We are off and running for Semester 2 and completed the course change process this week. Having hundreds of conversations at the start of S1 and 2 is always a refreshing thing for administration. Hearing students advocate for themselves and their learning always encourages me. While some of the changes kids make seem to be for 'non academic reasons' a lot of them are aware of where they are at and where they need to go. These conversations seem to occur more in gr. 11 and 12 as kids have a better view of what life after high school will look like.
One of the goals in high school education over the past decade has been giving students choice and a voice to make a change. We know these skills will pay off for them as they leave our school and we heard it loud and clear this past week.
Thanks to our student services and office team for their hard work, to teachers for being flexible with changing class lists, and to students for understanding the complexity of school timetables.
Have a great weekend,
Ryan
ECO YOUTH AWARD 2019
Congratulations to BCHS student Megan Machan on being awarded a $300.00 ECO Youth Award for her proposal. To read more about her plans, see below! Well done Megan!
Overview
The ECO Youth Award provides Airdrie youth recognition for their efforts on a wide range of environmental stewardship initiatives as well as to help them implement or enhance projects and programs with an environmental focus.
Nine submissions received in 2019 for Eco Youth program, two individual applicant, two student groups and five classrooms from various years. There is a total of $3000 in funding available for this award; $1500 donated by FortisAlberta and $1500 will come from the Waste & Recycling Services budget.
Megan is striving to have more trees in Airdrie and wants to start Airdrie Tree Huggers to increase awareness, funds, and trees. In the coming weeks, Megan will meet with Airdrie Parks Department to consider various opportunities that she has outlined such as “adopt a tree, delivery/ planting fundraiser, birthplace forest, memorial trees” and other ideas. Megan will be working with the City’s Parks team and a few local experts/ non-for-profit groups that already do ‘Tree’ work in the community.
Parent participation a must!
Alberta Education’s Accountability Pillar Parent Survey
As an annual check-up on the education system, the Accountability Pillar provides an opportunity for Alberta Education and school authorities to ensure that we are equipping students for success.
The Accountability Pillar uses a set of 16 indicators. Data on these indicators consists of surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of education quality, student outcomes such as dropout and high school completion rates, and provincial assessments of student learning.
From January to the end of February, Alberta Education will be conducting the annual Accountability Pillar Survey.
In January, parents of students in grade 10 will receive a survey from Alberta Education. The survey can be completed on paper or online: https://public.education.alberta.ca/apos/
Alberta Education
If you received the survey in the mail, a Random Access Code is located in the upper right corner of the tear-away portion of your survey. If you have more than one student for whom you need to respond, please use a different code for each child.
In February, students in grade 10 and all teachers will be completing their surveys online at school.
All surveys are anonymous and ask questions about experiences with your school. In addition to English and French, the parent survey is available in Chinese, Punjabi, Arabic, Blackfoot, Dene, Cree, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Urdu.
Your participation in the survey helps provide important information on the quality of education your child is receiving, so we encourage you to return your survey promptly.
Survey results will be available to school authorities in May 2020, and will be reported publicly as part of their 3-Year Education Plans and Annual Education Results Reports.
Congratulations to our curling teams for a great week of action. A big shout out to our gr. 9 team for capturing the divisional championship with some wonderful curling. Thanks to Mr. Verhees for his work with our students and congrats kids!
Our Math dept. spent Thursday morning exploring more strategies to encourage engagement in math classes. Seeing our staff committed to making their classroom environments better for kids is awesome!
Some of the learning our numeracy team has been doing this year has focused on how best to get students to think. Without thinking, learning doesn't occur. Often students thrive on 'mimicking' behaviour where they display to the teacher what they think the teacher wants to see (compliance, attentiveness, etc...) but there is very little to no actual thinking going on. By changing the structure of a math classroom, we can encourage thinking by our students, which should then lead to more learning occurring.
One way to get kids thinking is by using rich tasks. Here is a terrific example of a rich task.
The Painted Cube
Imagine a large cube made up from 27 small red cubes.
Imagine dipping the large cube into a pot of yellow paint so the whole outer surface is covered, and then breaking the cube up into its small cubes.
How many of the small cubes will have:
0 faces with yellow paint?
1 face with yellow paint?
2 faces with yellow paint?
3 faces with yellow paint?
The first person with the correct answer to email rreed@rockyview.ab.ca will receive some BCHS swag. Good luck! (no google allowed!)
Is your child interested in going on a trip to New York to explore their passion in drama or art? If so, there is a parent/guardian meeting on March 11th at 6:30 PM in the learning commons. Mr. Goodyear and Ms. Tschritter are excited to share what they have planned for Spring break 2021!
Thanks to everyone's efforts we have had over 1/2 the outstanding books returned.
We are down to 425 missing items, down from just over 1000. We are still short Chemistry and Biology books. Thanks for double checking at home!
Career Centre News January 31, 2020 “The most important day of a person's education is the first day of school, not Graduation Day.”
What you can do to prepare for Post Secondary when you are in Grade 11
April 8 during Parent Teacher Interviews, there will be several Post Secondary Institutes in the Learning Commons.
Applications for Post Secondary Education open up in September and October. Figuring out where you want to apply and how to apply will take away some stress that you might feel in grade 12.
Nutrien Sustainable Agriculture Youth Trip
The Award – Travel to Kenya on a ME to WE Trip from August 3 – 14, 2020
Tell us about your commitment to global issues and volunteerism in your community.
What are some ways you can get involved in sustainable agriculture in your community?
How would this award help you continue your work as a change-maker?
Trip recipients have a chance to contribute to sustainable agriculture programming by volunteering in total WE Villages. Lots of opportunity for personal growth while you connect with families in rural villages, dive into a vibrant culture, learn Swahili and go on a safari!
More info in the Career Centre
SAIT Open House on February 8 (Saturday) Bow Valley College – Calgary – Career Exploration Day – March 13
Field Trip to Bow Valley College on March 13 (room for 5 students)
Please let the office know if you are interested.
RCMP – Youth Depot Camp
For students aged 16 – 19 (Grade 11 and12)
Two Camps: July 20-24, 2020 and July 27-31, 2020
Participation and observation of activities such as
10, 500 students have applied to U of C. They will receive Alberta transcripts on February 14 and expect to issue a large number of offer letters for students once first term grade 12 marks have been reviewed.
Deadline to be considered for admission and awards is March 1, 2020
Competitive High School Awards and Bursaries (Application required) Deadline: March 1, 2019
Multiple awards and bursaries available; valued at $500 to $8,500
Automatic Entrance Awards (no application required) Deadline: Apply for admission by March 1, 2019
President’s Admission Scholarship – applicants whose admission average is 95 per cent or higher will receive $5,000
International Baccalaureate awards – 20 awards valued at $3,500 each for students entering UCalgary who've completed the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program with a minimum score of 35
UCalgary Next Steps
Course registration does not begin until May, but for high school students who have recently accepted an offer of admission from the University of Calgary, they may be getting excited about their next steps.
This year, we are sending monthly post-admission communications to all students who have accepted their offer of admission and paid their admission deposit to ensure they are kept informed of their next steps and can begin planning for course registration early. Here are some highlights from the January communication:
Spotlight on resources: students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the University Calendar and make a wish list of the 200-level courses that interest them. Upcoming editions of the e-newsletter will guide students through understanding the required (and option) courses for their chosen program and how their course wish list can help them in this process. This will be helpful when the schedule launches March 1 and they need to begin thinking about building a course schedule for May registration.
Workshops & Webinars: We are planning a series of registration-focused in-person workshops and online webinars in March and April so students can become familiar with the tools and resources they will need to register successfully. Dates and registration information will be shared with admitted students in their monthly e-newsletter and the coming editions of the counsellor newsletter, so stay tuned.
St. Mary’s University is having an Open House on Saturday Feb 8
Head down to South Calgary and visit St. Mary’s University between 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday Feb 8, 2020
St. Mary’s is a smaller university with undergrad degrees including Social Justice and Elementary Education. www.stmu.ca 14500 Bannister Road SE Calgary
University of Lethridge in Bert Church HS during Flex on Feb 26, 2020
The recruiter from University of Lethbridge will be here with Mr. Burns in Flex on room 2043 on Feb 26
Every grade is welcome to attend. If you have already applied and are wondering what your next steps are, come and get your questions answered.
If you are in grade 11, come and get your questions answered so that you know when and how to apply when you are in Grade 12.
Sign up in Flex to learn more about U of L and if it is the right school for you.
U of L – Flex – Feb 26 in room 2043 with Mr. Burns
University Pathways at St. Mary’s University
Register at St. Mary’s University in Calgary to take Engl 030 or Math 030
These are HS level courses that can be presented for admission to university
Final exam is set by St. Mary’s University and students do not write provincial diploma exams
Classes are July 7 – Aug 27 2020 Tues * Wed * and Thurs - Engl 9 – 12 AM * Math 1 – 4 pm
Register online: www.stmu.ca/class
Calaway Park – Upcoming Auditions for Dancers and Actors
Hiring 30 seasonal Entertainment cast members. Minimum Age: 16
Auditions: Saturday February 8, 2020
Dancers at 9:30 AM - Actors at 11:00 AM
Go to Employment at the Calaway Park Website www.calawaypark.com to get all the audition details.
Canadian Forces in Flex on February 25, 2020
Full time and Part-time opportunities.Possibility of Debt Free university education.
To learn more, sign up for Flex with Mr. Lucas on Tuesday Feb 25, 2020
Science Competitions coming up
HYRS Program – High School Youth Researcher – at university of Calgary.
Students who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:
Currently registered in grade 11
A clear interest in pursuing a health research career
A minimum of 85% standing in each of Math-20-1 or 20-2, Biology 20, and one other grade 11 science (transcripts or interim reports are required)
Prepare soon, the deadline to apply is in March 2020
A maximum of 2 students per high school will be selected for the Alberta Innovates Heritage Youth Researcher Summer program.
Go to the website to see the application
Canadian Association of Physics annual High School Exam for the Province of Alberta.
3 Hours exam to be written on April 8, 2020
Results of the exam will be used to select both national and provincial winners for prizes and to help select the Canadian team for the International Physics Olympiad
Brain Bee – Hotchkiss Brain Institute – See Mrs. D. Smith or Mr. Verhees if you are interested in preparing for this competition.
Students in Grade 9 – 12 are invited to compete
The winner of this competition will represent Canada at the 2020 International Brain Bee Championship in Washington DC
Careers Next Generation – RAP Skilled Trade & ICT Fair
Students and parents learn about the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), careers in skilled trades, and Information & Communication Technology.
Connect with 40 + Employers and Industry Associations; Post Secondary & Education Resources; Dual Credit & Exploratory Program
*February 19, 2020 (Wednesday) 6:30 - 8:30 pm at Lord Beaverbrook HS
*March 11, 2020 (Wednesday) 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Notre Dame HS
*April 8, 2020 (Wednesday) 6:30 – 8:30 pm at James Fowler HS
At 7 pm there is a short Careers Presentation on RAP and ICT
Post Secondary Events
Event
When
Where
What
Preview Days Olds College
Feb 7, 2020
Olds College
Olds AB
Animal Science Preview Day
*Animal Health Tech * Veterinary Medical Receptionist * Veterinary Technical Assistant
Horticulture & Land Preview Day
*Arboriculture Technician * Horticulture Technologist * Land & Water Resources * Turfgrass Management
Post Secondary Recruiters at Bert Church HS
April 8, 2020
BCHS Learning Commons
Parent Teacher Interviews 5 – 8 pm Post Secondary Institutions will be set up in the Learning Commons.
RAP, Skilled & ICT Fair
April 8, 2020
James Fowler HS
Careers Next Generation
Open House St. Mary’s University
May 13, 2020
6 – 8 pm
St. Mary’s University
Calgary
Youth Job Fair At Airdrie Boys and Girls Club – March 12, 2020
Youth Job Fair Hosted by Boys and Girls Club Airdrie, 3-6pm200 East Lake Cres. NE Airdrie
Come out to meet actively hiring employers face to face, enter to win door prizes and have some hot chocolate!
For more information call 403-948-9711 or emailinfo@rwemploymentservices.com
Scholarships Don’t Hope for a Scholarship ~ Plan for a Scholarship
Bachelor of Humanities High School Essay Contest – Carleton University, Ottawa
You could win $500 by writing an essay on the following question: What is Literature For?
Deadline: March 1, 2020
St. Mary’s University - Scholarships
Deadline to apply – April 30, 2020 www.stmu.ca for complete list of St. Mary’s University awards
Presidents Circle Scholarships are automatically awarded to new high school graduates who achieve an average of 80% or higher on the five grade 11 or 12 subjects used for admission