The following article was written for and published in the Lethbridge Journal on August 31, 2012. In Alberta, Catholic Education is publicly funded. This has been a constitutional right in Alberta since 1905. This same right is also provided in Ontario and Saskatchewan. For parents and families coming from locations where Catholic Education is not fully …
Category: Educational Updates
Dec 29
Why curriculum needs to change!
This will likely be my last post for 2014 so, I might as well go out with the proverbial bang and talk about the need to update, modernize, enhance or simply “slash: the current curriculum. It has served us relatively well in a knowledge economy but knowledge is easily attained and we now live in an innovation economy. In …
Dec 06
The gift of giving
Once a week, the Lethbridge Herald publishes a column written by a superintendent of one of five school jurisdictions in the Lethbridge area. This week’s column is authored by Chris Smeaton, Superintendent for Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 4 and was published on December 3, 2014. Now that we’ve hit December, experienced …
Nov 22
Leadership is more than pleasing people!
There is a plethora of research on what characteristics define the truly great leader. Integrity, honesty, vulnerability, vision are all descriptors of the outstanding leader. There is also a prevailing belief (in which I concur), that you cannot ascend to the highest level of leadership without being relational. Relationships matter! Gifted leaders, ones who are well-respected, …
Oct 26
Innovate West
This past weekend, I attended the Innovate West Conference hosted by Connect Charter School in Calgary. It is a conference I’ve wanted to attend in the past because of the positive reviews it has received from previous participants from our division and elsewhere. Attending with me was my Deputy Superintendent, Brian Macauley (@macauleyb) and Director …
Oct 22
Learning must be continuous
The following post was published in the Lethbridge Herald on October 22, 2014. On Sunday, I returned from a conference sponsored by Educational Research Development and Innovation (ERDI). This organization invites approximately 50 superintendents from across the country, twice a year, to meet and discuss education trends and topics from a national perspective with a …
Oct 13
Music to my ears!
Last week, we held our annual division wide professional development day. Over the past number of years, we’ve morphed this day to be far more engaging for our staff through self-selection, the utilization of expertise within our division and a focus on professional dialogue around learning. We’ve also been able to incorporate an edcamp or …
Sep 19
Moving forward not stepping back!
Earlier today, I completed my first round of continuous improvement plan reviews. These reviews, lasting about an hour each, were scheduled with the administrative teams of each of our 14 schools. In these first meetings, the focus was to engage in a dialogue about their upcoming year. Over the three-day period, many of my senior administration team were …
Sep 15
Covering the curriculum
There is no doubt that most school curriculum is jam packed with far too many outcomes. It is eye opening to read just what has been placed on the school curriculum plate over the years. Author Jamie Volmer expresses it well in his article, “The Ever Increasing Burden on America’s Public Schools.” While every addition has merit, we’ve long …
Sep 07
Can you imagine?
Earlier this year, I took my 75-year-old father on a golf weekend. At the same time, my daughter, was halfway around the world volunteering and teaching English as a Second Language in Bali. The connection…FaceTime! While sitting in the hotel room and deservingly resting after playing 36 holes of golf, my father and I conversed with my …