Trustee Meet & Greet

You are invited to attend a Meet and Greet with Public School Trustees Carol Bazinet and Sheila Taylor this Thursday, April 28th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Lake Bonavista Community Association, 1401 Acadia Dr. SE.  If you were unable to attend last Monday's Council meeting, this is your chance to ask questions, make suggestions and be heard by your local Trustee.  All are welcome to attend.

Key Communiqué - April 25, 2011

Click here for the latest edition of the Key Communiqué.  In it you will find links to updated information regarding the CBE 2010-2011 budget, as well as answers to some questions parents have had recently regarding the role Trustees can play in budget decisions when they are parents of students in the CBE.  On April 27th, there will be a system wide meeting from 7-8:30 pm.  You can attend in person at Sir Winston Churchill High School, or via webinar from the comfort of your home.  Please email kldrummond@cbe.ab.ca to RSVP for the meeting if you are planning to attend.  Please read the Key Communique for more information about this and much more.

Transportation Update!

During Monday's Council meeting, parents were made aware of potential changes to school start and end times for next year due to transportation arrangements.  Some parents voiced concerns about these possible changes; the Parent Association encouraged those parents to share their concerns with the transportation department at the CBE.  We have had an update today, and it has been confirmed that our school will now be married to a different school next year for busing service.  This means that our start and end times will look very similar to what we currently have.

Thank you to those who voiced their opinions regarding this issue!

MTSC & MTSPA Meetings

Last night's meetings of School Council and Parent Association were full of information and discussion.  Our guest, Trustee Carol Bazinet was able to provide an update regarding the CBE budget and answer questions from parents.  For more information about the budget, you can visit the CBE's budget page.  We have learned that it is more effective to write a personal letter or make a personal phone call to an MLA, rather than sending a form letter.  The contact information for our MLA, Art Johnston, can be found on the left column of this screen as well as some tips about writing such a letter or email.  Parents with concerns regarding the provincial funding of the CBE and the impact this will have on our children are encouraged to contact Mr. Johnston.

Our Council and PA Secretary, Jaime, announced her resignation from her role.  We are sorry to see Jaime go and very thankful for all she has done over the last 2 years.  Tammy A. volunteered to take the role until the next AGM in September.  Thank you Tammy!

In the Leadership Report, Annette announced that the school will be trying on-line agendas next year.  She also announced a potential transportation change next year that will affect all MTS students.  The CBE transportation department makes decisions about "marrying" schools together for busing purposes.  Due to a decision to marry MTS with two other schools, it appears that our school hours could change significantly in the fall.  At this point, Annette is estimating a school start time of between 9:15 and 9:30 am and an end time of between 4:00 and 4:15.  If you have concerns about this change, the PA strongly encourages you to contact the Transportation department of the CBE at transportation@cbe.ab.ca or 817-7433.

Highlights of the PA meeting include a decision to donate the remainder of the candy, chips and water from the dance and Family Skate night to the school.  The PA continues to seek a Fundraising Director to steer the committee.  No further fundraising activities are planned until such time as this position is filled.  A motion was passed to give the playground committee authorization to use the surplus playground funds to purchase playground-type equipment in line with the parent survey and in consultation with the school.  A motion was also passed to fund a presentation at the school and to provide additional funding for the music program.

The next meetings are scheduled for May 30th beginning at 6:30 pm.

Reminder - MTSC/MTSPA Meetings

Our April meetings of the MTSC and MTSPA are being held tonight, in the school staffroom, beginning with a meet and greet at 6:15 pm.  The MTSC meeting will begin at 6:30 and the MTSPA meeting immediately following.  We have a number of interesting subjects on the agenda for both the MTSC and MTSPA meetings, including our guest speaker, Trustee Carol Bazinet and a discussion about our topic of the month, Provincial Budget.

The ratified minutes from February's meetings can be viewed here and here.  We will also be reviewing and ratifying the minutes from the March MTSC and MTSPA meetings tonight.

All parents are strongly encouraged to attend one or both meetings tonight.  Hope to see you there!

System Parent Meeting April 27th

Please be advised that the last System Parent Meeting of the 2010-2011 school year will be held as follows:

Date: Wednesday, April 27
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Place: Sir Winston Churchill High School, 5220 Northland Drive N.W.
Topic: Phase II of the CBE budget process

This meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about the CBE’s 2011-2012 operating budget, a topic of ongoing interest to parents. You can get your questions answered and have an opportunity to talk with parents at other schools about their experiences.

This meeting will also be accessible via webinar. More information on this, and a meeting agenda, will be circulated in the Key Communiqué prior to the meeting.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Karen Drummond at kldrummond@cbe.ab.ca and note if you plan to attend in person or via the webinar.

Upcoming CAPSC Meeting

CAPSC is holding its next meeting on Wednesday April 20th, using a Conversation Cafe style.  They will be hosting special guests on the following topics:

- CBE budget shortfall - have your questions answered by experts from CBE's finance and communications departments
- High school math curriculum changes: presented by CBE’s math specialist, Cheryl Schaub
- School Council advocacy initiatives: several schools have some interesting funding advocacy projects underway that they’d like to share with you.
- Talk to your Trustees: CBE Trustees Cochrane and Taylor will be available to answer your questions and hear your concerns / ideas / suggestions.

The meeting will conclude with an open microphone session regarding funding advocacy.  Bring your ideas and questions!  All are invited.  The meeting takes place at AE Cross Junior High (37th Street and Richmond Road) from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. 

Family Skate Night

Just a reminder that Family Skate Night is happening at MTS tomorrow, Thursday April 14th.  There are 3 shifts this year; if your last name begins with letters A-F, your skate time is 5-6pm, G-M is from 6-7pm and N-Z is from 7-8pm.  There will be a concession table at the event, selling water, pop, candy and chips at low prices for those interested. 

Q&A with Trustee Carol Bazinet

Our next School Council meeting is coming up on Monday April 18th, beginning at 6:30 pm.  This month we are looking forward to hearing from our Trustee, Carol Bazinet.  She will be speaking about the CBE budget for the 2011-2012 school year and will also take questions from parents about this and other topics of interest.

In an effort to be effective with our time, it would be helpful to gather the questions for Trustee Bazinet before the meeting.  Therefore, we are asking parents who have questions for Trustee Bazinet to respond to keycommunicator@mtsparents.com or through this website with their questions by Friday April 15th.  If time permits during the meeting, we will open the floor to parents for additional questions.

Looking forward to seeing many of you on Monday evening.

Meetings of Note

Just a reminder that CAPSC is hosting their panel discussion regarding next year's CBE budget tonight, beginning at 5:00pm at AE Cross school.  Minister Dave Hancock as well as representatives from the CBE and the Board of Trustees will be present to answer your questions.

Also, you can join Mr. Murphy tomorrow morning between 8:30 and 9:30 am for a Gabuccino at MTS.  This is a great opportunity to meet with administration and share some ideas about traditions and school culture at MTS.

Message from CBE & Key Communiqué - April 4, 2011

Please click here for the latest edition of the Key Communique.  In it, you will find details about the meeting this Wednesday, hosted by CAPSC.  There will be a panel discussion regarding the impact of the provincial budget on the CBE's 2011-2012 school year.  Minister Dave Hancock will be present at the meeting, as well as Pat Cochrane, Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Naomi Johnson, Chief Superintendent of Schools for the CBE.  There will be an opportunity to have questions answered by the speakers.  The meeting is from 5-6:30 pm at AE Cross Junior High.  If you have questions or concerns about the budget and its impact, please consider attending this important meeting.