Principal’s Message

January 2015January 2015

Special points of

interest:

Semester 2 starts Feb. 2

Winter Break—Feb. 16 to

Feb. 20—No School!

New Gym Grand Opening,

Feb. 25, 2:00—3:00 pm

Band Dessert Concert,

March 2, 7:00 pm

Inside this issue:

Sr. Basketball Update 2

Grade 9 Basketball

Update 3

Parenting Tips 5

Leadership Updates 6

Band Notes 7

News Clips 8

Superintendent’s Message 10

Innisfail High School

Leading the Way As we approach the end of first semester, it’s always fun to look back at the amazing amount of progress we’ve made in the school this year. At the same time, we are excited about the upcoming se-mester and some interesting things we have planned. This year has been a banner year for IHS in many ways. We’ve seen a terrific decrease in suspensions (75% in first semester) and discipline referrals (down by 66%). At the same time, we are noticing an impressive increase in the number of students passing classes. In a recent report, we noticed that we have 248 of our students who have gener-ated 656 honours marks (80% or above) in a class. This is fantastic, compared to only 58 students with a failing mark in a course (for a total of 71 failing marks, less than 50%). That’s a tremendous improvement, and inspiring to see the results of the hard work that we have been doing to date. In order to increase the number of contact times be-tween our students and teachers for “double blocks”, we went to a modified schedule for the last two weeks before exams. Students in core classes (English, Math, the Sci-ences, and Social Studies) get a double block every se-cond day, rather than just once a week. This will allow teachers to get more opportunities for concerted review time helping prepare students for exams. The difference in time results in only a 24 minute difference in teaching time, but 6X as many extended periods for increased exam preparation. At the same time, students in complementary courses (like PE, shop, home economics, martial arts, sports medicine, leadership, etc.) have been getting con-centrated time for completing assignments, studying, etc. We have ironed out a few bugs in our process over the last 3 days and have been very pleased with the diligence and hard work being demonstrated in our tutorials. I’m certain that we will see a marked increase in student success in our exam results. IHS will be putting in an application to Chinook’s Edge School Division and Alberta Education to be part of the High School Redesign Project in the 2015-2016 school year. If you are interested in being part of our process (both parents or students), please let us know. We will be running some visits to Stettler and Olds to see the changes in their high schools as a result of this program.

Many improvements have been made over the past 3.5 years, and more big things are coming. Stay tuned! Construction Chit Chat! The new gym is finished, and we are busy planning the grand opening. It is an amazing facility, and we have been using it for some home games for both volleyball and bas-ketball. We are looking forward to sharing it with the com-munity, so we invite you to come by and take a peak! Alberta Education Surveys Are Coming! As an annual check-up on the education system, the Accountability Pillar provides an opportunity for Alberta Education and school authorities to ensure that we’re equipping students for success. The Accountability Pillar uses a set of 16 indicators con-sisting of surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of quality; student outcomes such as drop-out and high school completion rates; and provincial as-sessments of student learning. From January to the end of February, Alberta Education will be conducting the annual Accountability Pillar Survey. In January, parents of students in Grade 10 will receive a survey from Alberta Education. In February, students in Grade 10 and all teachers will be completing their surveys online at school. All surveys are anonymous and ask questions about experiences with the school. In addition to English and French, the parent survey is available in Chinese, Punjabi, Arabic, Blackfoot, Cree, Korean, Spanish and Tagalog. Survey results will be available to school authorities in May 2012, and will be reported publicly as part of their 3-Year Education Plans and Annual Education Results Reports. Your participation in the survey helps provide important information on the quality of education your child is receiv-ing, so we encourage you to return your survey promptly. Please help us determine what is working and what isn’t working, so that we can make École Innisfail High School into the very best school that it can be. Sincerely, Wayne Pineau Principal

Thought of the Week The only person who is educated is the one who

has learned how to learn and change.

Carl Rogers

Page 2 Innisfail High School

Lay-up sequence photos courtesy of Innisfail Province

Sr. Basketball Update Both the Sr. Boys and Sr. Girls teams are doing

extremely well this season. The boys have won most of their games beating Stettler, Ponoka and Notre Dame.

They have won one and lost one against Lindsay Thurber.

The girls are doing great going

undefeated so far this season!

Well done teams!

Page 3 January 2015

Mr. Pineau’s

Martial Arts class

practices a submission

hold while learning

the fine art of

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Grade 9 Girls Basketball Update The Grade 9 Girls are having a lot of fun and

improving every game! Way to go girls!

Page 4 Innisfail High School

INNISFAIL HIGH SCHOOL PHYS ED!INNISFAIL HIGH SCHOOL PHYS ED!INNISFAIL HIGH SCHOOL PHYS ED!

Page 5 January 2015

Encouraging Words

Do you ever feel like the only words that come out of your mouth are direct orders? “Empty the trash, be nice to

your sister, quit jumping on the couch!!!” A big part of preventing bad behavior, however, is to provide encouraging

words to reinforce good behavior when you see it.

And a quick “good job” doesn’t cut it—in fact, phrases like “good boy,” “you’re so smart!” and “you’re the best on

your team!” are not considered encouraging words. Instead of focusing on positive internal qualities, they put the

emphasis on outward praise, which does nothing to promote good behavior in the future.

True encouraging words focus on the deed, not the doer. It motivates a child from the inside to demonstrate similar

positive behavior in the future, and to value things like hard work, improvement, teamwork and perseverance.

List of Encouraging Words and Phrases

Encouraging words can be as simple as, “Thanks for your help!” or “You really worked hard!” Here are a few more

examples to try around your house:

Thank you for your help! You should be proud of yourself!

Look at your improvement! That “A” reflects a lot of hard work!

You worked really hard to get this room clean! I really feel like a team when we work like this!

What do you think about it? You seem to really enjoy science.

Your hard work paid off! That’s a tough one, but you’ll figure it out.

Look how far you’ve come! I trust your judgment.

I love being with you. You really put a smile on her face with your kind words!

That’s coming along nicely! You really worked it out!

That’s a very good observation. Thank you for your cooperation.

I see a very thorough job! That’s what we call perseverance!

I can tell you really care. You make it look easy!

You’ve really got the hang of it! I can tell you spent a lot of time thinking this through.

Thanks for helping set the table, that made a big difference.

The time you’re putting into your homework is really paying off.

I noticed you were really patient with your little brother.

The best part about using encouraging words with your kids is the glow of happiness you’ll see on their faces. After

all, “Your hard work is really paying off!” says you noticed their work, while, “You’re so smart,” might be hard to live

up to next time. Try a few of these encouraging words with your kids, and watch their behavior—and effort—improve.

Page 6 Innisfail High School

Mackenzie Epp invited Tom Arts (and his partner

Rigs) to come in and speak to CALM classes

about his career as a dog handler.

Leadership

lends a hand

at the

Mustard

Seed in

Calgary!

Saying

goodbye

to our new

friends,

Suzu and

Mr. Jenkinson!

Page 7 January 2015

Our Jazz bands were a part of Chinook’s Edge School Division Jazzfest workshop on November 26. This involved preparing and performing music for an adjudicator, to get ideas for things we can work on, and participating in instrument specific work-shops put on by members of the Calgary Jazz Orchestra. This is an annual work-shop provided free of charge by our awesome Band Parent’s Association and your assistance through

fundraising efforts. It is also partially funded through Chinook’s Edge School Division and the Didsbury Rotary Club. Our annual Christmas concert was anoth-er great success! It was held in the Middle School Gym on December 5 at 2pm. Many parents took time off to see the perfor-mance and all the students from the Mid-dle School were in attendance. We per-

formed selections such as Moves Like San-ta and Angelic Celebrations. Thank you to all the students who performed and par-ents that attended!

Upcoming events: Our next bottle drive will be

held on February 7. Look for us in your area.

Band Notes

Dessert Concert

Monday, March 2 at 7 pm. Tickets will be $10

and will include coffee and delicious desserts as well as 2 hours of awesome

musical selections!

Page 8 Innisfail High School

Did you know…

Important documents with your

child’s personal information may

be going home throughout the

year through Alert Solutions.

This may include school fee

invoices, report cards, etc.

When emailed out, the file will be

password protected and you will

need your child’s ASN/Student ID

Number to access this document.

Your child’s ASN/Student Number

can be found on the home page of

your PowerSchool Parent Portal.

Have time for a Selfie?

This year we will be

featuring a Selfie Page

in the Yearbook!

Look for posters up around

the school or ask

Mrs. Fagan at the office

for more information!

Breakfast Program

The Innisfail High School is proud to still be offering our Breakfast program... thanks to our sponsors through Breakfast for Learning and the Innisfail Legion. Students

can still grab breakfast every morning between the hours of 8:30-10:30 in the Home Economics Room.

Any questions please see Mrs. Fletcher,

Mrs. Dingman, Mrs. Fulton or Mrs. Allen.

Page 9 January 2015

Denmark Exchange

Denmark Exchange Denmark Exchange

2016 2016 2016 ––– 15 DAYS15 DAYS15 DAYS

Tentative dates:

August 21, 2016-

September 4, 2016 London,

Copenhagen, Host families

Tentative cost: $2500 2 days in

Iceland depending on student

interest and budget Contact

Mrs. Mobley as soon as possible to

begin fundraising. Danish students

return at the end of September

2016 for 10 days.

New Gym

Grand Opening!

Wednesday, February 25

2:00 – 3:00 pm

More details will follow!

Grade 10 – 12

Badminton Team

(Junior, Intermediate

and Senior)

First Practice: Tuesday, January 27.

Time: 3:15 – 5:00 pm

All Practices: Tuesdays & Thursdays

Working toward optimal health and wellness together

4459 51 Avenue

Innisfail, AB, T4G 1A8

Phone: 403-227-3244

Attendance: 403-227-7876

www.innisfailhigh.ca

Tweet us @ innisfailhs

~ A message from the Superintendent ~

In Chinook’s Edge, we know that

ensuring a healthy physical and social

environment in our schools can

positively impact student performance

and academic achievement. When

students and staff in our schools are

healthy and well, they are better able to

learn, to lead, and to achieve success.

People in our schools work hard every

day to help each of our students reach

their full potential. This begins with

ensuring a sense of wellness, which

is a balanced state of emotional,

intellectual, physical, social and

spiritual well-being. To that end, we

have worked hard over several months,

with multiple staff groups from across

our division, to create our new

‘Welcoming, caring, respectful, safe

and inclusive schools’ administrative

procedure to foster a sense of

belonging and well-being among all

members of our school community.

I thank everyone whose efforts

helped define this important admin pro-

cedure to support our priorities, and I

wish all of our Chinook’s Edge families

a happy and healthy new year.

Kurt Sacher

Superintendent of Schools

Welcome to

Kindergarten!

Beginning in January,

CESD will be accepting

Kindergarten

registrations for the

2015-2016 school year.

Children must be five

years old by December

31, 2015, to begin

attending Kindergarten

in the fall of 2015.

If you are interested in

information on

Pre-Kindergarten

programming, please

contact us! There are

no school fees for

Kindergarten students

in Chinook’s Edge.

Miss Gough’s English 9 class along with student teacher,

Andrea Weninger, brought in guest speaker

J.J. Beauchamp for their novel study, Touching Spirit

Bear. Mr. Beauchamp spoke about Restorative Justice.

Mary Hicks came as well and took the picture!