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Paralympic reporting!

2010-02-23

Kate Gibbs, grade 9 student at Invermere’s DTSS, met Paralympic skier Luke Donovan at the Cranbrook airport when each returned home from their travels in January. Luke was back from European training, and Kate from a visit to Vancouver where she trained to become a Paralympic reporter. Kate has received her official press pass, and will return to Vancouver with her family in March to attend and report on Paralympic skiing. She has been busy for months preparing for the event; fundraising, corresponding with Luke, and working with Special Education Technology BC to make this dream come true. Go to www.vvvillage.org to read about Kate and fellow reporter Grace Brulotte (scroll down the 3rd story “Grace and Kate’s Next Adventure”), and get the latest news on Kate’s blog at http://katers95.blogspot.com

We’re so proud of you, Kate!

Rocky Mountain Gallery

2010-01-06

Lindsay Park student, Heidi Howe, was selected as the artist to have her work added to the Kimberley Zone Rocky Mountain Gallery. Heidi’s incredible painting of daisies was created as an art project in Mrs. Taggart’s class in 2008-2009. Heidi, accompanied by her mother, was honoured in a presentation at Lindsay Park Elementary School. A special thanks to Mrs. Taggart for her instruction and inspiration. Congratulations Heidi!

National Child’s Day celebrations

2009-12-16

Region 4 SETBC students, Kate Gibbs of David Thompson Secondary School and Grace Brulotte from School District No.5, were invited by CanAssist to participate in National Child’s Day celebrations in Ottawa November 23. The girls made short speeches and showed off their technology to an audience of 300 students in the nation’s senate.

Windermere Elementary School Open House

2009-11-17

When parents attended the recent Windermere Elementary School Open House and arrived at the entrance to the grade seven Enhanced French class they were welcomed into an ancient Greek museum. Parents were greeted and shown around by Greek-clad students including Jade Bowen (photo). They saw wonderful projects that students took time and effort in making. There were swords, a water clock, broaches, a Trojan horse (mini version) and many other replicas of Greek artifacts. Many parents and teachers gave positive comments about the quality of the projects. Students learned a lot about the artifacts and demonstrated their knowledge to their parents. It was a step back in time...(a huge step back!!!)

Michaela Mauthner, Grade 7 Enhanced French student.

LGES win Hoops Leadership Award

2009-11-06

Congratulations to the Lady Grey Elementary School team for the outstanding recognition in receiving the top B.C. Heart and Stroke Foundation prize, the province-wide Hoops Leadership Award 2009. This is the first time this award has come to the Kootenay / Okanagan region which is an incredible accomplishment for the Lady Grey leadership students and their teachers Brenda Soujah and Marilyn Kelly-McArthur. The Esteem Team will be visiting Lady Grey students in recognition of their commitment and contributions. The Rocky Mountain School District is honoured to join the BC Heart and Stroke Foundation in congratulating the Lady Grey students and staff for their dedication to making a difference in the lives of individuals in this province.

Rocky Mountain Gallery

2009-10-13

In 2007 the Rocky Mountain Gallery was created whereby one piece of student art is selected by Trustees from each of the Golden, Kimberley and Windermere zones to become part of the Rocky Mountain Gallery permanent collection of student art. These outstanding works are hung in the Invermere Board Office and the Kimberley and Golden Zone Offices, in celebration of the importance of Fine Art as a key component of a strong, well-rounded education. In 2008-2009 Cassidy Hanke a grade 10 student from David Thompson Secondary School had her art selected for the Rocky Mountain Gallery collection in the Windermere Zone. Cassidy, her mother, art teacher Robyn Oliver, and superintendent Bendina Miller are pictured at the assembly honouring Cassidy.

Lady Grey Centennial Mosaic

2009-10-04

The Lady Grey Centennial Mosaic was unveiled on Sept. 18, 2009. It features the work of artists Pierrette Robinson and Donna Williams along with individual green border tiles created by the students and staff of Lady Grey Elementary School.

SD6 Welcomes new International Students

2009-09-22

Welcome to the Rocky Mountain International Student Program in School District No. 6! This year, over 35 new and returning students from Germany, Taiwan, Holland, Japan, India, Korea and Mexico participated in a variety of activities and presentations to welcome them to the program and prepare them for life in Canada.

More photos at http://www.sd6international.ca

Hoops for Heart

2009-09-09

Three School District #6 schools were awarded significant recognition for the participation in the Heart and Stroke Foundation heart health programs, Hoops for Heart and Jump Rope for Heart. McKim Middle School was awarded the Hoops for Heart Outstanding Achievement Gold Level for the Inland Region - the area from the lower mainland to and including the Yukon. This placed McKim first in the Inland Region and all of BC. McKim also placed second in the Inland Region and third in BC in the Big Heart category for per capital fundraising. Lady Grey School achieved the Bronze Level in Outstanding Achievement, placing them third in the Inland Region and forth in all of BC. Lady Grey School was also awared the Leadership Award for BC in recognition of high student involvement in the planning and implementation of their Hoops event and for helping Alexander Park Elementary with their Jump Rope for Heart event. As a result they will receive a visit from an Olympic athlete from the Esteem Team. Last but not least the small but mighty Field Elementary won a Jump Rope for Heart Big Heart Award, placing them third in the Inland Region and all of the BC for raising $140.72 per student.

Congratulations to the inspirational teachers - Sophia Rauch and Lorraine Anderson (McKim), Brenda Soujah and Marilyn Kelly-McArthur (Lady Grey), Sanne van der Ross (Field) and the educational teams that instill the principles of community service in these fine young heart health heros.

An additional word about Lorraine Anderson, this year will be her 17th year ornaginizing Hoops for Heart events. At one time she ran Hoops events at three other schools at the time as McKim. A truly amazing leader!

Sharon Gardner
Schools Programs Coordinator, Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon.

21 Years of Service

2009-06-22

Trustee Sandra Smaill was presented with a certificate from the B.C. School Trustees’ Association honouring her 21 years of service as a School Trustee by Board Chair Roberta Hall. Sandra was honoured on April 25 at the B.C. School Trustees’ Association Annual General Meeting in Kelowna.

Special Education Technology BC Student Reporters Celebrate

2009-05-29

On Friday, May 29, six student reporters and their supporters gathered at the SETBC Kimberley office to celebrate the end of another successful year in journalism. The students, who ranged from grades five to twelve, were: Kate Gibbs from Invermere, Matthew Grace from Golden, Grace Brulotte from Fernie, Frank Robertson from Cranbrook, and Frances Collison and Daria Roy from Creston. Over 25 people enjoyed lunch, then viewed the student’s presentations, which will be added to the SETBC website in the future.



Using video and photos taken with their new CanAssist equipment, Kate and Grace created autobiographical ppts, describing some of the rewards and challenges of living with disabilities. Frank’s presentation featured a grueling hike to Cliff Lake in the magnificent Rockies, and Daria’s presentation was about “Focus on Youth, a Creston community event, entered in the latest Virtual Voices Village contest. Daria also worked with two other Creston students, Frances Collison and Samantha Sorenson, to produce a video on Physical Activity in Creston. Finally, Matthew Grace from Golden presented a ppt show on Technology, which he narrated while advancing the slides with his chin-mounted switch.

Families and educators who attended the event were extremely proud of the students!

Edgewater School Garden

2009-05-27

We kicked off the Edgewater Elementary School Garden with a Family Workbee Evening last Thursday, May 21st. Many families and staff came to pull weeds, prepare the soil, and measure and hill the vegetable rows. This week each class with their teacher will be taking a trip to our garden (a 15 minute walk from the school) to plant 3-4 different vegetables, flowers, and herbs. Our garden also has a strawberry patch and raspberries. In the next month parent volunteers will put up a 10ft deer fence around the garden's perimeter. In the remaining month, classes will continue to care for the garden and chart the garden's progress in various ways. Over the summer, families will sign up for a week at a time in which they will water, weed, and harvest the garden. In September, we are hoping to harvest the remaining vegetables, dry herbs etc. and to then have a harvest dinner or lunch at the school. If you have any more questions, please ask! See the photos I took at our Family Gardening Evening.

Tara Smith

McKim Hoops for Heart

2009-05-12

McKim Middle School’s ‘Hoops for Heart’ campaign wrapped up on Thursday, April.23 with the Basketball Jamboree, a full day of basketball skill-building and games involving school-wide participation. Thanks to the outstanding efforts of students and staff, McKim raised $9,600 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Special thanks to Sophia Rauch and Lorraine Anderson along with many other dedicated staff members and a group of Selkirk students for all their hard work in organizing yet another successful event. McKim students are well known in the province for their active participation and fundraising efforts for this event. McKim is currently the #1 fundraising school in the PROVINCE for Hoops for Heart, raising over $100,000 in the 15 years that we have been participating. A big thank you to the community for their continued support!

Eileen Madson choir wins award

2009-05-01

A group of students at Eileen Madson Primary School have been bestowed a huge honour after a phenomenal choir performance last Friday. Music teacher Leisa O’Sullivan was notified on Sunday evening that the school choir, consisting of 54 students, was awarded the best vocal performance at the East Kootenay Performing Arts Festival in Cranbrook.

“It was really exciting,” said Mrs. O’Sullivan, who started the choir last year. “I didn’t expect it.”

The choir, composed of children aged seven to nine, erupted in cheers on Tuesday at their regular noon rehearsal when Mrs. O’Sullivan broke the news.

“It was really exciting – everyone was screaming,” said Grade 3 student Geneve Miller. The choir performed two songs at the festival: Ching-a-Ring-Chaw and a Japanese number entitled Hamabe No Uta (Song of the Beach).

(With thanks to the Columbia Valley Pioneer, photo by Cayla Gabruck)

Edgewater Elementary fundraiser

2009-04-23

For several weeks this year our Leadership Club organized a fundraiser for Britney Taylor. Britney is a highschool student trying to raise ten thousand dollars by the end of the school year to donate to cancer. If Britney succeeds she will cut her hair and donate her hair to cancer. Each class put loose change in an old water jug. The Grade 6/7 had the tallest amount of change in their jug and won a movie and popcorn prize. Altogether our school raised $648.34!!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible.

Monica Nittel, Grade 7
Edgewater Elementary

Art from the Heart

2009-04-20

The Art From the Heart K-7 art exhibition has been hosted for the past 5 years at Pynelogs Cultural Centre in Invermere. The student whose art was selected for this year's poster is Alexa Hallgren from Eileen Madson Primary School, congratulations Alexa!


More about Art from the Heart:

The Rocky Mountain School District, Columbia Valley Arts Council with the support and sponsorship of Fairmont Hot Springs Resort and Mercer & Company is holding Art From the Heart from April 7 - 25. For the 5th year Columbia Valley students in kindergarten to grade 7 have been recognized as artists with their work displayed in the Pynelogs Cultural Centre. Proud parents, grandparents and community members shared in the delight of this show at the Grand Opening on April 15. Alexa Hallgren, Eileen Madson Primary student, was congratulated as the artist whose work was selected for the event poster.


This show is the fifth annual art exhibit and each year we see more families visiting Pynelogs Cultural Centre to view their children’s art. This is the second year that children have volunteered their art for the Silent Auction. Thanks to Mercer & Company for framing these pieces again this year. This is also the second year that Fairmont Hot Springs Resort has been a major sponsor for this show, a community minded business that continues to believe in the importance of arts and culture…thank you Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.

The teachers and staff of School District #6 have been the main foundation to this event. Their vision for honouring the ‘work of art’ of our children of the Columbia Valley has been obvious in the longevity of this outstanding exhibit.

Thanks to Anne Jardine, the Show Coordinator who has put in countless hours of coordinating and hanging this exhibit…and it shows in the quality and attention to detail.

THE BIGGEST THANKS IS TO THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES…for their creativity, imagination and enthusiasm to share their ‘ART’ for the community to enjoy.

Region 4 (Kootenays) celebrates SETBC 20th Anniversary on February 16, 09

2009-02-16

Monday February 16 was packed with events at the Kootenay regional office in Kimberley, when SETBC celebrated its 20th anniversary, and the unveiling of a student-written accessible book.
The morning began with the visit of Darcy Lane, CanAssist engineer from Victoria, who brought new Sony videocameras and custom wheelchair mounting systems for SETBC student reporters Kate Gibbs and Grace Brulotte. CanAssist had rigged their new cameras for accessibility, operable from a console with large red buttons, and complete with snappy bright umbrellas to protect the gear – and the young reporters – from the elements.
Around 1:00 pm, the other guests began to arrive, including the SETBC host school district’s superintendent and both assistant superintendents, and 21 lively grade 2/3 students from Lindsay Park Elementary School in Kimberley.
To make things even more exciting, everyone except for 14 year old Kate, from Invermere, and 12 year old Grace from Fernie, knew that they were also there to celebrate the unveiling of an accessible book the girls had written and illustrated the spring before.
It was only after the Happy Birthday singing and cake-cutting was done, that regional consultant Kathy McCauley announced that they were also there to celebrate the new accessible book. A dramatic “unveiling,” accompanied by a drum roll followed, and the authors saw their new book for the first time.
The book, “A Hare-Raising Adventure,” was viewed on the big screen, then the girls, who had regained their composure, answered questions with humour and insight. Besides enjoying the new book, the grade 2/3 students learned about technology and disabilities, and were totally charmed by Kate and Grace. The feeling was mutual!
The event was covered by reporters from Shaw Cable and the Kimberley Daily Bulletin.

Ian Wallace visits SD6

2008-12-02

Author and illustrator Ian Wallace was the DRC sponsored visit this year for the elementary schools in November.

AGM of SD6 Business Company

2008-09-04

The Annual General Meeting of School District No. 6 Business Company will take place on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Location: The meeting will be via teleconference including three sites: Golden zone office, Kimberley zone office and Windermere Board office.

District Day: 27th Aug, 9:00AM, DTSS Gym

2008-08-12

TO ALL STAFF and PARENTS
Please join together with Staff and Parents from across our district in welcoming the 2008-2009 School year and engaging in a full day of Staff Development activities.

This year's district day is the 27th of August and will start at the following times at DTSS:
8:30 – Refreshments/visiting for Windermere Zone.
9:00 – District Day Starts in Gym (Everyone).


DISTRICT DAY SESSIONS

PRIMARY LEVEL STAFF (Attached Registration Form must be returned)
Session 1: Kristi Crowe: “Making Connections (Grades 1,2,3)
(Full day session with a choice of 2 different break-outs in the afternoon – see attached)
Session 2: Brenda Managh: Hoola Hoops, Hand Towels and Happy Words (K,1)
(Full Day Session – see attached for description)

INTERMEDIATE/SECONDARY STAFF
Damian Cooper: Talk About Assessment; Strategies and Tools to Improve Learning
This session will provide teachers, principals, and support staff an opportunity to be
together for a presentation on practical and cross-curricular examples of the 8 Big Ideas
that help simplify and clarify the challenging task of classroom assessment.
(Damian Cooper, Education Consultant and author of “Talk About Assessment; Strategies and Tools to
Improve Learning”. Damian is a former secondary educator, special education teacher and assessment
coordinator (K-12). He also taught in and coordinated activities at a demonstration school for at-risk
learners.)

STUDENT SERVICES STAFF
Choice of: Primary Sessions, Damian Cooper, or David Levine
BCeSIS with David Levine: This session is provided for those who wish a refresher on
the new Student Services Module working with student Eligibilities and IEP’s. This is
also a necessary session for any teaching staff new to Student Services.

SECRETARIAL STAFF
10:15-12:00 BCeSIS: Secondary Secretaries with Becky Rousseau
This session is provided for Secondary Secretaries reviewing the school
start-up processes: Admit, Cross-enrolling, Staff Maintenance,
1701/TRAX, Credit Details/Standardized Tests & more.
10:15-12:00 Elementary Secretaries with Cameron Dow & Accounting/Payroll Staff
An interactive session addressing accounting and payroll topics including
eFunds, absence tracking, purchasing, and other related matters.
1:00-3:00 Secondary Secretaries with Cameron Dow & Accounting/Payroll Staff
1:00-3:00 BCeSIS: Elementary Secretaries with Becky Rousseau

OPERATIONS STAFF: Program information will be provided by Operations Department

Important news for TOCs

2008-07-01

School District No. 6 is going green!

Effective July 1, 2008 correspondence from School District No. 6 will be provided to all Teachers on Call by e-mail.

You will no longer be receiving mailed copies of teacher postings – we’ll e-mail them to you, as well as other important information that we may need to send to you from time to time. In order to ensure consistency in this communication, we are providing you with a school district e-mail address.

Your school district e-mail address is: firstname.lastname@sd6.bc.ca ex: (cindy.wilkins@sd6.bc.ca)

Your password is: sd6user (you will then have to change your password)

If you already have a School District 6 e-mail address, your new address will automatically be changed to this new format.

IMPORTANT: Please ensure your email address is working, by sending an email to cindy.wilkins@sd6.bc.ca as soon as possible. If you are having trouble please contact Human Resources – you do not want to miss out on any teacher postings that could be mailed out at the end of August.

Thank you.

DTSS at the 30th Annual Physics Olympics

2008-06-03

March 8, 60 schools from BC competed in the 30th Annual Physics Olympics at UBC.

Erich Kohlweg, Claudiu Geamanu, and J.R. Bootsma (pictured left to right), competed in the 30th Annual Physics Olympics held this Spring at UBC.

The three David Thompson Secondary School students finished 14th of 60 schools represented. Erich, Claudiu and J.R. were able to plan for some of the events, but their best results were in events that they did not have any advance information and had to use their critical thinking skills to reason through an answer.

Congratulations to the boys and their Physics teacher, Heather Brown.

Special News Team for Winter Games

2008-05-26

Five SETBC (Special Education Technology BC) students were invited to join a special news team to report on the 2008 Winter Games in Kimberley and Cranbrook. The project, initiated and coordinated by SETBC (Region 4 Kootenays )and supported by families and schools, is part of the Virtual Voices Village project created by SETBC Vancouver, and funded by 2010 Legacies Now. School District 6 students, Thomas Eastabrook of David Thompson Secondary and Kate Gibbs of JA Laird, were among the five.

In December the students were outfitted and trained to use a variety of media equipment, including still and video cameras, editing software, audio recorders and tripods. Students and their teams received information and training via teleconference and email, and practiced with their equipment over January and February. When the Games weekend arrived, the students and their families met in Kimberley for the first time to socialize and strategize, before going off to their chosen sports venues. Thomas covered girls’ hockey and judo, and Kate covered wheelchair basketball. SETBC provided hotel accommodation for families who lived more than one hour away, ongoing technical and moral support, and accompanied the students to the events.

When the Games ended, the students returned to their communities to complete their photo or video presentations by early April. See their work posted at www.vvvillage.org under Student Journalism, or go to the Virtual Voices Village link from the SETBC website at www.setbc.org.

Virtual Voices Village is a website for students with disabilities in British Columbia, initiated and developed by SETBC.

School District #6: a Focus on Planning

2008-03-12

With SD#6's "5 year stretch goals" (referred to as our District Directions 2008) maturing the Board of Education has begun planning of our District Directions 2013. On March 5th and 6th - 40 people representing all employee groups, parents and the Aboriginal community, along with Trustees and senior staff, participated in a process to consider the School District's future focus and essential ongoing commitments for the next 5 years.

Further input will be sought through community forums, meetings with students and other processes to enable all staff and parents to provide input prior to the adoption of our new "District Directions 2013".

David Thompson Secondary Featured at “Learning In Action Showcase!”

2007-12-21

DTSS Teachers Alison Bell and Joanne Bragg, and Principal Darren Danyluk, accompanied by Assistant Superintendent Barb Morris and Trustee Jim Jenkinson showcased outstanding “Healthy Schools” initiatives at the education expo over the December 7 weekend.

The DTSS Meal program gets kids preparing and consuming wholesome foods which can help instill better eating habits they will carry into their adult years. The greenhouse project in partnership with the Columbia Valley Botanical Gardens and Centre for Sustainable Living, as well as water coolers in all the classrooms are more examples of how DTSS is out of the gate early in the area of “Healthy Schools” planning.

This was the 2nd annual education exhibition where school districts from around the Province shared examples of best practice. In total, 44 school districts brought a visual presentation to the event.

Education Minister Shirley Bond says the annual program acts as a way to demonstrate new concepts and initiatives in education. “We’re pleased that district teams are coming together to share their projects, teaching methods and strategies to improve student achievement throughout the province,” said Bond. Trustee Jim Jenkinson said he was impressed with the Invermere school’s offerings to the session. “Alison and Joanne were pursuing healthy school initiatives at DTSS at least 10 years ago, long before it became a provincial focus,” said Jenkinson. The DTSS presentation included an interactive electronic health quiz, which drew a lot of attention.

Minister Bond spent several minutes at the SD6 booth taking part in the quiz and discussing the cook training program, the greenhouse project, and other projects at DTSS with the staff members.

Currently, Healthy Living Performance Standards are being developed by BC’s Education Ministry.

New energy efficient lab at Lindsay Park

2007-09-24

A new computer lab was opened today at Lindsay Park Elementary School, Kimberley. The lab has been donated in a joint venture between Blue Curl, HP, nComputing, Teck-Cominco and the Seeds Foundation. The aim of the venture is to provide a Carbon Neutral lab; Any carbon produced in powering the lab will be absorbed by new trees planted on the school grounds. Mini labs have also been provided for the library and Leaning Resource Centre.

The technology involved is highly efficient using one normal home computer to drive up to seven workstations. In this way a lab of twenty eight workstations needs only four computers to operate, with a screen, keyboard, mouse and nComputing device for each station. The lab now uses 80% less power, generates less heat so requires less A/C, creates less noise and less electromagnetic emissions. Not only is this better for the environment but it's also better for the students - providing a cooler, quieter lab.

Lindsay Park Elementary has now achieved Earth School status, having completed 1000 environmentally friendly projects.