Student Teachers

It was wonderful to have our school mentor four student teachers from the University of Alberta for the past nine weeks. A mentor is a wise, trusted advisor who shares her craft knowledge with others having a prejudice interest in the others' well-being; to this end, ÉCPS was golden.  Mrs. Djordjevic, Mrs. Weatherby, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. May, and Ms. Twarog were the mentor teachers, and they did an excellent job; thank you.  I'd also like to thank all staff for pitching in to make the student teachers' experience here extremely rewarding for them; our staff is second to none.  We wish Lori-Ann, Janelle, Ashley, and Kim all the best in their teaching careers.

Board of Education Visit

The Black Gold Regional School Division Board of Education stopped in for a visit at ÉCPS today.  The Board spoke with staff during the recess break, and then it had a chance to tour the school and see our students and staff in action. 

Following is a picture of the Board playing choir chimes with our grade 3 French Immersion students.

Ski/Snowboard Club

Our grades 4-6 Ski/Snowboard Club hit the slopes for the first time this season on Tuesday, January 25th; the conditions were brilliant and the weather was great.   As usual, our students were exceptional ambassadors for our school.  Thank you to both Mr. Deverdenne and Mrs. Djordjevic for volunteering their time and providing us with their leadership.

1G/E Filling Buckets

Mme. El-Khatib's students had a group discussion about feelings and how we can have an affect on the feelings of others.  They also talked about what it meant to "fill someone's bucket".  As a class they identified important aspects of the books 'Have You Filled a Bucket' and 'The Way I Feel'.  Finally, the students began to write and illustrate their own books.  Here are a few photos of them in action:

2Y Math Wizards

I spent a wonderful hour in Mme. Yakimoski's gr. 2 French Immersion Class this morning.  She and her students were working on addition of one and two digit numerals with answers to 18 and the corresponding subtraction.  Mme. Yakimoski developed and implemented an exquisite GANAG lesson plan:)  Students enjoyed working together with two-sided counters writing both the addition and subtraction equations.  I was fortunate to be able to participate in part of the lesson.  Ask Mme. Yakimoski about her exit card strategy in the "Generalization" piece of the lesson.  Great things are happening at École Corinthia Park School.

School Council Meeting 01-06-10

Rich discussions were held at our January meeting; following were the items of greatest importance:
Alberta Education Telephone Surveys: later this month, the ministry will be making random calls to parents, teachers, high school students, the general public, and school board members gathering their thoughts on public education.
Accountability Pillar Survey: this survey will take place mid-January to mid-February.  All teachers in the province, grades 4,7, and 10 students, and their parents will be asked to complete a survey gauging the quality of education in our schools.  Students and teachers will complete the surveys on-line at school; parents will receive the survey in the mail.
ÉCPS Healthy Eating Survey: our school is participating in a division initiative to promote healthy living, and to help us determine healthy eating priorities, we are asking for your input.  If you have any thoughts on this topic, please contact Mme. Yakimoski.
ÉCPS Christmas Concert Survey: many familes have provided us with their thoughts.  So far, the majority liked the two separate evenings, they did not like having it on the same night as the "Christmas Train", and they were disappointed in the parents who left the K-3 concert before it was over.  I will compile all of the responses and speak to them in my February newsletter.
BGRS 2011-12 Board Draft School Year Calendar: the calendar was distributed and feedback is due January 19th.

Following are a few pictures of the meeting.  Remember, meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month beginning at 7:00pm; all parents are encouraged to attend.

Hyper Link, Net Books, & 4D

Mr. Deverdenne and his grade four students were using hyper link to access websites to find pictures and information on birds in Alberta. Next, they were writing descriptive sentences/paragraphs about the bird of their choice.  Mr. Monty enjoyed pressing the sound button and hearing "cheese burger, cheese burger".