The Narrative

Joint Great news! RVS met with the staff sargents from its five Communication RCMP detachments and Calgary Catholic School District, Jan. Protocol 24, 2020, to discuss how the partners could more effectively work together when dealing with major issues impacting the Working Together to Keep safety and/or emotional well-being of a school community. A School Communities Safe joint communication protocol is imminent and has already now included our neighbouring board the Conseil scolaire FrancoSud. Once confirmed the protocol will be shared at the next Administrative Leadership Meeting in March and then flowed out to schools. Stay tuned!

NEWS TO KNOW

Advisory Panel Tables Curriculum Report Appointed by the Alberta Government to provide recommendations for curriculum and draft a new vision for student learning, an independent advisory panel's Curriculum Panel Report was released, Jan. 29, 2020. In order to seek input from Albertans on the draft vision for student learning, an online survey will be available until Feb. 24, 2020. All staff is encouraged to complete the survey, which will be used to inform a new ministerial order on student learning, as well as guide government's work moving forward with updating the curriculum. Highlights of the report include: Ensuring the curriculum remains free from prescribed instructional approaches; Addressing financial literacy, work readiness, wellness and goal-setting to enhance students' life skills; Implementing standardized assessment tools to evaluate literacy and numeracy in Gr. 1 - 5; Aligning the draft K - Gr. 4 curriculum from 2018 with the new vision for student learning; Providing students with work-integrated learning opportunities; Ensuring First Nations, Métis and Inuit learnings continue to be reflected in the curriculum. For further details, please visit the Alberta Government website.

2019/20 Playbooks Due Feb. 7 Has your branch/department submitted its EC Playbook? Has your school submitted its Fall and/or School Playbooks. The submission deadline for all playbook is Feb. 7, 2020, to Communications. Both EC and School Idea Quests Part A and B also should be posted by Feb. 7. School Playbooks – those developed for presentation to your school council – will be posted to RVS’ public website under Publications/School Playbooks shortly after the Feb. 7 deadline, with a notification of their posting sent to school principals. If you have any questions, please contact RVS’ Director of Communications.

EpiPen Deployment and Training As reported in the Jan. 7, 2020, issue of The Narrative, Bill 201: Protection of Students with Life Threatening Allergies requires all boards to provide schools with epinephrine auto injectors (EpiPens) for those who have not been identified as having life threatening allergies or a pre- authorized and prescribed EpiPen. Schools will soon receive a box of EpiPens, dosage strength guidelines and instructions on how to use an auto-injector. To help manage student medical health needs, RVS also has partnered with Bayshore Home Health, who will contact schools directly to set up Epi-Pen training for all school-based staff. For further details, refer to the Jan. 29, 2020 Memorandum.

Advertising on School or RVS-Affiliated Social Media Pages A gentle reminder to staff that posting non-RVS advertisements on school or RVS-affiliated social media pages is not permitted. RVS does, however, encourage the posting of jurisdictional news and events on these pages as well as in The Narrative. Questions? Please feel free to reach out to the Communications Branch.

Battle of the Books Champs to Defend their Title Along with 12 other RVS schools, reigning champions 'The Manachaban Book Worms' will compete in the jurisdiction’s third annual Battle of the Books (BOB), Feb. 26, 2020, from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., at the Education Centre. The tournament will see six teams face off against each other in tournament-style rounds to determine which team knows more about 16 pre-selected titles. In preparation for the big “battle,” students spent countless hours reading, discussing and developing a deep understanding of the content. BOB provides all students the opportunity to get involved in their school team, share their joy of reading with like-minded peers and build upon a culture of rich literature and authentic literacy conversations. Questions can be directed to Jody Moore.

Upcoming Change to Blue Box Delivery To introduce cost-saving measures, the Supply Management (SM) branch recently gained approval to hire a salaried driver to handle blue box deliveries. Currently being managed by West Direct Couriers, the service change will come into effect, Feb. 24, 2020. This change will not affect the level of service or frequency of deliveries. Based on a cost efficiency review, SM believes this change will result in a substantial cost savings. The job competition has been uploaded to the Careers section of RVS' website.

Making Learning Visible in RVS While the use of social media platforms is encouraged in RVS, staff is reminded that the intention of the jurisdiction's social media channels is to make learning visible. Therefore, staff is expected to demonstrate professionalism and model behaviour that inspires students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. For further details, please read What is Digital Citizenship? on RVS' website.

Middle School Basketball Championships Thirty-six RVSA middle school Jr. A basketball teams will converge at SAIT, Feb. 5 (girls) and Feb. 6 (boys) to compete for divisional titles. Tip off will be at 9:30 a.m. and the finals will begin around 3:30 p.m. Full schedules are available on the RVSA website.

Call for February Student Artwork Submissions Since December 2019, student artwork has been on display at the Education Centre for everyone's viewing pleasure. Most recently, Indus School's Gr. 5/6 students put on display their amazing interpretation of Van Gogh's famous painting, complete with artist statements. Also featured was artwork from Prairie Waters Elementary. Teachers interested in submitting their students' artwork are asked to email [email protected], for more information. It's always nice to add and refresh the artwork on display!

RVS Storytellers

Muriel Clayton Gr. 8 Students Build an Escape Room As part of Career and Technology Foundations, Gr. 8 teachers Alicia Huculak and Richard Sampson piloted Exploratory 8, a hybrid course, which saw 30 students design, build and puzzle together an escape room. The course combines design studies with construction, allowing students to expand their knowledge in both areas. To showcase their learning, an open house was held at the school, Jan. 30, 2020, and welcomed families, members of the RVS community and project sponsors. With only a handful of clues, participants had 40-minutes to escape the faux 2050 MCMS Time Capsule, which set the story in motion. Thanks to generous donations from Westcor Construction, students were able to complete their project and acquire hands-on skills while also learning more about trade careers.

INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES

Instructional Supports to Meet Unique Student Needs RVS understands that learners have unique learning preferences, interests, strengths, needs and potential. As a result, teachers aim to implement effective instructional practices and strategies to support student engagement, achievement and success. In order to plan instruction, which acknowledges and honours diversity, teachers must thoughtfully select instruction supports that maximize student achievement. Examples of instructional supports for teachers include differentiated instruction, the use of technology and the selection of learning and teaching resources. For further details, refer to the Government of Alberta website.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Learn French with RVSAL Parlez-vous français? Want to learn how to speak French for fun or to better support a French Immersion learner? In partnership with Canadian Parents for French, Rocky View Schools Adult Learning is offering a beginner's French course Wednesday evenings from Feb. 5 - April 1, 2020, at École Edwards Elementary School. This introductory course will teach the basics of reading, writing and speaking in French. The cost is $150 and registration is via the RVSPL System.

MANDT Training: Conceptual, PBIS, Trauma and the Working Mind This one-day workshop is designed to build upon RVS' relational and technical Mandt workshop. Focused on trauma-informed practice and positive behavioural supports, this follow-up workshop will take place, March 27, 2020, at the Education Centre and is open to all staff. The session is free and lunch will be provided. Register via the RVSPL System.

RVS BLOG

RVS Guest Blogger: Greg Luterbach, Superintendent of Schools Signs of the 4YP Taking Root - As we move into the second half of the school year, I can see signs of our new Four Year Plan (4YP), Innovators by Design, taking root. Early sprouts are beginning to appear as innovative ideas are implemented; it's an exciting time!

One of the ways I know the 4YP is taking root is from what I hear. The RVS vernacular now includes terms and phases like: ‘playbooks’, ‘how might we’, ‘I wonder’, ‘discover’, ‘define’, ‘develop’, ‘document’, ‘prototypes’, ‘practice guides’, ‘design teams’, and countless others. Wind back 18 months and many of these phrases were not commonplace within RVS. With the new 4YP and supporting structures in place, these words describe our efforts as we work together to ensure all students connect, achieve and navigate.