MacMillan Hutterite Colony Visit
Superintendent John Bailey and Trustees Christine Pretty, Jeannine Tucker, Doug Gardner and Michael Pollard thoroughly enjoyed a recent visit to tour the school and community.
Superintendent Community visits
Since joining FSD in early August, John Bailey has been busy getting to know our schools and community partners. Recent highlights have included Big Rock School’s annual “Turkey Trot”, and meetings with officials at local RCMP detachments, which all complimented FSD on being a good community partner.
Cross-Country Kudos
Board Chair Christine Pretty congratulated all of the Red Deer Lake School students who competed in the South Central Zones Cross-Country Championships. Grade 7 student Jayden Tanner placed first in the Bantam Girls division while Grade 5 student Leya Lubarsky, racing against Grade 7s, came in fifth!
High School Awards Nights
École Secondaire Highwood High School had a great turnout of parents, grads, sponsors and other guests — including High River Trustee Doug Gardner and Employee Services Assistant Superintendent Allen Davidson — at its annual Scholarship Night on October 10. Thirty-two Highwood graduates shared in $68,500 in Rutherford Scholarships, with several students earning an additional $19,500 in local and regional scholarships. It was a wonderful evening, with many former students enjoying the chance to see each other for the first time since heading off to their respective post-secondary institutions. Several family members also represented their kids who are away at universities in eastern Canada and the United States. Meantime, Trustees Laurie Copland and Jeannine Tucker, and FSD executives, Superintendent John Bailey and Learning Services Assistant Superintendent Todd Schmekel were similarly impressed by the achievements of the graduates recognized at École Secondaire Foothills Composite High School / Alberta High School of Fine Arts’ annual Awards Night, also held last week.
Citizenship in Action at ÉOJHS
Assistant Superintendent Todd Schmekel, congratulated École Okotoks Junior High School teachers Danika Knibbs, Coralee Legault and Calli McMillan on their successful application for a Citizenship in Action grant from the Calgary Educational Partnership Foundation (CEPF). The $1,000 grant will support some of the Grade 9 classes, which are involved in Action Research in association with FSD’s Curriculum and Instruction Facilitator Bobbi Hunter. Through the Grade 9 Social Studies curriculum, students are seeking to “make a change for the better”. Issues they’ll be tackling range from eliminating plastic bags in Okotoks stores to learning when and why clean water became a luxury. Through the Citizenship in Action-Empowering Youth Leaders program, CEPF supports student led citizenship initiatives that will have a positive and sustainable impact on the community. Since it was introduced in 2012, more than 50 initiatives in partner school districts – including FSD – have received CEPF’s support.
CRC Steering Committee
Ward 1 Trustee Jeannine Tucker (Longview, Black Diamond and Turner Valley) has volunteered to serve on the Calgary Regional Consortium (CRC) Steering Committee. The CRC provides professional development opportunities for K-12 educators including school trustees, superintendents, administrators, teachers, support / non-teaching staff and parents, and works with eight school jurisdictions and more than 80 private, charter, band and provincial schools in and around Calgary.