the h eights eadlines · st. albert, alberta t8n 3x7 telephone: 780 459 3990 fax: 780 460 2565 the...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sturgeon Heights School Principal: Jonathan Konrad

50 Hogan Road Make Sturgeon Heights your homepage: Vice Principal: Jennifer Bruinsma

St. Albert, Alberta T8N 3X7 www.sturgeonheights.ca Telephone: 780 459 3990

Fax: 780 460 2565

The

eights

eadlines

March 23rd

, 2016

Have you heard . . .

H

SMILE!

Spring pictures will be taken

of all students on April 6th

and 7th. Sibling groups may

be taken at this time also –

up to four siblings! Sibling shots will be taken at approximately Noon.

Kindergarten students will also

have their “graduation”

pictures taken on April 6th

and 7th. Kindergarten parents

will receive a proof sheet and

you will be able to order from

that if you wish.

Keep April 25th open to attend the

Sturgeon Evening of Music at the

Winspear in Edmonton. Sturgeon

Heights will have some great art

pieces on display and choir members

and musical theatre will be

participating.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

ROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK:

Looking forward to a great March break!

It is great that students and staff will have a little time now in spring to recharge and renew. About this time

every year we all lose a bit of focus and get a bit restless. This might be because of a time change or a weather

change, but it is common to find ourselves wanting to get outside more and think about life around our school.

This year has been no different. I want to encourage all families to try to schedule a few play dates or nights out

that just celebrate friends and family. Look for ways to encourage your children and reconnect as you can. I

know many of our staff will be catching up on work and preparing for to finish the year. This will be excellent

work to see us through, and I also hope they will take time to recharge and renew.

March has been a great month for activities here. We wrapped up strong in Basketball for both boys and girls

teams, and our senior boys earned a banner in the finals. Our grade 6 to 9 listened to Eva Olsson talk about

peace and justice and unwavering courage to stand up against the power of hate. We also had a visit from the

Saffron society to encourage us to stand up against bullying and be aware of how to be safe and sound safe

while talking or connecting online. We had great ski trips, both to Pine Valley and to Marmot in Jasper. Our

first overnight for Junior High was a success, and I look forward to trying it again in years to come. There were

lots of classroom activities too, and I hope you get a chance to walk our halls and look around at all the created

robots, dioramas, maps, posters and other items that showcase your children’s creativity and expression.

I wanted to give a special thanks to our Junior Forest Warden group. This group of hardworking young wardens

and their parents came in on a Sunday and worked for hours cleaning up our woods. They had 72 volunteers

and gave a total of 300 hours to this project. In one day they hauled out 32 trailer loads of wood! This clearing

will greatly improve our ability to see into these woods and keep our students safe during outdoor play. Thank

you again Junior Forest Warden’s, a hard job, done well!

As our weather turns warmer, and spring really does arrive I wish all of our students and their families a great

spring break and a hopeful and wonderful Easter.

Jonathan Konrad,

Principal

F

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Hard at work!

Many thanks to the

Junior Forest Warden

group and parents

who cleaned up our

wooded area.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Junior high was building

OOPS…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

And primary students were building also - bridges!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Students enjoyed ‘wearing of the green’ on

St. Patrick’s Day!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Message from the Vice Principal’s Desk

March 2016

At the beginning of every school year and even throughout the year there seems to be the mass signing

of forms….registration forms, agreement forms, permissions forms, FOIP forms….the list goes on. Multiply

these forms by more than one child and pretty quick we may be quickly glancing over forms and signing off

without giving it much thought.

One form however that does need to be thoroughly read, re-read and then reviewed periodically by both

students and parents is the Sturgeon Heights Acceptable Use Policy for Technology. Too quickly, with a device

in hand, many of our students feel that the personal ownership of technology is their right to say or do what they

feel in any given moment.

Our children and students need to realize that technology and access to the internet is a privilege and that

even if they delete something after it has been posted it can still be found on the web for years afterwards.

As I help students, at all grade levels, in my office work through challenges with their peers the majority

of their struggles are related to individual or group conversations and pictures that have been shared online.

Many of these conversations occur in iMessage or Snap chat. In most cases the snippets of conversation that

are shared with me are saved screen shots that students take and save. The original conversations may be

deleted but these screen shots are often passed on and resent without the original sender even knowing, The

time stamp on many of these conversations are also in the late hours of the evening, long after a child should be

sound asleep.

Regardless of the context of the online communication these conversations begin to consume our

students, not only in the late night hours, but first thing in the morning, recess breaks, class time and

afterschool. Too quickly and too often what was intended as a positive conversation turns negative, causing

emotional harm to those involved.

The home-school partnership is extremely valuable in helping our students be successful in school. Not

only is this partnership important in the “real” world, but also in the “virtual” world. As parents, it is important

to know what your children are doing online in the same way you know what they are doing at school. Know

what apps they are using to communicate, know who is in their contact lists, know what time of day they are

communicating the most, know what they are saying in their conversations and what they are receiving. How

often are they sending/receiving pictures and what is the context of those images? Look for changes in their

behavior or attitudes that might indicate that they are getting messages that are hurtful or unsettling. Ask

questions, and consider limiting the amount of time that your child spends on their device – not so much to

discipline them as to keep the real world in perspective, and the virtual world in check.

Sincerely,

Mrs. J. Bruinsma, M.Ed

Vice Principal

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Our

Band

students

enjoyed

Band

Camp!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

ROM OUR TRUSTEE:

Sturgeon Heights has been a buzz all month will all the activities in classrooms not to mention the many athletic

activities that students have been involved with all week.

Operational School Year

The 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school calendar will be reviewed and approved at the Board meeting on March

23. Please look for them on our Division website.

Instructional fees will be reviewed and a decision will be made at the March 23rd

Board Meeting. There has

been discussion regarding the provincial election commitment to eliminate instructional fees but you may have

heard the NDP government cannot meet that commitment due to the economic situation in Alberta. Based on

this information, the Board will consider and approve what fees will be approved for the coming 2016-17

school year.

LGBTQ Policies

The final changes have been made to the LGBTQ related policies. The final draft was included in the

Board Agenda package on the new Sturgeon School Division Website. On the main page just click “Our Board”

and then “Minutes and Agendas” check for March 23rd

agenda. The items are 9.2, 9.3, and 9.4. The Board of

Trustees will make their final decision on March 23rd

at the Board meeting held at 6:30 pm.

Meetings by Electronic means

The Education Committee has done an extensive study of how Sturgeon School Division can meet the policy

in the Education Act which allows trustees to attend board meetings by electronic means. The Committee is

bringing a recommendation to the Board for consideration March 23rd.

The recommended policy restricts

trustees to two meetings in the school year to attend by electronic means and the electronic device used must

allow for both the trustees and the public attending the meeting to hear each other. A decision will be made by

the Board on March 23rd

at the Board meeting.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a great holiday as we move into our Spring Break.

Thank you for your continuing support. Wendy Miller

Trustee, Sturgeon Heights School/Sturgeon Composite High School

780-569-3164

[email protected]

F

mailto:[email protected]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Kindergarten went “BUGGY” this week!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

PRING BREAK and EASTER:

Spring Break begins for students and staff on Thursday, March 24th

, 2016 . Thursday is a day in lieu for

two evening interviews. Good Friday is March 25th

and Monday, March 28th

is Easter Monday.

School resumes at the regular time on Tuesday, April 5th

, 2016.

OARD MEETINGS:

The Board of Trustees meets twice a month during the school year: Committee of the Whole on the second

Wednesday, beginning at 2:00 pm, and Public Board (open to the public) on the fourth Wednesday, beginning

at 4:30 pm. The Committee of the Whole meetings are closed from 2:00 - 3:30 pm but then open to the public at

3:30 pm. They are held in the boardroom at the division office in Morinville. The meeting dates for April are

as follows:

April 13

April 27

OFFEE WITH THE PRINCIPAL:

Join Mr. Konrad and other parents for coffee on Wednesday, April 6th at 9:00 a.m. All are welcome to

attend!

Enjoy the Easter Break with Family and Friends!

S

B

C

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Mark this date on your

calendar!

Open House at Sturgeon Heights will take place

on

April 14th at 6:30 pm (Please note change in times from the last newsletter.)

All are welcome to attend!

Come early and take in this year’s Drama

Production in the gym from 5:30 – 6:30 pm

It’s a great mystery!

“Where There’s a Will, There’s

a Murder!”

Come out and see “who done

it!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Basketball season has ended for this year. The senior boys won first place in the

Division. Way to go, Eagles!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

ADMINTON NEWS:

The badminton team has been chosen following a week of tryouts. The team will have their first practices

Tuesday, April 5th, and Wednesday, April 6th. The first game will be at Guthrie on Thursday, April 7th. The

team will receive a more detailed schedule of practices following Spring Break.

Grade 3 D – TIN Foil Sculpting and Shadows

B

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

Choir and Musical Theatre groups from Sturgeon Heights will be participating in the St. Albert Rotary

Music Festival on our return to school after Spring Break. Parents are invited to attend performances.

April 11th

– Choir – 10:00 a.m.

April 11th

- Musical Theatre – 10:45 a.m.

Both at St. Albert United Church, 20 Green Grove Drive, St. Albert

All are welcome to attend!

2016 St. Albert Rotary Music Festival April 5 – 16, 2016

D DAY AND STAFF MEETING:

The April PD Day and staff meeting date will be Friday, April 15th

. Students do not attend school on this

date.

Winter fun… Spring will come soon.

P

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

RE YOU LEAVING THE SCHOOL AT THE END OF THIS TERM?:

Are you planning on moving or changing schools at the end of the term? Do you know of anyone moving in to

your area at the end of the school term? Please let the school know information for either of the above as soon

as possible as it certainly makes the transition in to the new school year much easier for everyone!

EPORT CARDS:

Report cards will be distributed to parents electronically at the end of June by email. In order to have this run

effectively, it is important that the email address we have in our PowerSchool program is correct. If you have

made a change to your email address since registering in PowerSchool, please contact the school to make the

change.

Grade

One and

Two students worked together to build ‘St. Albert’

A

R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

The Marmot ski trip was fun for all!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

The Grade Two students learned a lot about Acadia recently.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Fax: 780 460 2565

http://eyewatch.info/

the h eights eadlines · st. albert, alberta t8n 3x7 telephone: 780 459 3990 fax: 780 460 2565 the...

Documents