superintendent’s memo 12th - 16th 2018.pdf · gym, tobogganing, building snow sculptures, balloon...
TRANSCRIPT
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Superintendent ..................... 2
Technology ............................ 3
Human Resources/Payroll ... 4
Extras .................................... 5
Around BTPS......................6/10
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BUFFALO TRAIL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1041 10A Street
Wainwright, AB T9W 2R4
P: 780.842.6144
F: 780.842.3255
www.btps.ca
Twitter: BTPS#28
Superintendent’s Memo
For the Week of February 12th - 16th, 2018
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT...
Email: [email protected]
Question of the week, Page 5
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Last week, Minister Eggen announced that he signed Ministerial Orders authorizing the professional practice standards for teachers, principals, school jurisdiction leaders and superinten-dents. Prior to that, Alberta had the professional practice standard for teachers called the Teaching Quality Standard that was implemented in 1997. This Ministerial Order provides for a revised Teaching Quality Standard and the addition of a similar set of expectations for principals, school jurisdictional leaders and superintendents. In a communication sent by Minister Eggen, the following was shared: “The strength of Alberta’s education system is in the talent, skill and dedication of our teachers. Every day, you work to help students learn, grow and succeed. In 1997, Alberta was the first province to create a professional practice standard for teachers linked to certification, and today we are updating that standard to reflect the realities of today’s schools and the future direction of our education system.
Alberta Education, in collaboration with education stakeholders, has revised the Teaching Quality Standard and created a new Leadership Quality Standard for principals and school jurisdiction leaders, as well as a new Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard for superintendents. These standards will come into effect on September 1st, 2019.” Information on the standards can be found on the Alberta Education website by clicking here. I encourage you to review them and prepare to work together as we look towards implementing them as a part of our practice for the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year! I would like to applaud the work of all parties who have contributed to this work as it will most certainly shape the future of education in our Province.
MISSION: Buffalo Trail Public Schools is committed to maximizing student learning,
in a safe and caring environment, supported by a highly effective team.
SUPERINTENDENT CONTINUED…..
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This week the BTPS Leadership Team will be working with Tom Hierck to further our work in schools. This marks the fifth year that we will have worked with him. Our focus has been on building school culture and we are now focusing our attention on how we can work effectively to support all students and staff in our belief that all students can learn. While the 48 hours that we spend together at this workshop is hard work, it is fundamental to our ability to meet the expectations of our BTPS Mission. Take care,
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This amazing self portrait from the Wainwright High School was drawn by our Network
Manager, Mahmood Khan’s, daughter.
TECHNOLOGY
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Changes coming to
February 28 is an important Google calendar date.
Google's streamlined new Calendar layout will be rolled out to all users at the end of February.
Google introduced the new desktop design in October, letting users switch back to the 'classic' look if they pre-
ferred, but from February 28, that option will be removed.
The redesigned web app is bold and clear, with more space dedicated to each time slot (whether it is a day, a
week or a month) and fewer buttons.
Clicking an event now lets you see all attendees at a glance, along with RSVP status, meeting rooms, video call
links and attachments. You can see each event's invitation status without clicking an event, and use the new Den-
sity setting to adjust the number of events visible for each time slot.
March 12 is an important date for Google drive client sync.
On this day, Google Drive Sync will stop working. Google has decided to discontinue this service. This service
was an application that would put the contents of your Google drive, which is in the cloud onto the storage space
of your computer, and synchronize with it. Most of our users did not use this feature so it really will have little
affect; your G suite will run as it always has.
For budgetary reasons we decided to stop paying for upgrades to SMART Notebook at version 16. What we have found happening is people are inadvertently clicking the upgrade button to 17 and
this renders the SMART file unusable. In order to help our users out we have decided to renew our annual pur-chase of licences. So in the near future, all will be able to update and not have problems and enjoy some new add-ed features.
Digital Citizenship: DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS
Digital devices put the world at our students' fingertips, whether with their own cell phones or with school-provided Chromebooks and tablets. However, along with opportunities for powerful learning come the risks -- and realities -- of distraction. So, what are the best ways to manage digital distractions in the classroom? Here, you will find practical tips on supporting students and modeling productive 21st Century learning: https://goo.gl/Zg9EXA.
Lesson Plans & Interactives to help students learn to deal with distractions:
Kindergarten - Grade 2 - Finding Balance in our Digital Lives
Grade 3 - Grade 5 - Twalkers
Grade 6 - Grade 8 - My Media
Grade 9 - Grade 12 - Digital Life 102
Engaging Families: 6 Ways to Help Your Kids Stop Multitasking During Homework:
https://goo.gl/T8oaNW https://youtu.be/s2JAspwFK5M
For more links to lesson plans, activities and interactive games, visit the Digital Citizenship section on our BTPS EdTech Website.
If you are interested in developing a digital citizenship plan, we can meet to discuss how we can help you get started. If you are a teacher who has already implemented digital citizenship into your curriculum, you should be acknowledged! Ask me how you can apply to recognized as a Common Sense Educator.
Reminder: Do not call the main central office switchboard , as they are not able to help with technology.
Problems with Technology email - [email protected]
Problems with PowerSchool or PowerTeacher email - [email protected]
Phone - 780.806.2053 Text - 780.806.9228 Twitter hashtag #btps28 BTTube:
Remember your asset tag number on all tickets!
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HUMAN RESOURCES/PAYROLL
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Celebrate Excellence in First Year Teaching! Nominations for the 2018 Edwin Parr Teaching Award are NOW open.
Nomination packages
Nomination packages need to be received by [email protected] no later than March 12, 2018
Questions or need assistance, please contact: [email protected]
Updates Regarding Teacher Leave Entitlements
Pursuant to the ratification of the BTPS-ATA Memorandum of Agreement, some teacher leave entitlements have changed in application as of February 1, 2018.
The complete Memorandum of Agreement is now available on the BTPS Website.
“Quick Tips” for accessing teacher leave are now updated and available on the
BTPS website.
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EXTRAS
Where are the
Olympic Games
being held this
year?
Answer here.
MARY LOU MCINNIS @ PPS
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AROUND BTPS
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A group of 32 Hughenden Public School students, staff and parents got to have a very privileged oppor-
tunity recently to enjoy a tour of Rogers Place in Edmonton - home of the Edmonton Oilers. We greatly
appreciate the efforts that Chris Davie, assistant athletic therapist for the Oilers, invested on our be-
half. Students were given an inspirational presentation by Chris that focussed on goal setting, believing
in oneself, healthy habits, and to chase one's dreams by putting in the necessary diligent determina-
tion. Investing in a team mindset was another focal point of Chris' presentation. We were very im-
pressed with the facilities that help to meet the needs and prepare these professional athletes. The Oil-
ers' home certainly contained state of the art equipment in order to keep the athletes healthy in all as-
pects and to reduce healing time from injuries as much as possible. It was very cool to walk along the
same path that the Oilers do when they come out for a hockey game. We also got to enjoy a moment of
reflection from the Oilers' bench. Of course the highlight was getting to see the Oilers dressing
room! Susan Reynolds considers herself very fortunate to have the friendship that she does with Davie
and looks forward to hopefully organizing another excursion in a couple of years. We all took in the
hockey game with the Oilers hosting the Avalanche. Unfortunately a win was not to be, but the game
was won in OT.
Photos: all the students who attended along with Chris Davie; four HPS staff and Chris Davie, Milan
Cuthbert, Dillon Dambrowsky and Hayle Dambrowsky revealing our new traveling Wildcat banner -
they were trying to get some attention during the morning pre-game skate!; our group with alumni Oiler
Jason Strudwick and Oiler Mark Letestu skating in the background; last photo shows our two Oilers fans
who had cheshire cat like grins the whole time and were like kids in a candy store lol...glad you were with
us Duffett and Paul!
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Vermilion Elementary School 4C is the Classroom Energy Diet Challenge this year. One of the 25 challenges we need to complete is to get 150 people to pledge to reduce their personal energy consumption. We would like to ask all BTPS employees to help us with this challenge by clicking on the icon below. This It will take about a minute. Thanks in advance, Colin Beecroft Teacher at VES
Mr Koskie is cheering for Edmonton Eskimos!?!? Mr. Koskie is wearing a Edmonton Eskimo Jersey all day since the Book Fair was such a success! Thank you to all those who supported the book fair and helped raise money for new books for our community library.
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With the winter Olympics
starting on Feb 9th. Many
classrooms and classes will
probably want to stream
events. This is not a problem,
however it is possible for
major events like gold metal
hockey games etc. a majority
of our schools may want to
stream the event if it happens
during school hours. If this happens please try to be
kind to all users and buddy up with other classrooms
that are doing the same thing. If we all share the
resource we will not saturate the network and everyone
will be able to watch and enjoy the Olympics
uninterrupted. If we do saturate the network and core
functions are dropped because of this we will be forced
to limit the Olympic feed to allow our business traffic
to pass.
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On Thursday, February 8th; Edgerton Public School kicked off the 2018 Winter Olympics with
a whole school winter carnival. Students were put into multi-age groups and spent the
majority of the day travelling from station to station. Activities included; skating, relays in the
gym, tobogganing, building snow sculptures, balloon hockey, crafts, face painting, as well as
snacks, hot chocolate and a fire roasted hot dog for lunch. Each group of students were
assigned a country and had activities to learn about where their country was on a map and
what colors their flags were. It was a great day for everyone and wouldn't have been possible
without the tireless planning of several staff as well as several local firefighters who supervised
the campfire.
Submitted by: Mandy Leskow
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