2010_03_Spectrum

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MARCH 2010 • ISSUE 7 • VOL . 7

THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL

Principal’s Message Registration: You should have all received a notice home about registration for 2010-2011.

Registration opens March 3rd. The process is again done on-line like it was last year, and fee payment is part of the on-line registration process. One of the differences this year is the fees. The increases to the enrichment and lunchroom fees will be used to cover off the deficit in enrichment spending and in addressing the actual cost of providing personnel for supervision during the eating portion of lunch times. We are pleased to be able to maintain the other fees at current levels, despite some fairly significant implications to our school based budget that resulted from the provincial budget that was released earlier in February. Please note that the dates for transportation have changed from the notice in the last Spectrum. The deadline for early bus registration is March 14.

The other event of significance for us in the next couple of weeks is report cards, which go out on Monday, March 8th. I encourage parents at any time to contact teachers if you have any questions or concerns, particularly heading into report cards. Teachers work with students continually so that there won’t be any negative surprises at report card time.

Negative surprises can be avoided when everyone, including parents, is aware that there is an issue and a plan is put in place to address the issue. Again, please ensure that you are in contact with your child’s teacher in advance of the report cards if you have any questions or concerns.

There is one other item I would like to mention here. We have been producing a very high quality monthly newsletter to keep people informed of school events.

In fact, I would go so far as to say we probably have the finest school newsletter in all of Alberta. Devel-

oping such a print newsletter each month comes at a high cost and so we have been talking about moving toward a digital newsletter for some time now. We are now ready to make that transition. The transition will entail both a print copy and access to a digital copy for the next couple of months so that families can become used to the digital version over time. Rather than just publishing a PDF document to our website we are hosting copies of the Spectrum on a website that specializes in hosting third party publications – www. issuu.com. The site provides an easier interface and a professional look in which to view PDF documents. We are excited about the next evolution of our newsletter to a digitized version and encourage all parents to check it out at http://issuu.com/calgaryscienceschool Sincerely, Darrell Lonsberry

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LQ WKLV LVVXH Principal’s Message..........................1 Making Sense of Inquiry................2 Volunteers Make a Difference.....3 Girl’s Leadership Guest Speaker.3 Facebook.....................................4 Lost & Found....................................5 Transportation..................................6 From Your School Nurse.................8 From Your Librarian........................9 Student Services & Counselling Update.........................9 Musical Notes................................10 Grade 6 Winter Camp...................12 Hearts for Haiti..............................13 CSS Science Fair.........................14 Roving Reporter............................16 CSS Wrestling...........................17 March Calendar.............................18 April Calendar................................19

Making Sense of Inquiry I still grapple with making sense of inquiry-based learning, and have discovered that thinking about inquiry in the following ways helps me to better understand it as an educator and a parent.

Inquiry is the process of seeking information through questioning. The levels of questioning can vary depending on the type of knowledge being sought after and the degree to which a student must understand. We seek to learn by asking “Why?” and this question lingers in the background of all essential understanding. From there we build in the “Where? What? When?

How?” which stems from a variety of research strategies and starting points.

These essential questions drive the program and are often generated and shared by both teachers and students. These questions are cognitive and metacognitive in nature:

How do I know?

Can I ever know that?

What is the evidence?

How did I arrive at that decision?

How can I improve my system of learning for the next inquiry?

The teacher’s role is to help guide and model the questioning process to find congruence with curricular outcomes without stifling the natural inquiry process that develops in the classroom. Deep levels of questioning and reflection need to be nurtured.

Inquiry involves finding and understanding useful and meaningful knowledge while finding natural resolutions to questions, some of which are not always definitively right or wrong. Inquiry allows students to construct meaning while still considering the recommendations of curriculum developers. We must consider the provincial curriculum while encouraging the “living” curriculum of everyday learning. We sometimes need a road map, but we want to be part of creating the journey with our students so that it includes many applicable and meaningful diversions.

We want to move from transmitting information to children to allowing students to transform information into significant and long-lasting knowledge.

This means that we collaboratively craft programs so that time is effectively used to teach and learn in constructive and authentic ways. Teachers and students need to be partners in learning.

The teacher encourages a variety of assessment processes that include peer, self, mentor and teacher feedback referencing the learning process. This type of assessment is an ongoing part of the learning at CSS and helps to gauge the successful process or uncover the obstacles impeding the learning process. The teachers and students work together to find evidence of real understanding.

Dr. Shelley Robinson 7+(

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Volunteers Make a Difference It’s hard to believe another month has gone by and we are writing our third article for the Spectrum. The committee is very excited about the launch of our new webpage scheduled for March. We unveiled it at the last school council meeting and received a lot of encouragement.

Through the webpage parents will be able to see what events are coming up or ongoing and what the volunteer opportunities are. There will be an area for comments/suggestions and a direct link to our email.

We will also post the minutes from our monthly meetings..

Currently we are recruiting volunteers for the following : Grade 4 Art Program

The volunteer schedule for March to May has been emailed to the grade 4 families. If you did not receive this email and would like to volunteer please contact us.

Drama Performance DVD’s

We are still looking for a parent(s) to help Ms Peebles edit/burn DVD copies of the school performances.

These DVD’s will be available for families to check out from the library.

Music Program Coordinator

Mr Bolen is looking for a music program coordinator (can be a shared position). This position will help recruit volunteers for the many activities the band/ music students are involved in. Some areas where help is needed: booking venues for performances, handling uniform orders, field trip chaperones/volunteers, instrument rentals. The hope for this position is not to take on all the work yourself but to coordinate and delegate the tasks to other volunteers.

The committee will be available to assist with this.

Art Work Bee, March

Date still to be determined. We need 15 volunteers to work on various items for the art program. We are also looking for someone who might be able to do some shopping at Ceramics Canada in the SE. Check the webpage for more information.

Girls’ Leadership Parent Volunteers are need for March to June to help the girls’ group activities.

If you would like to volunteer or would like more information please email us at: volunteers.css@gmail.com Volunteer Development Committee Denise, Rebecca and Liesa

Girls’ Leadership Guest Speakerse rs

The Girls’ Leadership Initiative is ready to roll out its spring activities!

What? The 1st Girls Leadership large group meeting!

When? Friday, March 5th, 2010: 1:45 PM to end of the day.

Where? CSS Gymnasium.

Who are the guest speakers? Dr. Lynn Bosetti from The University of Calgary, and Carol Huynh, an Olympic Gold Medalist in the 48 KG wrestling category in China in 2008.

Who can come? All the girls signed up for the Girls Leadership Initiative (large group).

Why? To continue with the Girls Leadership Initiative group and to kick off other activity groups for the Spring, and most importantly, to have fun!

Julia C. and Danika V (5.2) 7+(

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Facebook Social networking has become an extremely popular form of expression for adults and children over the years. As access to Internet technology has increased, so has our ability to communicate with others in ‘near time’. Sites like MySpace and Twitter have allowed users to interact and keep in touch with friends, family and even strangers. One of the most popular social networking sites on the Internet today is Facebook. We are seeing more and more of our CSS students utilizing this site at home and because of this, I want to talk a little about the Facebook phenomenon.

Facebook has been a popular way for people to showcase who they are or who they wish to become. Users can display pictures, share stories, join groups and link content that they feel best represents themselves.

Other members of this community can then search out people by their name, friends or group affiliations. This has been a popular way for individuals to share ideas and personal content, but we are finding that some students have had challenges properly interacting with peers and adults. The following are some social networking examples from Facebook that we have seen.

False representation – Facebook has a policy where students need to be 13 or older in order to access and create a profile. We have found younger students who have created a profile by lying about their age. Other students are legally able to create an account, but want to create a different persona for themselves. We have seen instances where grade 5-9 students have said that they were 16+. In both cases, students are telling falsehoods about themselves.

Cyber Bullying – We see many cases where students say things online that they would not be comfortable saying to someone in person. It is easy for someone to use inappropriate language, slander or bully someone with the words they type into a Facebook page.

Inappropriate Content – Pictures, graphics and videos are an integral part of Facebook. Student access to still and video cameras are now commonplace. Many individuals post content that seems funny at the time, but can be detrimental to that individual (or others) a day, week or even 10 years later. People fail to consider that once content is posted, they have lost control over its use. It can be saved or shared by anyone who can see the posting.

Time Management – Some individuals allow sites like Facebook to consume a large portion of the time they spend at home. Computer time is spent posting content, dialoging with Facebook members or reading information about others instead of completing homework assignments or finding other activities during down time.

The question becomes, What can parents do to protect and assist their child’s usage of social networking sites such as Facebook? Monitoring their usage of these sites is key. The following recommendations can help make this easier:

Have your child share their username and password for Facebook so that you have access to their account. This will allow you to see the friends they are interacting with, the individuals who have access to their account and the content being posted.

Create your own account and have your child add you as a friend. This will allow you to see when their page has been updated.

Restrict the laptop to specific areas of the house.

Areas of high traffic such as a kitchen or living room allow for periodic observations of what is on the screen.

Although monitoring works in most instances, we have seen cases where students need extra assistance to protect themselves from some of the dangers of social networking. In these situations, we are able to work with the family and student involved to come up with other solutions. This can involve configuring curfews or time restrictions on laptop usage.

The following sites can also be of assistance: http://www.netsmartz.org/index.aspx http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/en/home.asp http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm If you have any questions about this topic, or if I can provide assistance with your child’s usage of technology at the Calgary Science School, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Scott Petronech Educational Technologist

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/RVW )RXQG About every six weeks the lost and found is picked up from the school, washed and given to very appreciative charities around the city. This winter we have been able to supply winter coats, hats and mitts to Inn from the Cold, Mustard Seed and the CUPS program.

It never ceases to amaze how much there is each time. It averages about six, yes six, apple sized boxes, quite often more. What is truly amazing is the fact that very seldom does anyone come looking for anything after it has been removed from the building.

The items are gone through carefully and checked for labels that help to identify the owners. These few pieces are then taken to the office and returned to the student. However, the items are held for one week before being given to charity just in case someone realizes that a favorite item is missing.

There is so many more sad tales from the lost and found, they go on and on. The worst are the loners, those left behind while their mate/pair is somewhere else. But the hope is there that we will have less and less of these tales of woe.

So…on that note, below is a schedule of the upcoming dates that the lost and found will be picked up from the school. With the exception of Spring Break all items will be held for 1 week.

The items picked up before Spring Break will be held for 1 week after the break ends (as many of us go away during this time), this will give a 3 week period that items may still be recovered.

I would be thrilled to hear from anyone looking for items and have the items returned to the rightful owners. I can be reached at (403)2852023, or voddens@shaw.ca.

I look forward to reuniting kids and their possessions.

A few of the items lost had this to say:

Carolynn Vodden

Black and Pink girls high top Skechers (size 3): I was so excited the day my owner picked me from all the other shoes in the store. I had big dreams about the things we were going to do together, playing with our friends in the park, walking through the mall, maybe even playing a little bit of basketball. The dream ended when I was dumped in the lost and found.

Remaining pick up dates for the lost and found this school year (please note that the items are picked up before school on these dates).

March 26th May 20th June 25th

American Eagle jeans (size 29/30): I was purchased in a big name store. I thought that I had it made when I walked out with my owner.

Thoughts of rock climbing, sitting in class learning about Math and writing great stories, and going to movies, these were all dashed when I was left on the floor and then thrown into the lost and found.

Black Request hoodie (size 14) with silkscreen of a female on front: I loved keeping my owner warm on the cool days this winter and running to class with all our friends. I thought that I had it made. When I was placed in the lost and found I kept trying to claw my way to the top, hoping that someone would see me…… I lost all hope as the pile of others lost to their owners kept getting deeper.

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Transportation Fees for 2010 – 2011

The fees for next year were set at the Feb 16 board meeting. In recognition of the economic reality in Calgary, the fee increases we’ve seen over the past few years and the fees charged by other charter schools, the board voted to keep transportation fees at the same level as this year. There are some new features that will benefit parents as well as some to give us better control over our costs.

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Pay in two instalments. The first payment is due March 14 or with registration for those who register late. The second instalment is due Sept 12.

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3rd and subsequent siblings pay 25 %. We are no longer able to offer free (government grant only) bussing to third and subsequent siblings.

Fees for 2010 will be approximately 25% of the full fee and will be capped at 50% starting in 2011. We recognize the high cost to parents who have 3 or 4 students at CSS and wish to help them choose bussing as an option. At the same time, more than ever before, we face challenges in covering our costs.

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Non-Refundable Administration Fee. This fee recognizes the cost of processing the registration and the refund. These costs are incurred by CSS even before bus service begins next August and should be borne by the families withdrawing and not the body of registered families.

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Late Payment penalties. We are now able to offer the option to pay in two instalments to help parents manage the cost of CSS bussing. There is no increase in the fee to provide this as an option, as is usually done. CSS cannot incur the additional expense of following up on late payments.

Therefore there will be strict penalties for all who are late. If the first payment is missed, parents will automatically be considered to have registered

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late and be charged accordingly. If the second payment is missed, a $40 penalty will be added to any outstanding balance on Sept 13. As long as payments are made on time, there will be no additional cost to parents. The transportation committee will send out reminders before the due dates. Please respect the deadlines and enable us to continue to offer payment by instalments in the future.

No refunds for withdrawals after March 31, 2011. Our refund policy remains generous.

Many organizations offer no refund after the first half of service.

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Temporary Riders. To help CSS families deal with unexpected and temporary circumstances, non-registered students will be allowed to use an existing route and stop, provided there is space, for a period of not longer than 20 school days. The fee for this is $7.00/day. If service is needed for a longer period, registration is necessary. The registration fee would be reduced by any fees paid for daily service. We continue to offer free rides to non-registered students for the occasional social visit.

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New Students. New students offered spots at CSS after March 14, 2010 qualify for the regular fee only if they register for bussing at the time of registration.

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Fees for those registering after Sept 12, 2010 will be prorated.

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Refunds will be issued upon receiving written notice of withdrawal from bus service according to the following table. The withdrawal date is the date that notice is received. Any refund will be reduced by the outstanding balance including any late payment charge that applies.

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Alberta Provincial Budget and the Future of CSS Transportation The 2009 provincial budget originally included the fuel subsidy but this was cancelled in September. CSS Transportation is now responsible for the full cost of fuel regardless of how much it increases. We are charged for a fixed volume based on the price on the first day of each month. Thus the fuel costs vary and are hard to predict. Currently the cost of diesel fuel is rising and is now above the price used to set this year’s fees. Likely, the transportation deficit for 2009-2010 will be larger than anticipated.

at $810 to keep it as low as possible. This leaves the transportation committee with the challenge of making ends meet. Some of our options include:

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The 2010 provincial budget did not increase the per rider grant from the 2009 amount of $538 and did not reintroduce the fuel subsidy. Our Southland contract costs and our CSS salary costs will increase. Fuel con- • tinues to be unpredictable. We have kept the 2010 fee

Provincial Funding. The Association of Alberta Public Charter Schools (TAAPCS) has asked the province to consider funding charter school transportation on a distance basis. This was not announced in the 2010 budget but the Education Department will “be reviewing transportation funding to Francophone and charter school authorities.� We continue to hope that we will see increased provincial funding for 2011.

Fund Raising. We are considering generating additional income for transportation through fund-

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raising. The committee would welcome any parent to step forward and volunteer to organize this. As well, we would appreciate feedback from all parents regarding their opinion of fundraising. Email the committee at transportationatcss@gmail.com .

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Donations. CSS is a registered non-profit organization and can offer tax receipts for donations. We would be grateful for any donations in support of bussing and the rich school culture that benefits all. Please consider this, especially if your employer offers a matching program. Again, we would welcome assistance in organizing this from any parent with experience in this area.

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Service. The transportation committee is committed to providing parents with the best service possible. When registration is completed on March 14 we will be in a better position to evaluate service for next year. Look for a preliminary report in the next Spectrum. Please register before the deadline so that we have accurate information to include in our plans. At this time, we are not anticipating any major change in service. Except, of course, to make it better where we can.

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CSS Board of Director Review. A Subcommittee of the Board of Directors was struck in November, 2009. This committee has been responsible for reviewing all facets of the transportation system in an effort to plan for a sustainable bussing system in the future. The Committee will be setting a direction for the parent committee to follow in its efforts to plan routes and handle issues that arise.

This review will continue over the next few months and include a parent survey. Please take the time to participate in the survey. Bussing is only offered as a service to parents at CSS so we need to understand the level of service expected and the cost which parents are willing to bear. It has always been the parent committee’s mandate to provide the students and parents with the best service possible given the significant size of our school community.

Keep in touch! Feel free to send in comments regarding anything mentioned in this article. We can be reached by email at transportationatcss@gmail.com.

Margaret Mills CSS Transportation Committee Chair

From Your

School Nurse...

What type of MILK is best for a school-aged child?

You need to consider the child. Is he/she slender?

Does he/she get hungry at school before lunch time? Is he/she active? Is he/she growing rapidly?

If the answer to any of these questions is YES, you may want to stay with the whole or 2% milk- even until your child reaches adolescence!

How Now Brown Cow?

Chocolate milk is just as nutritious as white milk.

It has no more sugar than unsweetened orange juice. It contains as much caffeine as a decaffeinated coffee. Children think it is a treat! Only you need to know it’s good for them too!

Pass the cheese please!

Cheese is both nutritious and healthy for teeth!

Cheese contains calcium and phosphorous. Eating a piece of cheese after a meal or as a snack may actually prevent cavities. Make cheese part of a snack, or if you cannot brush after a meal, eat a piece of cheese to protect your smile.

Does breakfast improve your ability to learn?

By morning it may be at least eight or nine hours since you have had a meal. So refueling at breakfast will make you feel and perform better during the day. Breakfast helps to replenish blood glucose levels. Glucose is the main energy source for your brain, since the brain cannot store this fuel, it must be constantly “topped up”. Breakfast (as the name indicates: to break the fast) gives you an immediate source of glucose to be attentive and learn better.

“But I hate to eat first thing in the morning”!

No problem. Breakfast can be up to two or three hours after you wake up. Drink juice or milk for a start. Try milk or yogurt mixed with fruit in a blender. Bring cheese and crackers, a muffin and /or a piece of fruit with you. Put cereal in small container or a baggie and drink milk in between eating a handful of cereal. Whatever you choose, work it into your morning routine 7+(

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FRIENDS for LIFE

CSS Student Services & Counselling Update The Grade 4 & 5 students have had an enjoyable and successful first month participating in the FRIENDS for LIFE program. This initiative is a pilot project with Alberta Health Services, which has provided the teacher and training materials for this school year. FRIENDS For LIFE helps children cope with feelings of anger, worry and sadness by building resilience and self-esteem through teaching cognitive skills and emotional awareness. The FRIENDS program was developed in Australia and has been used in schools around the world to promote personal development concepts such as problem-solving, self-esteem, and social skills used to build positive relationships with peers and adults.

In the first four sessions the students have been learning about feelings and how to understand feelings in themselves and others. They have been participating in activities to develop social communication skills and having fun learning to step out of their “comfort zone” while working with their peers. There was a decent turnout for the first parent session that was held in January. If you missed the parent evening, the handout is available on the CSS Student Services & Counselling website located in the drop down menu on the school website. Thank you for supporting this wonderful program at home by talking about the topics with your child and completing the home activities.

Health Topics & Talks

I am pleased to be working with our school nurse, Nasreen Sunderani, to facilitate classroom presentations and discussion around issues that our Grade 6-9 students are facing in their everyday lives. We have identified monthly themes that will be accompanied by a classroom presentation and parent tips in the Spectrum for each month. The schedule is as follows:

March

May

Nutrition Focusing on healthy snack choices, effects of caffeine, and eating for active youth

Mental Health – Information for youth on self-esteem, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and self-harming behaviours.

April

June

Body Image – Using the Alberta Health Services Body Image Kit various topics will be discussed around developing a healthy body image for males and females.

Stress Reduction – How to reduce stress and test taking strategies Shannon Mitchel-Flek

Parent Resources: In The CSS Library Here’s a list of books now available to parents through our library: Positive Parenting Activating & Engaging Habits of Mind (Costa and Kallick, 2000) Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers (Neufeld and Mate, 2005) How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk (Faber and Mazlish, 2004) Just Because It’s Not Wrong Doesn’t Make It Right: From Toddlers to Teens,Teaching Kids How to Think and Act Ethically (Coloroso,2005) Kids Are Worth It! Giving your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline (Coloroso, 2001) Nurturing Resilience in Our Children (Brooks and Goldstein, 2002) Raising Happy Kids: Over 100 Tips for Parents and Teachers (Hartley-Brewer, 2004) Raising a Thinking Preteen: The “I Can Problem Solve” Program for 8-12-YearOlds (Shure, 2000) Gender Differences and Implications Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men (Sax, 2007) Boy Smarts: Mentoring Boys for Success at School (MacDonald, 2005) Boys and Girls Learn Differently! A Guide for Teachers and Parents (Gurian, 2001) Empowering Adolescent Girls: Examining the Present and Building Skills for the Future with the Go Grrrls Program (LeCroy and Daley, 2001) Even Hockey Players Read: Boys, Literacy and Learning (Booth, 2002) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls (Simmons, 2002) Odd Girl Speaks Out: Girls Write About Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy (Simmons, 2004)

The Purpose of Boys: Helping Our Sons Find Meaning, Significance, and Directions in Their Lives (Gurian, 2009) Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood (Pollack, 1999) Real Boys Workbook: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood (Pollack, 2001) The Wonder of Boys: What Parents, Mentors and Educators Can Do to Shape Boys Into Exceptional Men (Gurian, 1996) Social Issues The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Pre-school to High SchoolHow Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence (Coloroso, 2002) Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying (Dellagasa and Nixon, 2003) Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls (Simmons, 2002) Odd Girl Speaks Out: Girls Write About Bullies, Cliques, Popularity, and Jealousy (Simmons, 2004) The Purpose of Boys: Helping Our Sons Find Meaning, Significance, and Directions in Their Lives (Gurian, 2009) Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques,Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence (Wiseman, 2002) Parenting Teens The Everything Tween Book: A Parents Guide to Surviving the Turbulent Preteen Years (Sonna, 2003) Get Out of My Life: But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? (Wolf, 2002) How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk (Faber and Mazlish, 2005) The Primal Teen: What New Discoveries About the Teenage Brain Tells Us About Our Kids (Strauch, 2003)

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Musical Notes

We are heading into a busy month of learning, playing, recording, and bloging. Classes are using laptops to record guitar, band and music tech playing, which will be eventually posted onto Digital Portfolios. The Portfolios are finally up and running and in overdrive with much information, recordings, pictures, movies, and music being inserted and stored for future reference.

Coming shortly will be parent usernames and passwords to access their children’s work. Parents will then be asked to check the Digital Portfolios regularly and post constructive feedback and comments for their child’s fine art complimentary classes.

Grade 4 classes are learning basic guitar skills for strumming out tunes and picking melodic notes while singing along.

Grades 5-6 classes are using GarageBand lessons to help with their projects for tuning, chording, picking, and recording the guitar (both acoustic and electric) into iTunes for playback. Students are welcome to bring their own guitars into the music room providing there is permission from parents and bus drivers. Guitars must be stored and locked in the music room cabinets.

Our music tech students were treated to a tour of the local radio station MIX 97.7 FM. Here is what one student had to say: “On January 19, the last day of music tech, the music tech students took a field trip to the Mix 97.7 studio for a tour and a chance to see what really goes on inside a radio station studio. It started off with a chance to ask questions to the people that work there, such as the marketing agents and the studio technician. Once we had our fill of questions group 1 was sent on the tour (During the time for questions, group 2 was touring).

At the beginning of the tour we took a look at where they take bands in to record songs, at the moment a band was getting ready to record a song for them.

After that we went to the place where the employees pre-record commercials and such. As we turned the corner, we found the “Creativity Office”. This is where the writers make the commercials for various companies.

After we had our fill of asking questions, we headed to the server room. This is where everything on the radio is played, organized, and where the radio signal is sent out and received. In the old days there used to be a huge wall with thousands of wires connecting to many different places. From there we went to the work area there was just a collection of cubicles that people would work in if they need to get things done. At about this time the band named Mocking Shadows started to record their song, we went back to those windows and found there was a room where we could hear the song they were recording, the rest of the class seemed to like their music. When they were done recording we took a group picture and started to pack up for the bus ride home. On the way out they gave us complementary mugs for taking the tour. I think that after going to the station the class really got a feel on how music production and distribution really worked.”

Robert Gr. 8 A new semester has come, and new music tech students are studying their favorite music and analyzing the form. Using Magic GarageBand students will create their own version of their favorite music. Later this semester our music tech students will compose music for the dance elective students to dance along with and collectively create their own song and dance.

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Band

Band students have worked hard in January learning new music for their festival performances. Collaboration between to band programs in Calgary has brought students together with the Samuel W. Shaw (SWS) School Band students and the Calgary Science School band students. On February 6 our students joined the SWS band students with the Centennial High School Band students who were on hand to help with our first and second year players. We had a great morning learning more about playing our instruments before coming together and playing along side with the big kids. We have had two rehearsals together which has become a great event for our students to learn about other band programs and other musicians from other schools.

This year our bands will be performing in the Alberta International Band Festival hosted in Calgary every year. This festival hosts bands of every age including community and school bands as well as jazz bands. Our Gr. 7&8 band students performed February 20 at the University of Calgary in the Roza Theatre where they received an “EXCELLENT” rating by the adjudicators.

Grade 6 band students were asked to play along with the second year students, which is a tremendous honor for them. The pieces performed were: “Afterburn” & “The Planets”. The Grade 6 students will perform their festival pieces March 18 at Bishop Carroll High School at 1PM. The address of Bishop Carroll High School is: 4624 Richard Road S.W. Our students will play with the SWS 1st year band students. The pieces performed will be “Procession of the Cyborgs” & Procession of the Lords”.

The first annual Spring Concert will be held at the Centennial High School (5111 – 21 Street S.W. Calgary) Wednesday March 24 7PM. This Concert will be a joint concert with various high school band ensembles as well as our own bands here at CSS. Tuesday afterschool rehearsals will resume in March to prepare for this concert. Practice will start at 3:45 and end at 5PM. This will be the times for all band classes to get together and rehearse their music for the Spring Concert.

Mr. Bolen

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Grade 6 Winter Camp Our recent excursion to Ribbon Creek was both enjoyable and educational. In fact, it had a little bit of everything.

First off, the weather was spectacular. The skies were clear the entire trip and the temperature hovered around the freezing mark every day.

Students enjoyed a wide range of learning experiences centered on the environment including hikes, tree studies, snow shoeing, and the legendary Animal Game! A highlight of the camp this year was the construction of quinzhees. With the help of the adults and outdoor guides, students created a shelter made by hollowing out a pile of settled snow. This is in contrast to an igloo, which is made from blocks of hard snow. Students really enjoyed this activity. Other interesting snow-related activities included avalanche safety challenges including the use of avalanche transmitters. Students challenged each other’s survival skills by hiding transmitters in the snow while other students attempted to locate them. A wide variety of fun games were played in the great outdoors.

Lastly, the teacher and students of 6.4 would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank five special people who did everything in their power to enhance our Winter Camp experience. These amazing moms and dads worked tirelessly to provide us with delicious food and piping hot hot chocolate. They spent the entire time helping all of us feel at ease by making sure we were lovingly taken care of. So, a huge group thanks to (in no particular order), along with all of the other parents from the other groups: Keith Ingstrup (Aidan’s father) Constance Gemmell (Jaxen’s mother) Rob Pegg (Katie’s father and eater of all cookies) Shelley Keough (Maddy’s mother) Greg Soule (Avery’s father)

“One of the most memorable and enjoyable memory of winter camp was making the quinzhees. Not only that it was fun but it was a group effort. When we piled the snow I was on top to crush ice-chunks. The piling of snow was my favorite. Although that is my favorite memory there were so many more.

It was very enjoyable event I wish I could do it again.”

K.P (6.1) “My favorite memory was when we went to star gaze. It was so memorable because it gave us the time to actually relax and just look out in the sky and see what is really out there rather than just playing electronics.”

S.W (6.1) “My most memorable moment of Winter Camp is stepping out of the bus and seeing the hostel and scenery of the woods.

This was the most memorable moment to me because it felt fresh, smelling the trees. It also felt like “finally were here”.

That was a feeling I have long been waiting for.”

L.E (6.1)

We could not have offered this experience to the students without the five of you and we trust that you enjoyed your time at Winter Camp 2010 as much as we did!

Mr. Fawcett & the class of 6.4

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/LHY[Z for /HP[P The Hearts for Haiti fundraiser was organised to raise money for the people of Haiti to help them cope with the disaster that hit their country. The fundraiser was coordinated by a group of students representing each of the homeroom classes from across the school. On the afternoon of February 10th each homeroom hosted an activity that was educational but was also interactive and fun. Hearts were required to participate in an activity and each student was given two free hearts. Students purchased additional hearts and the money raised from the sale of hearts is going to to the relief effort in Haiti.

funds have been donated to The Canadian Red Cross. We would like to thank parents and students for supporting this initiative.

Way to go CSS! R.S & M.C (Hearts for Haiti Planning Committee)

Our school community raised $3237.52 through the Hearts for Haiti fundraiser! In addition to this the grade 8/9 Volunteerism elective also raised $1800 through their bake sale and movie in the gym fund raising initiatives bringing our CSS total to just over $ 5,000. We shall be contributing $2,500 to the Global Nomads, Students Rebuild project to help rebuild a school in Haiti and the remainder of the 7+(

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CSS Science Fair The 10TH Annual CSS School-wide Science Fair was another huge success this year. This event continually provides an excellent opportunity for our students to showcase their amazing breadth of scientific knowledge and outstanding critical thinking skills. There were close to 70 projects and 100 students representing grades 4 to 9. The best part of the Science Fair is seeing how much fun each and every student has as they explain, in great detail, their project to judges, teachers, parents and their fellow students. A huge thank-you and congratulations goes to all those involved and best of luck to the CSS Science Fair Team at the Calgary Youth Science Fair in March!

Jon Hoyt-Hallet

Grade 4 Results

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Grade 6 Results

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Grade 7 Results

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By: Nadia. A

The school science fair day began with the first round of judging. From 9:00 am to morning recess, the judges had the opportunity to view their designated projects.

The second round began after recess and continued until lunchthis time period was spent with another visit from the judges, who viewed the projects one last time. A portion of the afternoon was then used as an opportunity for public viewing, and students, staff members and parents made their rounds visiting projects. I enjoyed being in the school science fair and sharing my information with different people. I was excited when I sensed that I had taught someone something new, and this feeling allowed me to feel more inspired with my project. The day ended with the awards ceremony in front of the school.

Congratulations To All CSS Participants!

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Roving Reporter Hi, I am Rachel, the roving reporter at the 4.1 and 4.2 Science Quest Open House! Here is some of the news I found about some of the amazing projects.

L G: “Up Up and Away” This was a project on skyscrapers. Skyscrapers need to have a strong base so they do not collapse. If you are building a skyscraper and you are where earthquakes happen, you want a concrete base and metal trusses. To make a good skyscraper you need to have strong materials. Skyscrapers are called skyscrapers because they are so high into the sky that they almost scrape the sky.

J S: “Global Warming The Melting Ice Cube” J S chose this topic because it is a current topic. What are some of things we can do about global warming?

You could read more about the environment and be aware about what you can do to help, like save electricity, ride a bike, or just walk.

V B: “Getting to Know Dolphins!” A dolphin named Fuji lost her tail to disease, while another dolphin named Winter lost her fin in a crab trap. Both were rescued and both received artificial fins.

ries nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, and antibodies. Second question is… How are blood transfusions done? Blood transfusion is a process of transferring blood from one person to another intravenously (through veins).

A S: “Blood - The Lifeline of the Body” The first question is… What is blood? Blood is an essential fluid that travels around your body in circles. Blood car-

S T: “Sharks in Danger” People are killing the sharks for their meat and also using their fins to make soup.

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One practice is to catch the shark but only take the fins, and then the shark is put back into the water without its fins. When this is done this will cause the shark to drown because it cannot swim. They can then be threatened by great white sharks eating them.

M E: “Polar Bears Beware!” M E chose this because she was interested in learning about rising sea levels, about cold regions, and about polar bear population.

Global warming affects polar bears because it melts the ice, which is their habitat and their home. Where there were 4000 polar bears, there are about 1500. A polar bear grows from baby to cub to adult. They live with their mom for about 1-2 years and then leave to hunt for themselves. Global warming is affecting Antarctica’s ice sheets, where it is estimated to loose more than 36 cubic miles per year. The ice is expected to decrease 50% to 100% in the next 50 to 100 years!

V T: “Disastrous Light Pollution” V got her topic because Ms. Barnes talked about it at Camp Sweet and it interested her.

What is light pollution? Light pollution is excessive artificial light responsible for making it difficult to see the stars in the night sky.

L C: “Falling Gravity” Why does gravity pull objects down? Gravity pulls objects down because of the earth’s mass. The earth is a huge mass that attracts every object. The earth’s mass can pull objects of all sizes down. Newton realized that it was gravity that caused an apple to fall from a tree.

CSS Wrestling Season a Success The 2009/10 Wrestling Season has come to a close and it was another successful campaign.

The CSS Wrestlers competed at the Calgary Academy Tournament, Alberta Winter Games Trials at the U of C, and the Tom Baines Constrictor Classic. We also hosted our own Calgary Science School Invitational, a tri-school meet (with Calgary Arts and Ecole Rose,) and the CAAA League Championships on January 28. CSS wrestlers won many individual titles and medals at these CAAA finals, as well as the Overall Team Title for the second year in a row. The wrestlers showed dedication, commitment and were excellent ambassadors of the Calgary Science School throughout the season. Congratulations to all of the wrestlers on a terrific season!

Mr. Schmeichel 7+(

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March

1

DAY 3

2

DAY 4

3

DAY 5

GR 5 & GR 9 VACCINATIONS

7

8

DAY 2

TERM 2 REPORT CARDS GO HOME

9

DAY 3

SPRING PHOTO DAY

10

DAY 4

GORDON WELCH ASSEMBLY 2:11 PM

(TO BE CONFIRMED)

14

15

DAY 6

GR 4/5 SSRP 11:30 - 12:30 PM

21

22

28

29

DAY 5

16

DAY 1

17

DAY 2

4.1 SNOWSHOE TRIP

4.2 SNOWSHOE TRIP

BOARD MEETING 5:00 - 8:00 PM

PARENT INFO SESSION EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 7:00 PM LIBRARY

23

30

DAY 6

24

DAY 1

4

DAY 6

DAY 1

5

GR 4/5 SSRP 11:30 - 12:30 PM

GIRLS LEADERSHIP GUEST SPEAKERS 1:45 PM

11

12

DAY 5

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES 4:00 - 8:00 PM

18

DAY 3

4.3 SNOWSHOE TRIP

25

DAY 2

13

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES 8:00 - 1:00 PM

DAY 4

19

20

4.4 SNOWSHOE TRIP

DAY 3

26

31

Spring Break - School Closed

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April

1

2

3

Spring Break - School Closed 4

5

5

6

8

9

10

Spring Break - School Closed 11

12

DAY 4

13

DAY 5

14

DAY 6

15

DAY 1

16

DAY 2

17

PARENT SESSION #2 - FRIENDS FOR LIFE

18

19

DAY 3

20

DAY 4

BOARD MEETING 5 PM

25

26

DAY 1

27

DAY 2

21

DAY 5

SCHOOL MUSICAL

28

DAY 3

22

DAY 6

SCHOOL MUSICAL

29

FORT STEELE SETUP

DAY 4

23

24

PD DAY NO CLASSES

30

DAY 5

Fort Steele 5.4 & 7.2

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THE CALGARY SCIENCE SCHOOL MARCH 2010 • ISSUE 7 • VOL . 7

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