| Thank you to all our families who were able to attend Parent Teacher Conferences. If you were unable to attend and would like to still have a meeting with your child’s teacher, please email them directly. We would also like to highlight the error in our last Trailblazer regarding the date of the winter concert. The correct date is Thursday, (not Saturday) December 14. Every year, all CBE schools update their Digital Citizenship (DC) plan, which can be found on our school website. DC is having the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to demonstrate responsible, respectful, and safe behaviour when using technology or participating in digital environments. Over the past few years, we have noticed students wanting technology for technology's sake. With this approach students either misuse it, or do not know how to leverage technology to support their learning. A common example is many students are unaware that the red squiggly line in Word is an indicator that their words is misspelled. Our DC goal is focused on students knowing how to use and leverage technology to enhance their learning. In December, teachers will be reviewing the Ron Southern Admirable Use Policy which highlights the responsible, respectful, and safe expectations when using technology. A copy of the Ron Southern Admirable Use Policy can also be found on our website.
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We pleased to announce that we were able to hire .5 of a teacher to support the grade 5 /6 classes in literacy and mathematics. We would like to welcome Benjamin Graham to our Ron Southern team. This Thursday and Friday are Parent Teacher Conferences. It’s important to know how your child is doing in school. Knowing more about your child’s interests, strengths and areas for development are critical to help you support your child’s learning. Parent-Teacher conferences are an opportunity to have formal conversations with your child’s teachers to ask questions, discuss specific concerns and learn more about your child’s learning, progress and achievement. In addition to Parent Teacher Conferences, there are numerous other ways we strive to have ongoing communication with you so that you understand how your child is progressing and learning. These include both informal (e.g. teacher weekly updates, feedback Fridays) and formal (e.g. conferences, report cards) communications. Through these various forms of ongoing communication between you, your child and the teacher, we are able to build an understanding of your child’s achievement through the course of the year. Tonight is School Council. Please join as, as we will presenting the 2023 – 2024 School Development Plan. Similar to last year, this year’s SDP will be focusing on literacy, numeracy and student wellness. We will also be offering babysitting at this meeting if you need to bring your children.
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| On Thursday Nov 9th, our whole staff participated in Maatoomsii’Poolaiks (Children First) Indigenous Education Professional Learning Day to develop and apply foundational knowledge of Indigenous Education in the CBE. As a Board we are committed to acknowledging and responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action, which includes providing education on the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, Indigenous law, and Indigenous-Crown relations (TRC Call to Action #57). When we do this, we will improve our individual and systemic practice to ensure that “CBE students who self-identify as Indigenous are supported to experience improved achievement and well-being" (CBE Education Plan).
On Nov 9th, we focused on the “Heart” domain of the medicine wheel which focuses on belonging. To create a space where students who self-identify as Indigenous feel welcomed and belonging, we at Ron Southern School have and are taking the following actions: - Making the land acknowledgment an essential practice in our school community
- Valuing and exploring Indigenous values, cultures, and languages across the curriculum
- Inviting Indigenous knowledge keepers into the school to share knowledge with staff and students
- Developing our capacity to use strength-based, restorative practices that foster inclusion, such as the “Reflection for Regulation” tool.
- Incorporating talking circles as a way of facilitating discussion with and amongst students and staff
- Providing opportunities for Indigenous land-based learning.
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| As we all know, well-being is an important contributor to success in school. The CBE has developed the CBE Student Well-Being Framework which I encourage you to take a few minutes to review. Well-being is central to a student’s ability to thrive in education and life. As such, the Student Well-Being Framework emerges from and is supported by CBE’s mission and values: - Mission | Each student, in keeping with their individual abilities and gifts, will complete high school with a foundation of learning necessary to thrive in life, work and continued learning.
- Values | Students come first – Learning is our central purpose – Public education serves the common good.
The Student Well-Being Framework is one of many intentional steps to advance a Culture of Well-Being within CBE and is designed to be a strategic support for improving student well-being. For our families celebrating Karva Chauth, we would like to wish you a happy Karva Chauth.
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| As the weather is changing, it is important that our students are dressed appropriately. Our students no matter what age seem to love to play in the snow. As such, we want to ensure everyone is safe and prepared to be outside. Please ensure your child has winter boots, hats, gloves and snow pants.
The Calgary Board’s cold weather guidelines are as follows: When temperatures reach -20 Celsius or colder including the wind-chill factor, it is recommended that students be kept inside for recess or lunch breaks. The negative 20 Celsius guideline is comparable to other school jurisdictions in Alberta and across Canada. Blue days are days where it is too cold to be outside. The students stay in their lunchroom and eat for the first half. During the second half, we have many board games, play doh, Lego and coloring sheets for them to do. Teachers ensure that they provide students with more body breaks on these days.
For our families celebrating Dussehra, we would like to wish you a happy Dussehra.
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We encourage families to attend school council meetings as it allows parents/guardians to contribute their knowledge, perspective and ideas. School councils are a bridege between the school and community and work together to support and enhance learning. A healthy school council requires the active participation of many voices. Over the past 6 years, we have had a very dedicated group of council members who have supported the Ron Southern community in building a positive culture and supporting student learning. As most of our current school council members have students in grade 6, this will be the last year that they can serve on school council. To ensure a continuation of the positive impact council has had on the Ron Southern community we need to be thoughtful and proactive on the transition. This begins with families attending our meetings, so that they can learn about the various ways council supports the learning and culture at Ron Southern School and how they can best contribute to this work. If you are able to, please take the time to attend our council meeting. Our students have benefited immensily from the hard work of Council and we would like that to continue. Hope to see many new and familiar faces tonight.
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| At the start of every week, we begin our day with O'Canada and a Land Acknowledgement that was created by our students. Through the intention work of the Acknowledgement of the Land, students have the opportunity to engage in critical reflection and create personal connections to this important work in meaningful ways. This Tuesday, we shared Ms. Salomons' Grade 5/6 class' Acknowledgment of Land. With the teacher, students acknowledged the land beyond the words by: - sharing how natural materials on our land were used to build and maintain the Ron Southern school building;
- discussing how the word treaty is used by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people;
- understanding the Indigenous use of the word “treaty" through literature; and
- astly, engaging in their commitment to Truth and Reconciliation through reflecting on their personal relationship to the land and the word “treaty."
Each class has two opportunities throughout the school year to create an Acknowledgment of the Land. In addition to being shared at the beginning of the week, they are also shared at our School Council meetings.
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| As a staff, we have spent the month of September looking through our data to determine the learning goals for our School Development Plan (SDP). We look at a variety of data which include: - Student achievement – report cards, provincial achievement test results;
- Stakeholder perspective and voice – OurSCHOOL Survey, Assurance Survey, CBE Student Survey, feedback from School Council meetings; and
- Internal data – learning sprints and administrative team's classroom observations.
We are currently in the initial stages of this work, with a focus on determining what areas in literacy, numeracy and student wellness we will be focusing on this school year. At our next council meeting we will be sharing the focus of our goals and welcome your consultation.
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| Reconciliation is about forging and maintaining respectful relationships. There are no shortcuts.- The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair September 25-30 is the CBE Week for Truth and Reconciliation. As a school community, we are committed to recognizing this important week, as we reflect on our school’s TRC commitments and consider making personal commitments to engage in learning that champions reconciliation. In June we established the following as our commitment as a school community: Foster a relationship with the Indigenous community to enhance and support: - our relationship with the land
- our work with the Spirit Model;
- our teachings connected to significant Indigenous dates; and
- our impact of land acknowledgments.
Cumulatively, this work will deepen and positively impact our intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect for all Treaty 7 people. In making our commitment, Call to Action # 63 offered inspiration. This week at Ron Southern teachers will be working with students to support their understanding of history, who the Indigenous people are and where do we want our relationship to be in two to three generations. Should you wish to continue the conversation at home, here is a resource that our teachers are using.
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| If you have not done so already, a gentle reminder to take a few minutes to complete or update your child's demographic forms. It is essential that school has the most up to date information on our students as it supports learning and allows for efficient communication during an emergency. As we stated in last week's Trailblazer, we are looking forward to our Meet the Teacher Open House tomorrow on Thursday, September 21 from 4:30 to 6:30pm. Students are encouraged and welcomed to attend as school council will be serving treats. The purpose of Meet the Teacher is to see your child's classroom, hear about the programing and expectations as well as ask general questions you may have. EES will be reaching out to parents and booking individual appointments. Grade 1-6 & Mr. Knuttila's Kindergarten class will follow the open house format. Teachers will be doing a presentation at 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00pm (every half hour). To hear the full presentation, it is important that you arrive at the presentation start times. Presentations will be approximately 20 mins with 5 to 10 mins for general questions. There is no registration required for these presentations. Just attend at one of the times that is convenient for you. If you have more than one child, plan your schedule accordingly. Due to Ms. Fieldstone teaching both AM and PM Kindergarten, she will be following the schedule below: · 4:30pm AM Kindergarten Session · 5:00pm PM Kindergarten Session · 5:30pm AM Kindergarten Session · 6:00pm PM Kindergarten Session A reminder, if you require a one-on-one meeting with the teacher to share specific information about your child, you will be able to book an appointment on Friday September 22 between 8:00am to 1:00pm. As teachers are just getting to know each of their students, they will not be able to share specifics around academics. If this time does not work for you, please connect with your child's teacher and they can make alternative arrangements.
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