Traditional methods of teaching have long been successful. They are known by parents who “succeeded” in classrooms of this type, they are comfortable for many teachers and some students thrive on this type of instruction. It should come as no surprise then, when there is resistance! It is difficult to argue with a teacher, parent or student who …
Category: Educational Updates
May 01
From the Desk of the Superintendent- May 2015
Less than two months to final exams, year-end field trips, closing masses and to saying goodbye to our classes of 2015. For some reason, maybe it is just my age, each year seems to pass more quickly than the previous one. The next two months will see all of us hurdling with break neck speed …
Apr 23
Getting your Thoughts
The following article was written for the Lethbridge Herald and published on April 22, 2015. In the past, schools and school divisions have typically been very good at communicating to parents, students and the general community. This communication, by and large, includes simple information that stakeholders need to know. Events like parent teacher interviews or other special …
Mar 29
Lenten Message- Holy Week
I remember taking my mother to the movie The Passion of the Christ when it first came out. It was a movie she wanted to see and so we went. As a cradle Catholic, I’ve heard the passion story for as long as I can remember, but when I saw this version play on the big screen, …
Mar 11
Creating an Entrepreneurial Spirit
In Alberta, Inspiring Education is asking school systems to graduate students who are “Engaged Thinkers,” “Ethical Citizens” with an “Entrepreneurial Spirit.” For most of the public, including educators, graduating students who are ‘engaged’ and ‘ethical’ is easily accepted. However, the term ‘entrepreneurial’ causes alarm bells to sound in the education field, mostly because of its …
Mar 01
From the Desk of the Superintendent- March 2015
Here is a photo that caught my attention as it made its way through the “Twittersphere.” I’m hoping that our month of March will look more like Victoria then Moncton here in southern Alberta. Every March, the fine arts comes alive in two of our Lethbridge schools with the annual staging of their musical productions. …
Feb 16
Communication 24/7
I’m a strong proponent for effective and ongoing communication between teacher and parent. That communication, properly conducted, should enhance the relationship between the two parties, resulting in a strong bond that positively impacts student learning. Communication should flow easily from both directions in an effort to better inform, eliminate the potential for misunderstanding and build …
Jan 28
Tracking Progress With Data
The following blog post was published in the Lethbridge Herald on January 28, 2015. Next week, senior administration will be travelling to each of our fourteen (14) schools to review their continuous improvement plans. These one-hour meetings occur on a regular basis every 4-6 weeks. Continuous improvement plans set the direction at each school. They …
Jan 11
Play is serious learning!
During the month of January, our division hosts elementary grade level meetings. As a superintendent, I always try to attend parts of these meetings. It allows me to interact with our front-line staff and provides me with a great learning opportunity. Although I typically have something to contribute, I always come away from these meetings …
Jan 04
Failing is okay!
I’ve spoken about failure before and how we are instilling an almost risk aversive society of students because failing or anything that resembles adversity is being squashed because of self-esteem! Nothing could be farther from the truth! Let’s be frank, “Failure as a permanent condition is unacceptable but failure as part of the learning cycle and developmental …