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FEBRUARY 2010 • ISSUE 6 • VOL . 7
THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL
Principal’s Message The recent earthquake in Haiti has stirred the spirit of many, many CSS students and teachers. As Canadians, Calgarians, and particularly as members of the CSS community, we have a tremendous reputation for humanitarianism. We step to the fore when we recognize others in dire need of our help. The students and staff at the school are planning a series of educationally based fundraising activities, all to take place in one afternoon in February, that will allow us to contribute as a school to the horrible tragedy that Haiti is living through. We are calling the fundraising campaign Hearts for Haiti. More details with follow in the coming days, but we hope to once again provide our students the opportunity to make a positive difference for those in the world who are truly in need. In this newsletter you will learnabout the retirement of our Superintendent, Gordon Welch, who is leaving the feild of education
after more than 40 years of service to students in Alberta and Atlantic Canada. Gordon’s wisdom, his perspective, his humour, and his no-nonsense approach to education will be greatly missed. On a personal note, I want to say how thankful I am to have enjoyed the mentorship of Gordon over the past few years. It is not the norm that a Principal has such close contact and association with their Superintendent, but here at CSS I have benefitted immensely from our close working relationship. I have been incredibly fortunate to spend much of my early career in school administration under Mr. Welch’s tutelage and I thank him for that gift. The last item I want to touch on in this Principal’s message is regarding fine arts. I have paid a lot of attention to the fine arts in previous newsletters and at council meetings. I want to clarify why so much attention has been paid to these subjects in a charter school that is not fine arts based. First, the arts are integral to a well-
rounded education. Not only are there cognitive benefits to having students study fine arts, but we hope to instill in our students an appreciation for the arts and the role they play in our society. We have undergone some restructuring in order to highlight the arts and provide more student choice; the successful implementation of those changes requires consistent and open communication. Additionally, there have been a number of changes proposed at the provincial level to how the arts are offered in schools. I encourage all parents to make yourselves aware of the proposed changes, as the implications might be substantial for all schools in Alberta. More information can be found at http:// education.alber ta.ca/teachers/ program/finear ts/program-updates.aspx. If you have any questions about the fine arts program at CSS, please contact me.
Sincerely, Darrell Lonsberry
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