2011 04 Spectrum

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MARCH 2011 • ISSUE 7 • VOL . 8THE

THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL

Spring Break – two of our favourite words. In the past few weeks students have participated

in the Calgary Youth Science Fair, regional debate finals, the Cal-gary Alternative Athletic Associa-tion basketball final tournament, and have made several presenta-tions to parents and community groups regarding our community garden project, just to name a few events. Later in this Spectrum you will read about the successes of our students in each of these ventures. I am very proud of our students’ accomplishments and that they represented our school community with such integrity, poise and respect. We all definite-ly deserve a break!

In addition to the student activi-ties I have mentioned, there was a group of parents who were busy in a flurry of activity a week ago during our trimester 2 student-led conferences. We had a com-mitted and intrepid group of par-ent volunteers handing out the Balzac Meat orders, braving the cold to ensure that the process was smooth and without compli-cation. I want to again thank the parent volunteers who took on the responsibility of organizing that fundraiser and in handing out the orders for two and a half hours that night. Your efforts are very much appreciated and re-sulted in a significant amount of money raised.

While we are all resting and relax-ing over Spring Break, there will be a number of people in the school do-ing some construction related to the brick work that has been slated to be done this year. Yes, work is begin-ning on the repairs to the brickwork. Unfortunately, the exterior work will not start until the summer, so we will have to continue to deal with the se-curity fencing around the school that has been up for months now.

Lastly, I will be hosting another Dia-logue with Darrell on Friday, April 15th at 9am in the staff room and all parents are welcome to attend.

I hope you enjoy your break and find it restful and rejuvenating.

Darrell Lonsberry

Principal’s Message

www.calgaryscienceschool.com

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IN THIS ISSUE

14. 22.

20.

P r i n c i p a l ’s M e s s a g e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

S c h o o l C o u n c i l N e w s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f T h e B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s H i g h l i g h t s . . . . . . . . . . 6

C S S O w n s a C u b e Va n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

B u s s i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

C o m m u n i t y G a r d e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

E x e m p l a r y Te a c h i n g a n d L e a r n i n g F r a m e w o r k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1

G r a d e 4 S c i e n c e Fa i r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2

R e a s o n f o r t h e B e a t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4

H A N D S & S t a r E c o Wo r k s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6

M u s i c N o t e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8

Phys Ed. and Athletics Update.................2 0

C S S F e a t u r e d A r t i s t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2

A p r i l 2 0 1 1 C a l e n d a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6

M a y 2 0 1 1 C a l e n d a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7

R o b o t G a m e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 8

APRIL 2011


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20.Our last meeting began with a special presentation on the Community Garden project. Simrat S. and Connor S., both from 7.3, gave a presentation on the work their class has been doing on this joint project between the Calgary Science School and the Lakeview Community Association. Parents in attendance immediately saw the connections this project has to math, science and service learning at the school, particularly for our students in grades 4, 7 and 9. Students have priced out the materi-als needed to construct and prepare the gardening beds and parent volunteers are needed to help with pre-build activities the week of April 4th and the actual garden bed construction on April 16th. If you can help out, please e-mail [email protected]. Thanks to committee members Tanya Stogre, Jaime Groeller, Kim Brundrie, Amy Lonsberry, Carolyn Armstrong and Karen Cuthbertson for their tremendous support of the Com-munity Garden project. For more information please see page 10.

It was great to see some of our grade 8 and 9 students out at the March student-led conferences, sharing their ideas for improving student health at CSS. We heard from some members of the student-led health initiative at our De-cember meeting, and they were clearly following through on their idea to involve CSS families in this initiative. If you didn’t have a chance to visit their display and pick up a copy of the latest edition of the Canada Food Guide, visit http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php to view the Canada Food Guide online, download a PDF or request a print copy.

Other recent School Council-related activity:• On March 17, many CSS families picked up their second

(and last) Balzac Meats order for the current school year. Under the terrific leadership of Karen Morrison and Car-olynn Vodden, this fundraiser netted another $8,400 which will go to “wish list” items jointly agreed upon be-tween CSS administration and the Fundraising Commit-tee. Thanks to all of the student and parent volunteers who came out the evening of March 17 to load all the meat into all of our vehicles.

SCHOOLCOUNCIL NEWS

• Traffic safety pylons are set up at various locations around the school grounds, raising awareness of traf-fic rules that some of us tend to short-cut when we’re in a hurry. Thank you to all the members of the Traffic Safety Committee for taking steps to improve safety for our students, particularly in crosswalk areas.

One of our goals for April is to establish a committee to organize a parent social. The timing for the social will likely be some time in the fall. Because the Calgary Sci-ence School draws students from across the city, orga-nized events provide a valuable opportunity for parents to meet and socialize. If you are interested in helping to organize this event, please come out to a half-hour kick-off meeting at 8:30 am on Friday, April 15th in the staff room. The meeting will last no longer than 30 minutes. If you’d like to help with the event but can’t make the meeting, please send an email to [email protected].

In May, you can expect to hear about our Annual Parent Survey. Responses to the 2011 survey will be used to pro-vide feedback to CSS administration and to help School Council set its priorities for the 2011/12 school year.

Our next School Council meeting will be held in the Anne Tingle Library, starting at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 4. The meeting will begin with a student debate on the following topic: Be it resolved that the Calgary Science School should participate in casino fundraisers.

A detailed agenda for the balance of the meeting will be circulated in late April. As always, if there’s a topic you would like to see addressed, please send an email to [email protected].

Wishing you all a most enjoyable spring break!

Denise Kitagawaon behalf of your Calgary Science School Council


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RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

I thought it may be helpful to parents to understand the functions of the Board of Directors and an over-view of the responsibilities of each subcommittee currently operating within the Board of Directors. The Board is very proactive, with each member passionate about education and the success of the Calgary Sci-ence School to provide exemplary teaching and ex-emplary learning.

The Calgary Science School Society is governed by the Board of Directors. The Board is accountable to the members of the Society and to the Minister of Education in Alberta. The Board of Directors, gov-erned by its by-laws, is required to set general policy in compliance with the School Act. The roles of the Board include guidance, stewardship and decision making, formulating policy, making rules and regula-tions, communicating vision, management of school resources and assets of the society, hiring and termi-nations, establishment of salaries and benefits, ap-pointment of officers, the auditor and members of the Board committees.

Incoming Board members are elected by the existing Board of Directors for a three-year term, except for parent directors who are elected for one-year terms. No director can serve for more than three consecu-tive terms other than the Board Chair who is eligible to serve for one additional year. The by-laws require that the Board be comprised of a minimum of three

parents of children attending the school to a maxi-mum of one third of the voting members. The Board cannot exceed twenty-one members. The Calgary Sci-ence School Board currently consists of fifteen mem-bers; five parents and ten individuals who are not affiliated with the School. The majority of the Board members have a field of expertise such as science and technology, accounting, business, law, education, government relations and public relations.

The Board maintains various committees which per form the activities required for the effec-tive and efficient functioning of the Society. The Committees currently operating include:

a) the Governance Committee, which monitors the compliance of the Calgary Science School with re-spect to the Societies Act, the By-laws and the Charter Agreement with Alberta;

b) the Communications Committee, which over-sees the communication of the mission and vision of the Calgary Science School and its activities with its stakeholders, students, parents, government, and general public;

c) the Finance Committee, which reviews the financ-es of the Society and provides recommendations to the Board with regard to financial matters;

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMs. Lori Wilhelm-Einsporn (Board Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee) Mr. Harold Lemieux (Board Vice Chair) Mr. Dave Robinson (Board Past Chair) Ms. Cheryl Lemieux (Chair of the Finance Committee) Dr. Torben Bech-Hansen (Chair of the External Collaboration Committee) Ms. Lorraine Chan; Ms. Catherine Cook (Chair of the Fund Development Committee) Ms. Stephanie Davis; Mr. Tim Edwards (Chair of the Facilities Committee) Dr. Sharon Friesen; Ms. Teri Henderson; Ms. Lindsay Hogan; Ms. Debra Pylypiw (Chair of the School Operations Committee) Mr. Dale Ronsky; Mr. Tom Short (Chair of the Communications Committee) Dr. Norm Vaughan


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d) the School Operations Committee, which works with the school leadership team and provides advice and guidance on operational and policy issues;

e) the External Collaboration Committee, which was formed to enhance and promote the development of the Calgary Science School as a centre of research, innovation and excellence in teaching and learning. The Committee facilitates collaboration with a variety of stakeholders to develop research-focused relation-ships that enhance teaching and learning practices.

f ) the Fund Development Committee, which was established to generate funds to enhance and sup-port the development of the Calgary Science School as a centre of research and innovation in teaching and student learning and,

g) the Facility Committee, which oversees the fa-cility, its maintenance and renovations to ensure its compliance with safety standards, promote energy efficiency and provide the best possible physical cli-mate for learning.

Our Board meets monthly. This month a number of items were reviewed and discussed including:

The budget presented by the Minister of Education. In presenting the budget for 2011-2012, the Minis-ter described it as a challenge for school boards. Al-though there is a 4.4% increase in the basic school grant (which equates to about $164,000 here at CSS), to cover teacher salary increases associated with the agreement between the Province and the Alberta Teachers Association, there is also a reduction of ap-proximately the same amount of money associated with the elimination of the class size grant ($85,000), a reduction in the Alberta Initiative for School Im-provement grant ($42,000) and the Relative Cost of Purchasing Goods and Services grant ($35,000). The net effect is no increase in budgeted funding yet there are increasing costs such as busing and salary incre-

ments which must be addressed. There was no in-crease in Alberta Education grants for transportation even though diesel costs have increased significantly. The Board of Directors and staff will be faced with the challenge of taking cost saving measures, while main-taining existing programs and not negatively impact the quality of the educational experience provided to Calgary Science School students.

The leadership team will be deliberating over the next few months as to how to best manage the funding of required programs and school costs prior to submit-ting the school budget to Alberta Education by the deadline date of May 31, 2011. This Budget will be approved by the Board of Directors before it is sub-mitted.

As registration for 2011-2012 is required shortly, cer-tain decisions had to be made in respect to setting student fees for enrichment, lunchroom, busing and laptop insurance. The Finance Committee reviewed the student enrichment fees in detail, determining the costs covered and the amount required per child to subsidize these costs. The 2010 student enrichment fee covered 64% of the actual costs and the remainder was taken from school operation funding. Realizing the constraint of the current budget and likely future budgets, the Board of Directors agreed to the follow-ing fee structure:

• an increase in the student fee from $450 to $475/student;

• an increase in the busing fee from $810 to $830/student for on-time registrations;

There is no change in the lunch room fee or the laptop insurance fee.

Lori Wilhelm-EinspornChair of the Board

BOARD OF DIRECTORS


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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE

The presentation of the new CSS logo by the student whose creative imagination must be recognized. The letters C, S, S, provide an illustration of the road of learning that our students, teachers and parents trav-el. The logo symbolizes our mission of bringing learn-ing to life and life to learning. The Board of Direc-tor’s congratulates and appreciates the time taken by Sameeksha (Maggie) C. of 6.3 in creating a new logo for C.S.S. The Board of Director’s presented her with a trophy in recognition of her achievement. Thank you Maggie.

We would also like to thank Mrs. Armstrong, Ms. Sto-gre, Simrat S. and Connor S. from 7.3 for presenting the Community Garden initiative. It is an amazing idea that brings together the Lakeview community and the Calgary Science School. The classes that worked out the required materials, costing and design of the gar-den must be congratulated.

The Governance Committee, together with the Lead-ership team, is preparing a Strategic Plan which sup-ports the vision and mission of the Calgary Science School which highlights the strong commitment to research, innovation and providing leadership as a charter school in pursuit of the Alberta Education vi-sion for transforming education in Alberta.

The Fund Development Committee presented an overall report of where we are and where we need to get to in respect to Fund Development. The Com-mittee is currently looking at the expertise required to make CSS’s fund development a success. We have also debated the need for fund development and the types of fund development which would or would not be acceptable.

The Strategic Plan will provide focus for all projects being reviewed by the School that require funding. If anyone has a Fund Development background, please contact Catherine Cook at [email protected].

The Communications Committee have been very busy with the Leadership Team finalizing the new website design. We hope to unveil this new website in late

April. It is currently operating but being loaded with information for parents, students and stakeholders of the Calgary Science School. The Communications Committee will also be meeting with the Fund Devel-opment Committee to prepare a plan for rolling out the Fund Development initiatives.

The School Operations Committee presented the Transportation Budget for 2011-2012. This commit-tee together with the Transportation Committee are currently planning the “expected” routes for next year. Thank you to all dedicated parents for keeping our transportation system operating at such efficiency.

The Board would also like to acknowledge the exem-plary teaching and exemplary learning experiences that have occurred this month at the school:

BOARD OF DIRECTORSCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Maggie C. (6.3) and Rheana Fehr


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• The students through the mentorship of Mr. Scott and Ms.Groeller have been exploring a big question relating to the potential for a renaissance in Calgary. Teams of students prepared displays highlighting their views based on extensive research of the Re-naissance related to various themes such as: educa-tion; the arts; theology and government. They invit-ed outside experts with a rich background related to the relevant themes to join them in a dialogue and sharing of ideas through what proved to be a very exciting, stimulating forum. Commendations are ex-tended to the grade 8 humanities teachers and the students for their excellent work and to the outside experts, who through their involvement, enriched the learning experience and gave it authenticity.

• The grade 9 team has begun their Challenge –based Learning Project on ethical food choices. The stu-dents are deeply engaged in a multitude of explo-rations based on their interests. They have connect-ed with experts, been on field trips and have been working in a substantially modified schedule to ac-complish all that they need to for the project.

• The fine arts team has also been active, with Mr. Bo-len and our beginner band competing at the Kiwanis Music Festival on Friday, March 11. Our one hundred grade 6’s and nine grade 7 students have been pre-paring for months and sounded great.

• Commendations are extended to the grade 4 to 9 students for their outstanding Science Fair Inquiries and to their teachers who provided guidance and support to the students as they explored signifi-cant scientific topics. The exceptional quality of the inquiries was noted by the judges and individuals who had an opportunity to view the student inqui-ries at the grade 5 to 9 Science Fair and the special showcase for grade 4 students who are not eligible to formally participate in the Calgary Youth Science Fair. Good luck to the 45 students who will be rep-resenting the Calgary Science School at the Calgary Youth Science Fair.

• A school assembly was held on March 1 to introduce the 16 Descriptors of Exemplary Learning in the Cal-gary Science School and to celebrate exemplars of student work and leadership related to the descrip-tors. Every classroom in the school has a laminated poster of the descriptors of exemplary teaching and exemplary learning and these displays will be re-ferred to on an ongoing basis.

Lori Wilhelm-EinspornChair of the Board

COMMITTEE REPORTS

CSS Owns a Cube VanThe school recently purchased a 16 foot cube van to support our outdoor educa-tion program. We have been spending a few thousand dollars each year on the rental of a cube van for storing all of the outdoor edu-cation equipment we require for camps. The purchase will save us money in the long run and will provide for additional storage for our equipment. We now need somewhere to store the van. We are reluctant to store it at the school due to a lack of adequate parking and the likelihood that the vehicle would eventually be vandalized if left for a long period of time (our school gets tagged by spray paint about once a month in the warmer months and a shiney white van would be a tempting target).

Do you live on an acreage and have room to store our cube van? Please contact Mr. Lonsberry if you are able to help out with this. Thank you.


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Bussing: Hearing from the

Students and a Driver


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Do you like bussing and why?Yes I do! Our driver is really nice, and gets us to school on time almost all of the time.

What do you do on the bus?I mostly talk to all my friends.

What is the nicest thing about bussing?I met my best friend on the bus.Emma (6.3) Do you like bussing and why?Yes I like bussing. It is really safe, comfortable, and makes me feel close to other people.

What do you do on the bus?I read a lot and talk to my friends.

What is the nicest thing about bussing?Our driver sometimes gives us candy.Anonymous (6.4) “Bussing is an important part of CSS. Most of our students arrive to school by bus. I know that if it was not for bussing, my parents would have never considered placing me at CSS. I like bussing because I met my first and now best friend on the bus. Our bus driver is always very friendly and sometimes even gives us treats. I also enjoy having her children on the bus. They are so cute, friendly and sometimes do and say funny things. Most of the kids on our route stay the same each year. The Grade 9’s leave and new Grade 4’s join us. At the end of the year, most of us know one another. While we are on the bus, kids do various things like talking, reading, playing handheld games, studying and doing homework. I am thankful for bussing because I love going to CSS!”Reuben K. (6.2)

Meet Dale:Driver Route 2 I completed my Southland and Class 2 drivers training in August 2007 and started driving the bus in September of 2007. CSS Route 2 was my first (and has been my only) route, which makes this my fourth year driving for CSS 2. My firstborn (Kaleb) was just 10 months old when I started driving the bus and my husband and I were plan-ning on at least one more child. When I was nearing the end of my maternity leave with Kaleb I began to panic at the thought of placing him in child care outside the home and returning to work full time. We crunched some family income financial numbers and decided that driv-ing the bus and raising my children myself was a better fit for us than paying somebody else to look after them while I worked. I have returned to my same route year after year because I adore the kids on my route and appreciate how the fac-ulty at CSS treats it’s drivers, as a vital part of their day to day function. Mr. Lonsberry (and in the past Mr. Sweet) has expressed his gratitude to us time and again for get-ting CSS students to school safely and on time every day.

Weasked the

students:


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COMMUNITYCSS/LCA

GARDENGARDENThe Calgary Science School (CSS) and the Lakeview Community Association (LCA) are collabo-rating to build a community garden beside the Lakeview Community Center. The initial building of the garden is being funded by a grant from the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund, and is being generously matched by a donation from CSS. In addition, the City of Calgary has provided an in-kind donation. A joint committee of representatives including CSS teachers and parents, LCA members, and the Lakeview community residents have been working, along with students at CSS, to plan the garden.

We need your help with the construction of the garden.April 16, 2011 is the first planned build date with April 30 and May 7, 2011 as backup dates if the weather is uncooperative. Here are some opportunities for participation:

Pre-build – Week of April 4, 2011• volunteers for pre-cutting the wood for the boxes• tools required (measuring tapes, drills, and a power saw)

Build - April 16, 2011 (weather permitting)• volunteers for construction of the boxes, filling the boxes with soil• tools required (drills, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes)

“BBQ Social for Volunteers” - April 16, 2011 (weather permitting)• volunteers required for organizing (beforehand) and facilitating (on the day)

For more information, please contact the committee via email: [email protected]


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Exemplary Teaching Learning Framework

The Calgary Science School embarked on an ini-tiative to respond to the question posed at the school professional development retreat in Au-gust, 2011: What does exemplary teaching look l ike at the Calgary Science School? With input from the staff throughout subsequent profes-sional development days, the leadership team began to synthesize some of the common attri-butes of exemplary teaching and learning into an action model. What has resulted is a solid framework with sixteen descriptors that capture the essence of what we do at the Calgary Science School to build excellence in teaching and learn-ing.

&Dr. Shelley Robinson

The model looks at “who we are; what we do; how we do it ; and why we do it ” as a means of exam-ining our own practice. The products that have resulted have been transposed into a teacher and corresponding student framework that we post visibly in every classroom in the school. As well, we have created support documents that afford our teachers the opportunity to reflect on their own practice with these descriptors in mind, and for students to provide feedback around these learning constructs. We are excited to know all of the possibil it ies that a reflective framework, such as this, is affording our staff as a professional com-munity.

We are looking for parent volunteers to join the parent band committee. If you are interested in joining, we welcome you to attend our next meet-ing held on April 26, 2011 at 8:30 AM at CSS.

Please email: Carolynn Vodden at [email protected] for more information or to confirm your attendance.

Please click on the l ink below to view the document:http://www.calgaryscienceschool.com/publications/plans/2011%2003%2016%20Exemplary%20Teaching.pdf


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My Experience at Science FairBy Guru N. (4.3)

Science fair is a competition for students to show ex-periments in forms such as reports, trifolds, models and presentations. Science fair allows students in grade schools and high schools to compete in science activi-ties.

Science fair is judged on: Creativity:• Demonstrating originality in your topic choice• Demonstrating originality in each phase of project

development.

Skills:• Conducting an experiment, which is successful. • Collecting, documenting and presenting the data.• Possessing knowledge about project equipment.

Interview with Mr. ButterfieldWe do the science fair to show parents, judges and oth-er people what kids have been doing so far. Science fair is about working on inquiry and presentation skills.

The trifold is the most important part of the project, be-cause it shows the work that has been done and how it has been done. It’s important to have your procedure ,handy because if you are without it you won’t get marked on creativity. Creativity is the most important parts of sci-ence fair. Interview with Mrs. BarnesIn most schools the grade 8 and 9 students judge the sci-ence fair. After the judges are done they go to the home-room teacher for finalization of the marks. There are dif-ferent prizes such as diplomas and medals. Interview with a grade nine student An important thing about the science fair is you have to be enthusiastic about your topic. For example: if your fa-vorite topic is space but your Science Fair topic is some-thing you don’t like, you wouldn’t be so happy about your project.

Interview with Teagan grade 4Teagan’s project is on hair wools. It is an experimental project. She explained to me the procedure of her proj-ect. She was very excited for her project. It required five months of efforts to complete her project.

Science fair is to explore creativity and skills of all stu-dents. It increases the students’ knowledge of students in science. We use different procedures and materials for each project.

Grade 4 Science Fair Grade 4 Science Fair


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Titanium to Turbines at the Grade Four Science FairBy Daniel (6.2)

Originality was the focus at the Grade Four Science Fair on February 28th, 2011. Every trifold in the IAC from the tight corners, to the open spaces, showed a full un-derstanding and a sense of originality.

It is clear that every student reached their goal and not only managed to become an expert on their own topic, but they also put presentations together to educate others.

The Grade Four Science Fair was excellent. One CSS stu-dent stated that the science projects were “interesting and creative.” I am sure everyone who attended the sci-ence fair agreed.

The trifolds at the science fair came in many different sizes, but they all showed an equal amount of under-standing. While some of the grade 4’s looked a bit ner-vous at judging time, they should all know how amaz-ing their projects really were.

Beautiful BrainiacsBy Meagan 6.1

Who knew brainy could be so beautiful? On February 28, 2011, the grade 4’s held their annual Science Fair in the IAC. This Science Fair showcased the amazing projects the grade 4’s had worked so hard on this year. All 100 students were set up in the IAC or what we like to call during this time… the room of science. Many students were chatting with friends and look-ing around at other projects. These topics ranged from roses to hurricanes, bridges to hot chocolate to sports! These are just a few of the outstanding topics we saw. Brianna, a grade 4 participating in the Sci-ence Fair, explained that her favorite part by far was researching her topic. When asked if she was nervous about the judging, she replied confidently: “No!”

While many were very nervous about the judging and how difficult it would be, another young grade 4 girl Nadine, said that, “Science Fair was very fun. My favor-ite part was the judging.” It was a beautiful day for fearless kids with a passion for science.

Grade 4 Science Fair Grade 4 Science Fair


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WATER BOTTLE

MONSTER


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Why did we create this water bottle monster? All of us in the Outdoor and Environmental Education elective feel passionately about Canada’s massive use of water bottles. We feel that the distribution of water bottles needs to end. One of the best ways to create a movement is to educate others about

REASON FOR THE BEAST

this very important issue. We believe that there is no reason to use this many water bottles, as it is not even cleaner than tap water and tap water costs much less.

Creating so much waste with water bottles is harm-ful to the environment and impacts many different animals. Many water bottles end up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which affects much sea life. Also, plastic water bottles require a lot of oil to pro-duce them and that is a waste of our natural re-sources. Fuel is also used because the water bottles have to be transported to many factories before ar-riving at our stores.

And why are we destroying our environment again? Right, for our own convenience and to get so-called “cleaner” water, when tap water is proved to be bet-ter in taste tests. Our elective has decided to raise awareness about this atrocious issue by building a water bottle monster. End the madness and stop buying plastic water bottles.

Written by Danika V. (6.1) & Kirsten C. (6.2)


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the older lights that had been brought back from Nepal and how bad their condition was were. The programs created by HANDS benefits the students in Nepal by providing them with light and school supplies, and also allows both the students in Nepal and the students in Canada to learn about one another. For the students in Canada, this learning process really benefits them because they cover things that are in their curriculum in both Humanities and Science. In Humanities it covers Social Studies (global communities and Canadian communities) and in Science it teaches us about solar panels, circuits and lights for our electrical unit.

HANDSKaren Cuthbertson, mother of CSS 5.4 student Amanda, is the co-founder of HANDS (Helping Across Nepal Develop-ment Society) which is an organization that connects schools in Canada with small villages in Far West Nepal. An idea came up to let CSS grade 5 students build solar powered lights that were exact replicas to the ones that were sent to the region of Nepal which has very limited electricity. They brought their idea to 5.4 and got all the students involved in an activity, learning how these lights were made.

We were shown a slide show about how hard life is in devel-oping countries. We learned how helpful the solar powered lights that kids in another school had made and sent to Nepal were. These lights were given to students in remote villages that don’t have access to regular power. In these countries, light is very precious so the solar powered lights mean a lot to those people.

After the slide show, we went to the gym and created the so-lar powered lights, and tested them to see how much pow-er the solar panels created. We also did an activity on how the lights have changed from the first design to now, and we tried to find 10 differences between the two models. We also did an activity on how much more energy efficient LED lights are compared to regular lights. We looked at some of

HANDS& Star EcoWorks

Karen Cuthber tson and Nicole D unsdon of HANDS with Steve O ’Gorman and Trevor Wise of STAR EcoWork s ( The company that sup -pl ies the l ights that are created by the Grade 5 students and brought to Nepal)

Written By: Amanda C & Ben K (5.4)


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“From the solar light, I learned that LED lights work better than regular lights and are more energy ef-ficient. I found it interesting because I wanted to see what it is like in Asia” Ben C. 5.4

“I think the solar lights are genius because you can charge them with the sun. My favorite part about making the lights is that it is for a GREAT cause. Keep up the great work!” Victoria B. 5.4

“Making the Eco Lanterns was a great experience. Building them was amazing, and with all the wires and screws, it was certainly a challenge, but I en-joyed it. We learned as a class that these Lanterns were for Nepal since they don’t have available power.”Jon B. 5.4

“In this process I learned that making solar lights can help Nepal in a huge way. It can help them because most of the people have one tiny light in their whole house and their light travels from neighborhood to neighborhood. I really liked putting the actual solar lights together/making them work. Mine along with my friend had 22.00 volts” Kate L. 5.4

“Star EcoWorks is a company that cares. They build solar powered lights for people in Nepal. Building the lights and doing the tests was awesome.” Tate K. 5.4

“It was a great opportunity to learn about what Ne-pal needs and how we can help them, more outside of school. It was a great experience for me, it showed me even more of how much Nepal needs our help., It made me happy that we got the chance to help. I am looking forwards to helping them even more in the future.” Saadia A. 5.4

COMMENTS FROM 5.4:


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The Gr. 6 & 7 Beginning

Band at Kiwanis Music

Festival Fri-day, March 11.

MusicNotes


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Upcoming EventsIntro to Band Meeting

(in conjunction with Fort Steele meeting)April 14, 2011 6:00 PM

Band Committee MeetingApril 26, 2011 8:30 AM

Calgary Youth Hand-bell Festival Tuesday, April 19, 2011 9:30AM – 11:30AMSt. Sebastian School in the SE (Chaparral).

Grade 5 “Intro to Instruments”May 24, 2011

Alberta Band Association Provincial Festival of Bands

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 3PMRed Deer College

Instrument Rentals & Parent Info NightMay 25 & June 1, 2011

Fine Arts Extravaganza 2011Thursday, June 9, 2011, 7PM

CSS Gym

The Gr. 6&7 Beginning Band performed at the Kiwanis Music Festival Friday, March 11 and received a very good rating. Here is what the students & staff had to say:

Beginning Band Blows away Baffled BystandersBy Gr. 6 students Maitri P, Julia C and Brianna C

On March 11, the grades 6 and 7 Beginning Bands amazed their parents and all who attended the Kiwanis Music Festival with our magnificent performance at the Jubilee Auditorium. Along with showcasing their music and months of hard work the students went on tours of both the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).

After the SAIT and ACAD tours, we had lunch in the Jubi-lee Auditorium lobby. When everyone was finished, the volunteers took pictures of the band in our very profes-sional looking white top and black pants. We performed two pieces entitled “Penguin Promenade”, and “Mid-night Mission”. The adjudicators then provided com-mentary and gave us some very constructive feedback to improve our playing.

It was a great experience for all and a great way for us to learn to perform like professionals. We were rated a very good performance by the adjudicator. Afterwards, Mr. Bo-len was so nice that he presented all the beginning bands with a celebration afterwards of delicious cake. It is all part of an amazing experience that they will never forget.

“I was very impressed with how both bands performed and it was so impressive to see them perform in the Jubilee Auditorium and at the Kiwanis Festival which is one of the biggest music festivals of the world.” Mr. McKinnon


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It has been a busy and diverse last few months for the Physi-cal Education and Athletics Department. The Basketball teams have just concluded successful seasons which resulted in a League Championship for our Sr. Boys team coached by Mr. Kutcher. Congratulations gentlemen! Badminton has started up this past week and will continue after spring break until the end of April. Run Club continues to meet on Friday mornings at 7:45am and are looking forward to warmer weather after Spring Break.

Our Physical Education program has recently been successfully supplemented by volunteers and contacts from the commu-nity and our wonderful parent volunteer committee. Sincere thanks to the Calgary Broomball Association for spending the first few days in February working with our school to introduce and promote the sport of Broomball. If students are interested in their Junior Development program, parents are encouraged to contact either Tyler Deans or Darren Korf, contact informa-tion provided on the Calgary Broomball website (www.calgarybroomball.com).

and Athletics Update


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CSS at Sport Chek’s Mother’s Day Road Race! CSS has officially entered a team in this year’s May 8th Sport Chek Mother’s Day Run/Walk benefitting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Foothills Medi-cal Centre, and Special Care Nurseries at Rockyview General Hospital and Peter Lougheed Centre.

To enter as part of the CSS team, please use the link below, complete an entry form, select that you would like to enter as a Team Member, choose Calgary Science School and enter the password: 15045966

http://www.mdrunandwalk.com

Family, extended family and friends are all invited to join the CSS team, please feel free to pass on the information above. Hope to see you there!

Thanks also goes out to Connie Jakab of Mpact Dance (www.mpactdance.com) for teaching a hip hop and breakdancing unit, Suzanne Rea, longtime CSS parent, for teaching pilates, Nikki Jackson for introducing karate and Ben Spooner from Alive Fitness (www.alivepersonal-training.com) for putting students through some intense kickboxing drills.

CSS has also recently embarked on a new school-wide DPA initiative to increase use of our new spin bikes. In house teams, all students will participate in a virtual race across Canada, logging kilometres on the bikes as often as possible during DPA. Since kick-off, Yellow team is in the lead with over 316 km biked. Teams are currently be-ginning their ascent to Kamloops and some students are so keen to bike that they have started a Bike Club with their teachers, meeting at lunch or before school at 8:00 am. Keep up the good work kids.


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CSS Featured Artists

Stephen started drawing at a very young age. His family taught him the basics of drawing and perspective that he would use to advance his later art pieces. He has taken no professional art classes so he creates his work through improvised meth-ods of painting and drawing techniques. Stephen’s favourite art mediums include oils, water-colour, and pencil. His favourite artwork consist of a variety of artists l ike De Vinci and Tom Thomson. His latest work is an oil painting that features a dutch windmill in a field of tulips. Stephens was recently invited to create a se-ries of pencil drawings that were used to create the poster for the ATA’s Fine Arts Council Conference 2011. The poster featuring his work will be distributed to all schools in the province.

Stephen C.CSS Featured Artists CSS Featured Artists


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CSS Featured Artists

Stephen C.CSS Featured Artists CSS Featured Artists


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As surprising as it may seem, the painting that you see is Robert’s first one. Ever. Robert has always taken an interest in painting, but when he had attempted to do one in the past, it usually did not end up well. It is also his first time with oil, and he likes it better than acrylic paint because it does not dry as quickly - in fact very slowly. If you left the painting over the weekend, it would still be wet. Robert is really enjoying painting so far, es-pecially since he is doing a painting of a photographer that he considers his “goal” for photography. Robert has been into photography for about 3-4 years now and finally has his own camera. He was looking for inspiration when he discovered Michael Kenna’s work. He loved all of it and wanted to follow his style. Robert started paint-ing while trying to replicate Kenna’s work, but after painting a little, had thought of some changes and addi-tions, and soon (when he finishes) he believes that it will be different from the original.

As for the wire sculpture, there is not much of a history behind it. Robert was looking for a project idea for indepen-dent art and had heard about people doing wire sculpture trees and it turn-ing out to be interesting. The project turned out to be very time consuming and took up the whole first semester, Robert had not completely finished it because he had desperately wanted to do a painting and was not sure how much longer the wire sculpture would take to complete.

CSS Featured Artists CSS Featured Artists

Robert.S


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Brandon enjoys art and likes to paint both traditional landscapes and abstract art. Brandon also en-joys sculpture, more specifically working in wire to create figurative work. His favorite color is blue which often appears in the artwork he creates and he likes both cats and dogs. Brandon’s favorite subject in school is science and he plays hockey. His artistic influences include professional artists that work in similar medium, but for the most part he is inspired by the people around him that he cares about.

Brandon B.

CSS Featured Artists CSS Featured Artists


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6.3 Calgary Police Interpretive Center field trip 9:00 - 12:00 PM



6.4 Calgary Police Interpretive Center field trip12:00 - 3:00 PM

Southern History Tour Meeting Gr 4. 7:00 - 8:00pm

Band Meeting (for gr.5 parents)6:30 PM - gym.

Fort Steele parent info meeting Gr 5/7 7:00 PM - gym

Dialogue with Darrell 9:00 AM Staffroom

Peers on Patrol 1:00 -3:30 - Library

Class Photos Board Meeting 5:00 - 8:00 PM

Study & Organizational Skills workshop for pre registered Gr 7-9 parents

Gr 5 and Gr 9 vaccinations9:00 - 12:00 PM

Good FridayNo Classes

PD Planning DayNo Classes

Parent Band Committee Meeting 8:30 AM

Test Anxiety Workshop for pre-registered Gr 7-9 parents6:30 - 8:30

CSS Girl Effect Meeting 1:00 - 3:30 PM

Day 2b Day 3b Day 4b Day 5B Day1a

Day 2a DAY 3a DAY 4a DAY 5a

Day 1b Day 2b Day 3b Day 4b

APRIL 2011

Spring Break

Spring Break

Community Garden

Build Day


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6.4 Calgary Police Interpretive Center field trip12:00 - 3:00 PM

Southern History Tour Meeting Gr 4. 7:00 - 8:00pm

Band Meeting (for gr.5 parents)6:30 PM - gym.

Fort Steele parent info meeting Gr 5/7 7:00 PM - gym

Dialogue with Darrell 9:00 AM Staffroom

Peers on Patrol 1:00 -3:30 - Library

Class Photos Board Meeting 5:00 - 8:00 PM

Study & Organizational Skills workshop for pre registered Gr 7-9 parents

Gr 5 and Gr 9 vaccinations9:00 - 12:00 PM

Good FridayNo Classes

PD Planning DayNo Classes


Test Anxiety Workshop for pre-registered Gr 7-9 parents6:30 - 8:30

CSS Girl Effect Meeting 1:00 - 3:30 PM

Day 5b Day 1a Day 2a Day 3a Day 4a

Day 5a Day 1b Day 2b Day 3b Day 4b

Day 5b Day 1a Day 2a Day 3a

Day 4a DAY 5a DAY 1b DAY 2b

Day 3b Day4b

Grade 4 Testing (TIMSS & PIRLS)9:00 - 11:00 AM

School Council Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 Ft. Steele

5.3 / 7.1 Alternate Build Day for Community Garden

Ft. Steele 5.4 / 7.2


Gr. 4 History Tour #1

Gr. 4 History Tour #2

Band Gr. 7-9 Red Deer Field Trip

PAT Grade 6 ELA Part A 9:00 - 11:00 AM

PAT Grade 9 ELA Part A 9:00 - 11:00 AM

PD Day No Classes

Victoria DayNo Classes


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Day 1b Day 2b Day 3b Day 4b

MAY 2011


Grade 8Circle Tour

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