Bishop Pinkham Junior High – Get Excited – Get Involved!
Fun things are happening at BP, and the annual Direct Donation Campaign
is a great way for BP families to support this vibrant and exciting school
community!
Click here for more info
Reports | Meeting Dates | Minutes | News
Next Meeting - The next school council meeting is on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 7 PM in the school library. Everyone is welcome!
SCHOOL COUNCIL POSITIONS 2009-2010
Co-Chairs - P. Magdich and K. Cameron
Secretary - S. Irving
Treasurer - K. Manuel
Volunteer Coordinator - M. Meling
Canadian Parents for French - L. Fowler and K. Barrs
Band Liaison - P. Thacker
Calgary Association for Parents and School Councils - M. Wong
Outdoor Spaces - S. Ridewood
Key Communicator - K. Lanis
Fundraising - R. Crerar for direct donations; M. Martini and L.
Bedford for magazine fundraiser
REPORTS
Principal's Reports: September, October, November, January, February
Mark your calendar with future dates. Meetings start at 7 PM and are held in the school library
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
CAPSC Meeting Wed. Jan. 27, 2010 at Western Canada High School
CAPSC invited the Minister of Education, Dave Hancock and local MLA’s as guest speakers for this meeting.
Mr. Hancock’s speech was typically for government very general, not providing many details/specifics. He spoke
about how much his government values education and indicated that in the upcoming budget being released on Feb. 9
that these cuts will not be as large as people think and that they will not affect staffing or class sizes.
He said his government would like to improve on 3 areas:
• increase the high school completion rate which is below the national average
• education for First Nations students
• education for Children in Care
Other details he did speak about were that Alberta loses 25% of its teachers within their first 5 years of teaching and that Alberta Education spends 6 billion dollars per year. Also his department is continually receiving input from the following 3 initiatives and parents are encouraged to provide feedback/build the framework for areas like the arts curriculum changes:
Setting the Direction -
Email: setting.direction@gov.ab.ca
Inspiring Education
Speak Out Alberta
Mr. Hancock can be contacted at: Dave.hancock@gov.ab.ca 310-0000 then 780-427-7219 Parents then submitted questions to Mr. Hancock:
1. changing the weighting of math/science diploma exams from 50% to 20-30%
The Minister replied that Alberta Education looks at everything and asks does it add value. AE found very
little difference between the results of part A (written response) to part B (machine scored) hence the written
response part was removed.
2. why do home educators get only $700/yr when they save Alberta Education $10,000/yr
3. AE is looking at eliminating grade 3 PAT’s but have not yet found the replacement diagnostic tools and
how to fund these tools, so grade 3 PAT’s will remain for now.
4. why private education funding was increased from 60 to 70% but public education is under-funded
Mr. Hancock replied that his government believes in providing all options to students eg faith-based programs,
sports programs. A child in private education gets 70% of his/her education funded but that same
child in the public system costs more.
5. How can the upcoming cuts not affect staff, classrooms
His response was that AE will always have challenges and so must look at how everything is being done
and how to spend what we do have, not to just increase funding to solve all the problems. They will look
at areas like pensions. He reassured parents that he will maintain teacher/student ratios.
The meeting concluded with a discussion and question/answer session with local MLA’s. BP’s MLA, Alison Redford was not in attendance. Parents may contact her at: Ministryofjustice@gov.ab.ca or phone 310-0000 then 780-427-2339
 |
 |
 |
 |
