School Newsletter Template - Calgary Board of Education

Ian Bazalgette School
3909 26 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2B 0C6 t | 403-777-7360 f | 403-777-7369 e | ianbazalgette@cbe.ab.ca
w | http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b613
Principal’s Message
The beautiful fall days and the month of October are now gone, the days are growing
shorter, and the feel of winter is in the air. The past few weeks have flown by. October was
a busy month as soccer teams competed and volleyball teams continue with their seasons
as playoffs approach. Wrestlers are continuing to practice in preparation for upcoming
quad meets. The Halloween Dance and dress up day was a huge hit and was very
successful as many students and staff dressed up for the occasion. We were very
impressed with student support, behaviour, and involvement and the demonstration of
school spirit during this event. Our Leadership class did a fabulous job organizing,
decorating and cleaning up our dance. We are so proud! Many other opportunities exist for
students to become leaders and contributors to our positive school culture.
I would like to take this opportunity to officially welcome Ms. Jennifer Dunne to our Baz
family. Ms. Dunne will be with us for the remainder of the school year fulfilling Mrs.
Polowski’s role in Grade 8 Humanities and Art. Ms. Dunne has experience as an Art
specialist and with a passion for English and Social Studies. She believes that students
need the skills and support to be able to explore the world using all the tools they have
available to them. Through her passion for the Arts she hopes to encourage creativity
wherever possible. We are delighted to have her talents in our building.
Tomorrow is our Remembrance Day assembly with special guest speakers: Dave Birrell of
Nanton (author of Ian Bazalgette’s biography) and Sgt. James Way, an Afghanistan War
Veteran. We also have two students joining us from Willow Park School to play the
trumpet, Kierra S. and Analisse K. This is a very special ceremony that will be completely
student led.
On December 4 th we will be hosting a very unique and special evening. We welcome
everyone to attend. Students will have an opportunity to take their parents to their
classrooms and share their learning in a Student Lead type of conference 5:00-6:30
pm. At 6:30 pm we will bring everyone together in the Bistro to be part of our First Ever
Bazzie Awards. More information will be shared later in this newsletter.
Don’t forget parents, you are invited to any Parent Council meeting. There is a wonderful
group of parents already who take care of all of the business side of things. You won’t be
asked to do anything. Just come, listen and learn about the events and future plans for the
school. You will not regret it.
Please do not hesitate to contact your son/daughter’s teacher if you have any questions or
concerns about their learning. We greatly appreciate and value your support.
So proud to be Baz to the Bone,
Sheilagh O’Dwyer
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Calendar dates for November/December
November
Friday Nov 7
Remembrance Ceremony 11 am
Monday Nov 10
PD Day NO SCHOOL
Tuesday Nov 11
Remembrance Day NO SCHOOL
Thursday Nov 20
Term 1 ends
Friday Nov 21
Non-instructional Day NO SCHOOL
Monday Nov 24
Term 2 begins
Tuesday Nov 25
PAC meeting 6:15pm Everyone Welcome
December
Monday Dec 1
Thursday Dec 4
Friday Dec 5
Friday Dec 12
Friday Dec 19
December 22-January 6
Report card #1 goes home
Parent/Teacher interviews 4-7pm
Parent/Teacher interviews 9-11am NO SCHOOL
Red Zone (school wide activity)
Last day of classes before Winter Break
Winter Break NO SCHOOL
Parent Advisory Council …PAC
Council for this year….
Dawn Cruickshank
Sarah Nauss
Susan Sandberg
Key Communicator
Cindy Heilman
Chairperson
Treasurer
Secretary
Tasha Brown
Community Liason
Everyone is invited to join us once a month (or whenever possible) for a short but very
informative meeting. You will learn what is happening in the school, help to make decisions
concerning programs and funding and to share your ideas and or concerns.
Our next meeting Tuesday November 25, 2014 at 6:15pm
Dawn Cruickshank
Chairperson
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We Are Team Gio!
Fourteen-hundred students, staff and supervisors from three Calgary Board of Education
schools: Penbrooke Meadows, Radisson Park and Ian Bazalgette were in attendance at the
Scotia Bank Saddledome to watch the Calgary Flames practice and have a delicious lunch
for the Team Giordano Points to the Future Kick-Off on October 7th, 2014.
Calgary Flames Captain, Mark Giordano and his wife Lauren have donated $100,000 in
addition to various gifts-in-kind to the Team Giordano Points to the Future Initiative which
will support students in these schools by providing:
Literacy and technology resources
Comprehensive school health supports
Student activity supports
Athletic and winter clothing
Physical education equipment
Positive well-being supports
Mark and Lauren spoke in a question and answer format to everyone after the Calgary
Flames practise about encouraging students to create and achieve goals. Each student and
staff member who is part of Team Gio will be given the opportunity to have a Team Gio’s
Journal to track goals and successes, as well as a Team Gio T-Shirt provided by Supreme
Basics. All students and staff received a personally signed Mark Giordano player’s card at
the Kickoff as well.
The Team Giordano initiative is aimed at promoting physical fitness, academics, healthy
lifestyles, leadership development, community involvement and positive behavior. All 3
schools look forward to having Mark and Lauren in their buildings for various events and
activities throughout the school year.
Specifically at our school, Mark and Lauren have donated money to help us create a Cross
Fit Fitness Centre. Our equipment should be arriving in the coming weeks. We feel most
fortunate to have been chosen to be a Team Gio school!
A big thank you goes out to Mark and Lauren Giordano and the Calgary Flames for their
wonderful support of public education!
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News from the Learning Commons (Library)
November has just started, but the weather has remained lovely for the most part. Our
Learning Commons is a very busy place - we get new magazines each month including
Archie comics, classes are being held here, and the computers are never sitting idle. We
have some new paint colors on the walls, lots of new furniture, and the room is rocking. No,
really, our new student chairs rock (ask your children)!
We were the extremely lucky recipients of Adopt-A-School by Chapters/Indigo/Spirit, and
the T.D. Square IndigoSpirit store staff raised over $3000 for our school library! We are so
thankful at the amazing spirit of Calgarians who donated money to our school while
shopping in the downtown bookstore! We can now purchase new books that the students
are looking for, and we can have more than one copy of the very popular books. If you are
in the T.D. Square Indigospirit store, please thank the staff for their hard work and effort on
behalf of your student at Baz!
Math and Science with Miss Harrison
We are wrapping up our unit on Squares and Square roots. Next week we will be starting
Geometry, Surface Area and Volume. Students will have the opportunity to create a model
of our school to scale!
In Sciences, we are right into our unit on Light and Optical Systems. In the coming weeks
students will be looking at the way that eyes work, including the dissection of a cow’s eye!
On Behalf of the Singing Club
The students have been practicing projection and vocal range. They will be working to
create some Winter themed performances for staff, students and parents in December.
Stay tuned for more info on our WINTER FAIR!
On Behalf of Free the Children
Students thoroughly enjoyed attending We Day on November 3rd. Our club has led the We
Scare Hunger campaign, and the school has collected over 330 pounds of food so far!! Our
next initiative will be to raise funds and purchase goods to donate to a local charity called
"Inn from the Cold." This charity supports underprivileged and homeless Calgarians with
hampers, shelter and other basic needs. We are also continuing to work towards building
our school in Ecuador this year. We have raised $5300 of $8500 so far, our goal is to finish
the school by the end of the year-We have $3200 left to raise.
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9C/9D Humanities
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the basis for all Canadian Laws. During the past
month or so 9C and 9D have been studying Human Rights along with the Canadian Charter
Rights . Areas explored have been how Canada has treated First Nations, Women’s Rights
and Minority Rights. The culmination of students’ research to demonstrate their
understanding is an essay on why the Charter of Rights is so valuable / important.
Following this section we will be exploring Canada’s immigration history and current
policies. The school, with the help of PAC, has purchased a class set of “The Arrival”, by
Shaun Tan, which will serve as the basis for the understanding of the immigrants
experience and Canada’s role in the world.
During the months of September and October classes have participated in discussions
about national and international news stories such as the deaths of the two soldiers and the
effect that has had upon the public and government; specifically if laws might be changed
because of these acts of violence which will limit existing Charter Rights.
Our blog can be found at : https://followhumanitiesatbaz.blogspot.com
Mr. Scodeller Math/Science
- We have been working away in Grade 8 Math. We have completed our study of
squares and square roots (including the Pythagorean theorem), and have begun
looking at shapes and measurement. On the Science side, we are approaching the
finale of our unit on light and optics. Students are looking forward to our Cow Eye
Dissection! Keep up the good work Grade 8s!
Junior Boys Volleyball
- It has been a rebuilding season for the Junior Boys Volleyball team at Ian Baz. We
have only 2 Grade 8s on the team, and all of our players are playing volleyball for
the first time. With that in mind, we are improving everyday, and have had some
successes throughout the year. The coaching staff is very pleased with the
progress thus far. With playoffs just around the corner, we are excited to cause
some upsets! Whatever occurs in the playoffs, Mr. Scodeller and Mr. Cambridge
are excited for the future of Baz volleyball!
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Grade 7
Grade 7 students will be attending the Reel Fun Film Festival on Tuesday, February 17th.
This opportunity will inspire reflection, critical writing, and imagination for literature at
school. The festival interns will also be discussing film as a craft and answering student
questions after the screening. Volunteers that can be available for this date are required so
please contact the homeroom teacher of your child.
Please ask your grade 7 student about their learning related to ecosystems and data
management as we have just wrapped up learning for this.
Mr. McKay
WE SCARE HUNGER CAMPAIGN!
The Ian Bazalgette Free the Children leadership club would like to thank our students and
families for your wonderful support during our We Scare Hunger campaign. We set a goal
of 374 pounds and we surpassed that goal! Together we are making a difference in the fight
against hunger in our community.
WE DAY
On November 3 sixteen very excited students and two very excited teachers from our Free
the Children leadership club attended We Day at the Scotiabank Saddledome. We Day is
an inspirational event that empowers a generation of young global citizens. This
empowerment continues to grow through the yearlong educational initiative We Act. Our
students were fortunate to have received box seats for the event from Coril Holdings.
Highlights included meeting Steve Forbes of Forbes Magazine and meeting the founder of
Free the Children, Craig Kielberger.
So proud to be Baz!
Free the Children Leadership Club
Physical Education
Assessment in Physical Education –What are we looking for
• Explores strategies for leading a healthy, active way of life.
Be ready and prepared to participate!
• Cooperates to demonstrate fair play and teamwork
Have a great Attitude!
• Performs and refines movement skills
Shows lots of Zing in you effort!
Stay informed using D2L. Physical Education expectations are outlined and unit
assessments will be posted. If you have any questions or concerns please contact one of
the PE team:
Ms. Brennan cpbrennan@cbe.ab.ca 403-777-7360 ext 2289
Mr. Harris mdharris@cbe.ab.ca 403-777-7360 ext 2373
Ms. Damji mdamji@cbe.ab.ca 403-777-7360 ext 2673
Students are doing a great job coming to class prepared and ready to participate.
Well done! Great effort! Keep it up!
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Athletics
Congratulations to our Soccer teams for a great season! Other than a little snow disruption
it was great to be out on the pitch.
Girls’ Team: League Finalists
Boys’ Team: Semi Finalists
The Cross Country team had a very impressive season after taking a year off from
competing. None of the had ever run more than 1km in a race and yet over the 3 week
season they were challenged to run double or even triple that distance. Our students came
and competed at all 3 of the races this year and demonstrated an amazing amount of hard
work.
These runners who did such a good job of representing Ian Bazalgette school during the
cross country season included the following students:
Grade 7- Brittany J, Tim T, Taylor K and Nolla M
Grade 8- Andrew B and Miracle U
Grade 9- Maria A, Janice H, Tammy H, Seth H, Noa M, Brian N, Jack N, Golden N,
Nathan N, Vivian P, Gay N, Haji S and Tommy T
Baz Volleyball teams have shown great action on the hard court throughout the season.
Play-offs take place November 12 th and 13 th. Good luck Bombers!
The Wrestling team is well into their season. They have competed in two quad meets to
date and are the host school on November 25 th . The season concluded with the Divisional
on December 3 rd . Good luck to our grapplers!
Tip-off time is just around the corner. Basketball try-outs will take place in December and
the league play commences in January. League schedule will be posted on the school
website and on D2L.
Did you know Members of the athletic teams are able to purchase a black or yellow Baz
team shirt for only $10.
Bazzies
With the increasing use of technology in today’s society, our school and the
Calgary Police Service have partnered up to bring awareness to students about digital
citizenship. This is an excellent opportunity to increase capacity on a growing topic that
affects everyone. The grade 9’s received a presentation by Constable Carter that focused
on their digital footprint, this followed by individual class presentations by both Mr. Wheatley
and Mr. Polowski.
With the extensive push for awareness, the idea of the “Bazzies” was hatched. At
the end of the term, students at each grade level will be tasked with creating a 90 second
video that will focus on five areas that we as a school felt important; Keeping safe online,
appropriate use of technology, digital Footprint, cyber bully and the most humorous.
Students will have full access to all technology needed and will be afforded enough time to
plan, film and edit their short infomercial.
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On December 4 th we will be having student led conferences from 5-7, at 630 the
bistro will transform itself into a mini academy awards ceremony. The top five submissions
for each category will be announced, followed by the winner, their video will then be played.
C.P.S will be catering the event, and providing us with the resources needed to inform
parents. Subsequently the winning videos will be playing for the month of December and
January on the T.Vs throughout the school.
Foods Class
This term in 8 & 9 foods, students explored Escoffier’s 5 mother sauces, and
learned how to make them all. They also had the opportunity to try out the new BBQ that
was purchased exclusively for the foods program. Along with our daily culinary inquiry, we
had presentations from Alberta Beef and Alberta Egg Farmers. The class, in their individual
kitchens competed against one another in weekly cooking challenges ranging from making
Mac and Cheese with a cheese béchamel and creating their own BBQ sauce.
8a & 8b Humanities class
In the first term of Humanities students explored Japan from isolation to adaptation.
We as a class focused on active listening techniques and applied them to various
documentaries. We then compiled all student led questions, narrowed them down to the
most prudent to our learning. As a class we then answered all of them extending our
understanding. Students also chose a topic that looked at what they were interested in
while still focusing in on the theme of Japan. Students presented their findings in small
focus groups where every topic was different. We have concluded the unit with re-writing
the fabled story of the 47 Ronin. In the coming weeks the classes will be reading “The
Outsiders”, where will be doing a comprehensive novel study.
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uild | CBE capital project update
This fall the Calgary Board of Education welcomed more
than 3,700 new students to bring our total enrolment to a
record number of nearly 114,500 students. And we know
the growth won’t stop there. We are expected to grow by
another 15,000 students over the next five years.
As a result, the CBE is facing pressures for more space for
students throughout our system. These pressures are
highest in newer communities that don’t have community
schools and at the elementary level where more than 2,700
additional students enrolled in Grades 1 through 6 this year.
This pressure will continue to be felt in junior and senior
high schools as our students age and move through the
system.
Our role as a Board is to continue to work with the
Government of Alberta to request new schools,
modernization projects and modular classrooms. The
Province determines which schools are funded and how
they will be built.
Currently, the CBE has 31 capital projects underway,
including replacement schools and modernization projects.
We are scheduled to open 17 new schools in September
2016.
As well, the Province made two announcements this fall to
partner with the CBE to build additional school projects in
the communities of: West Springs/Cougar Ridge, Saddle
Ridge, Cranston, Aspen Woods, Martindale, Silverado and
Springbank Hill/Discovery Ridge.
The government also provided funding for modular
classrooms for Westgate School, a new south Calgary high
school and major modernization projects at James Fowler
and Lord Beaverbrook high schools.
The CBE is grateful to the government for this investment in
education.
More information on all of our capital projects can be found
on the CBE website –
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/underdev/default.asp.
Updated Ranking Criteria for Capital Projects
This spring the CBE carried out a review of the ranking
criteria to be used for school capital planning. Each year the
CBE submits plans to the Province for three types of capital
projects: new schools, modernization of existing schools,
and modulars. The CBE ranks the priority of each of these
projects and submits the plans to Alberta Education for
funding each year. Alberta Education then decides which
projects to fund.
The review of the ranking criteria was carried out to ensure
that the criteria were complete and fair. The process
included extensive public engagement which resulted in
several changes and adjustments. Public participants
agreed that the revised criteria incorporated their input and
were non-discriminatory in the method for ranking
communities and projects.
For new K-9 schools, the ranking criteria used includes all
pre-school children, actual distance of the community to the
overflow school and five year future community growth.
This data is updated annually with the most recent city
census numbers.
The review also adjusted the ranking criteria for
modernizations and, for the first time, created objective
ranking criteria for modulars. These criteria can be viewed
on the CBE web site at:
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/new/news2014-15/20141020-cbeboard-of-trustees-approves-updated-ranking-criteria-forschool-capital-planning.asp.
The new ranking criteria are now in use by the CBE. A new
modular classroom plan was approved at the Oct. 14 Board
meeting. The CBE will be requesting 28 modular
classrooms for 11 schools across the system. New school
and modernization requests will be presented in the Three-
Year School Capital Plan in the spring 2015.
contact | Board of Trustees
We want to hear your ideas or concerns about public
education. You can also visit www.cbe.ab.ca to learn
more about the Board of Trustees and upcoming
public board meetings.
Here are your trustees:
• Joy Bowen-Eyre
• Lynn Ferguson
• Pamela King
• Trina Hurdman
• Judy Hehr
• Amber Stewart
e | BoardofTrustees@cbe.ab.ca
t | 403-817-793
School Newsletter November 2014

There is currently a project under way to develop a delivery model for a junior high school
program (Grade 7-9). The project focus is on police working together with students, schools
and families to sustain safe and resilient school communities through mentoring and other
activities. Ian Bazalgette has been chosen as one of four schools in this pilot.
The Youth Resource Officer (YRO) project is intended as a multi-phased initiative that in
the first year will focus on schools, students and other stakeholders telling us what work
they are already doing in schools to address the issues they are facing and how we might
support them.
You may ask: Why call it "YRO" Youth – allows flexibility to describe the age group of the
students rather than the grade level or school configuration. The work will be youthcentered,
in an effort to empower and promote student leadership. Resource – Implies that
the officer acts as a support or conduit to resources for students and school community. We
hope to develop a delivery model that formalizes the officers’ ability to support, refer or
connect students and families with external supports if appropriate. Officer – The intention
is that the work in schools be done by sworn officers in uniform.
Youth Resource Officer Vision Statement:
Police work together with students, schools and families to sustain safe and resilient
school communities by mentoring student leadership and ethical citizenship.
“Ethical Citizen: who builds relationships based on humility, fairness and openmindedness;
who demonstrates respect, empathy and compassion; and who through
teamwork, collaboration and communication contributes fully to the community and
the world.” (Government of Alberta, 2010)
Purpose of the Project:
1. Identify opportunities for police to establish mentorship relationships with students and
stakeholders in a whole school approach to community building, primary prevention
and intervention.
2. Deepen officer/stakeholder understanding of the relationship between resilience
research and crime prevention through community policing within school
communities.
Given that this project seeks opportunities for officers to be an active and contributing
member of the school community, Ian Bazalgette is a natural fit because of the high level of
student engagement and leadership which will provide the project team with positive
examples of collaborative work.
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