The principals of both Sundre High School and River Valley School have expressed optimism for the coming academic year.
“Every school year brings challenges but also some amazing experiences — we're ready to embrace those A to Z,” said Leslie Cooper-Shand, River Valley's principal.
“It's nice to see the kids come in excited to be here in the fall,” said Scott Saunders, Sundre high's principal.
Both schools have seen slight increases in enrolment over last year, but otherwise remain largely on par with previous years.
“We're actually up about 15 students from last year,” said Saunders, adding there are about 300 students at the high school but that that number tends to fluctuate a bit at this time of year.
The increase of students enrolled was not enough for the high school to qualify for additional funding. However, it does mean that classes get a bit fuller without exceeding limits, he said.
Taking into account the number of students at the Sundre Learning Centre, the overall enrolment at the high school would be a bit higher yet. But the learning centre's numbers usually go up throughout the year as students pick up programs, he said.
There are no changes to the high school's budget or surprise increases in fees, he said.
“Our budget is all set the year prior” after the provincial government tables its own budget in the spring, he said, adding this year will be “status quo in terms of fees.”
This year, the high school's teaching staff will in large part be focused on getting any students who are lagging behind to catch up to where their instructional reading level should be. An inability to clearly comprehend reading material impedes a student's ability not only to succeed in English class but all other courses such as sciences and math as well, he said.
“There are struggling readers in every grade — we want to focus on that to reduce those numbers.”
As the high school is still fielding requests from students who want to switch certain courses or options around, the principal said he is looking forward to establishing a daily routine.
“For us, the biggest thing is getting through September.”
Over at River Valley, principal Cooper-Shand seemed happy with the school's enrolment this year.
“We're sitting strong at about 650,” she told the Round Up.
“That's a good number for us, it allows us to continue with the type of programming that we've been able to offer in the past.”
There were actually 42 new registrations this year, but of course with last year's class of students moving on to high school, the overall number of students is roughly on par with recent years, she said.
Although budgets can be difficult, the school's administration strives to do the “very best to navigate the best scenarios we can for students. That's what we do every year.”
The situation does become more challenging when money is tight, “but we get creative and do the best we can,” she said, adding there will be no surprises for parents with fees remaining stable.
But even with no increases, some parents struggle with paying fees.
“We try to accommodate wherever we can with a payment plan or anything we can do to help parents out,” she said.
A new development that school administration and staff are excited about is a shift towards online payments. Not everyone carries a chequebook around anymore, so online services facilitate access to fee payments by offering the convenience of doing it from home without having to carry cash or other forms of payment directly to the school's office, she said.
“We really are working towards a cashless system wherever possible. We're seeing great gains in using technology.”
Parents or guardians who are interested can visit the Chinook's Edge School Division website, www.chinooksedge.ab.ca, click on the “Parents” tab and then select “Power School” — a login has to be created if one does not already exist, she said.
“We call it a ‘parent portal'.”
Through the online service, parents and guardians can also find information such as where their children are placed as well as check up on emergency contact information. As the portal continues to evolve, the service will allow parents more opportunities to manage their information through the site, she said.
The elementary school will also be continuing a program started last year called “O2 Time”. Every school day, a time block of about 45 minutes is dedicated to literacy building exercises, she said.
“The entire school engages in it.”
The program is called O2 for “Objective” and “Outcome”, she said.
“Those are the foundations of all the things we do in school — it's the oxygen of education.”
Teachers throughout the school interact with students and communicate with them, asking the pupils to discuss or explain what they're reading, she said.
“We call it the human curriculum — it's about social (and) emotional wellness.”
The human curriculum represents a key aspect of helping students grow into productive, well-adjusted adults, she said.
“Before you can get to academic success, you have to have kids who feel good about themselves…If you're not comfortable in your own skin, it doesn't matter how good the math lesson is,” she said.
“It's about helping kids truly learn who they are and continue to build their strengths and work hard to overcome their challenges.”
It's also amazing what can be learned from children when windows of communication are opened with them, she added.
The school year is off to a great start so far, and the staff is “ready for whatever comes our way.”
