Rocky View Schools has appointed Sharon Cronin as Director of Instruction. Sharon has an excellent record of educational leadership and will be an asset in this role.
The Board of Trustees voted to close Prince of Peace school. Sage Properties terminated the lease agreement that it held with Rocky View division, promoting a closure process. The Government of Alberta kept school funding at the same level as last year. The Board is considering how best to deal with the anticipated impacts of COVID-19 on next year’s learning.
All graduation ceremonies will take place online. Administration waited as long as possible to make this difficult decision. With the pandemic rules still uncertain, the time frame for decisions around ceremonies were too narrow
Rocky View Schools will be starting two online schools: one for grades 1-9 and one for grades 10-12. Parents must designate their online schooling option by May 31st.
The Education Centre is getting a revamp due to growth. When the centre opened there were about 15,000 students. The Division now supports over 25,000.
The government began a transportation task force in 2020. The task force is looking at the following issues: safety and efficiencies, regional cooperation, and provincial purchasing program for buses for fuel, parts, insurance.
Some facts about transportation of students:
- 300,000 students K-12 travel by bus
- School buses travel 450,000km per day across Alberta
- 43 school boards have cooperative transportation agreements with neighboring boards
- Provincial funding for K-12 transportation is $310 million this year
- Daily cost of $1.6 million
Kari Rose, a parent at Bow Valley High School, has won the ASCA Parent of Distinction Award for her involvement in School Council.
Activities for Children
Looking for some fun things to do with your kids? The next two links are great activities. These can be found at steampoweredfamily.com, an excellent resource for science-based activities. There are commercials that you will have to navigate.
- Strawberry DNA Extraction Lab for Kids – Biology Kitchen Science
- Outdoor Activities for Kids – The Best Ideas for Education Outdoors
Potential Career Paths for Youth
We are all aware of the global shortage of semiconductors. Canada is trying to bolster its venture funding in this area. According to a press release, Canadian graduates are highly sought after by global semiconductor companies for being the cream of the crop in STEM talents. Statistica lists that nearly a quarter of all post-secondary enrollment was in computer and electronics-related programs in 2019. Canada needs to make a concerted effort to retain its talent domestically.
In other technology news, researchers are looking at ways to omit passwords, wouldn’t that make life easier? “An estimated 80 per cent of hacking-related breaches can be attributed to lost or stolen credentials, which leads to millions of dollars in financial damages and creates a snowball effect of stolen data. Protecting passwords has become an industry-wide concern that continues to remain an ongoing problem. It is therefore imperative for organizations to prioritize password security by adding in multiple authentication layers, limit employee privileges and consider passwordless alternatives.” – Howard Solomon, May 6 2021, IT World Canada.
As we head into summer, I would like to wish each of you a summer free from masks, a summer free to visit with family and friends, and to say thank you for enduring this year with fortitude, humor, and resilience.
Submitted by Trustee Judi Hunter Ward 5
