A Message from CAPSC

The following message was received from the Communications Coordinator at CAPSC.  You can check out the CAPSC blog at http://capsccalgary.blogspot.com/:

CAPSC (Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils) Executive would like to wish everyone a wonderful summer and we look forward to re-engaging with you all in the fall. Your support over the past year has been greatly appreciated!   We will try and keep the blog up to date with any new developments in the meantime.  The 2010/2011 school year is promising to be an eventful one so stay tuned.

In the meantime, we would like to draw your attention to Inspiring Action on Education:  A Discussion Paper and an online Transformation Guide that consists of several surveys targeted to specific topics.  Two are now open for response:  Inspiring Action Overall Survey and Parental and Community Engagement.  Other surveys will become accessible over the summer and into the fall.  You can find them at http://engage.education.alberta.ca/home/.

CAPSC Executive is also working on an advocacy letter to the Alberta Government in regards to education funding which will be shared on the blog shortly.

Final MTSC/MTSPA Meetings Tonight

The final meetings of the year for the McKenzie Towne School Council and Parent Association are tonight, beginning at 6:30pm.  Click the links to view the agendas for the MTSC and MTSPA.  The minutes for last months MTSC and MTSPA meetings will be reviewed and ratified at the meetings tonight.

Our final meeting of the school year is another milestone in this year of many 'firsts'.  All parents are encouraged to join us for the meetings.

CBE Budget News

The following is a message from Katie Young, Communications Advisor at the CBE:

Board of Trustees Approves the Calgary Board of Education's 2010-2011 Operating Budget

At Tuesday’s regular public Board meeting The Board of Trustees approved the Calgary Board of Education’s 2010-2011 Operating Budget, subject to receiving Ministerial approval for the $10.0 million accumulated operating deficit budget.  Click here for the full story.


Shane from the Haultain Parents Association had an opportunity recently to speak with the trustee for our area, Carol Bazinet, and has a great blog post about it that I would encourage parents to read.  The bottom line is that if you are concerned about classroom sizes and budget cuts that may impact your childrens' education, the best advice is to speak to your MLA and let the province know your thoughts on education funding.

Notes from the MTSC, MTSPA and CBE

Follow the links to read the minutes from the April 26th MTSC and MTSPA meetings.  You can also read the latest Key Communique by clicking here.  Of special interest in this edition is a link to a website the CBE has created to answer questions about budget concerns and a link to the Inspiring Education Steering Committee report.  There is also information about the Setting the Direction initiative underway in Alberta. 

Our final MTSC and MTSPA meetings of the year are coming up on June 21st.  All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

CBE System Parent Meeting Webinar

As promised at the council meeting, here is the link to the system parent meeting that was held on May 26th.  The subject was Personalized Learning in the CBE and we were able to listen to representatives from an elementary, middle and high school give examples of personalized learning at their schools.  Included in the webinar are some neat videos from students that demonstrate personalized learning in action.  A number of questions were asked at the end of the session and I will post a link to the answers once they become available.

Council and PA Meeting Recap - Volunteers Needed!

Thank you to everyone who came out to last night's council and parent association meetings. Among the topics covered was a call out for volunteers both for the fun lunch happening this Thursday and for the Activity Day scheduled for Friday. The volunteer coordinators are still looking for a number of volunteers in order for these events to happen. If you are available to help, please contact Kerrie at kerrie.is.not@shaw.ca or Jenn at foordhoey@shaw.ca.

In the teachers reports, Mrs. McLarty talked about the work the grade fours have been doing with the grade ones on their garden project, their upcoming trip to the Glenbow museum and some ideas they are thinking of in terms of a grade four legacy project. Miss. Hudec spoke about the successful kindergarten tea held recently, their upcoming field trip to the zoo and their learnings about caterpillars and butterflies.

In the leadership report, Mrs. Sarginson was able to give us some great examples of personalized learning in MTS. She also talked about the grade 4 farewell planned for June 24^th as well as a number of other upcoming events. Check the calendar on-line for events at our school. School staffing was also discussed with the announcement of five new teachers next year due to the growth in student population.

Items of note from the Parent Association meeting include a reminder that the playground committee is looking for volunteers for the build in September. You can complete the paper form that was sent home or sign up on this website. The committee continues to work on planning for the build and for an opening celebration. The fundraising committee presented its plans for events and activities for the 2010-2011 school year and continues its work on those plans as well as grant applications. Finally, some discussion about fencing occurred and there was consensus to focus on the fencing required for the playground at this time.

Our last meeting of the year is scheduled for June 21^st. Hope to see you there!