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JANUARY 2010 • ISSUE 5 • VOL . 7

THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL

‘Tis the season – a phrase that applies in so many ways to CSS at this time of the year. It is the season

for celebration: We celebrate the concept of peace as a community and enjoy the renewal that two weeks off brings us. The theme of the Peace Festival this year is Com-munity Heartbeat, which is such a fitting description of the impor-tance of community for us at CSS. A heartbeat is the measure of the health of an organism and a strong heartbeat suggests good health. Ours is certainly a very strong heartbeat and the Peace Festival is a tangible example of that commu-nity spirit.

It is the season for giving: Our stu-dents, families and staff have, once again, gone above and beyond in

their generosity. The grade nines raised over $500 as part of their An-gels in the Night campaign, which bought 800 pair of socks for the Calgary Drop In Centre. We have been collecting winter clothing items for families in Afghanistan and, as of Wednesday morning, have over 400 coats, boxes of mitts and warm hats, and hundreds of boots and other clothing items. The donations of personal and toiletry items for Inn from the Cold have been coming in steadily and will certainly pick up over the last cou-ple of days of the Peace Festival.

It is the season for peace: Our teach-ers have been working with our students in their classes to better understand the concept of peace and tolerance. It is a seemingly simple concept to grasp, but, of course, in many parts of the world

the concept of peace is just that – a concept. Peace Festival activities al-low students and teachers to focus on two fundamental prerequisites to peace - tolerance and empathy.

It is the season for renewal: The work that our staff and students have undertaken over the course of the past four and a half months has been intense and substantial. The two-week break provides everyone a much needed and well-deserved opportunity to rest and renew en-ergy levels.

On behalf of the staff at the Calgary Science School I wish all of our CSS families the very best for the holi-day season!

Darrell Lonsberry

Principal’s Message

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What’s in this issue...January 2010

Principal’s Message................1

Chicks N’ Chocolate................2

Upcoming Parent Information Sessions.............3

Celebrating theAchievements of Mr. S.............4

Farewell Mr McWilliam, Welcome Mr. Rooks.................6

Be The Change Week..............8

Peace Festival.......................10

Spam or Chain Emails and Supervisionof Student Laptops...............11

January Calendar.................26

February Calendar...............27

On December 2, 2009 the school council provided a wonderful opportunity for parents and students from the com-munity to come together and speak about how to support girls in education. Dr. Lynn Bosetti from the University of Calgary, Dr. Shelley Robinson, Emily Brown, and four students: Rachelle Vincent, Paige Demofsky, Sarah Calder and Julia Cameron spoke about the following topics:

1) What is it like being a Grade 7 girl in the 21st century?2) How do you learn best? Do you think you learn similarly or di!erently to boys? Describe your experiences.3) What are some challenges for girls? What are some very positive experiences?4) Who do you look up to as a mentor, and/or role model in life? Why?5) What do you hope to be when you grow up?

This program was in complement to the work done at the previous school council on boys in education orchestrated by Rob Pegg, Phil Butter!eld and Ron Sweet. The materials shared at both sessions will be found on the Calgary Science School website under “Parent Corner”.

The next Council meeting promises to be a fun and engaging experience with the intent of parents sharing both culi-nary expertise and there preferred books & resources for supporting kids as they evolve educationally, emotionally and socially. Mark your calendar for evening of Wednesday, February 03. Stay tuned for more information!

hicks N’ Chocolate

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pcoming Parent Information Sessions

Date Event Details LocationWednesday January 6 7 pm

Grade 6 Winter Camp Parent meetingThis is a very important meeting for all parents of grade 6 students to help prepare for the upcoming series of winter camps. In addition to transportation and itinerary details, there will be a thorough review of clothing and gear required for these trips.

Gym

Tuesday January197 pm

Kids and Drugs Program – Session #3Helping Your Kids Make Good DecisionsStacey McRae of Alberta Health Services (AADAC) and Cst. Wendy Parker of the Calgary Police Service will present the third of four sessions aimed at preventing children from be-coming involved in the use and abuse of drugs.

Library

WednesdayFebruary 17 7 pm

Computer Gaming Addiction *Many parents wonder and worry about the extent to which their children engage in online, interactive, or stand alone computer gaming. Hana Mancuso, a psychologist with con-siderable expertise in the treatment of addictions, will help explore the myths and realities of gaming and what parents need to know in order to make informed decisions around ac-cess and control of gaming technology.

Library

Wednesday February 247 pm

Kids and Drugs Program – Session #4What Parents Need to Know About DrugsThe concluding session in the Kids and Drugs Program will help tie together the information necessary to keep children and youth safe and drug aware through the teen years.

Libray

Wednesday March 177 pm

Emotional Intelligence *Ensuring that youth develop and maintain a capacity to man-age stress and anxiety is an important component of parent-ing. Jo-Ann Pawliw, Manager of the Calgary Emotional Fitness Institute, will share information and strategies to enhance resiliency among children and adults alike, focusing on rec-ognizing individual emotional strengths and vulnerabilities to create an internal tool kit of resources to manage all that life has to offer.

Library

*Please RSVP to phil.b@calgaryscienceschool.com

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October was quite the month in my life! It was during this month that I learned that I was the re-cipient of both the Prime Minister’s Award – Cer-tificate of Achievement, and the Governor Gen-eral’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History. For both of these awards, I was nominated by outside individuals: Dr. Michele Jacobsen, Pro-fessor of Educational Technology at the University of Calgary nominated me for the Prime Minister’s Award, and Candace Saar, my 5 year mentor from the Galileo Educational Network nominated me for the Governor General’s Award. Both of these awards were mostly a result of the Cigar Box Proj-ect, and the ways I’ve integrated technology into inquiry-based teaching.

One of the most memorable outcomes of these awards was a trip to Ottawa to receive the Gov-ernor General’s Award. My wife and I were flown out for three days of events, and I was so pleased because my parents also came over from England to join in the ceremonies! When I first arrived in Ottawa, I had an interview with the Canadian Mu-suem of Civilization, which is where I first found

the inspiration for the Cigar Box Project. They had asked me to bring one of our student-made Cigar Boxes to put into the National Archives! I thought that was very cool – that a piece of work made by one of our Calgary Science School students is now in the Archives at the Canadian Museum. Also, Sheldon Posen, the curator of the original Cigar Box website, generously gave me a historic Cana-dian Cigar Box from 1897.

The second day in Ottawa was a tour of the Houses of Parliament. As part of the tour we sat in on the question period of the House of Commons, where the 7 recipients of the award were introduced. That night we had another tour – this one at the National Library and Archives – where we had a gala dinner.

The final morning in Ottawa was the official cer-emony, which took place at the Residence of the Governor General, Rideau Hall. It was an amazing event – the residence was so magnificent! The cer-emony was very official and very honoring – and meeting our current Governor General, Michaelle

elbrating the Achievements of Mr. S

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Jean, was a powerful experience. I have never be-fore met someone who spoke with such strength and authority, and yet was so compassionate. Meeting the Governor General was a highlight of all these experiences.

Overall, I feel very honored, but also very humbled by all these experiences. I feel incredible lucky to work at the Calgary Science School, as I know none of this would be possible if I was at a different school. I feel we work in such a fantastic environ-ment that provides teachers all the resources they need to create engaging learning for students. We have a leadership team that continues to dream bigger and bigger about how school should look, and most importantly, we have the best student body I could ever imagine. At the end of the day – it was the student that created the amazing work that led to these awards.

Thanks to all our amazing students!!

Neil Stephenson

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Farewell to

Mr. McWilliamand a warm welcome to

Words from Mr. McWilliam

What are you most looking forward to with your exchange to Australia?

We have been planning for this trip for almost a year. My family and I are very excited to touch-down at the airport and start living in Australia. I am looking forward to taking the short trip to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkeling and scuba diving. I am also looking forward to visiting the capital Canberra with my grade 7 class. I plan on becoming a big rugby fan once I learn the rules. I even look forward to everyday things like shop-ping, eating, sleeping, and driving on the left hand side.

What do you hope to accomplish?

I work and live in south Calgary where I grew up. I need to see the world outside of south Calgary and the teacher exchange was an amazing, and scary, way to do this. I am also looking forward to the trips we hope to take once there. I know we will visit different cities in Australia, New Zealand, and hopefully Asia.

What do you think your biggest challenges will be?

I have heard from several people that we will ex-perience culture shock for at least the first month. I am told the accent can be tough to understand at first. Another challenge will be the heat and sun. As I write this, the 4-day forecast for Rock-hampton shows highs of 35, 36, 36, and 37 for this week! I’ll be looking for the highest SPF ever created.

Words from Mr. Rooks...

What are you most looking forward to with your ex-change here to Canada?

On a personal level, I am most looking forward to ex-periencing everyday life in a different country, climate and culture. Of course, my family and I can’t wait to visit some of the most picturesque places on Earth such as Banff and Lake Louise. A ‘white Christmas’ is also an ex-citing prospect, particularly for my son, who has never seen snow before. Professionally, I am looking forward to meeting new colleagues and working within the Al-berta education system, to soak up all it has to offer, particularly in terms of professional development.

What do you hope to accomplish?My main goal whilst in Canada is to experience some-thing new everyday. I hope to meet new friends, travel quite a bit and enjoy life on the ‘other side of the world’. Being a keen musician, I would also love to get the op-portunity to play in Calgary and meet lots of different musicians.

What do you think your biggest challenges will be?

Certainly adjusting to the extreme climate difference will be our main challenge. I suspect that there may be a 50-60 degree difference in temperature from when we get on the plane in Australia to when we arrive in Calgary. Driving in snowy conditions will also be ‘inter-esting’. I feel very fortunate that our exchange partners, Dan and Paula, will be with us in Calgary for a week or so before they head off, which I’m sure will be of tre-mendous assistance in getting us settled in.

Additionally, I am really looking forward to meeting and working with the Year 6 & 7 students of The Calgary Science School. It was such a surprise recently to dis-cover on the school’s website that the Year 7 students have begun a countdown to myarrival!

Mr. Rooks

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The grade 9 leadership group had such an amazing experience on Challenge Day that they have decided the to share those enlightening emotions with the rest of the CSS community through a week of events called “Be the Change.”

The main purpose of “Be the Change” week is to get students out of their comfort zone and expand their bubble. Throughout the week day students will be encouraged participate in the various challenges and each day will consist of one or more challenges and an activity at lunch recess.

These challenges include creating handshakes with new friends to make connections with students they wouldn’t normally interact with, to apologizing to kids you have wronged in the past, to share complimenting others and of course hugging, which was a major com-ponent of our Challenge Day experience.

Monday: “Break the Ice” Challenge: Making a secret handshake with someone you don’t usually talk to.Activity:For the lunch activities we hope to have a game of Pic-tionary going at the basketball court.

Tuesday: Show Your Love Day Challenge: The challenge will be to tell at least 5 different people how much you appreciate them and to hug at least 5 different people.

Activity: The activity we have planned for this day is a “compli-ment gram.” A compliment gram is like a candy gram except you write compliments anonymously and send them to the person of your choice.

Wednesday: Wacky WednesdayChallenge: Give 7 Hugs.This is because people need hugs to feel happy and through out the day hugs will be going around.Learn 2 new things Activity: Fashion Show (Lunch Recess, Gym)Parachute (Lunch in the Gym)

Thursday: Make AmendsChallenge: You may apologize to a person you may have hurt or wrongedActivity: We will have a lot of balloons inside of the gym; in which you the person will write your apology or “topic of argument” on the balloon. Afterwards, you would pop the balloon to symbolize that your apology or problem is gone, and you have healed old wound.

Friday: Express yourselfChallenge: The students will be challenged to share something positive about their handshake buddy that they met on Monday. The main purpose is to so-lidify new relationships and to get kids to celebrate the end of challenge week. Activity: To encourage this event, we are hoping to have a small dance in the Basketball Court at lunch. This is to get kids out of their comfort zone and to let them have fun at the same time.

e The Change Week

“On December 9th, the concert band, jazz band, handbell club and choir performed songs Christmas themed. The concert band played Sleigh Ride, Shepherd’s Hey, and Santa’s Noisy Workshop. I think that the whole band performed very well. There were also different groups that performed songs. My group that consisted of Ben, Carmen, Sarah, and Ting played “Hark the Herald Angel Sing”. I think the choir sang their songs beautifully and the handbells played great too. The last song, Santa’s Noisy Workshop, the whole concert band, choir, and handbells all played.” Zachary 8.1

“I think the Christmas Concert performance was actually spectacular. Everyone, including the Hand Bells, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Choir and small ensembles did a great job. One thing I was pleased with was, considering the fact I misplaced my ligature, was my ability to sight read in the Jazz Band and did a pretty good job. One thing we can improve on is when some of us get lost, they stop playing until only a few of us are keeping the band together.” Daniel 8.4

2009 Christmas Concert Reflections

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In past years the Peace Festival has brought the school community together to think about peace and ways to incorporate peace into our lives. By do-ing so the different grades and classes participated in creating different activities that brought and raised awareness about different topics. Some of the activi-ties that have been enjoyed in the past were the choc-olate ‘awareness’ fondue, interactive story tent, and the Kool-Aid water quality presentation.

The Peace Festival has affected all of us in many posi-tive ways. Some of the changes we have made in our everyday lives are trying to establish a leadership role in helping those less fortunate so they can have the same privileges that we have. The Peace Festival has been going on for several years, and every year it has raised the bar in terms of raising awareness of the problems that people face in everyday lives. When asked to reflect on Peace Festival a current grade nine student responded with, “I believe it makes us have a deeper understanding about peace and happiness, and what peace actually is. It makes us realize all the other things happening in the world, and makes us a better person.”

This years Peace Festival’s focus is on finding a Com-munity Heartbeat. Students participated in activities that promoted awareness around things that are af-fecting the local, national and international commu-nities around them. Awareness around drinking and driving, water availability in Africa, impacts of the re-cession, living with disabilities, donating to various charities, and what CSS looks like as a village, were only some of the many activities this year. It was an informative and interactive festival that captured the passion behind this year’s message. Thanks to all grades for helping out with this amazing display of work!

C.T, J.E, & R.T (9.2)

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pam or Chain E-mails

In recent weeks there have been instances of stu-dents receiving chain e-mails that prompt them to pass the message along to either a designated number of people or to everyone in their address book. While it is not uncommon for many of us to circulate e-mails that may be of interest to oth-ers, children will often forward messages because there is an implied threat or promise noted in the message. A recent chain mail that circulated among students provided both possibilities by stating that those who forwarded the message to 24 other recipients would receive “the best gift ever” while those who did not would come to grievous harm.

Without the knowledge and wisdom of age or ex-perience to filter these messages and delete them immediately or mark them as trash, children will often comply without thinking through the impli-cations of a potentially disturbing or threatening message being distributed to hundreds or thou-sands of individuals – in essence sending it viral. Chain e-mails of this nature target the emotions and sensitivity of the recipients, attempting to instill the nagging question of “What if it’s true?” within the reader’s brain so they will eventually forward the message – just to be on the safe side.

Chain e-mails are frequently benign and are gen-erated from over active imaginations or individu-als with way too much time on their hands. Un-fortunately, however, chain e-mails may also have attachments that contain viruses or spyware that will install in the computer once it is opened.

As we approach the holiday season when our stu-dents may be spending more time than usual chat-ting on line with friends, it is important that we maintain a high degree of supervision and moni-toring of computer use to ensure children are in-teracting appropriately on line. The following sim-

ple guidelines serve as a reminder of how we can best protect our children and adolescents on the information highway:

• Ensure any computer being used by a youth is in a high traffic location that can be easily su-pervised;

• Enter into a computer use contract with your children that ensures they do not delete browser histories and that also provides you with passwords and user names for any social networking sites they may frequent;

• Be wary if your child becomes secretive about their on line activities, minimizes the window when you walk by, or closes the computer screen when you enter the room;

• Be aware of who your child is communicating with on line – thoroughly investigate any con-tacts with people you do not know;

• Don’t hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s computer use. Students and parents may forward anonymous tips on any issue re-lated to bullying, including cyber bullying by sending a message to tips@calgaryscience-school.com;

• The following web sites are valuable sources of more information:

• h t t p : / / w w w. c a l g a r y p o l i c e . c a / s e c t i o n s /crimeprev/index.html

• http://www.wiredsafety.org/parent.html• h t t p : / / w w w . s a f e c a n a d a . c a / t o p i c _ e .

asp?category=3• http://www.getwebwise.ca/parent_what_

you_can_do.cfm• h t t p : / / w w w. g e t w e b w i s e . ca / t e e n _ w h a t _

you_can_do.cfm

Phil Butterfield & Scott Petronech

and Supervision of Student Laptops

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January

1 2

3 4

SCHOOL CLOSED

5 6

5.3/5.4 CAMP SWEET PE FIELD TRIP

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5.1/5.2 CAMP SWEET PE FIELD TRIP

8 9

10 11

ICONNECT DANCE RECITAL! LORD BEAVERBROOK HIGH SCHOOL7:30 PM

12 13 14 15

PD PLANNING DAYNO CLASSES

16

17 18 19

WRESTLING TOURNAMENT 4:00 " 7:30 PM #GYM$

KIDS & DRUGS PROGRAM #37:00 PM LIBRARY

20 21 22 23

SILBLING ENTRANCE LEVEL TESTING 10:00 AM

24 25 26

BOARD MEETING5:30 PM

27 28

CSS WRESTLING TOURNAMENT 12:00"7:00 PM

29

PD PLANNING DAYNO CLASSES

30

31

School Closed

Gr 6.1 Winter Camp

DAY 6 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 6

DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 1

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4

DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY6

1

PROSPECTIVE NEW PARENT ORIENTATION 7:00 PM #GYM$

2

PROSPECTIVE NEW PARENT ORIENTATION 7:00 PM #GYM$

3

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING7:00 " 9:00 PM

4 5 6

ENTRANCE LEVEL TESTING 10:00 AM

7 8 9 10

PARENT INFO SESSION " COMPUTER GAMING ADDICTIONS7:00 " 9:00 PM

11 12 13

14 15

FAMILY DAY

16 17 18 19 20

ENTRANCE LEVEL TESTING 10:00 AM

21 22 23 24

DRUG AWARNESS SESSION #47:00 " 9:00 PM

25 26

ORGANIZATIONALDAY

NO CLASSES

27

28

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February

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 1

DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4

DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY1 DAY 2 DAY 3

DAY 6 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 6

Teacher’s Convention/Retreat

Gr 6.2 Winter Camp Gr 6.4 Winter Camp

Gr 6.3 Winter Camp

“It’s never Just an ordinary day!”12

THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOLJANUARY 2009 • ISSUE 5 • VOL . 7