Cuba trip experience of a lifetime

 

A delegation representing Stettler’s Wm. E. Hay Senior Girls Basketball team presented an update on the trip they took to Cuba in Dec. 2016.
Students Tori Brower, Sadie Diegel and Reesa Garez along with their teacher and coach, Kim Poapst were on hand to show off their pictures and video and speak about their experiences.
According to coach Poapst, both the hospitality and the basketball in Cuba were awesome.
This trip involved the “least amount of organizing” because everything they needed was taken care of.
The schedule was rearranged to play basketball in the mornings and allow for a bit of sightseeing in the afternoons.
The level of basketball was superior and the girls learned a lot from the Cuban players; pushing each other to do better, communicating on the court with words and hand language and developing teamwork skills.
Ressa Gareez said she learned “many new things” and was “excited to bring it back to Canada.”
All the girls agreed that it was a truly amazing experience.
Before leaving, the Stettler team presented their Cuban hosts with gifts including T-shirts and basketballs featuring the “Camp Teckla – Celebrating 20 Years” logo.

Early learning program update

Clearview board members were updated on the division’s “Start Right” and kindergarten programs in a detailed report from Early Learning and Literacy Coordinator, Wendy Coppock.
The presentation included data on enrollment, resources, assessment strategies and results and included an exploration of “How Brains Are Built”, an Alberta Family Wellness Initiative video developed with input from partners at the Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the FrameWorks Institute.
According to the information presented, brains are built in stages and early positive or negative experiences can change the structure and function of our brains.
Coppock emphasized the importance of literacy enriched programs to help furnish children with the foundational skills needed for success later in school.
Currently every Clearview school offering kindergarten has an early learning Start Right program with access to Alberta Health Services speech, language and occupational therapy resources.
Across the division there are 162 children enrolled in Clearview kindergarten programs and 188 children enrolled in Clearview Start Right programs.
Given that physical space is maxed out in Stettler and Coronation, they have begun to explore how to handle the increased load as programs become more popular.
Coppock hopes to continue to positively impact the lives of preschool children by ensuring that “developmentally appropriate strategies and instructions are provided for all children in these programs”.

New elementary report card

Deputy Superintendent Brenda MacDonald explained the new Communication Student Learning (CSL) Elementary Report Card which was implemented by Clearview this past fall.
This new outcomes-based report card reveals information about student learning attributes separately from academic achievement.
CSL allows teachers to offer personalized comments and post artifacts of students’ work which will remain accessible throughout a student’s career, providing a unique collection of educational accomplishments.
Parents will be able to clearly see what their children need to know at each grade level and view their progress over time, while administrators will be able to track student progress across the division and pinpoint where additional supports may be needed.
It is anticipated that this new reporting system will improve communication from classroom to home concerning student progress and achievement.
Initial staff response indicates that CLS is easy to use, cutting down on the time needed to complete and review report cards.
There will be continued opportunities for feedback from both teachers and parents as the CLS report card moves towards full functionality.

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