Archive (2008/2009)

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Pinewood Elementary School Works on School Growth Plan

One of the goals of the Pinewood Elementary School Growth Plan for 2009/2010, is to improve student learning in the area of social responsibility. To support this goal, staff provides opportunities for students to increase their awareness of socially responsible behaviour through practice.

An example of this was our recent school trip to Surveyors Lake for the annual Terry Fox Run where students also participated in sandcastle building in cooperative groups. Another example is Buddy Learning. This program pairs up Intermediate and Primary students to provide them with positive interaction and leadership opportunities.

Project Heavy Duty

Project Heavy Duty is an opportunity for students who may be interested in pursuing a career in construction, heavy equipment operation or the associated service trades to obtain "hands on" experience with the safe operation of heavy equipment. The program was a collaborative venture involving Work Safe B.C., School District #5, College of the Rockies, the City of Cranbrook and a number of the local industries and trades and the Career Education Society of B.C. The students were able to gain valuable Work Experience Credit toward their graduation and industrial job site training through the college. The City and local industries kindly donated the use of the work site, the equipment and a trained operator. The weather on the site was terrible on the first day and help the students gain immediate appreciation of the demands on an equipment operator. Our thanks again to the community for their generosity, the students for their interest and desire and to the hard-working staff who made Project Heavy Duty such a great success. Please visit our Project Heavy Duty Image Gallery

Sparwood Secondary School Grand Opening

The official opening of the newly constructed Sparwood Secondary School was held on Monday, April 6, 2009.

From the left:  Frank Lento, Chairperson, Bill Gook Superintendent, Bev Bellina, Trustee, Rob Norum, Secretary-Treasurer, Bill Bennet, MLA, Jason Tichauer, Principal.

Elkford Students Visit WWII Battlefields

During Spring Break 24 students of Elkford Secondary, accompanied by 19 teachers and parents did a Canadian Battlefield's tour that took them to France, Belgium and Holland. The highlights of the trip were the visits to the military cemeteries at Bard Cottage and Tyne Cott in Belgium and Beny-sur-Mer and Bretteville-sur-laize in France. Students had the opportunity to visit specific graves of Canadians who made the 'supreme sacrifice' and pay homage with a moment of silence or a prayer. They are now completing research on these individuals.

Students were also awed by their visit to Vimy Ridge, Juno Beach, Dieppe Beach and the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel. Students were moved by the youthful ages on the headstones. A visit to the grave of the youngest soldier killed in World War I, at age 15, was similarly moving. There is little doubt that students will have a renewed appreciation for Remembrance Day from now on.

Jaffray Dance Extravaganza

One of the many activities chosen by the JESS staff for DPA (Daily Physical Activity) was the creation of a DPA dance unit. Since January the students and staff have participated in 30 minutes of dance each that varies from partner dances, to line dances, to circle dances. Whether you are young or old, these will all be dances that will last a lifetime. On the final day of the unit a grand finale was held on March 10, 2009 from 1:00 to 2:00pm. All of the elementary classes participated for a large dance extravaganza. Parents, staff and students closed the extravaganza with the "Twist". What a great event!!

Elk Valley Elementary Basketball Championships

FJ Mitchell Elementary School was this year’s host for the Elk Valley Grade 6 Boys’ Basketball Championships. Teams from Rocky Mountain Elementary in Elkford, Isabella Dicken Elementary in Fernie, Jaffray Elementary Junior Secondary in Jaffray and the host school, F J Mitchell, participated in this all day event. Congratulations goes to FJ Mitchell for winning the Championships for the 2nd year in a row and well done and thank you to all the players and coaches who participated. Superintendent Bill Gook attended and helped out by score-keeping and presenting the championship trophy to the FJ Mitchell team. With Superintendent Gook at the scorer’s table is Mrs. Gail Pidgeon, Vice Principal of FJ Mitchell, and Alex Isaacs, a member of the winning FJ Mitchell team. Thank you to Mrs. Pidgeon and Mrs. Colonello, Principal of FJ Mitchell, for organizing this year’s activities.

Trustees Plan for Future

The Board of Trustees met together in Cranbrook on Wednesday, April 1 to build a vision and set goals for School District No. 5. The session was facilitated by Penny Tees, who has served as president of the BC School Trustees Association and who recently retired after 18 years as a school trustee  with the Kootenay Lake School District. Amongst other goals, a focus of the discussions was on strengthening the board team to make it more effective in meeting the needs of our school communities.

Fernie Robotics Team Successful in Idaho

The Fernie Secondary School Robotics Team did an fantastic job of competing, representing their families, school, community and country in the recent FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), a mid-level robotics competition for high-school students. The team won the prestigious FIRST Tech Challenge Innovate Award that celebrates a team that not only thinks outside the box, but also has the ingenuity and inventiveness to make their designs come to life. The tournament was a combination of competition, team work and cooperation with other teams. They exceeded expectations demonstrating great problem solving skills and self confidence.

Pinewood Counts Down to Olympics

Thursday, February 12 marked the one year countdown to the opening of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To celebrate the Countdown the B.C. Ministry of Education invited students and educators from across Canada to join together in singing "O Canada" on Thursday, February 12 at 10:00 am. Seen in this photo is Pinewood Elementary School principal, Wendy Hogg, an Olympic Bronze medallist, leading students in the singing of O'Canada to celebrate the Countdown to 2010.

"The Spirit of BC" Writing Contest Winners

In a recent writing contest titled "The Spirit of BC" two grade 2 students, Misha Searle and Jack Peppel, from TM Roberts Elementary School placed first and third respectively. The contest encouraged participants from grades 1-6 to write about events in British Columbia that have been inspirational, past or present. Their teacher, Mrs. Carolyne Zimich, had all her grade 2 students write essays about BC. Mr. Bill Gook, Superintendent of Schools, came into Mrs. Zimich's class and talked briefly to the class about what a great province and district in which we live and then thanked and congratulated Mrs. Zimich and the class for participating.

From Storytelling Circles to Handmade Books

Students from Mrs. Oscienny’s Grade 5/6 French Immersion class at Isabella Dicken Elementary School and students from Fernie Secondary School participated in a wonderful project sponsored by Aboriginal Education and the Fernie Arts Station. The students worked cooperatively to create hand-bound books for an exhibit at the Arts Station.

Joe Pierre, a Ktunaxa storyteller, and Leslie Graham, an artist from Fernie, spearheaded this incredible project. They were assisted by Betty Robb and Lois Elia, Aboriginal Education Support Workers, and by Patrice Oscienny, the Grade 5/6 French Immersion teacher. The students were asked to create their own stories inspired by traditional legends of the Ktunaxa people. They then learned how to make various kinds of books, and how to decorate and personalize them. They used creative, artistic ways to incorporate their stories into the books.

The students’ hard work was rewarded by an outstanding display of the books at the Fernie Arts Station from January 8th to January 28th, 2009. The Official Opening of the Art Book Project was held at the Arts Station Thursday January 15th, with many students, parents, and school district personnel in attendance. The students made a wonderful presentation to explain their books, and the process they went through to complete their exhibit.

This project was a wonderful collaboration between IDES and FSS, as well as the community of Fernie. School District #5 is proud of the hard work and dedication displayed by students, teachers and community members to make this project a success.

Superintendent's Letter To Parents Regarding FSA Tests

To read the Superintendent's letter to parents regarding Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests, please click here.

RMES Teachers Support Heart and Stroke Foundation

Teachers Gerri Madsen and Lisa Durrand have been organizing and promoting and sponsoring a day of skipping and jumping in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation for 15 years. To date the the school has raised over $81,000 and were recently recognized with a certificate of thanks for the years of support. Principal Shirley McGale commented, "We have a fabulous teaching staff and the community is unbelievable in its committment to rasing money for groups such as this."

Junior Volleyball Season Wraps Up

Congratulations to the Junior Boys Volleyball teams from Mt Baker Secondary and Jaffray Elementary Junior Secondary for their fine showing this past weekend at the BC Junior Boys Volleyball Invitational Provincial Championships hosted by Mt. Baker in Cranbrook. Mt. Baker finished 5th and Jaffray came 6th out of 12 participating teams. Both teams were fine representatives of their schools, their communities and our District!

SD#5 Trustees Elected

The following individuals have been elected and will serve as Trustees on the Board of Education for School District No.5 for three years. The Inagural meeting of the Board Of Education will take place in Cranbrook on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

Teachers Collaborate on Marking Student Writing

District teachers met recently to mark grade 3, 6 and 9 student writing samples. The teachers felt it was a good opportunity to work together and have a chance to talk about good assessment practices. The discussion and marking provided a good clarification of BC Performance Standards and how they can be effectively used to mark student writing samples consistently across the district.

Drop Everything and Read

School District #5 Trustees, Cory Mildenberger, Pat Casey and Chris Ellis participate in the "Drop Everything and Read" (DEAR) event to celebrate and recognize National School Library Day. This is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority. The Trustees were in the middle of their monthly committee meetings and stopped everything in order to take part.

Paarlauf Tradition Continues

Many thanks to TM Roberts for continuing the tradition of running  the Paarlauf (the 28th on record). This progressive race provided great excitement and competition for participating teams from grade 4, 5  and 6 from Cranbrook. The weather was unusually warm and sunny this year, the first time the race has been run in the fall.

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Students in Stewart Wilson's grade 2/3 class at Gordon Terrace participated in the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up along Joseph Creek by the Tamarack Mall. Four shopping carts were filled with garbage within an hour. Students and volunteer parents are proud of
their efforts but would encourage everyone to do their part to take care of the environment.

MBSS Students on a "Virtual Tour" of Royal Tyrell Museum

Students from Mr Duchscherer's and Mr. Quick's science classes at Mount Baker Secondary recently took a "Virtual Tour" of The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is a Canadian leader in the field of videoconferencing education and MBSS students were guided through an interactive visit of the museum's galleries and exhibits. They experienced the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, puzzled over the strange creatures of the Burgess Shale, and learned more than they thought possible in a 45-minute journey through the history of life on Earth.

School District 5 Announces Principal and Vice-Principal Appointments

(Updated June 25, 2008)

School District 5 Southeast Kootenay is pleased to announce the appointment of the following personnel to principal and vice principal positions for the 2008-09 school year.

Principals

Greg Aston – Principal, Highlands Elementary, Cranbrook
Wendy Hogg – Principal, Pinewood Elementary, Cranbrook

Steve Lightfoot - Principal, Amy Woodland Elementary, Cranbrook
Terry Molnar – Principal, Kootenay Orchards Elementary, Cranbrook
Frank Sopko – Principal, Jaffray Elementary Junior Secondary, Jaffray
Darcy Verbeurgt – Principal, Laurie Middle School, Cranbrook

Vice Principals

Fran Kellington - Vice Principal, Sparwood Secondary, Sparwood
Scott Holt – Vice Principal, Laurie Middle School, Cranbrook

Bruce McAnerney - Vice Principal, Amy Woodland Elementary, Cranbrook
Dave Martin - Vice Principal, Mt. Baker Secondary, Cranbrook
Gail Pidgeon – Vice Principal, FJ Mitchell Elementary, Sparwood
Michelle Sartorel – Vice Principal, Gordon Terrace Elementary, Cranbrook
Mike Taylor – Vice Principal, T.M. Roberts Elementary, Cranbrook
Brenda Tyson - Vice Principal, Mt. Baker Secondary, Cranbrook

Red Cedar Readers in Cranbrook

The Red Cedar Readers from Highlands and Gordon Terrace Elementary Schools were treated to an entertaining and educational session with author, Richard Scrimger, recently. His book "From Charlie's Point of View" is one of 30 books nominated this year for the Red Cedar which is BC's Young Reader's Choice Book Award. Students have been reading and evaluating the nominated titles since January in order to vote for their favourites. On May 10th, the winners will be announced at a Gala Awards Ceremony.

SD#5 at Kinsmen Trade Fair

The School District participated in the Kinsmen Trade Fair in Cranbrook (May 2-4) and the Fernie Trade Fair (May 9/10). This was a great opportunity to promote our programs, answer questions, clarify rumours, recruit host families and, generally, to highlight the School District's important role in these communities.

MBSS Production of "AIDA" a Success

RodO, director of the Mount Baker Wild Theatre production of AIDA took on the challenge of changing venues on short notice to ensure that the "show did go on". Over 150 people met up every evening last week at the Wildhorse Theatre in Fort Steele to make the show happen and by all accounts it was a huge success. Thanks to all involved and to everyone who came out to support the production.

Learning Through the Arts
Since January, 2008, three elementary schools in Cranbrook have been participating in a special fine arts program called Learning through the Arts (LTTA). LTTA is a national program offered through the Royal Conservatory of Music with the goal of using music, dance, drama and visual arts to engage students in new ways of learning. Local artists, Trina Rasmuson (dance) and Caroline Murray (drama), have been specially trained by Nadine Tremblay of LTTA and all three have been working in partnership with elementary teachers in a total of 12 classrooms spread amongst Highlands, Amy Woodland and TM Roberts Elementary Schools.

Through this program, students have learned about a wide variety of topics through the arts, including: bullying prevention through drama; states of matter through painting; and emotions through dance. In the photo, a group of students from Madame Bishop's class at TM Roberts Elementary School are learning about fractions through the medium of dance with instructor Trina Rasmuson.

Local Schools Take 1st and 2nd in KNA 5km/10km Race

Pinewood Elementary School was awarded the trophy for Most StudentParticipation and Most Staff Participation in Sunday’s KNA 5K Race! Pinewood is also the proud school of the following runners who were in the top placings in their age categories – Haylee Thomas (1st Place), Riley Bailey (2nd Place) and Cody Anderson (1st Place).

Steeples Elementary School placed second for Most Student Participation. Congratulations to both schools and staff for this accomplishment.

Students form Special News Team for Winter Games
Five SETBC (Special Education Technology BC) students were invited to join a special news team to report on the 2008 Winter Games in Cranbrook and Kimberley. The project, initiated and coordinated by SETBC (Region 4 Kootenays )and supported by families and schools, is part of the Virtual Voices Village project created by SETBC Vancouver, and funded by 2010 Legacies Now. School District 5 students, Grace Brulotte from Isabella Dicken Elementary School in Fernie, Frank Robertson from Mt Baker High, and Rebecca White from Laurie School in Cranbrook were among the five.
In December the students were outfitted and trained to use a variety of media equipment, including still and video cameras, editing software, audio recorders and tripods. Grace used a switch-operated camera mounted on her wheelchair. Students and their teams received information and training via teleconference and email, and practiced with their equipment over January and February. When the Games weekend arrived, the students and their families met in Kimberley for the first time to socialize and strategize, before going off their chosen sports venues. Grace covered wheelchair basketball, Frank covered disabled skiing, and Rebecca reported on Karate. SETBC provided hotel accommodation for families who lived more than one hour away, ongoing technical and moral support, and accompanied the students to the events.
When the Games ended, the students returned to their communities to complete their photo or video presentations by early April. See their work posted at Virtual Voice Village  under Student Journalism, or go to the Virtual Voices Village link from the SETBC website at www.setbc.org.
Virtual Voices Village is a website for students with disabilities in British Columbia, developed and maintained by SETBC. Please follow this link to the Vancouver Sun for an article about Gracec Brulotte and her journalism accomplishments.

Fernie Secondary Career Connections 2008

Career Connections 2008 was held at Fernie Secondary School, on Tuesday, April 8 between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm. Students attended from Jaffray Jr. Secondary, Fernie Secondary, Sparwood Secondary and Elkford Secondary. Approximately 400 students participated. There were informative displays from local and national companies, government agencies and professional associations. This was an opportunity for people from these organizations to discuss career options with students and as well for the students to possibly find out about summer jobs and future careers. There were about twenty-five presenters who are looking forward to next year's Career Connections 2009.

IDES Teacher Selected for Institute on Parliamentary Democracy

Ms. Lynda Bird, a teacher at Isabella Dickens, will be attending the BC Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy in Victoria from April 15-19, 2008. The Teachers' Institute provides for a variety of formal and informal presentations and panels by key officials within the Legislature. The main objective of the Institute is to enhance knowledge and understanding of British Columbia's parliamentary system of democracy, as well as engaging teachers in promoting an awareness of the Legislature and its relevance on the lives of students.

KEYS to SUCCESS!

Congratulations to Amy Woodland Elementary School in Cranbrook for achieving all four levels of the Keys to Success nutritional program. AWES has achieved the highest quality in every aspect of their nutrition program. Well one!

BREAKFAST FOR LEARNING supports community-based student nutrition programs across Canada, created and sustained by a network of over 30,000 dedicated volunteers. Since 1992, BREAKFAST FOR LEARNING has helped nourish more than half a million children in thousands of communities in every province and territory.

In addition to contributing directly to the nutritional, behavioural, social and learning needs of students, student nutrition programs help strengthen communities as they work together to ensure that children are well nourished and ready to learn.Through countrywide consultation and analysis, Keys to Success were developed to provide quality standards to support the delivery of student nutrition programs across Canada. Keys to Success offers best practices and self-assessments that are critical to quality programs, and participation is easy. 

Regional Science Fair March 8th

The Regional Science Fair was held Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at the College of the Rockies gymnasium in Cranbrook. Young scientists from Elkford to Cranbrook and up to Golden joined adult scientists and volunteers from the community as they shared their science. This years Science Fair was a little different. It had a Competitive Fair for Grades 7-12, and a Non-competitive Fair forGrades K-6.

Check out the East Kootenay Science Fairs site at www.eksciencefairs.ca

"Education a l'Exterieure"

Fernie Secondary School is fortunate enough to have a French Immersion instructor who also has an interest in outdoor pursuits. The school has implemented a new "Education a l'Exterieure" program and is looking forward to continuation of this in the French Immersion program for years ahead.

Pinewood Students Study First Nations Culture

This picture shows the making of bone and bead bracelets under the direction of Aboriginal Education Support Worker, Ronalie James. This was a culminating activity for First Nation's studies for grade 4 students at Pinewood.

ARC-BC PROJECT

SD #5 was recently selected to participate in the ARC-BC pilot project. We were one of eight school districts who will be given the opportunity to participate in the development and trial of ARC-BC eTexts.

“The ARC-BC project is a provincial response to the increasing demand for digital or alternate format materials in BC classrooms. Educators in all school districts will be able to search an online repository or “digital library” to find and download alternate format resources related to the BC curriculum. Production and distribution of the alternate format materials will be centrally coordinated and duplication of effort in resource creation will hopefully be eliminated. The goal of ARC-BC is to provide BC educators with access to high-quality digital and alternate format materials for their students with print disabilities and/or visual impairments in a timely manner.”

For more information please contact Maggie Lindsay-Tadey

One to One Reading Program Honored

The Cranbrook "One to One Reading Program" (Linda Abbott and Elaine Ridgley - coordinators) is the recipient of a BC Principals and Vice-principals Association community partnership awards, to be presented at the Chapter Council in March. This is the second year in a row that a community partner from our school district has been recognized by the BCPVPA.