFLHQFHVFKRROFRP
March 
1 DAY 3 2 DAY 4 3 DAY 5 4 DAY 6 5 DAY 1 6

GR 5 & GR 9 GR 4/5 SSRP ALTERNATIVE

VACCINATIONS 11:30 - 12:30 PM ENTRANCE
TESTING DAY
10:00 - 12:00 PM

7 8 DAY 2 9 DAY 3 10 DAY 4 11 DAY 5 12 13

TERM 2 REPORT SPRING STUDENT LED STUDENT LED

CARDS GO HOME PHOTO DAY CONFERENCES CONFERENCES
4:00 - 8:00 PM 8:00 - 1:00 PM

14 15 DAY 6 16 DAY 1 17 DAY 2 18 DAY 3 19 DAY 4 20

GR 4/5 SSRP 4.1 SNOWSHOE 4.2 SNOWSHOE 4.3 SNOWSHOE 4.4 SNOWSHOE
11:30 - 12:30 PM TRIP TRIP TRIP TRIP

BOARD MEETING PARENT INFO

5:00 - 8:00 PM SESSION
EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
7:00 PM LIBRARY

21 22 DAY 5 23 DAY 6 24 DAY 1 25 DAY 2 26 DAY 3 27

28 29 30 31

Spring Break - School Closed

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ZZZFDOJDU\VFLHQFHVFKRROFRP 15
 THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL
FEBRUARY 2010 • ISSUE 3 • VOL . 7

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16