| Dear Banting and Best School community, It is my great honor to be joining your team as Principal of Banting and Best School. I look forward to meeting each of you and getting to know the amazing school community of staff, students and families. I also look forward to working with Ms. Manser as I transition to the school. Dedicated to the field of education for the past 21 years, I have held the roles of teacher, learning leader and assistant principal with the Calgary Board of Education. I have had the privilege of working in a variety of settings including AISI (Alberta Initiative for School Improvement), alternative programs and community schools. I am currently at Lake Bonavista School, which features a Montessori Alternative program. My background has helped me deepen my understanding of early learning, with a focus on literacy, numeracy, practical life skills and Peace Education. I believe in teaching and supporting the whole child and that together we can reach higher levels of achievement for each and every student. My core values center around community, innovation and continuous improvement. Relationships are at the core of the work we do. I believe respecting, caring and challenging each other, leads to meaningful connections. I have completed my Masters of Educational Technology and seek out creative and research-based strategies to solve problems and enhance learning opportunities. As your principal, I commit to leading an environment that is safe, welcoming and fosters high levels of personalized success. On a personal note, I grew up on a farm in northern Alberta, moving to Calgary to pursue my teaching career. Family is at the heart of all I do. I have 3 siblings and am a loving auntie to 5 children! My son Ben (Grade 8) is my pride and joy and we love adventure, exploring, and the odd basketball showdown. I have travelled to many fascinating locations around the world but also enjoy relaxing with a good book or spending time in my garden. I am thrilled for the opportunity to learn more about the amazing people, successes, achievements and events that have been taking place at Banting and Best School. I look forward to supporting our school in continuing to be a place of pride, belonging and collaboration. Warm regards,
Kim Durnford
kadurnford@cbe.ab.ca |
| It is so lovely that it is starting to feel like spring and it is just in time for our Spring Break that begins next week. Our last day of classes is this Friday, March 24. School will resume again on April 3. We hope you and your family have a wonderful spring break!
|
| It was wonderful seeing so many of you able to attend Parent-Teacher Conferences last week. We were excited to be able to invite parents into the school so that we could discuss your child’s learning in-person. We hope you enjoyed being able to see their work and learning displays. Please know that if you ever have questions or concerns about your child’s learning, you are welcome to contact your child’s teachers to discuss this. You do not have to wait for conferences to have these types of conversations. You are always welcome to contact us.
|
| It was a pleasure starting at Banting and Best this week and getting to know the staff and students. It is a wonderful little school where lots of great learning is happening. The weather was rather nasty this past week though, causing indoor recesses and reduced attendance. We are thankful it is warming up so that we can get outside for fresh air and exercise. Please encourage students to dress appropriately for the weather. We will have outdoor recess as long as the temperature is not colder than -20 °C (including wind chill). If cold weather clothing items such as mittens are needed, please notify your child’s teacher or the office.
I look forward to being able to meet many parents at our upcoming learning conferences and at the next school council meeting. If at any time you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone at 403-777- 8652or email at kdmanser@cbe.ab.ca. Sincerely, Kim Manser
Acting Principal
|
| We have been very fortunate to have beautiful weather this fall! This has allowed students to spend more time outside learning and exploring. Many classes have taken advantage of our outdoor natural space to see the changes that the fall has to offer in their sit spots. Sit spots connect us to the land, and allow us to build a relationship with the natural world around us. Students choose a sit spot and will revisit it many times during the year, observing what is happening on the land around them using all of their senses. This is a quiet, reflective time, and I am continually amazed at what students observe! Staff had the opportunity to expand our learning during our Indigenous Education Professional Learning Day. We heard powerful words from Dr. James Makokis, as he shared about treaties, residential schools and the lasting intergenerational trauma of Indigenous Peoples. Staff engaged in rich conversations and we set some further goals to support our school’s work towards Truth and Reconciliation. Students play a major role in this work, and at our Orange Shirt Day assembly, classes committed to an action that they would focus on for the year to further this work. A part of this will be a personalized class land acknowledgement at an assembly – showing their connections to the land that we are fortunate to live and work on, and their appreciation for what the land provides for us. Our work this year is grounded in the idea of the circles around us, and the connections that we have to the people, our community and the land that we live on. Where there are connections, there are stories, and we hope to build our understanding through these stories. We know that Ogden has a rich history, and delving into this history and the stories behind it, will be a big piece of our learning this year. We are fortunate to have Quest Theatre spending time with us in a storytelling residency this month. As well, we will have the expertise of an Elder to support us in understanding Truths, as we walk the path towards Reconciliation. It is such a privilege to be able to spend our days with your children. Thank you for sharing them with us, and letting us be a part of their wonder. Payal Tuli, Principal
|
| Welcome Back to School!!! The start of a new school year is such an exciting time! I have always loved the start of a new school year and opportunities that going back to school offers - the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones; the opportunity to learn, explore and challenge myself to try new things; the opportunity to have a fresh start, to begin again. And if you know me at all, the chance to do some shopping for new clothes and school supplies is always a highlight! This year is no different – as a staff we have worked hard to create a place where students feel safe, valued and heard. A place where their voice is important. A place where our families feel connected. Our work is always built on a foundation of connections and relationships. This year we are taking things a bit further and looking at all of the circles of connection around us – starting with ourselves and working out to those people and places that are important to us and hold a special place in our hearts. This work of our hearts will weave seamlessly into our committment to Truth and Reconciliation and our work of learning from the land around the school and in the surrounding community. The school looks amazing! Mr. Vik has worked tirelessly over the summer to ensure that the building is ready for students. Staff have been working hard, getting classrooms ready. We have some brilliant spaces and some fantastic plans in the works for this year. And we can’t wait to share all of this excitement with you. Please make sure you are checking the school website, The Banting Bulletin, and our Instagram page (@principaltuli) for updated information of the happenings. On behalf of the staff, welcome to the 2022-23 school year! It’s going to be a tremendous year! Respectfully, Payal Tuli, Principal
|
| Dear B & B Families: As another school year draws to a close, I wanted to thank you for an amazing year! As with the past few years, we anticipated that this year would bring its own set of challenges, and it did. We had many ups and downs: mask, checklists, isolating, online learning and all of the hand washing - but in true B & B fashion, students, staff and families approached each new challenge with perseverance, grace, flexibility. As frustrating as all of the challenges were, I am so proud of the kindness that was demonstrated by our school community! I continue to be amazed by our students – they have all show such growth, both in their academic pursuits and in their humanity. They have taken such good care of each other this year! I am so proud of each and every one of them, and can’t wait to see the wonderful things yet to come! While staff work hard every day, a HUGE piece of the puzzle are our wonderful families. Thank you for sending students to school, ready to take risks to grow their brains. None of the great success that we had this year would have been possible without our home-school partnership. A few other very important thank yous that I’d like to share: To all of the parents who were able to sneak in a few volunteer opportunities: thank you!!! Fingers crossed that we can see you even more next year! A HUGE shout out to our amazing School Council for all of their support; much of what we do and provide to students would not be possible without your tireless work and effort. We are also extremely fortunate to be the recipients of grants from EducationMatters for many of our in-school and out of school field trips. Thank you for caring about our school and our students! On behalf of the staff at Banting and Best, I wish everyone a restful, relaxing and safe summer! I can’t wait to reconnect in September and hear all of the stories of summer! For those students and families who are leaving our community, we wish you the best of luck in your new adventures. Payal Tuli
Proud Principal |
| Welcome to 2022! Covid continues to be interwoven into our lives, and this new year is already off to a bumpy start. January is always full of resolutions, things that we are going to do better to make our lives better. Eat healthier, get more sleep, be a better person… It may not be the new year that we were hoping for; not the fresh start and ‘back to normal’ that everyone longs for, but it does provide us with 365 days to make things better, even in our little corner of the world. A fresh start of sorts… If we’ve learned nothing over the past 22 months of pandemic schooling, we have learned that we need to find the light in the darkness, the good in the bad and the rainbows after the rain. What will you do every day to make things brighter? What small steps can you make to find the positive and see the light again? How will you not let the bad things keep you down? When students return to learning, these will be the conversations that we will start with them and have them set some personal goals to support our community in moving forward. As staff, we also set goals, and we use our School Development Plan to review what we have accomplished thus far into the year. We reflect on the growth that we have seen, both in students learning and in professional practice and we work to establish next steps. Sometimes, the growth isn’t as evident. Sometimes, progress has been backwards or non-existent. While this can be frustrating, this is where the real work happens; when we lean in to the difficult, into the challenge, into the uphill battle, is where we really see the changes that can happen. Our job - as parents, teachers, role models, mentors – is support our learners in seeing that setbacks and obstacles are merely a speed bump and not a dead end. We all know that life isn’t easy, but helping our children to see beyond that, to see through the muck and really dig into the work, is where learning happens. I’m excited to see what this year brings, and even more excited to welcome students back to learning! Payal Tuli, Principal
|
| I want to thank our B & B community for a great year! We knew that this year, and all of the restrictions in place, was going to be a challenge, but students, staff and families dealt with everything with perseverance, flexibility, grace and above all, kindness. From daily checklists to sanitizing to masks to cohorts and beyond, our community come together to ensure that everyone was safe and healthy. For this, I am truly grateful. It is a true pleasure to be able to spend my days with your children- the growth that they have all shown, both as students and as citizens, has been tremendous. I am so proud of each and every one of them, and can’t wait to see them continue on their learning journey. Much of this has to do with how amazing our B & B families are – thank you for sending students to school every day, ready to tackle all of the challenges that this year had to throw at them. Our community to stronger because of our partnerships. I feel so honoured to lead this school community. As the school year draws to a close, I wish each member of our B & B family a restful, relaxing and safe summer. For those who are leaving our community, I wish you the best of luck! For the rest of you – I can’t wait to reconnect in September. Payal Tuli, Principal
|
|
May showers bring spring flowers!
It's hard to believe that we are already in May, and in the tail end of the school year. May is a busy month, with many activities on the go – Star Wars Day, Hats On! For Mental Health, Staff Appreciation and Teacher Appreciation Day to name a few. We are also in the beginning stages of our Roots and Shoots garden program, where all of the students will learn to plant and tend to outdoor classroom.
This is also an odd time of year in a school – while we finish off this year, we are already busy planning for next year! We have just finalized our school budget for next year, and while we are seeing a decrease in student population, we will still continue to offer the programs that make our school a great place to be. Registrations are ongoing, and we will be happy to accept students living within our boundaries. If you have friends or family with school aged children who have not registered, please encourage them to do so.
I hope you enjoy the warmer weather!
Payal Tuli, Principal
|
Follow javascript: SP.SOD.executeFunc('followingcommon.js', 'FollowDoc', function() { FollowDoc('{ListId}', {ItemId}); }); 0x0 0x0 ContentType 0x01 1100 Compliance Details javascript:if (typeof CalloutManager !== 'undefined' && Boolean(CalloutManager) && Boolean(CalloutManager.closeAll)) CalloutManager.closeAll(); commonShowModalDialog('{SiteUrl}'+
'/_layouts/15/itemexpiration.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}', 'center:1;dialogHeight:500px;dialogWidth:500px;resizable:yes;status:no;location:no;menubar:no;help:no', function GotoPageAfterClose(pageid){if(pageid == 'hold') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/hold.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'audit') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/Reporting.aspx'
+'?Category=Auditing&backtype=item&ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'config') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/expirationconfig.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;}}, null); 0x0 0x1 ContentType 0x01 898
|
(Hidden) About this blog
|
|
Welcome to SharePoint Blogs. Use this space to provide a brief message about this blog or blog authors. To edit this content, select "Edit Page" from the "Site Actions" menu.
|
Follow javascript: SP.SOD.executeFunc('followingcommon.js', 'FollowDoc', function() { FollowDoc('{ListId}', {ItemId}); }); 0x0 0x0 ContentType 0x01 1100 Compliance Details javascript:if (typeof CalloutManager !== 'undefined' && Boolean(CalloutManager) && Boolean(CalloutManager.closeAll)) CalloutManager.closeAll(); commonShowModalDialog('{SiteUrl}'+
'/_layouts/15/itemexpiration.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}', 'center:1;dialogHeight:500px;dialogWidth:500px;resizable:yes;status:no;location:no;menubar:no;help:no', function GotoPageAfterClose(pageid){if(pageid == 'hold') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/hold.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'audit') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/Reporting.aspx'
+'?Category=Auditing&backtype=item&ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'config') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/expirationconfig.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;}}, null); 0x0 0x1 ContentType 0x01 898
|
