Parents are demanding answers from the Foothills School Division over a proposed new report card they say is too vague.
A group of almost 20 parents came to the division’s board meeting to deliver a presentation on the division’s Learner Profile, which would replace existing report cards at the elementary and junior high school levels. Most of the parents came from Red Deer Lake School, which had a number of meetings about the Learner Profile, both with the division and with parents. There were also concerned parents with children who attend …

The Foothills School Division (FSD) signed on the dotted line in an agreement with the Province for a P3 school in Okotoks’ Westmount subdivision and construction on the school could start as soon as April.
The public school division signed a 15-page document in February outlining its responsibilities for the school, which will be Okotoks’ first public-private school.
FSD secretary-treasurer Drew Chipman said one main difference with this school is the company building it will be responsible for maintenance for 30 years.
The school division will hire and pay for the school’s custodians, …

The Foothills School Division (FSD) said it will not fund a mandated increase to teachers’ salaries with their savings unless they are forced to.
Last week officials from the division determined they would not dip into their reserves to cover the additional $400,000 it would cost to cover an increase is salaries.
“We are going to run a deficit,” said FSD superintendent Jim McLellan. “We don’t have any reserves to speak of. Our board doesn’t support paying for ongoing costs out of our savings.”
He said the division’s philosophy is not to sock …

In response to a province-wide push to increase the health of students, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools (CRCS) has created a nutritional guideline of its own.
CRCS trustee Ron Schreiber said the new guidelines are not meant to do away with pop machines or special food day events, but to improve students’ lifestyles.
“The regulation will have exceptions built into it to allow for this type of activity,” said Schreiber.
A strict new policy was drafted by CRCS mirroring provincial guidelines. Concerns the guidelines would negatively affect fundraisers like hot dog day or …

In South Korea, business cards have importance attached to them alien to our culture.
In South Korea, a business person would present his or her card with two hands to a prospective customer and they in turn would treat the card with respect, unlike in North America where cards are often stuffed into a wallet and forgotten.
“You would not write on a business card because it is seen to almost be the fabric of that person,” said Marco Pacione, administrator with Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools’ (CRCS) international program. Pacione knows …

With no money in hand for a mandated increase to teacher’s salaries and no increases for education this fall, local school boards are facing their toughest financial crisis in years.
On Feb. 9 the Province unveiled its 2010/2011 budget and although education was spared from any major cuts it will not see an increase in its grants for the next school year.
Earlier this month a mediator ordered the Province to give teachers a salary increase based on an adjustment made to the Alberta Weekly Earning Index. The Province did not budget …

One needed CSI at St. Mary’s Elementary School in Okotoks  earlier this month determine a winner at its annual science fair.
However, when the judges had their say they pointed to a pair of winners in the Grade 6 category on Feb. 3. Grant Matheson and Ethan Bertelsen, who focused on fingerprinting, shared the title with Dawson Wade and Jack Elliot whose project was ‘Hmmm, what do I want my teeth to look like?”.

Some future studies for Bertelsen and Matheson got them interested in lifting prints.
“We selected fingerprinting because we …

Oilfields High School’s Black and Gold Awards ceremony last Friday showcased some of the best talent the Black Diamond school had to offer.
Talented young guitarist Joel Parker performed for the crowd of students and parents along with the duo of Alex Mulder and Ashleigh Sandul. The school band also played and the Oilfields dance group performed a routine to cap off the ceremony.
Awards organizer, Chris Hughes, said the awards show, and the school in general, traditionally has a good lineup of performers for the bi-annual event.
“I think this whole area …

Local teachers will see a retroactive pay hike after an arbitrator ruled the Province needs to pony up $23 million in raises and back pay for teachers.
Abritrator Andy Sims agreed with the Alberta Teachers’ Association which was calling on the Province for a 5.99 per cent raise. Last fall the Province set the teachers’ wage hike at 4.82 per cent, in line with their negotiated contract that centers on the Alberta Average Weekly Earning Index. When Statistics Canada adjusted the index to 5.99 per cent, the Province said it would …

The success of an outreach education program offered by Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools is starting to garner some outside attention.
A seven-member contingent from Calgary Catholic Schools visited St. Luke’s Outreach Centre in Okotoks on Jan. 8. The group looked at budget, curriculum and staffing at St. Luke’s with the idea of building a similar program within the Calgary catholic system.
“The group from Calgary Catholic that came to visit was extremely impressed with the supports and services that are in place in that centre,” said Mike Ross, Calgary Catholic’s director …