October 8, 2013
Happy Belated World Teachers’ Day!
This year, we celebrated World Teachers’ Day on Saturday, October 5. The day focused on the work of teachers in the areas of global citizenship and cultural diversity. It is very fitting to talk about how we live this work on a daily basis at Bishop Pinkham. Our upcoming installation of 42 solar panels on the roof of our school, past participation in fundraising events such as Shave your lid for a kid, or the multiple cultural and language school-wide events, are all great demonstrations about how our students have made a world of difference at BP.
Global Citizenship at BP…
Last week, I was happy to meet Cerena Bond, one of our newest and brightest students to join us at BP this year and the recipient of this year’s 2013 Kids Hero Award from the Children’s Hospital.
For the last 3 years, Cerena has been volunteering for an organization called, ‘Kids Helping Kids’. Cerena has used her birthday, her parents Christmas party and her dad’s company golf tournament as ways to collect more money for the cause. The funds that she helped raise go toward helping sick and injured kids at Alberta’s Children’s hospital. We are so proud of Cerena and congratulate her on her accomplishments!
Happy Belated World Teachers’ Day!
This year, we celebrated World Teachers’ Day on Saturday, October 5. The day focused on the work of teachers in the areas of global citizenship and cultural diversity. It is very fitting to talk about how we live this work on a daily basis at Bishop Pinkham. Our upcoming installation of 42 solar panels on the roof of our school, past participation in fundraising events such as Shave your lid for a kid, or the multiple cultural and language school-wide events, are all great demonstrations about how our students have made a world of difference at BP.
Global Citizenship at BP…
Last week, I was happy to meet Cerena Bond, one of our newest and brightest students to join us at BP this year and the recipient of this year’s 2013 Kids Hero Award from the Children’s Hospital.
For the last 3 years, Cerena has been volunteering for an organization called, ‘Kids Helping Kids’. Cerena has used her birthday, her parents Christmas party and her dad’s company golf tournament as ways to collect more money for the cause. The funds that she helped raise go toward helping sick and injured kids at Alberta’s Children’s hospital. We are so proud of Cerena and congratulate her on her accomplishments!
Revised School Dates…
Please note that both October 11, 2013 and January 24, 2014 are regular school days. This is contrary to what is published in the 2013-2014 Student Handbook as well as on our website where it states that both of these days are professional development and planning days.
Please also refer to the Bishop Pinkham School Website for the updated School Calendar and also for the updated Friday Period Rotation document.
Daily Student Bulletin…
The daily student bulletin is read to students in their first period class and is posted outside the main office. In addition, it is posted daily on our Facebook page and on our Twitter bulletin account at twitter.com/bpbulletin. If you 'like' our Facebook page you will receive the daily bulletin in your Facebook news feed. If you 'follow' @bpbulletin, our announcements will appear on your Twitter home page.
Please note that both October 11, 2013 and January 24, 2014 are regular school days. This is contrary to what is published in the 2013-2014 Student Handbook as well as on our website where it states that both of these days are professional development and planning days.
Please also refer to the Bishop Pinkham School Website for the updated School Calendar and also for the updated Friday Period Rotation document.
Daily Student Bulletin…
The daily student bulletin is read to students in their first period class and is posted outside the main office. In addition, it is posted daily on our Facebook page and on our Twitter bulletin account at twitter.com/bpbulletin. If you 'like' our Facebook page you will receive the daily bulletin in your Facebook news feed. If you 'follow' @bpbulletin, our announcements will appear on your Twitter home page.
The week that was…
Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area
On Wednesday, October 2 and Thursday, October 3, our Grade 6 students visited the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area. This Forest Explore program allowed students to put into practice what they have learned during their tree and forest programs of study in Science.
Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area
On Wednesday, October 2 and Thursday, October 3, our Grade 6 students visited the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area. This Forest Explore program allowed students to put into practice what they have learned during their tree and forest programs of study in Science.
Kettle Valley Railroad
Last week, from September 30 – October 4, fifteen of our Grade 9 students joined Mr. D. Jordan, Mme. A. McPhee, and Mr. C. Zipfel on a four-day cycling trip along the Carmi Subdivision of the abandoned Kettle Valley Railroad. They experienced all 4 seasons during the week (including snow!) but returned back on Friday night with smiles on their faces – welcome back!
Want more current info on field trips?
Teachers useTwitter [@bpbulletin - twitter.com/bpbulletin] during trips to provide updates to the school community. These updates and photographs are added to our Facebook page at the end of the day. We use social media in this way as often as we can. If you are on Facebook and 'like' our page, these updates [as well as daily announcements] will appear automatically in your News Feed. If you are on Twitter and 'follow' @bpbulletin, you will receive similar information, as well.
Last week, from September 30 – October 4, fifteen of our Grade 9 students joined Mr. D. Jordan, Mme. A. McPhee, and Mr. C. Zipfel on a four-day cycling trip along the Carmi Subdivision of the abandoned Kettle Valley Railroad. They experienced all 4 seasons during the week (including snow!) but returned back on Friday night with smiles on their faces – welcome back!
Want more current info on field trips?
Teachers useTwitter [@bpbulletin - twitter.com/bpbulletin] during trips to provide updates to the school community. These updates and photographs are added to our Facebook page at the end of the day. We use social media in this way as often as we can. If you are on Facebook and 'like' our page, these updates [as well as daily announcements] will appear automatically in your News Feed. If you are on Twitter and 'follow' @bpbulletin, you will receive similar information, as well.
Panther Pride
- Soccer – The boys played 2 games last week; after a tie against Elboya School and a win against Glamorgan School, both M. M Palkovits and Mr. A Menjivar were very proud of our fearless team.
- Volleyball – Our Junior Girls performed very competitively in 4 games last week and, according to Ms C. Buchanan, showed their amazing competitive skills in all of the games- great job, girls
- Cross-Country - Great job to our cross-country team! We had fantastic results from all of our athletes at our last meet on Tuesday October 1. Our next run will be at Riverpark on Wednesday, October 9. Come and support our runners. A special thanks to M. J Boivin for taking such great photos.
This week….
Picture Day
Just a friendly reminder that our picture day will be on Wednesday, October 9. Don't forget to mark this special day and get spruced up in your finest duds! We will share online order information in our updates next week.
Quebec Meeting
On Wednesday, October 9 at 6:00pm in the Learning Commons, there will be an information meeting for any interested grade 8 French Immersion parents in participating in this year's Voyage au Québec. Please join Mme Sheena Abboud , who will provide an overview of the trip, including the cost and general expectations, as well as answer any questions that parents may have regarding the trip. Le Voyage au Québec will take place around the end of April – beginning of May 2014 (exact dates TBD).
Picture Day
Just a friendly reminder that our picture day will be on Wednesday, October 9. Don't forget to mark this special day and get spruced up in your finest duds! We will share online order information in our updates next week.
Quebec Meeting
On Wednesday, October 9 at 6:00pm in the Learning Commons, there will be an information meeting for any interested grade 8 French Immersion parents in participating in this year's Voyage au Québec. Please join Mme Sheena Abboud , who will provide an overview of the trip, including the cost and general expectations, as well as answer any questions that parents may have regarding the trip. Le Voyage au Québec will take place around the end of April – beginning of May 2014 (exact dates TBD).
Town Hall Meeting
On Thursday, October 10, in recognition of the upcoming Municipal Election Day, we will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting at Bishop Pinkham. Through Youth Central, a not-for-profit organization that encourages youth participation, all of the Calgary candidates were invited to speak to our students and answer questions related to current issues in the upcoming election. Both Brian Pincott and James Maxim have agreed to attend and we look forward to listening to the debate. Thanks to Mme Sheena for coordinating this debate!
On Thursday, October 10, in recognition of the upcoming Municipal Election Day, we will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting at Bishop Pinkham. Through Youth Central, a not-for-profit organization that encourages youth participation, all of the Calgary candidates were invited to speak to our students and answer questions related to current issues in the upcoming election. Both Brian Pincott and James Maxim have agreed to attend and we look forward to listening to the debate. Thanks to Mme Sheena for coordinating this debate!
Athletics this week
The following games will be played this week, please feel free to come out and cheer for our Panthers!
Monday – Junior Girls Volleyball [@Bishop Pinkham]
Tuesday – Junior Boys Volleyball [@Bishop Pinkham] and Girls Soccer Playoffs [@Vincent Massey]
Wednesday – Boys Soccer Playoffs [@AE Cross]
The following games will be played this week, please feel free to come out and cheer for our Panthers!
Monday – Junior Girls Volleyball [@Bishop Pinkham]
Tuesday – Junior Boys Volleyball [@Bishop Pinkham] and Girls Soccer Playoffs [@Vincent Massey]
Wednesday – Boys Soccer Playoffs [@AE Cross]
Coming up….
Parent Teacher Interviews
The first parent-teacher interviews will be held October 17 and 18. Interviews are by appointment - instructions on how to book interviews will be provided to parents later next week and will be included in my next weblog post. The online booking system will open on Saturday, October 12 at 7:00am.
All regular interviews will be booked in 10 minute blocks but for parents who have students on an IPP, please note that, beginning on Wednesday October 9, we will ask that you call directly to Kori Devost to book your appointment at [403.777.7840 ext. 0]. In order to have an appropriate time-frame to discuss the IPP, teachers and parents will have 20 minutes to discuss strategies related to the IPP.
It is very important that parents begin the routine of checking their child's grade in D2L [d2l.cbe.ab.ca] so that they will be better able to judge whether an interview is necessary. Because we are reporting on student progress in 'real time,' we will not be providing a regular report card in October. Standard report cards will be sent home at the end of January and June.
About Face Assembly
On Wednesday, October 16, the Calgary Police Service will be presenting 2 separate assemblies; the first will be a modified version for our Grade 5 & 6 students and the second for our Grade 7-9 community. This will be an adapted presentation of the About Face program that encourages young people to take responsibility for their behaviour and shows them the advantages of positive life choices.
Parent Teacher Interviews
The first parent-teacher interviews will be held October 17 and 18. Interviews are by appointment - instructions on how to book interviews will be provided to parents later next week and will be included in my next weblog post. The online booking system will open on Saturday, October 12 at 7:00am.
All regular interviews will be booked in 10 minute blocks but for parents who have students on an IPP, please note that, beginning on Wednesday October 9, we will ask that you call directly to Kori Devost to book your appointment at [403.777.7840 ext. 0]. In order to have an appropriate time-frame to discuss the IPP, teachers and parents will have 20 minutes to discuss strategies related to the IPP.
It is very important that parents begin the routine of checking their child's grade in D2L [d2l.cbe.ab.ca] so that they will be better able to judge whether an interview is necessary. Because we are reporting on student progress in 'real time,' we will not be providing a regular report card in October. Standard report cards will be sent home at the end of January and June.
About Face Assembly
On Wednesday, October 16, the Calgary Police Service will be presenting 2 separate assemblies; the first will be a modified version for our Grade 5 & 6 students and the second for our Grade 7-9 community. This will be an adapted presentation of the About Face program that encourages young people to take responsibility for their behaviour and shows them the advantages of positive life choices.
Healthy Hunger
On Friday, October 25, the Bishop Pinkham Parent Council will be having a Little Caesar’s Pizza Lunch. Please place your order at www.HealthyHunger.ca to enjoy your special lunch. Don’t miss out on the order deadline, which will be on Sunday, October 20. If you have any questions to set up your account, please contact the Main Office for assistance.
Upcoming Meetings
Bishop Pinkham Music Parent Association – Tuesday, October 22 @ 6:30pm in the Learning Commons
Bishop Pinkham School Council - Wednesday, October 23 @ 7:00pm in the Music Room
Communication
e-mail
We are using e-mail more now to provide directly-relevant information to BP families. Most teachers use e-mail as their primary communication tool with parents. Staff e-mail addresses are found on our webpage at: staff contact list. Send a note to [email protected] with your child's name and we will make sure that your address is added to our records.
social media
We are continuing to increase our use of the school Facebook page and Twitter accounts. If you 'like' our Facebook page at bit.ly/bishoppinkhamfacebook, daily updates will find their way into your News Feed. Following @bpbulletin will provide you with daily updates, as well.
school webpage
The webpage at cbe.ab.ca/b645 will continue to contain much of the important information for parents, including calendars and bus information. We will try to keep it as updated as possible with the information it contains.
contact me
As always, I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns by e-mail at [email protected] or telephone at 403 777-7840 [2123]
Thank you - Michelle Howell, Principal
Bishop Pinkham School
On Friday, October 25, the Bishop Pinkham Parent Council will be having a Little Caesar’s Pizza Lunch. Please place your order at www.HealthyHunger.ca to enjoy your special lunch. Don’t miss out on the order deadline, which will be on Sunday, October 20. If you have any questions to set up your account, please contact the Main Office for assistance.
Upcoming Meetings
Bishop Pinkham Music Parent Association – Tuesday, October 22 @ 6:30pm in the Learning Commons
Bishop Pinkham School Council - Wednesday, October 23 @ 7:00pm in the Music Room
Communication
We are using e-mail more now to provide directly-relevant information to BP families. Most teachers use e-mail as their primary communication tool with parents. Staff e-mail addresses are found on our webpage at: staff contact list. Send a note to [email protected] with your child's name and we will make sure that your address is added to our records.
social media
We are continuing to increase our use of the school Facebook page and Twitter accounts. If you 'like' our Facebook page at bit.ly/bishoppinkhamfacebook, daily updates will find their way into your News Feed. Following @bpbulletin will provide you with daily updates, as well.
school webpage
The webpage at cbe.ab.ca/b645 will continue to contain much of the important information for parents, including calendars and bus information. We will try to keep it as updated as possible with the information it contains.
contact me
As always, I welcome your comments, questions, and concerns by e-mail at [email protected] or telephone at 403 777-7840 [2123]
Thank you - Michelle Howell, Principal
Bishop Pinkham School