Monday Memo Musings

Not sure where Dr. Jody Carrington got this phrase from, You Have to name it To Tame It,  but it sure works for Outreach in Alberta right now. ( I know now, Dan Seigel)  This Education department does not see the value of Outreach thus a reduction in funding. In speaking with Elliot Bessie the president of the OEC he notes many Outreaches are being converted to in reach. He is sending out a survey to Outreach schools to see how they have been affected by the cuts. So far he knows of 5 Outreaches being closed and 4 being turned into in reach. That is not counting our two. After the survey goes out there will be more data to look at.  We know this is cyclical. When High School principal's see that there is 1/10 of their population who are not returning or making their school climate less than favorable, Outreach will come to the rescue.  So Let's Name it To Tame It Outta Reach They Don't Care About At Risk Kids Outreach Lives Don't Matter Can you think of...

Imagine if you were in the grad class of 2020. Trapped in your home for two months not knowing when or if you will graduate this year worries about schooling on your own not being able to connect and talk to everyone about your dress, family coming from a far, perhaps worrying about how you will pay for anything worrying about your family, money and mental health oh, wait... let's throw a flood in there that destroyed your home This class deserves to be recognized and the FVSD is doing just that. Each grad will have their photo (if they had them taken) displayed on the side of the schools. the photo is huge! Schools are recognizing the grads by having a grad in each location. They look different, many are on different days, but each school is recognizing their grads.  This week the details at each school will be finalized. In this confusing time, we could get excluded, however, we need to make sure we are keeping in contact with the High School in our Communit...

On our little drive out of town last Thursday we saw swans, sand hill cranes, a beaver, 8 deer, one moose, a coyote, Canada geese, lama's, clydedale horses,a donkey and a mouse. Go for a little drive, what do you see? You can not help but feel the renewal of Spring. Everything good happens in May! ( I didn't tell you that the beaver I saw was slung over the shoulders of an 8 year old whose 10 year old brother shot it with his bright red 22.) Staffing   Our .4 position in High Level closes today at noon.  Our new math Teacher is Amanda Petrie. She is a chemistry, biology major. She also has great skills in math. She is a mom of three kiddies 1,3,5. Her position will be a .8 perfect for a mom raising babies. Amanda has had many cool jobs, she was a banana tree tie- er in Austrialia, she has worked for an on line outreach in B.C, she has worked for environment Canada. ( This girl has good stories) She is so excited about coming over to us from HLPS.  Anne g...

So it is... that time of year when we are all playing Tetris. We make a move with a student then something happens and we have to rethink the move we just made. Example: We spent hours going over our student lists searching for students who need the unassigned credits. We identified about 10 students. Then an email comes through from Bob saying ALL students are going to get 15 unassigned credits this year. Okay, let start again.  Knowing this year is going to be like a game of Tetris helps us get through. Tetris it is! We will always make the pieces fit. There are other similar games like Traffic Jam, in that game you can get stuck forever. Some would say Jenga is one of those games, except Jenga tumbles to the ground and smashes in all situations, we will avoid that scenario.   The truth is that you can dictate the pace of Tetris in order to win. If we play the game slowly, thinking through our moves, our kids will benefit. ( and so will we) Congratu...

Travis Tritt says it well, "It's a great day to be alive." Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrating it for everything that it is." La Crete's CRM had us celebrating many kids; kids we thought might never graduate are graduating, Kids are calling us and surprising us, kids are getting tons done.  Staffing Announcement You've Been waiting For High Level .6 Allan .4 to be hired 1 fulltime science and math to be hired EA Holly FNMI EA Leah Bonnie 7 hours secretary Principal- me .6 La Crete 1 Alex Social Studies/English 1 Dean Social/English/Science/ Math- all of it .5 Linda Eva secretary/EA Explanation Needed, Forsure!!!! I will be retiring , then taking the .6 Principalship that was offered to me. This gives me the freedom to be a good grandma, wife and volunteer in the community, plus keeps our schools running like they should. It is a flexible schedule ie: Works September ha...

We've had 10 days to focus on our own family and friend dynamics. No school. You needed that time to relax, check things off your list and to connect with those important to you. Hoping you are watchful of those around you, making sure they are handling things well. Higher the anxiety, the higher symptom development. Job losses, financial woes, mental illness, obsessive behaviors ( on computer, elsewhere) within closed quarters can trigger people.  Be aware of those around you. Seek help to lower their risk of harm, to lower their anxiety. When unsure....consult, consult, consult ask questions then ask more questions. Your genuine support of your family and friends is needed right now.  Now with students, staying connected is the key. They are in closed quarters without the aide of school as an interrupter. There is a theory of close distancing which notes that we often appreciate and are more grateful of our loved ones when they have been close then are distanc...

Take a close look at some things this week. Look at yourself and how you are handling the changes and constant over load of information. Balance the grief for what we had, with joy for what can be. Don't get stuck. Moments of mindfulness for you might be needed right now. Five minutes of quiet with eyes closed, prayer, walk on a nature trail. listening to Bon Jovi, playing with your dog, laughing with your kids. Being purposeful in quieting your mind.  Hints- people are dropping hints about how they are feeling. Listen for them. A student text me and I could hear the tiredness in her text. Listen for those hints acknowledge that you hear them.  Students should be returning work this week. We sent a lot out, is it coming back. We are not hounding kids, being harsh in anyway. Just letting them know we are open to accept anything they have completed.  Tasks list- We built that task list. We've never had to worry about being busy with Learning Stores, there is a...