1. Art and Diseño

Samuel W Shaw
115 Shannon Dr. SW, Calgary, AB T2Y 0K6
email | [email protected]
t | 403-777-6163 f | 403-777-6165|
website| http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b695/
Newsletter | January 2015
Principal’s Message
Achieve, Believe, Create
Welcome to 2015. I hope that you had an opportunity to visit with family and friends during
the holiday season. January is going to be a very busy month. Students are well into the
year and the work often becomes more challenging. Maintaining an effective study time,
completing homework on time and utilizing D2L will enable your child to be successful.
Since the beginning of the school year, staff has been engaged in the process of school
development work. We are continuing focusing on assessment and inquiry with the added
work on Comprehensive School Health. The staff will be working together on January 30
and we will start the initial conversations regarding out school’s mental health and how as a
community we can build awareness of mental health. The most current version of our plan,
with priorities for the school year, is available on our school’s website. The Annual Report
for last year (2013-14) will also be posted on the school web site. If anyone would like to
talk to me about either of these documents, feel free to contact me at the school.
Important Dates:
Please check the calendar
on the school’s website for
the calendar
(http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b6
95/calendar.htm)
Recently, students have or will have the opportunity to complete the online school survey
called Tell Them From Me. The purpose of this survey is to allow students to give their
input into school improvement initiatives in an anonymous way. Each student will be given
a random username and password ensuring their anonymity. This 40-minute survey
measures topics such as the social, academic and intellectual engagement levels of our
students. This survey shares important data from our students and we will also share the
results with our student, staff and parent communities in February. If you would like more
information about the survey, please feel free to contact me directly.
Another tool we use to gather information is the Accountability Pillar Survey. This tool
surveys grade 4, 7 and 10 students and parents on a number of aspects of school. In the
next few weeks Grade 7 parents will receive in the mail a questionnaire. The purpose of
this survey is to allow parents to give feedback to the school in which we use to
continuously improve.
Basketball season is in full swing, with Samuel W. Shaw participating in the Calgary Middle
School Athletics Association. Congratulations to all players who successfully made the
team and will represent the Storm. I would like to extend a special thank you to our
coaches, Mrs. Krewda, Ms. Ramsay, Mr. Molyneux, Mr. Sheldon, Mrs. Farral, Ms.
Hambrook, Mr. Noel and Ms. Wallace. Your time commitment and dedication to our school
is greatly appreciated. Go Storm!!
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Starting on January 12 , CBE Alternative Programs will start to accept applications. This
includes Willow Park (Fine Arts), Fairview (TLC), Louis Riel (Science) and Harold
Samuel W Shaw
January 2015
Panabaker (Late French Immersion). Please check the school website and the CBE
website for open house and application information (http://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/eventssessions-open-houses/Pages/default.aspx)
Also, we are in the process of starting High School Registration. Grade 9 teachers are
currently having discussions regarding which schools and the process of with their
students. Since 90% of the students from SWS attend Centennial High School, all of the
grade 9 students will be attending an open house on Feb. 2/15. It is after this time, they will
fill in their registration information and course selection. High school designation is based
on residency. If your child wishes to attend a different high school parents need to
approach the designated high school and the requested high school to assist in the
transfer.
Over the past month there has been a number of staff changes at SWS. I would like to say
thank you to Lisa Dunlop for her time at SWS. Lisa has resigned from the CBE and has
taken a position with Rocky View School Division. I know that staff and students wish her
good luck in her new position. Amanda Kindree will be taking over her classes for the rest
of the year. I would also like to welcome Huguette Abboud, Charolette Larson and Tina
Beauchamp to our school community. Huguette and Charolette will be working closely with
students in the capacity of an Educational Assistant and Tina is in the library assisting
students and teachers. If you have a chance, please welcome them to our SWS
community.
Please continue to regularly check our web site. There are many activities that we will be
participating in throughout the year. We will be continuing to send important information
through the email that you have provided to our office. It is important that you inform the
office of any changes when there is any change to your contact information (email, cell
number).
With the New Year, many people commit to resolutions, or as I prefer to call them,
“Intentions”. To me, the idea of intentions seems more flexible and attainable than
resolutions. Whether these personal intentions are to eat healthier, exercise more regularly
or be more organized, it is important to also help our children set realistic intentions for their
personal development and success. On January 29th, students will be bringing home their
Term 1 Report Card. As you review these formal assessments with your child, remember to
celebrate the successes, but also to use these reports as a foundation for setting intentions
and goals for the second term.
We sincerely wish you and your family all the best in 2015.
Darrin Fisher, Principal
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Samuel W Shaw
YOU MUST
REPORT
YOUR CHILD
ABSENCE
EACH DAY
THEY ARE
ABSENT!
Call 403777-6163
and press 1
(one)
Or email
swsattendance
@cbe.ab.ca
January 2015
Attendance and Lates
As you probably know, there is a connection between students’ attendance at school and
their success. At Samuel W. Shaw we do several things to encourage regular and punctual
attendance;
1. Teachers regularly monitor attendance, work with students and parents to find
ways to help them be successful while at school.
2. The office tracks which students are present, documents parent phone calls and
connects to home when students are absent but have not had a parent contact the
school to give a reason for the absence.
3. Letters periodically go home to remind you if your child is missing a lot of school.
4. Parent meetings happen to discuss ways we can work together to encourage good
attendance
5. This year we have also;
a. asked teachers to take regular attendance in their option classes
b. implemented a school work catch up time, for students who have been late
two or more times in the previous week (this happens on Mondays after
school
If you would like more detail, please contact Mr. Lewis or check out our school handbook.
Storm Station
Business Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Full Lunch Break
The Storm Station now offers gift certificates that can be used towards the purchase of any clothing
item! Come on in to the store or contact Ms. Changoor at [email protected] for more details.
Hoodies (S-L) $35
Sweat Pants (S – XL) $30
Baseball Tee (Youth Large – XL) $22
Ladies Tank Top (S - L) $20
From the Office
Attendance
Parents are to inform the office of any absence or late. This can be done by calling the
school at 403-777-6163 Ext. 1 or by emil at: [email protected]. A reason for the
absence must be given. This will avoid unnecessary calls home.
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Samuel W Shaw
January 2015
Appointments:
The best way to arrange for your child to leave for an appointment is to send a note with
your child stating the nature of their early dismissal from class and the time they are
required to leave.
They can then show their teacher the note, which dismisses them from class. The student
will bring the note to the office so the secretary can sign them out. The student is ready to
leave when you arrive to pick them up.
It may be necessary, from time to time, to contact your child during school hours. The
policy at Samuel W. Shaw School is to provide continuity of teaching for our students, we
therefore, do not interrupt while classes are in session.
We ask that you try to make arrangements with your child prior to coming to school and
only call in to leave a message when it is urgent. The office will try to get the message to
your child at breaks between classes.
School fees| Reminder
A letter was sent home in December to any parents with unpaid ISM school fees. These
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fees need to be paid by 30 January 2015 as CBE will be sending them to collection after
this date.
Fee payment options
In the 2014-15 school year, you will be able to pay most of your fees online at My CBE
Account. For many parents, this option is the most convenient method of payment as it can
be done from the comfort of your own home. For questions related to online payments or
fees, please call 403-817-7888.
Of course, it is not the only method of payment available as the CBE continues to offer
flexibility to parents. You can still choose how and when to pay your fees and do it directly
at your child’s school. Please note one change in the 2014-15 school year: to ensure
security of your personal information, we will no longer be accepting credit card information
over the phone, by fax or by mail.
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Samuel W Shaw
January 2015
CBE and Calgary Police Service transition to ePICs
The Calgary Police Service (CPS) transitioned to electronic police information check
(ePICs) this month. The change from a paper application to an online process impacts the
CBE in how we process volunteer checks. New volunteers will still report to the school
office for identity verification. Once school administrative staff has verified the prospective
volunteer’s identity, they will provide them with a volunteer ePIC letter. A prospective
volunteer can then proceed with their online volunteer check at their convenience, from
their own computer or from a CPS District office. There will continue to be no cost for
volunteers to apply for an ePIC, as this is covered by Volunteer Alberta.
Homework
Please contact your
child’s teacher
should you have
any questions or
concerns. Our
contact information
is listed on our
website:http://school
s.cbe.ab.ca/b695/co
ntact.htm
We would like parents to be aware of our homework policy. Teachers believe that every
student has the ability to be successful. Students are expected to adhere to deadlines and
hand work in complete and on time, unless they have made prior arrangements with their
teacher. If a student does not hand in work on time, teachers will support students in
ensuring they get it handed in as soon as possible by having that student stay for study hall
at lunch or after school until they complete the work. Students staying after school will be
required to call their parents to inform them of their whereabouts. We would also like to
reinforce the fact that all teachers are available for extra help before school, at lunch, or
after school. Students need only to make an appointment with their teacher to receive some
one-on-one help.
Free Library Cards Coming Soon to all CBE
students
The Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Public Library have teamed up to get free
library cards into the hands of all CBE students. Enough cards for every student will be
shipped to all CBE schools in the new year. All cards are expected to be delivered to each
student by February 2015. Cards can be activated online, by mobile devices or at your local
community library. More details to come later in January.
Upgrading School Websites - Parent and Student
Survey
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is launching a project to upgrade school websites.
We're asking for your input, through a short survey, to help us identify possible changes
that will improve our online communication with parents, students and communities.
You can participate in the survey here. We want to ensure that you can find the information
you need quickly and easily when visiting your school's website. The transition to the new
web platform will be a phased approach with a few schools at a time starting in the spring of
2015. This redesign will only include public-facing websites. It will not include D2L,
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Samuel W Shaw
January 2015
HomeLogic or other sites that schools have developed to assist with student learning.
Accountability Pillar 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 consisting of
surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of 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 grades 4, 7 and 10 will
receive a survey from Alberta Education. In February, students in grades 4, 7 and 10 and
all teachers will be completing their surveys online at school. All surveys are anonymous
and ask questions about experiences with the school. In addition to English and French,
the parent survey is available in Chinese, Punjabi, Arabic, Blackfoot, 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 2015, and will be reported
publicly as part of their 3-Year Education Plans and Annual Education Results Reports.
Grade 5
Grade 5 complimentary courses include Music, French, Art, and Technology. The
upcoming report card will address French and Music separately but the Art and Technology
assessment will fall under the category of "Options". For this reason , the following
information will inform parents as to the learning tasks students have completed over the
first term in Art and Technology. The comments on the report card will address individual
assessment in these complimentary courses:
Technology: The Technology Complimentary Classes for term one involved building
communication skills through learning to navigate D2L, contributing to the development of
personal learning goals and understanding learning styles using Iris, the online student
learning plan environment.
Art: This term Art Complimentary Classes included learning to express ideas using a
variety of media. The students demonstrated their creativity in rip art, pointillism (dot art),
thumbprint winter scenes, Soapstone carving and finally winter tree scenes using tissue
paper. The students worked on developing their fine motor skills while exploring the
elements of art through observation and discussion.
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Samuel W Shaw
January 2015
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rd the
During the week of January 19 – 23
Grade fives will participate in FrogskinU
Financial Management. This is a program offered to grade 5 students that teaches
students essential money skills that are relevant to their everyday lives. This program
reaches students in grades five who are already barraged with advertising and incredible
pressures to spend. Students are supported to identify the emotional appeal marketers use
and turn it around by spotting schemes, scams and fraud, and how to avoid money trouble.
The FrogskinU program teaches kids how money works AND how to be a savvy consumer.
The five, one-hour modules cover topics ranging from the price of money, to scams, to
banking and budgeting. More information about the program will be shared by your child’s
classroom teacher in the near future.
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engage | Upcoming by-election background
You may have heard that the Board of Trustees has
decided to have a by-election for the vacant Trustee seat in
Wards 11 & 13. Because of this, we’d like to take this
opportunity to talk a little about the role of the Board of
Trustees and how the by-election will work.
What does the Board of Trustees Do?
As a Board of Trustees, we are elected to govern the
Calgary Board of Education (CBE) in accordance with the
School Act of Alberta. Our job is to represent, lead and
serve parents, students and all Calgarians in matters of
public education.
Our focus is on students and student achievement. On
behalf of the community, Trustees provide leadership for
the CBE by defining its mission, the results we want to
achieve for students, and expectations we have for how the
CBE will operate. We then monitor actual performance
against these expectations. This monitoring takes place at
public board meetings.
Trustees also engage our parents and communities. We
want to ensure we are delivering and maintaining a school
system that reflects local priorities, values and
expectations. Trustees are expected to communicate the
views and decisions of the board back to their constituents.
Finally, Trustees are advocates for the CBE and its
students. Education is regulated and funded by the
Government of Alberta. Our advocacy work includes talking
to the Minister of Education, MLAs and other government
officials about the needs of our students and our school
system.
Overall, the job of the Board of Trustees is to listen to our
communities; guide the work of the school district; and
approve plans, policies and the annual budget. Trustees
are expected to make decisions that consider the needs of
the entire school system, rather the only representing the
interests of our ward constituents.
By-election in Wards 11 & 13
On October 3, former Trustee Taylor resigned from the
Board of Trustees to run in a Provincial By-election. At the
Dec. 2, 2014 public board meeting the CBE Board of
Trustees voted to hold its own by-election to fill the vacant
School Newsletter January 2015
trustee seat for Wards 11 and 13. If you want more
background information about this, visit the CBE website:
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/news-centre/Pages/board-of-trusteesvote-to-hold-byelection.aspx.
The by-election will not be managed by the CBE, but by the
City of Calgary Returning Officer. Our Corporate Secretary
is in discussions with the Returning Officer to make
arrangements. The by-election has been set for April 13,
2015.
Running for trustee is an important decision. The Board
intends to hold an information session for prospective
candidates in early 2015. More information about the byelection will be posted on the CBE website as soon as it is
available.
Public input
We want to hear from you. If you have questions or ideas
on matters concerning student learning and public
education in Calgary, please send us an email.
Your input on topics and issues related to kindergarten to
Grade 12 education is important to us.
Please contact trustees with questions, concerns,
observations and comments at [email protected]
or call 403-817-7933.
contact | Board of Trustees
We want to hear your ideas or concerns about public
education. You can also visit www.cbe.ab.ca to learn
more about the Board of Trustees and upcoming
public board meetings.
Here are your trustees:
 Joy Bowen-Eyre
 Lynn Ferguson
 Pamela King
 Trina Hurdman
 Judy Hehr
 Amber Stewart
e | [email protected]
t | 403-817-7933