| Welcome to the 2022/2023 School year!
Queen Elizabeth High School is a Junior and Senior High school, with grades ranging from 7 to 12. The school is located in the community of Hillhurst, and has an enrollment of just under 1000 students. Queen E is home to many specialized programs, including the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program (DHH), The Class, and the Gifted and Talented Program (GATE). In addition to these specialized programs, Queen E also offers Regular Program, Advanced Placement, Dual Credit, and Work Experience. Students at Queen E have a variety of option classes available to them including; Foods, Construction, French, Band, Computer Science, Robotics, Drama, Art, American Sign Language (ASL), Communication Technology, and many others. The school has a full compliment of sports and extra-curricular activities, as well as a robust selection of student clubs. Queen E is a vibrant and diverse place to learn! My journey at Queen E began last year, when I became one of the Assistant Principals, and this year I have the honor of taking on the role of Principal. I am filled with positivity and optimism about the 2022/2023 school year, and look forward to many opportunities to celebrate student learning and success. This year we have introduced Learning Communities into our grade 7 and 8 groups, new course offerings in high school Computer Science and Robotics (Electro-technologies), as well as ASL & Deaf Culture for grade 7 students. We have expanded our already established Advanced Placement Program and are always looking for ways to create academic opportunities for students. Queen E’s super power is the strong student community that is built on acceptance and respect. Our students are proud of their school and feel safe and welcome in our building. I am proud to be the Principal at such a wonderful school. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out to the main QEHS inbox at queenelizabehtjrsr@cbe.ab.ca with general inquiries, or my personal e-mail at cfhaney@cbe.ab.ca Clare Haney, Principal
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| Dear QEHS Community,
As we head into summer I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for their support of our student's growth and learning through out the 2021 - 22 school year. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that covid continues to impact our school community. I hope that those in our community whose well being has been impacted by covid, progress back to a healthy life. For our students whose learning has been negatively impacted we will continue to implement responsive instruction to support student learning. This school year has been full of emotional events. We have lost members of our community and have rallied to support each other in times of need. We have seen the return of many school celebrations and activities, like school sports, graduation , Fine Arts performances and the treasured Knightsfest. To our graduates, I wish you all the best in the future and I know you are all well prepared to take on the next phase of your life. For all our returning students and staff I look forward to a new year of learning and adventures next year.
I wish everyone a summer of happiness and relaxation. I look forward to seeing everyone back in QEHS on September 1st. Jason Arrell
Principal, Queen Elizabeth High School Calgary Board of Education | cbe.ab.ca/QueenElizabethHS t | 403-777-6380 f | 403-777-7649 The contents of this email and any attachment(s) are confidential and intended for the named recipient only. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, delete this email and do not copy, use or disclose it.
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| Happy New Year and welcome back! The new year brings new opportunities and new challenges to us here at QEHS. Our planning for semester two is well underway but we must wait for final hub numbers before we enact any plans. Parents had until January 8th to indicate if they would be returning to in school learning. There is no opportunity for students to move from in school learning to hub learning. Depending on our final numbers we may be reorganizing our grade 7 to 9 classes as well as adjustments to high school timetables as well as potential changes to teaching assignments. Due to the impact of COVID 19 on learning, diploma exams are optional in January and June. All high school classes will continue through to January 22nd with all students attending unless they are writing a diploma exam on that day. Teachers will be working with students on final assessments, credit recovery opportunities and giving students multiple ways to demonstrate their current understanding of the curriculum. In some courses students will be writing a cumulative exam that covers topics for all of the semester. In these situations a students mark will not be reduced if their mark is lower. Complications occurring from our pandemic response have allowed schools to adapt year end assessments. For further details on final assessments, please contact your child's teacher or visit the D2L shell. With the Alberta Government's announcement of full return to in-school learning we have made modifications to our lunch time procedures and expectations. These changes have been made to limit an activity which is considered a high transmission activity, eating in close contacts with others. Starting Monday, January 11th: - All students will be required to either eat lunch in the classroom they attend prior to lunch and remain in that room for the first 15 minutes of the lunch break or they can leave the building and eat their lunch outside for the first 15 minutes of lunch. A room will be provided for high school students who are on a prep to eat in a specific classroom.
- The Café will not be providing any food services.
- The Student Gathering Area (SGA) and the cafeteria seating will be closed for students to eat lunch or gather in for the first 15 minutes of lunch.
- For the second 15 minutes of the lunch break students will be allowed to be in the hallways and SGA, but masks must be worn at all times in these areas.
We anticipate this new procedure to be in place for the month of January and we will revisit this decision at the start of semester 2.
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| Dear QEHS Community,
I would like to start my Principal's Message for December with a thank you and acknowledgement of the generosity of our community. We have gathered enough donations for ten families to receive well stocked Christmas hampers. The large amount of clothes, food, toiletries and gift cards will bring joy and relief to QEHS families. The diversity and uniqueness of QEHS has created a culture not seen in other schools within the CBE. This allows for great opportunities but also significant challenges at times. When Alberta Education ordered a transition to online learning for approximately 2/3rd's of our school and in-school learning 1/3rd and mandated all lessons continue in the regular bell schedule and timetable, we at QEHS were asked developing a plan that would meet all students' needs within each program. As such, all students, online and in-school are receiving their option/CTF courses in an online format. Students here at the school attend option classes in the Learning Commons' computer labs. Following the new guidelines by Alberta Health, all in school PE classes will be outside for the remainder of this calendar year. Following Alberta Education and CBE expectations, students should attend all online classes. Attendance is taken and during classes students maybe working independently, in small break out groups or working with the teacher. On occasion, teachers may not be able to run a class. In these situation student should be given work to do for that day independently. If a teacher's absence is expected to be prolonged a substitute teacher will be arranged. For our high school families there are changes occurring to the traditional Assessment Weeks (exam break) in January. With all diploma exams becoming optional this year and requirements to limit cohorts, all final assessments will occur during regular class times, with the exception of diplomas. January 25 -28 there will not be scheduled classes for high school students, however there will be additional opportunities for credit recovery and semester prep. Grades 7 to 9 classes will continue to run as scheduled. As we near the winter break, I want to thank our students, families and staff for their diligences with our covid protocols. As of December 9th there have only been two cases at QEHS that have impacted teaching and learning; this is something we can all be proud of. Please continue this diligence while learning at home and over the break so we can continue to maintain our health school in the new year. Best wish & hope you have a joyful winter break. Jason
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| Dear QEHS community, Hub organization is complete, for the first semester, and teachers are making the final adjustments to routines and protocols, thank you for your patience and understanding to all the changes both in the hub online and face-to-face instructions. Within our building, students are doing a great job at following mask protocols, we do have the odd student who needs reminders but they are few and far between. Hand sanitizing and frequent hand washing are helping to reduce the opportunity for community spread. One place we are struggling with is having students follow Covid protocols outside, before and after school: please remind your child that if they are within 2m of any of their peers they should be wearing their mask. As was messaged last week, all athletic teams and extra-curricular clubs have been paused at this time. We know that these types of extra activities are beneficial to individual students as well as building school culture but unfortunately they are not feasible at this time due to Covid protocol restrictions, rotating absences of teachers and students, as well as the requirements for both face-to-face teaching and online support for student learning. We will continue to focus on our central purpose: supporting instruction of the curriculum and supporting student well being. As with all positive cases in schools, QEHS was visited by an Alberta Health Services health inspector who reviewed our processes and protocols in relation to Covid-19. I am happy to report that the inspector was very impressed with how we have safety measures set up at our school to reduce the risk of transmission. We are awaiting his final report to see if there are areas we can improve on. Thank you for all the emails of support we have received and as always please do not hesitate to contact us with concerns. We are also pleased to be introducing our new Knights Notes. This will be a weekly School Messenger e-mail that will come to parents/guardians on Wednesday afternoons. With the intent of streamlining communication of QEHS events and information and reducing school messenger emails, we will provide a weekly update of events and important information. Our official virtual parent/student/teacher conferences are occurring in late November but please do not hesitate to contact your child's teachers should you have any questions or concerns about their learning. We are moving to a more ongoing communication model where conversations can be initiated by either the parent/guardian or the school. Please check PowerSchool for updated assessments and D2L/Brightspace for the current work students are engaged in. Thank you Jason Arrell Principal
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| Welcome back to another school year, one that presents us with many challenges and many opportunities. Many CBE staff have been working tirelessly over the summer preparing for the return of staff and students into our schools. Safety protocols have been developed to keep all individuals as safe as possible given the context of our “near normal" return to school. Mask protocols, hand washing/sanitizing and frequent cleaning are our main processes to reduce the transmission of Covid-19. We will be enacting social distancing wherever possible within school; unfortunately, this will not be possible in most situations. We have seen an increase in student registrations by approximately 100 students and this is equal to the approximate number of students from QEHS who have registered for the Hub. With this increase in enrollment, students will potentially see the same number of students in the building as last year. Registration in the Hub will have a potential impact on both staff and students within the building. Once Hub decisions are made by CBE, we may be required to make changes to both student and staff timetables and assignments. These changes may occur in mid-September. Due to these upcoming unknowns, we will not be adjusting timetables at this point in time. Despite the restrictions and limitations that Covid has placed on schools, we will continue to maintain our focus on learning. In our first three days in schools, staff have also been focusing on lesson preparation. We know students will be coming to us with a wide range of learning experiences from the spring. Teachers are working on ways of meeting students where they are at and moving them forward in their understanding and demonstration of learning. We have been using the wording Rigorous and Human to describe our approach at QEHS. Rigorous: we will be intentional and focused in our teaching and instilling the value of hard work with students. Human: we will be acknowledging that students have all been impacted differently by Covid-19 and students may need different supports to engage in the work. These two approaches fit well with our continued goal of Personalization of learning and our goal of helping all student meet their potential as individuals. With the implications of Covid-19 and our focus on student safety and learning all extra-curricular activities (including sports teams and clubs) have been postponed at this time. I am looking forward to having students back in our building and the adventure ahead of us for the 2020-21 school year. Thank you, Mr. Arrell
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| Dear QEHS community
My first year at QEHS has been a very exciting one. Getting
to know the students , staff and families has been very rewarding for me. I
have seen first hand that QEHS is a vibrant school with lots of opportunities
for students. The diverse range of the student population creates unique
opportunities for students to be exposed to so many cultures, perspectives and
beliefs. The adults in this building truly care for students and push for both
academic success and mental health development. Our parents, guardians and
caregivers are here to support their children to reach their ultimate potential
each year. As someone who has spent over 20 years with in the CBE I feel
privileged to be at such an amazing school and I look forward to the many years
in front of me here at QEHS.
Thank you to the many of you who came to the school to
drop off supplies and pick up belongings, refund cheques and graduation
packages for our grade twelve students . For those of you who were unable to
make it into the school we will holding on to your belongings until September.
The facilities team has been working extremely hard preparing our school for
hopeful return of students in September. Removal of extra furniture, re-waxing
floors, scrubbing lockers, power washing washrooms and routinely cleaning high
touch points. On August 1st, Alberta Education is expected to give school
boards direction on what school will look like in September. Here at QEHS we
have a plan for all three scenarios that will keep staff and students as safe as
possible as well as increasing the academic expectation. I do want let families
know that our Café will not be open next year due to covid regulations.
Regardless of the scenario that Alberta Education determines
we have plans to support student learning. A focus for next year will
including adapting course work to support the gaps that all students will have,
this will occur through both adaptations to work in classes as well as support
opportunities during Knight’s Block. With these gaps in learning in
consideration they will be an increased focus on rigor and students developing
the habits of heard work. Knowing that we have many complex students at our
school we will continue to support the mental health of students.
In late August I will be send out a video tour of what
students and families can expect as classes resume at QEHS. Additionally once
we know health guidelines for school reopening we will contact families about
specific student entry plans and registration. Any students who wish to
drop off text books or pick belongings left at the school you can contact
Michelle Dupont MADupont@cbe.ab.ca
to make an appointment for pick up over the summer.
From the staff at QEHS, we wish you all a safe a relaxing
summer.
Mr. J Arrell
Principal
Queen Elizabeth High School
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| It is hard to believe that we are now entering our
last month of school for this year. I would like to commend the flexibility and
adaptability of QEHS‘ teachers and staff for their ability to radically change teaching
methods to emergency teaching in remote locations. While we cannot say the
transition was perfect and seamless, I am proud of where we got to. Thank you
to parents and caregivers for working through challenging times and supporting
their children learning at home. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the
students of QEHS who continued to engage, strive, and learn where possible.
Congratulations to the QEHS graduating class of 2020!
This is an amazing cohort of students that I wish I had more time to get to
know before they moved onto the next phase of their lives. They are a group
that showed me why QEHS is such an amazing school where students can truly be
who they want to be, where students have a primary focus on learning and
everyone is treated with kindness and respect. I know these students will be
successful in what every endeavour they choose to pursue it the future. A video
compilation will be provided to grads later in June as well as a future social
gathering is being planned for once schools can accommodate students within the
school.
While our education delivery method has drastically
changed, many of other operations of schools have continued. The budget for
QEHS will be finalized later this week. Two significant changes have resulted
in staffing reductions for the 2020-21 school year. First, the government has
decreased the amount of money school boards receive. While the per pupil amount
has not changed the board has reduced or cancelled numerous grants that school
boards have received resulting in less funds coming to schools. Second, the CBE
has implemented a new equity funding model which distributes money in a more
equitable way across all CBE schools. As a result, we have had a reduction of
six teaching positions and three support staff positions. Some of these
reductions are due to one of our mental health classes being closed. For the
upcoming school year we will continue to have our grade 7 -12 community
program, grade 7 -12 GATE, grade 7 -12 Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH), grade 10
-12 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and an expected student population of
approximately 990 students.
While we do not know what school will look like yet in
September we are planning and building a timetable based on regular
face-to-face education which we can then adapt once we know more. Six fewer
teachers will result in larger classes regardless of the delivery method. Three
fewer support staff will decrease additional help available for students. If we
do return to face-to-face classes these changes will also have an impact on
extra-curricular opportunities available as teacher will be teaching more
classes as well as increased students in each class.
Unrelated to funding, we have made a minor change to
our timetable. Our start and end times will remain the same with exception of
Friday where we will now dismiss at 1pm. Based on feedback from students we
have shifted our homeroom class to Fridays and will now have Knight's Block
Monday to Thursday. We will be using Knight's Block as one of our
strategies to support learning gaps created by the pandemic.
June 12th will be the last day for
new content in courses as teachers will be finalizing assessment of student
learning and preparing report cards. From June 15th to 26 teachers
will be working on credit recovering, transition plans, mental health support
and helping students with educational plans over the summer.
A
schedule will also be sent out soon regarding pick up of materials such as
yearbooks, refunds, items left in lockers as well as dropping off school owned
materials students still may have.
I will be providing more details and answering
questions during June's virtual School Council meeting on Monday, June 8th at
7pm via google meets.
To attend this meeting you will need complete the
following RSVP form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHC5yAVgdt2WgwIpQvlVwxsAR35-1KT9lb-Z3QPlFNVlUhKw/viewform?usp=sf_link
If
you have any issues with this form please contact Ms. Elliott one of our
Assistant Principals at (403) 777-6380 ext. 2402 or through email at rmelliott@cbe.ab.ca
As always if you have any questions or concerns please
do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or myself at jsarrell@cbe.ab.ca
Jason Arrell
Principal, Queen Elizabeth High School
Calgary Board of Education | cbe.ab.ca
t | 403-777-6380
f | 403-777-7649
The contents of this email and any
attachment(s) are confidential and intended for the named recipient only. If
you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately,
delete this email and do not copy, use or disclose it. |
| Hello QEHS families,
To say these are interesting times is an understatement.
A month into Ongoing Learning during a crisis QEHS staff, students and
parents seem to have fallen into a routine appropriate for their situation. This
current form of teaching and learning is far from ideal, and I commend both
staff and students for their resiliency and perseverance in learning.
Core classes for all grades continue as well as elective & CTS
courses at the high school level. It is important for students to maintain
engagement in learning where circumstances permit. While students marks
will not drop below the level they were at prior to the pandemic, within some
high school courses, students who do not complete new modules may still receive
a passing mark in a class but not the prerequisites for future courses and may
be required to re-take the course. Plans are underway for student support next
year to help fill any gaps in learning both during in-class instruction as well
as utilizing Knights Block. As a reminder, students in junior high should be
involved in 10 hours a week in learning and senior high classes are 3 hours per
week per subject. Much of the assessment teachers are doing of student learning
is formative in nature with few traditional tests.
Many decisions and processes involving QEHS are still
unknown as we enter the final two months of school. We do know that all grade
twelve graduation and grade nine farewell activities have been cancelled for
the year. Plans are underway for ways to celebrate these important milestones
in life in appropriate ways. QEHS is currently developing our procedures
for the end of the year regarding returning of resources and collection of
student belongs remaining at the school. Our business manager is also in the
process of drafting refund cheques which will be available in June.
Later this week I will be receiving our budget for the
2020-21 school year. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, funding to public
education was seeing significant reductions. With the new state of the economy,
we are expecting even more dramatic reductions to our budget. The addition of a
new funding model provided by Alberta Education is also leading to uncertainty
for next year. We will be planning and organizing the school as best as
possible to meet the learning needs of our diverse range of students, but are
expecting things to look significantly different next year. If your child has
not completed their course registration for next year, please have them do that
ASAP as this impacts our timetabling. I will continue to update our
community as structures are put in place for next year.
Information will be forthcoming with our next School Council
meeting which will be taking place virtually.
May 15 and 19 are non- instructional days, where teachers
will be working on professional development and other professional obligations.
No classes will run on those days.
As always, if you have any questions about your child’s
learning please do not hesitate to contact their teacher. Additionally if you
have other inquiries about QEHS I can be reached at jsarrell@cbe.ab.ca.
Thank You
Jason Arrell
Principal
Queen Elizabeth High School
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| Good Afternoon QEHS community,
Thank you to everyone for their patience, understanding and support during these challenging times. Ongoing learning in a time of crisis supported by remote teaching is new for everyone. As we are 8 days into this new model everyone is beginning to adjust and develop routines. Our work is guided by the direction of Alberta Education. In grades 7 to 9, only core classes are continuing (Math, Science & Humanities) with students engaged in learning for approximately 10hrs per week combined all subjects. In grade 10 to 12 core classes are continuing and plans are underway for which non core classes will continue. Students should be working approximately 3 hours per class, per week. Teachers are adjusting their lessons to try to meet these targets. Lesson delivery will focus on the main concepts of curriculum ensuring students receive the essential learning, knowing the gaps will be filled next year as we adjust teaching after the pandemic. Our teachers are trained to work and support students in a face-to-face learning environment, the change to a digital platform is taking some time to learn the skills required to teach in this new way. Assessment will continue and all students will receive a final mark in June.
Friday, April 10 is Good Friday and is a holiday and no classes will be taking place. Monday April 13 is a Non Instructional Day and no classes will be taking place. Teachers will be taking part in professional development focused on teaching in an online platform. Instruction will resume Tuesday, April 14.
Thank you and the staff at QEHS wish you and your family the best in these challenging time.
Jason
Jason Arrell
Principal, Queen Elizabeth High School
Calgary Board of Education | cbe.ab.ca
t | 403-777-6380
f | 403-777-7649
The contents of this email and any attachment(s) are confidential and intended for the named recipient only. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately, delete this email and do not copy, use or disclose it. |
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