7+(
JANUARY 2010 • ISSUE 5 • VOL . 7
THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL
Principal’s Message ‘Tis the season – a phrase that applies in so many ways to CSS at this time of the year. It is the season for celebration: We celebrate the concept of peace as a community and enjoy the renewal that two weeks off brings us. The theme of the Peace Festival this year is Community Heartbeat, which is such a fitting description of the importance of community for us at CSS. A heartbeat is the measure of the health of an organism and a strong heartbeat suggests good health. Ours is certainly a very strong heartbeat and the Peace Festival is a tangible example of that community spirit. It is the season for giving: Our students, families and staff have, once again, gone above and beyond in
their generosity. The grade nines raised over $500 as part of their Angels in the Night campaign, which bought 800 pair of socks for the Calgary Drop In Centre. We have been collecting winter clothing items for families in Afghanistan and, as of Wednesday morning, have over 400 coats, boxes of mitts and warm hats, and hundreds of boots and other clothing items. The donations of personal and toiletry items for Inn from the Cold have been coming in steadily and will certainly pick up over the last couple of days of the Peace Festival. It is the season for peace: Our teachers have been working with our students in their classes to better understand the concept of peace and tolerance. It is a seemingly simple concept to grasp, but, of course, in many parts of the world
the concept of peace is just that – a concept. Peace Festival activities allow students and teachers to focus on two fundamental prerequisites to peace - tolerance and empathy. It is the season for renewal: The work that our staff and students have undertaken over the course of the past four and a half months has been intense and substantial. The two-week break provides everyone a much needed and well-deserved opportunity to rest and renew energy levels. On behalf of the staff at the Calgary Science School I wish all of our CSS families the very best for the holiday season! Darrell Lonsberry
1