My experience from The Whitemud Coalition of Schools (1999-2004) taught me the tremendous value of bringing people together to share ideas, values, and a common purpose (which in the case of the Coalition was high quality public education). When I was elected in 2007, I determined that I would see if Ward H school councils would be interested in meeting on a regular basis. Yes, they said, and please see our minutes below.
In addition, I always invite Ward H council members to participate in my broader community meetings (meetings with * mentioned below) and thank you to those Council members who come out to these sessions as well.
- November 2011 * Healthy Kids! Healthy Schools! Healthy Communities A Ward F/Ward H meeting around the Board’s fourth priorty “To promote the health and wellness of students and staff.” Thanks to Erin Wright of APPLE Schools and Bev Esslinger of SHAPE for joining us!
- October 2011 On October 24 the Network representatives met to talk about “Working Together to Support the Success of Our Children” and to hear from Assistant Superintendent Ron MacNeil (who works with most of the schools in Ward H) about “The Superintendent’s Role in Supporting the Success of Our Children.” Representatives shared “one success, one challenge” and also thought about the “one thing” that their council could do to support the success of children in their schools. Special thanks to Pat Sawatzky for taking such detailed minutes, which you can access here! Meeting Minutes Oct24-11 FINAL
- September 2011 * You’re Invited to Shape the Future! (A meeting on Bill 18, the new Education Act, co-hosted with Trustee Michael Janz and with special guest, The Honourable Dave Hancock)
- May 2011 A small group of Ward H School Council Network reps met on May 16 at Esther Starkman. I provided an update based on the content of my Ward H update May 2011 and I received input and ideas from those present. Thank you to all who attended at a very busy time of year for most parents!
- February 2011 * Let’s Talk…Vision, Mission, Beliefs and 2011-14 Priorities!
- January 2011 * Let’s Talk… the Education Act!
- November 1, 2010 A new term for the Ward H School Council Network begins! We met to discuss “What’s New? What’s Next?” Nov1 2010 Meeting minutes
- January 2010 * Let’s Dig Deeper… into Strengthening Families, Innovative Citizenship Education and Improving Communication
- November 4, 2009: This was the evening for the district-wide School Council Training night (which included the topic of Attracting and Retaining School Council Members)…. Some Ward H Network people joined me for dinner at DS MacKenzie in advance of this session downtown. Again, people enjoyed the opportunity to share information and ideas between schools Ward H School Council Network November 2009
- June 2009: Planning for 2009-10. Thanks very much to Brad Baird and Teresa Harder for meeting with me to discuss how the Network might move forward. Attracting and Retaining School Council Members is one topic we decided would be good for the fall.
- May 2009: * Let’s Talk Schools! Let’s Talk Community! Let’s Talk the Future!
- February 5, 2009: As agreed upon in November 2008, Barbara Jean Lake-Ramnath, parent, George P. Nicholson School, presented on “The Fundamentals of Building Dynamic School Councils.” Part 1 looked at A Foundation for Growing, and Part 2 looked at A Framework for Building.
- November 2008: Ward H School Councils gathered to share one best practice and to discuss if meeting on a regular basis was a good idea or not. Value was perceived in the opportunity to share information and swap great ideas. The minutes provide further detail (especially on the best practices!): Ward H School Council Network Nov 08
- March 2008: *It Takes a Village (How can Community, School Councils and Individuals support the new 2008-11 district priorities)
