Swan Hills School –
What makes Swan Hills School GREAT
When asked what makes their school a great place to learn, reps from the school’s Students Union said approachable teachers and staff, and access to one-on-one support. Principal Sekulich highlighted some of the unique programming and benefits offered to the 211 students at the K-12 school, including a one-week Career & Technologies Studies (CTS) / Career & Life Management (CALM) course at the Palisades Centre in Jasper National Park. The school seeks to provide a wide range of programming and works with students to identify their interests.
Because they are a small community school, students have a chance to get to know the strengths of their classmates and build on that throughout the years.
ADLC to bring in content specialists
In response to the discovery of inappropriate content in reference to Residential School experiences in a Social Studies course previously distributed by the Alberta Distance Learning Centre, ADLC has implemented a review of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit content in all of its courses. A team of four content specialists will be contracted to make necessary revisions within the next few months.
PHPS to pilot stakeholder engagement tool
To provide greater opportunity for input from parents, students, staff and community, the board agreed to pilot an online tool, Thoughtexchange, for one year. Thoughtexchange provides an easy-to-access online platform that allows participants to not only share their thoughts, but consider and rate ideas shared by others. This process helps participants learn what’s important to others, resulting in division plans and decisions that better align with stakeholder values and perspectives.
Stay tuned for a chance to try it out and provide your input on the division-wide Student Citizenship Awards!
Check out the board meeting agenda and minutes here.
The next school board meeting is on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, starting at 9:30 a.m. at the PHPS Regional Office in Barrhead starting at 9:30 a.m. Members of the public are welcome to attend.