A VSS* updAte on whAt’S hAppening At the SchoolS in our community

VSS InformatIon SeSSIonThe Visions for Small Schools Society held a public Information Session on 21st Century Learning on November 6th at the Grind. Nicola Kuhn provided background on what Inquiry-Based Learning is and how it is already being applied at RSS. Mike Vanness provided an overview of what is planned for expanding Inquiry-Based Learning (referred to previously as Community-Linked Learning) at RSS in the future. Handouts from the information session are available on the VSS website. http://vssrossland.wordpress.com/latest-news/

DID you know?That because the grade 6s and 7s are at RSS they experience part of the origi-nal Middle School concept and get to take Exploratory courses taught by Art, Music and Drama specialists.

CheCk out:RSS student Bro-gan Pastro’s Blog on his adventures and cultural expe-riences in France on a Rotary Exchange: http://france-brogan.tumblr.com/

Sponsored Athletes

Red Mountain Academy students are learning about sponsorship and how to ‘sell themselves.’ Red

Mountain Academies is bringing someone in to teach the kids about film-making and taking photos of themselves in their sport. This will be the basis of creating four sport-specific blogs run by Academy kids. Red Mountain Resort has announced that it will sponsor two Academy freeski athletes, Sally Steeves and Jay Maloney. Congratulations Sally and Jay!

Full Day Kindergarten at MacLean!

Full day kingergarten started at MacLean School in September. When asked what she thought of full-day kindergarten, Christine DeMarco, a kindergarten teacher at MacLean, noted, “Full day kindergarten gives you the gift of time. We have more

opportunity to be spontaneous and extend the children’s interests.” When the class studied Eric Carle, they moved from the story Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me to talking about the moon, and then the earth, and then the recent earthquake and then volcanoes. “The curriculum is still the same, but now we have more time to deliver it, while still allowing the children to play and be creative,” said DeMarco.

*Visions for Small Schools (and the Neighbourhood of Learning [NOL] committee – a committee of the City of Rossland) is a society whose purpose is to advocate and promote the existence of comprehensive public K-12 education for and within Rossland. Check out the Vision for Small Schools website - vssrossland.wordpress.com. It is always being updated with the latest news on Rossland Schools. QueStionS? Email rosslandvss@gmail.com

Issue 2 - DecembeR 2011

Kids from MacLean Elementary share a book in Ms. DeMarco’s Kindergarten class

RosslanD

RSS finds innovative ways to offer elective courses such as Drama, Concert and Jazz Band and Strength and Conditioning

without affecting students’ abilities to access core academic courses.

These elective courses are offered off-timetable, generally two days a week after school. This allows all the students who want to take these courses to do so, and ensures that the classes are full because they don’t have to compete in the timetable with core academics.

The teachers of these courses are flexible enough to undertake their teaching outside of normal teaching hours while still ensuring that the students receive their 100 hours of instruction. The students can then take a spare

during the normal teaching blocks, or, as they do in many cases, take an extra course.

As Terry McDonnell, Principal at RSS, observed, “this approach creates a win-win for the students and for RSS.” This model has been employed at RSS since the mid ’90s and will be expanded in the spring with History 12, which will be taught at RSS by a teacher from Crowe, who by teaching at both high schools will have a full course load. “This model works at RSS because the teachers, the students and the community are supportive,” McDonnell stressed.

With the new Inquiry-Based Learning model proposed for RSS in 2012/13, flexibility in organizing how courses are provided will become even more important as the school moves away from a traditional 8 block timetable.

off time-table Courses at RSS

roSSlAnd SchoolS notebook – December 2011

The RSS Jazz and Concert Band meet on Monday nights.

École des Sept-Sommets update

Thérèse Bélanger is the new Directrice (Principal) of École des Sept-Sommets. She has been

at École des Sept-Sommets since September 2010. Prior to coming to Rossland, Madame Bélanger worked as the principal of a primary and secondary school on a First Nations Reserve in Northern Quebec. When asked what she likes most about living in Rossland,

Madame Bélanger said,“What I like most in Rossland is the kindness of the people who live here, and the fresh air.”

École des Sept-Sommets is a public school with the same curriculum as the English schools across the province. The only difference is that the courses are given in French. English class starts in Grade 4, the same as for French class in English school.

Because of its small size, the classes are small (10-20 per class). ESS Parent

Ann Quarterman noted. “People worry about what happens in schools with smaller classes, but at École des Sept-Sommets, small is great.”

The children who attend École des Sept-Sommets come from diverse backgrounds. In most cases they have one parent who is francophone and one parent who is Anglophone.

Many are from Quebec, but there are also families from New Brunswick, Ontario, BC and France.

international Students at RSS

International Students are a key part of RSS — not only do visiting students get to learn about Canada, but RSS students learn about other countries. Josef Franke is a 15

year old from outside Dusseldorf, Germany. Having never seen this much snow before, he thinks it’s awesome. “I did not come here for skiing. I have only skied once in my life. Rossland is beautiful and I am really enjoying it.”

“I really like my host family. They are kind and welcoming. I think my [home stay] brother Brennan really likes having a little brother…that’s me.”

“The students at the high school are really friendly,” he says, “I didn’t have any problem meeting people when I got here.”

DID you know?From July to December, Andy Holmes and Martine Bedard and their daughters Sylvie, 9 and Lily, 7 biked from Rossland to Tuscon with their final destination being Cuba. Andy and Martine are both local artists and Martine is a teacher at École des Sept-Sommets. They’re blogging about their trip at: http://bikingourbeautifullife.blogspot.com/

frozen thunDer:In October the Nordic Academy students skied at “Frozen Thunder” in Canmore. It was great to get on snow so soon. Last spring they buried snow in Canmore and have now spread it out to make a 2 km loop at the Nordic Center. Check out the Nordic Academy blog at: http://blackjackskiteam.wordpress.com/

DID you knowIf you are a Twitter user, you can now follow RSS at @RosslandSec and our school district superintendent at @gregluterbach. You can also check out Greg Luterbach’s blog at http://www.sd20.bc.ca/superintendent.html

roSSlAnd SchoolS notebook – December 2011

Josef Franke

Sean Sirois Ennis, his sister Daniela Sirois Ennis and mother

Diane Sirois moved to Rossland a year ago from the Slocan Valley so that Sean could attend the Freeski Academy. They heard about the program when Sean was skiing on Sundays with the Red Mountain Freeriders. He was coached by Dylan Strelioff, who also coached for the Academy.

Diane observed, “It seemed like an amazing opportunity for Sean to explore how far he could go with his skiing and to be surrounded by a group of kids and mentors who shared the same passion. Our decision

was also reinforced by the opportunity for his sister to attend a full time French school. L’ École des Sept-Sommets has given Daniela the gift of being fully bilingual in a loving and caring school.”

When asked what the best thing is about the Academy, Diane stated, “It gives kids the chance to develop their athletic potential and to

keep up with academic work. It is also a great way for kids to develop a team spirit while doing an individual sport.”

Diane noted that Rossland offers a wide range of services and natural attractions available within a walking distance. “It is a place where it is easy to make friends and to stay in touch with them.”

new Families in Rossland

“We have evidence that small schools are indeed better for our children: All else equal, they produce higher achievement, lower dropout rates,

greater attachment, and more participation in the curricular and extracurricular activities that prepare students for productive lives.

There is real potential for the current small schools movement to transform the educational landscape… for the better.”

— DARLING-HAMMOND; SCHOOL REDESIGN NETWORK, STANFORD UNIVERSITY; 10 FEATURES OFGOOD SMALL SCHOOLS: REDESIGNING HIGH SCHOOLS, WHAT MATTERS AND WHAT WORKS (2002)

Juli

en l

oc

ke/

ww

w.Ju

lien

loc

ke.

co

m

enter the I love RSS Photo ConteSt!

Take your RSS button or sticker on holidays with you. Take a photo of the button or sticker

in an exotic or unusual location and send it in to rosslandvss@gmail.com. If your photo

appears in this newsletter you win a prize.

Left: The RSS button goes to Vegas. This photo netted Mike Vanness a box of

Mountain Nugget Chocolates.

StrongStart update:

The Rossland StrongStart has over 100 children registered and new people arrive on a weekly basis from Alberta and other

parts of BC. StrongStart runs Mondays 9–12, Tuesdays 12–3, Wednesdays 9 –12, Thursdays 9–12 and Fridays 12–3 at MacLean Elementary. The popular StrongStart Mother Goose program will start again in January on Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:30 and will run for 10 weeks. In addition to regular drop in play time with crafts, StrongStart also has gym days on Wednesday and Friday and library days. It is a great place to go with your preschoolers — check it out!

For upcoming events and StrongStart news, click ‘like’ on StrongStart’s Facebook page: StrongStart MacLean Elementary, Rossland.

uPComIng roSSlanD SChool meetIngS:Visions for a Small Schools AGMLate January @ 7:00 pm at the Alpine Grind. More details soon!

DID you know?There are 14 grades 8 and 9 boys and girls enrolled in the hockey program at RSS. They spend 2 hours a week on the ice with Barry Zanier during school gym time. The program continues until Spring Break.

new funDraISIng oPtIon for rSS!Tired of taking your returnable beverage containers to Trail? Within the next few weeks, RSS will have a returnable bin, located outside the school! Your donated bottles will be turned into funds to help RSS’s numerous sports teams and clubs.

DID you know?75% of MacLean Students can walk to school daily.

Inquiry-Based learning is about learning how to learn.

roSSlAnd SchoolS notebook – December 2011

Rossland schools notebook is published

by Vss and the nol committee, a committee of the city of Rossland.

vssrossland.wordpress.comEmail: rosslandvss@

gmail.com

Children learning through play at the Rossland StrongStart Centre in MacLean Elementary.

What’s happening with K-12 in one school?

the short answer is we don’t know yet. As part of its Planning for the Future

process, School District 20 put forward a new Facilities Plan to reconfigure Rossland schools as K-12 at RSS by September 2012. While we have not heard anything concrete, the financial challenges and funding cuts that made the Planning for the Future process a necessity have not gone away. The successful integration of the grade 6 and 7s at RSS highlights how multi-age schools can be an asset to the community and the children!Grade 6 and 7s at the Snoflake Dance in

December, sponsored by the RSS grad class.