RVS Guest Author: Lorna Reynolds, Communications Designer – I have had the privilege of being ‘office’ neighbours with our Superintendent of Schools, Greg Bass, for the past six years and have come to know and appreciate many things about him. This ‘guy with the tie’ arrived in Rocky View in 2007 with a vision of what he wanted to accomplish – to transform RVS from ‘good to great’ by instilling [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Lizzy D., Grade 11 Student – This past week, the Bow Valley High School leadership students had the pleasure of hosting 13 ladies from Big Hill Lodge Seniors Center at our school. They arrived in the morning and were greeted by some of Bow Valley’s welcoming leadership team. The ladies were given a tour of the school and were amazed by how similar schools are from when [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Natalie A., Gr. 12 Student – From March 22 – 26, 2013, students from the Bow Valley Outdoor Leadership 30 Class embarked on the last outdoor field trip of their high school years! We spent five days backcountry skiing (70 kilometers!) and exploring Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. During our trip, we tackled steep hills, learned snow science, and practiced avalanche beacon searches, all the while enjoying each [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Brooke P., Grade 11 Student – On Mar. 8, 2013, Rocky View Leadership Academy’s second-year students Taylor B., Lucy E., Jordan E., Claire K., Will T., and myself held the 6th Annual Middle School Leadership Conference (MSLC) at the Education Centre. The Rocky View Leadership Academy, founded by Bow Valley High Teachers Dorothy Karlson and Scott Thompson, is an opportunity for high school students from around our school division [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Greg Bass, Superintendent of Schools - A six-year old steps up to bat in T-ball and invariably her coach tells her ‘keep your eye on the ball’. Metaphorically speaking, adults use this fundamental coaching statement to convey a message of ‘focus’. Compounded by folksy literature such as, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, what we appear to be saying to one another is ‘to stay focused on what really [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Teresa Cardinal, FNMI Learning Specialist – As a parent and an educator, I often reflect back on my day and review the impact I have had on my children and on the people I work with. What legacy do I leave behind? This got me to thinking about a few women who have had an impact on me and who coincidentally are all named Jane! Jane Austen and [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Angela Spanier, Director of Communications Resilience – a key to becoming an effective learner and successful citizen By Dave Young, Superintendent of Schools, Parkland School Division. Published January 2001, Stony Plain Reporter. When a third-grader forgets the capital of Saskatchewan, does she internalize the experience? Does she lose her appetite at lunch and fret about her mistake? [ Read More ]
RVS Guest Author: Murray Besenski, Associate Superintendent of Schools – The demands on a school leader’s time are many and varied. Being an effective building manager used to be good enough. For the past century, principals were expected to comply with provincial and divisional edicts, address personnel issues, order supplies, balance school budgets, keep hallways and playgrounds safe, put out fires that threatened tranquil public relations, and generally ensure the [ Read More ]
Guest Authors: Emily and Skye, Grade 4 Students – At our school, we are respectful leaders. We use the 7 Habits of Happy Kids to improve our good habits. Be proactive: Making our own choices and THE RIGHT choices. Leaders at our school always try to be proactive. We dress warmly when we go outside, we are quiet and respectful when someone is speaking or when we are in the [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Ragan Johnson, Assistant Principal, Chestermere Lake Middle School – Over the past few months, I have spent countless hours reflecting on how leaders working within a culturally diverse school can ensure equity and education for all. Initially, this thought process focused on how to create an environment where students and staff felt safe and valued, where all stakeholders were engaged in meaningful ways, and where everyone’s voice was [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Lynne Shemko, Executive Assistant – Years ago when I worked at Ralph McCall School, I received a book from the school’s former Principal Bill Bell to read for a staff professional learning session. That book was the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey. Although I did my best to finish the book, I found it to be a hard read as it was difficult to [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Stephanie Bennett, Teacher, Cochrane High School – The Cochrane High School Sustainable Development (CHSD) Committee (www.sustainabledevelopment.ca) has a longstanding history of implementing projects that pertain to sustainability in our school. The mandate of the CHSD Committee is to have its students bridge the gap between knowledge and action on issues related to sustainability in the school community. We recognize the impact of our activities on the environment, on [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Jen Friske, Teacher, Prairie Waters Elementary – From Nov. 5 – 8, 2012, a team of three of my colleagues and myself were fortunate enough to attend the Cenovus Energy Environmental Education Leadership Clinic, hosted and facilitated by the Alberta Council for Environmental Education. Before I can share with you what we came out of the Leadership Clinic with, I need to give you a little back story [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Natalie A., Gr. 12 student - Elisa Neven-Pugh is an ambitious Grade 11 girl, who I am proud to share the hallways of my school with. On Sept. 22, 2012, we invited Elisa to join our Outdoor Leadership 30 class, and a few other students from different facets of the school, for a hike up Larch Valley, near Lake Louise. No big deal right? Just a hike. Elisa was simply another [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Amber Moore, Teacher, Bert Church High School – The Bert Church High School (BCHS) team has just returned from Canadian Student Leadership Conference 2012 (CSLC) in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and the conference was undoubtedly ‘flat out’ fantastic! The first full day of the conference was a wonderful blur of bouncy castles, live music, spirit groups, a dazzling parade of delegates through the city of Weyburn, and loads of cheering. [ Read More ]
Guest Author: Shannon Wiebe, Parent, Airdrie – Being a parent volunteer is no easy ride over at École Edwards Elementary School in Airdrie. If you’re willing, as I was last year, you might find yourself working on (and learning through) school wide leadership projects with students and teachers. Have a look at the Leadership on Location Posters École Edwards Elementary students and teachers developed and posted around their school. If we [ Read More ]
Guest Authors: Susan Poole, Principal, Cochrane High School & Sharon Cronin, Principal, École Edwards Elementary – We know that Rocky View Schools’ (RVS) administrators are innovative and forward thinking. We listen to many educational speakers who talk about what 21st Century teaching and learning is all about and think, hey… this sounds like Rocky View Schools! We know that change is happening all around us and so we continue to prepare [ Read More ]
Guest author: Angela Spanier, Director of Communications – In my early 20s I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel extensively across Europe and into the Middle East. From the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, where 17th C convicts caught their last glint of daylight before being incarcerated, to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, whose cracks and crevices are wedged with thousands of paper prayers, my travels eventually [ Read More ]
Guest author: Greg Bass, Superintendent of Schools – As we start the 2012-13 year I can’t help feeling excited and optimistic. While many students, parents, teachers, and support staff are making new connections and fostering new relationships today, our work in Alberta and in RVS this upcoming year is focused. We are poised to demonstrate the most significant growth this year towards becoming a 21st century learning organization, as compared [ Read More ]
Guest author: Greg Bass, Superintendent of Schools – It is time to tell Rocky View Schools’ story. Many conversations over the last six months with all stakeholders, both internal and external to our system, reveal that some people are struggling existentially with what the transformation is all about. What do 21st C classrooms look like? What are we aspiring to achieve? What is different? In RVS, and specifically in my [ Read More ]
Guest Author – Norma Lang, Over the last several months we have heard alot of Alberta Ed-Speak about Generative Community Governance. SO… What exactly is Generative Community Governance? What value does this vague concept hold for Rocky View Schools? And, most importantly, how would we make Community Governance real and get it off the ground in our school communities? Last night WG Murdoch Principal Greg Roberts and Associate Principal Gladys Brown started their school [ Read More ]
Guest author, Greg Bass – As a continuation of my last post on 21st century leadership, this post proposes a new leadership paradigm consistent with our rapidly-changing global society. I have been visiting schools recently which includes meeting with the principal or administrative team and interacting with students in classrooms. I must say it is very refreshing to connect with students and dialogue with them as I always have been, [ Read More ]
Guest Author, John Burger – At the end of my first blog, I concluded that building general leadership capacity is dependent on a set of necessary conditions. This blog will explore one of those conditions, i.e. the opportunities and challenges in making data and evidence-informed decision-making a central component of leadership networked across all levels of the education system. The key question we’ll consider is, what should value-added data available [ Read More ]
Guest Author, Josh Hill – In his book Drive Dan Pink re-examines motivation and I believe that his findings have significant implications for education. Pink presents comprehensive research that demonstrates that for simple straightforward tasks if, then rewards, i.e. “the dangling carrot,” work as an effective motivator, however when a task requires some conceptual creative thinking those kind of motivators don’t work. He contends that when a task requires cognitive skill the three critical factors that lead to engagement and better performance are: autonomy, the desire to be self-directed; mastery, the urge to get better at stuff; and purpose, the yearning to make a contribution to something meaningful.
Guest Author, Leslie Collings – Whether you call them “Millenials”, “Screenagers” or “Digital Natives”, students today are looking for and need a different educational experience. Larry Rosen writes, “Our children and youth are immersed in technologies that give them opportunities no previous generation has enjoyed. How will schools respond”? We are in the middle of, perhaps, one of the biggest changes in education. Not since the invention of the printing [ Read More ]
Guest Author, John Burger – Effective educational leadership is one of my passions as a life-long educator. Counting the years I spent as an undergrad student at the Ohio State University and as a grad student at the University of Alberta plus years as a school and system administrator and as a manager in the Alberta Department of Education, I now have a total of 42 years to reflect on how [ Read More ]
Guest Author – Greg Bass, Superintendent of Schools – Much has been written about education for today’s learner. Articulating a vision of what we want our systems to create in terms of opportuntites for learners in our schools today is critical for success. In RVS, three years ago, after 13 months of collaboration, we launched our new three-year plan entitled “Engaging the 21st Century Learner”. We called for our organization [ Read More ]
