Rundle Academy Newsletter May 2016

Volume 13, Issue 4 May 3, 2016

ROCKIES RUMBLINGS M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R I N C I PA L As we approach the final 2 months of the school year we can bask in the warmth of the coming spring and summer weather, but also in all the amazing things that continue to happen around the Academy.

For this month's newsletter, I would like to highlight a few opportunities students and staff were afforded that help continue to make Rundle Academy such an amazing place to teach and learn at.

“WE MOVE MOUNTAINS”

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

TEDx Rundle Academy

The second installment of our TEDx production was a resounding success. The audience was treated to amazing set decorations, thoughtful activities and Travel Club - Cambodia Trip wonderful speaker topics aligned with the Mrs. Thompson, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Carr theme of this year’s event, “Energies”. and Mr. Waterbury, along with 28 high With student speakers ranging from school students, had an amazing oppor- grade 6 to grade 12, the event truly hightunity to travel to Cambodia during Spring lighted their amazing abilities and pasBreak. Students and staff spent 12 days sions. Perhaps one of the most signifiand 11 nights traveling through the cant outcomes of our TEDx event was Southeast Asian country taking in the how it brought together our school comsights and working closely with a group of munity in many wonderful ways. Thanks students in a local school. Overall, the to all the staff, students and parents for trip was a resounding success with many their involvement and support this year. students looking forward to the 2017 travel club history trip. If you would like to read more about the amazing adventure our students had you can access their travel blog at: http:// rockiesincambodia2016.blogspot.ca/.

Message from the Principal

1

Society News Counsellor’s Notes

2

Grade 9 Celebration Grad 12 Grad

3

Grade 12 Grad Cont’d

4

Fine Arts - Drama

5

In Their Own Words Makers Club

6

Kids Helping Kids

7

Glenbow Museum Jump Rope for Heart

8

Science 7 Zoo Field Trip Greenhouse Project

9

Cambodia Trip

10

Cambodia Trip Cont’d

11

All-Star Basketball

12

Junior High Badminton Senior High Badminton

13

Halifax Teacher Trip

Cheerleading Team

14

Track and Field

15

Activities for the Month

16

Drama Production - Emma Poster

17

A group of four of our teachers had tremendous professional development in April when they were able to visit five private schools in the Halifax area. Our staff toured Halifax Grammar School, Landmark East, Bridgeway Academy, Armbrae Academy and Canada’s oldest private school, founded in 1788, King’s Edgehill School. Each school offered our teachers the opportunity to compare and contrast resources, instruction and ways to support students and their learning.

We look forward to seeing some of the ideas and knowledge gained from this trip further support our students at the Acad-

RUNDLE ACADEMY 4330 16 Street SW Calgary, AB T2T 4H9 Ph: 250-2965 / Fax: 250-2914

emy. A very large thank you to the Rundle Academy Parent Advisory Council for their support of this trip and continued support of the professional development of our staff.

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SOCIETY NEWS

Society Office Hours Monday to Thursday - 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Friday - 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Closed Daily - 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M. Top Marks Uniforms to be ordered through Top Marks at www.topmarks.ca or call their customer service department at 1-800-667-7105.

Top Marks will be at the Society Office May 9-12, 2016 - 3:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Try on and order uniforms for the 2016-2017 school year.

COUNSELLOR’S NOTES There are many social, emotional, and physical benefits to helping others. Volunteering is an excellent way to feel better, build relationships, and give back.

Volunteering Helps Develop Social Skills Dedicating your time as a volunteer helps you make new friends, expands your network, and boosts your social skills. Volunteering also strengthens your ties to the community and broadens your support network, exposing you to people with common interests, neighbourhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.

Reducing the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key risk factor for depression is social isolation. Volunteering keeps you in regular contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system, which in turn protects you against stress and depression when you’re going through challenging times.

How to Get Started For ideas about and access to volunteer opportunities in and around Calgary, visit the following website: http://www.propellus.org

While some people are naturally outgoing, others are shy and have a hard time meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice and develop your social skills, since you are meeting regularly with a group of people with common interests. Once you have momentum, it is easier to branch out and make more friends.

Volunteering Helps with Physical and Mental Wellness Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your selfconfidence and self-esteem. You are doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment. Your role as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity. And the better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.

Please feel free to contact me at 250-2965 (ext. 103) or staniloff@rundle.ab.ca if you have questions or concerns regarding this or any other topic.

Ms. Amie Staniloff, School Counsellor

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GRADE 9 CELEBRATION The Grade 9 Celebration for students and their families will be held on Tuesday, May 3rd at the Al Azhar Shrine Centre.

This is a beautiful location by the river in Northwest Calgary and the event is a chance for students and their families to celebrate their junior high achievements and say farewell to the last of their junior high years. The evening begins with a buffet-style dinner and is followed by a short program with brief speeches given by the administration, teachers and representatives of the grade 9 class. There will be a video featuring each student and we will end the evening with a group picture. Parents of grade 9 students, please note that email invitations have already been sent out. Please RSVP via email to delcastilho@rundle.ab.ca by Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Dinner tickets must be purchased for the grade 9 student and other guests that attend.

GRADE 12 GRAD This year’s grade 12 graduation ceremony will take place on the morning of Friday, May 27, 2016. This is a very special event where we are able to celebrate with our graduates as they walk the stage, a tradition since our first graduating class. We are excited to have our ceremony held at a new facility this year, The Bella Concert Hall, located in Mount Royal University. You will find all of the information and how this affects your child below. 

All Rundle Academy students will be in attendance at the Grade 12 Graduation Ceremony, which will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 27, 2016.

Students who do not normally take the school bus will need to make arrangements to be picked up from the concert hall by 1:00 p.m.

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Students who take public transit will need to research other routes.

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Full dress uniform (blazer) is required.

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Busses will take students and teachers to the Bella Concert Hall at Mount Royal University for the ceremony. Students will not have a lunch hour this day. The busses will leave promptly at 11:00 a.m.

High school students who choose to drive themselves are welcome to do so, but if they plan on taking someone with them, a note will be required from BOTH parents (driver and passenger).

All Academy Students 

Grade 12 Students

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Once the busses arrive at the concert hall, teachers will show students to their seats.

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Must be at The Bella Concert Hall by 9:00 a.m. to get into their robes and do a run-through.

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The ceremony should be complete at approximately 1:00 p.m.

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Grade 12 gentlemen need to wear dress pants and a collared shirt and tie.

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For students who take the school bus, their regular busses have been directed to pick them up in front of The Bella Concert Hall at 1:00 p.m.

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Grade 12 ladies may wear a dress, an open neck or collared shirt and skirt or pants.

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GRADE 12 GRAD CONT’D

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FINE ARTS - DRAMA Performing Arts - Emma! A Pop Musical Tickets are now on sale for our spring show! Tickets can be reserved at bit.ly/academytix. “Emma, a senior at Highbury Prep, is certain she knows what's best for her classmates' love lives, and is determined to find the perfect boyfriend for shy sophomore Harriet by the end of the school year. But will Emma's relentless matchmaking get in the way of finding her own happiness? Based on Jane Austen's classic novel, this sparkling new musical features hit songs of legendary girl groups and iconic female singers from The Supremes to Katy Perry. Girl power has never sounded so good!"

ELA 20 Shakespeare Field Trip Macbeth On April 7th, both senior high English 20 classes were treated to a performance by Calgary's own Shakespeare Company of the infamous 'Scottish Play' performed at the Studio at Vertigo Theatre.

Ambitious

Macbeth, conniving Lady Macbeth, and the mysterious witches jumped off the page before our very eyes.

Highlights included a very creative and creepy interpretation of the supernatural scenes, as well as an exciting sword fight between Macbeth and Macduff.

Drama 30 Field Trip - Alberta Theatre Projects The Drama 30 class had a unique opportunity to tour the Martha Cohen Theatre at Arts Commons to see the ins and outs of putting on a professional theatre production. We were able to see how trap doors in the stage floor work from below, get lost in the maze-like passages that connect the backstages of the Arts Commons, see the set and prop production spaces, observe costumers in action, and walk through the lighting setup (not recommended for those with a fear of heights). We even came across some local actors who were auditioning for this summer's Shakespeare by the Bow! The experience was eye-opening, and interesting to be sure.

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS How Our Alumni Continue to Move Mountains Alumnus Brad Fraser ‘05 After high school, I completed my Construction Engineering Technology Diploma at NAIT in 2007. I then worked away from home in the oil industry in Fort McMurray. In 2013, I started my own company, Fraser's Energy Services LTD. I loved that Rundle Academy offered smaller class sizes and gave everyone the opportunity to learn from and to get to know the teachers on a personal level. It felt like family and everyone knew everybody. We were all there for the same reason: to graduate and to help one another succeed. It didn’t matter what the reason was for being there; we all accepted everyone for who they were.

The teachers were amazing and helpful. It isn’t like a regular school; Rundle Academy provided us with a family-like community.

Words of wisdom: follow your dream, and never give up. You will run into many challenges, but learn from them and move on. They will make you a stronger person. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get to your dream.

You will get there when the time is right!

MAKERS CLUB The maker spirit continues to thrive this month, with a small but dedicated contingent of makers who are learning to quilt. A special thanks to our Parent Advisory Council and parents who donated their sewing machines to make this adventure possible. After a short time sewing, we have witnessed great progress in the skills of our young makers.

Students will soon be able to show off their first project: a quilted checker board. Stay tuned for updates!

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KIDS HELPING KIDS Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids

Families and Schools Together

On March 16th, Ms. Kapitza accompanied five of our junior and senior high students from Kids Helping Kids to volunteer their time to make sandwiches and prepare lunches for many Calgary students in-need. In total the group helped feed 873 students. Way to go, Kids Helping Kids! We look forward to continuing this relationship with BB4CK in the Fall.

On Thursday, April 14th, a group of students and teachers began an awesome volunteer opportunity through a program called "Families and Schools Together".

Through the program, the volunteers aim to facilitate having the families build positive relationships with the schools, within their families, and with other families with which the programs run. The tasks range from prepping the meal that the families share to playing with kids of all ages during free time. Our students represented Rundle Academy so well and made us very proud! With 7 weeks to go, we are looking forward to continuing to build relationships, and be kinder than necessary.

Sandwich 4 a Story Weekly sandwich-making sessions continue to be underway! With the help of a wide variety of students from grades 4 to 12, we have continued to help Sam Sawchuck (who did a fantastic job at TEDx!) and his team to build empathy through familiarity.

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GLENBOW MUSEUM On April 11, 2016, the students in grades four and five went on a field trip to explore the Glenbow Museum as part of the Social Studies curriculum. Students learned about how the buffalo provided for the needs of the

JUMP ROPE

FOR

First Nations living on the plains.

This interactive experience also provided the students with a glimpse into the importance of the fur trade in establishing Canada as a country. Students especially enjoyed the hands-

on activities and visual displays which helped to demonstrate what living in early Canada would have been like and to reinforce concepts learned in class.

HEART

Elementary students were fortunate to meet Calgary Stampeder offensive linemen, Spencer Wilson (#50), as part of the annual kickoff to the Jump Rope for Heart Campaign. This event seeks to bring awareness to the importance of daily physical activity and staying healthy.

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SCIENCE 7 ZOO FIELD TRIP This April 14th students in grade 7 took their annual trip to the Calgary Zoo. The grade 7 science classes have started a unit on Plants for Food and Fibre. Students were able to have a self guided tour in the morning which focused on the Canadian Wilds as it highlighted many animals discussed in our Interactions and Ecosystems unit. In the afternoon students completed the program "Hungry, Naked, Cold" which detailed where humans could be without plants. We had an awesome day and the kids represented Rundle Academy well!

GREENHOUSE PROJECT The Grade 7 students have been working hard germinating seeds for the school Greenhouse project as a part of their current Science unit - "Plants for Food and Fibre".

This year, the students will be growing crops such as herbs, beets, kale and lettuce. They are learning about the process of germination and will be studying plant structures and adaptations as their crops begin to grow. We have been fortunate to experience such a warm spring so far and we are expecting a very successful growing season!

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CAMBODIA TRIP On March 18, 2016 a group of 28 high school students and 4 teachers embarked on a trip of a lifetime to Cambodia. Students spent nearly two weeks over spring break exploring a new culture, completing service work and challenging themselves think differently about the world around them. The group arrived in Phnom Penh and began their trip in the bustling capital by exploring the city on cyclos and investigating the Central Market. They also learned about the most significant event in Cambodia’s recent history ‐ the genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge ‐ by visiting the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, a genocide museum.

From here, students traveled to Prek Reusey Primary School to begin their service project.

Throughout the school year students fundraised to

help renovate 4 classrooms (new concrete, paint and fixtures), to build a two-stall bathroom block and provide much needed school supplies.

Most of the work had been completed by the time students arrived by local contractors, so the group put the finishing touches on painting and concrete spreading. The best part of the experience was getting to know the elementary school children while playing games and teaching English in their classrooms.

After 5 days spent in volunteer work, students embarked on a variety of cultural activities in Phnom Penh ‐ traditional Khmer cooking class, which included a trip to the local market, bike ride through the local countryside and some relaxation along the riverfront. The last stop on the trip was a short flight away in Siem Reap

where students went exploring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and the floating Vietnamese village.

There was general sense of awe in Siem Reap as the complexity and richness of Cambodian culture became very apparent.

This trip is part of the high school travel program that sees students travel every spring break to locations around the world. Next year's trip will be to Europe to discover World War I and II battlefields and memorials, European Union and general European history. For students and parents interested in learning more about Rundle Travel, including the 2017 trip, there will be an information meeting on Wednesday May 25 at 7:00pm in the Assembly Hall.

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CAMBODIA TRIP CONT’D

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A L L -S TA R B A S K E T B A L L The Independent Schools Athletic Association (ISAA) held their annual High School Basketball All-Star game recently here at Rundle Academy. It was a fantastically successful event that showed off the talent and skill of the top High School basketball players in the ISAA. Rundle Academy's own Kennedy Huntley, Alycia Udy, Madison

Shields-Knutson and Alexi Bishoff were selected to represent our school in the female All-Star game. After that, Cal Tecklenburg, Max de Paiva, and Payton Budd took the court, and represented the Academy in fine fashion in the male All-Star game. Congratulations to you all on a successful season!

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JUNIOR HIGH BADMINTON Congratulations to all of the members of the Junior High Badminton team on a short but successful season. We participated in two tournaments and many of our players represented the team at the CISAA JH Badminton Championships. The coaches would like to give a special mention to Taya and Nicole (Grade 9 Girls Doubles), Leah and Isabella (Grade 8 Girls Doubles) and Anthony (Grade 9 Boys Singles) for their positive attitudes and determination throughout the season. We would also like to recognize Miles and Ben (Grade 9 Boys Doubles), Juan and Antonio (Grade 7 Boys Doubles), and Marco (Grade 7 Boys Singles) for their hard work and formidable skills. Special thanks to Logan R for showing up to the gym every morning at 6:45 a.m. to help set up and for working hard every practice. Thank you all for a great season!

Coaches: Ms. Henderson, Mr. Maitland, Ms. Staniloff, Mrs. Whiting

SENIOR HIGH BADMINTON Rundle Academy Senior High students participated in the annual CISAA High School Badminton Tournament. The Students looked sharp in their custom designed badminton jerseys. The competition was fierce as badminton has grown in popularity over the years with schools sending more teams than ever. A special shout out to Lara Smith and Sneh Yadav for winning Bronze in the Intermediate Girls Doubles category. Thank you to all the grade 12 veterans whose badminton careers at the Academy have come to an end. A big thanks and round of applause to Mr. Anderson for his coaching abilities, and his time and effort.

Coach: Mr. Lawson

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CHEERLEADING TEAM The Rundle Cheerleaders finished off their phenomenal season by receiving a beautiful set of uniforms and heading to Edmonton for the 2016 ASAA Cheerleading Provincials. They did an amazing job on both days of this 2-day competition, finishing the season with a flawless routine and zero deductions from the judges!

To top it all off, the Rundle Cheerleaders won the Novice Award, an award given to the top scoring team that is attending provincials for the first or second time in a decade. Way to go Rockies! Stay tuned early next fall for our season to start back up again – we are always looking for more athletes to join, so make sure to come and try it out!

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TRACK

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AND

FIELD On Friday, April 29, 2016, all of Rundle Academy participated in our annual Track and Field Day at Glenmore Athletic Park. All students and teachers were involved in this event and the day went off without a hitch. The weather cooperated and the students were dressed for the occasion! The event started with an 800m race open to students in all divisions. We then broke off into groups based on grade level and spent the rest of the morning participating in other events, including discus, shot-put, long jump, high jump, and the 100m sprints. Lunch time saw students and staff enjoying a delicious hot dog lunch, prepared by Ms. Scott, Mr. Lawson and Mrs. Kopp, and graciously supplied by the PAC. The afternoon ended with the always entertaining Staff versus Students 4x100m relays!

The Elementary relays were very entertaining, and students bested the staff in both the Junior High and the Senior High School races.

Everyone involved in the competition had a good strong showing. Thank you to all who helped out, and we look forward to another great Track and Field Day again next year!

Mr. Waterbury

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ACTIVITIES

FOR

MAY

May 2

Music Monday

May 3

Moves Mountains Breakfast Regular Classes begin at 10:30 A.M

May 10-13

Spring Drama Production "Emma" 7:00 P.M. in the Fine Arts Centre

May 10

Grade 9 English Language Arts Part A PAT

May 12

Grade 6 English Language Arts Part A PAT

May 17

ISAA Senior High Track and Field Meet

May 18

Grade 11 Post Secondary Information Presentation 7:00 P.M. in the Assembly Hall

May 20

Professional Development Day (No Classes)

May 23

Victoria Day (No School)

May 25

ISAA Junior High Track and Field Meet

May 26

Dress Down Day

May 27

Grade 12 Graduation (Formal Uniform for all Students)

May 2

Alumni Basketball Event 10:00 A.M. at Rundle College Junior/Senior High

May 31

Grade 9 Celebration 6:30 P.M. at the Al Azhar Shrine Centre

REMINDER TO ALL PARENTS Our Classroom Moodle Pages and our Division Portals sites are accessible from our homepage (www.rundleacademy.ab.ca).

Look for morning announcements posted on our Moodle Pages.

Follow us on Twitter @rundleacademy for more information and upcoming events.

Rundle Academy Performing Arts presents

For tickets, go to: bit.ly/academytix

By Eric Price

Fine Arts Centre May 10-13, 2016

Doors at 6:30 Show at 7:00

Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com)