In attendance: Teena Kasha Jeanni Hoermann Wes Wilson (Principal) Alison Eshpeter Cristin Zimmer Brenda McKay Jenni Thomas (Assistant Principal) Candice Guhle Kirby Schmidt-Teigen
I. Teena Kasha called to order the regular meeting of the Daysland School Council at 7:02 pm.
II. Open Floor Shout Out – Christmas Dinner committee, especially Laura Zwack.
III. Review of Agenda – Addition of Engagement Grant and Water bottles under New Business.
Motion: Cristin moved the moved agenda be accepted with additions. Kirby seconded. All in favour.
Motion carried.
IV. Approval of minutes from last meeting – Minutes from Nov 20, 2024 were circulated prior to
meeting. Kirby moved minutes accepted as circulated. Cristin seconded. All in favour. Motion carried.
V. Correspondence – None
VI. Reports
a) Administrator (Mr Wilson/Mrs Thomas)
1. Thank You
a) Christmas Dinner was amazing. We are grateful for the parent helpers and organizers.
2. Staffing Update
a) Rae-Ann Walker has returned to her position as High School Math/Science teacher.
b) Kyler Charchun has assumed the position of our Gr. 4 homeroom teacher. He is also going to continue to teach shop at the Sr. High level.
3. Exam Season
a) Classes end on January 21st for Grade 10-12
b) Diploma Exams
i. Students in Gr. 12 are writing government exams in English and Math.
II. School finals are being written for Science10/Social 10 & Social, Biology and Physics 20 between January 22nd -24th.
4. Semester 2 Begins on January 28th
a) Grade 12s - Social 30, Biology 30, Physics 30, Home Ec/IA
b) Grade 11s - Math 20, English 20, Physics 30, Home Ec/IA
c) Grade 10s - Science 10, English 10, Gr. 10 Option, Home Ec/IA
d) We have elected to offer IA instead of PE due to lack of interest in PE20/30 this year.
e) All three grades will have access to Off Campus opportunities should they wish to pursue them.
5. Collaboration Day for Teaching Staff on January 31st
a) We will be planning to do our Collaborative Response
b) CASA Update for staff
c) Bawlf hosting a session on Dismantling Indigenous Racism that we will attend in the afternoon.
6. Cheques Made Out to BRSD
a) This does not impact our control of our funds, only the accounting.
7. Upcoming Events
a) Literacy Night - January 28th
b) Piano Heist - February 12th (Gr.1-6)
c) Teachers' Convention - February 13th -14th
8. CASA Classroom Update
a) School Staff
i. Emma Enright - teacher
ii. Javen Stamp - Mental Health Therapist
iii. Marissa Buchholz - Therapy Support Assistant
iv. Maureen Gibson - Therapy Support Navigator
b) Classes start on February 3rd
c) Room 207 and 212 will be used.
d) Six confirmed students with up to four more.
9. Alberta School Council Engagement Grant
a) Funds have been received and are available to use.
10. School Generated Funds Report
b) Room Rep Reports:
Kindergarten (submitted by Hannah Stefanishion): Mrs Tanton – In November we began a new
program in Kindergarten called Community Reads. Our first reader to kick off the program was the
one and only celebrity himself, Mr. Wilson. The Big Cheese did a great job explaining why reading is
so important to him and he entertained them by reading “We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish”. It was a hoot! Mrs. Kierstan Reber was our December Community Reads participant and she brought a craft for the Kinders to complete and hot chocolate! If I had to rate the readers so far, I’d say I’d rather keep my job, lol. Just kidding! Both were excellent and I think the ultimate target of increasing student buy-in to reading is being met in having these community readers show us and tell us why reading is so important. Mrs. Robbins is our Community Reader for the month of January. Things are gonna get even more exciting in kindergarten at the end of this month! The kinders are counting down the final 3 letters that they have to learn. They are pumped to get on the reading and writing train and they are more than ready for it too! January also kicks off our Skating series at the Daysland arena. We are scheduled to skate 4 times, weather permitting. The kinders are excited to show off all their skating skills. In science we have begun our Energy unit and we’re discovering how things move. In math we are working on number lines, number identification and the importance of mindful and organized counting. We will be going on a Nature Walk with our grade 6 buddies. The purpose of this activity stems from the book called “Winter’s Gifts: An Indigenous Celebration of Nature” which inspires us to reflect on the gifts the Creator has given us and the importance of rest and waiting in the winter. That's all for now from the Kindergarten Hive, have a fabulous night.
Grade 1 (submitted by Chantelle Hayes): Ms Pfeffer - All is well in Gr. 1! We are looking forward to
going skating and our 100th day of school celebration in February. Mrs Lang will return the end of
February.
Grade 2 (submitted by Laura Zwack): Mrs Schlaut - All is well in Grade Two! We have completed our writing project and have set some New Year's goals. We will be working on them throughout the year. We are working on adding and subtracting equations in math. In science, we have begun our new unit called: Light and Sound Energy. It will be a lot of fun learning about both of these types of energy and conducting some experiments to support our learning as well. We are beginning to learn about the community of Iqaluit and the Inuit people. We're looking forward to the Literacy Night coming up and have picked dates to go skating. Feb 21 and March 21.
Grade 3 (submitted by Kristie Nahajowich): Mrs Schmidt-Teigen - In ELA we are working on
dictionary skills and understanding alphabetical order. We have begun a unit on narrative writing. In
Math we are in the middle of our multiplication and division unit. The kids are working hard to
become fluent in their facts. In Science we wrapped up the concepts of weathering and erosion and
how they change the Earth’s surface. We took several “virtual field trips” to places like Maligne
Canyon, Dinosaur Provincial Park, and the Athabasca Sand Dunes to see how weathering and erosion have shaped those landscapes. We are now moving on to learning about glaciers. In Social Studies we continue to learn about Peru. In our spare time we are learning how to play Cat’s Cradle, to build cooperation and teamwork. We’ve all having a lot of fun with it!
Grade 4 (Alison Eshpeter): Mr Charchun has now taken over grade 4 - In ELA, we are having
spelling tests each Friday. Bonus word this week is: YACHT. In Math In Math we are continuing with
Multiplication and Division. We will continue practicing these foundational skills in class as well, but extra practice on this at home for even 5-10 minutes a night would be very beneficial. In Social
Studies we have began the Natural Resources Unit and just started a research project where students have been assigned different natural resources. Their task is to answer 12 different questions about the resource they have been assigned and will create a Google Slide Presentation or write a report answering the questions. They are working on this assignment in pairs. Mrs Walker – in Science we are studying Space. Mrs M Zimmer – In French we are learning colours.
Grade 5 (Kirby Schmidt-Tiegen): Mrs Thomas/Mr Wilson -In ELA this month the Grade 5s have
started a unit on Narrative writing, where we are both reading and writing a variety of narrative pieces. In Social Studies,we are finishing learning about Egyptian culture and will be moving on to
Mesoamerica soon. In Science, we are still working through our unit on Energy. We started with
looking at forces of flight and buoyancy and are now studying energy in the form of renewable and
non-renewable resources. In Math, we are wrapping up decimals and fractions. Students have been
learning how to compare and order both fractions and decimals, as well as convert from one to the
other. We are going to begin multiplication and division next.
Grade 6 (Brenda McKay): Mrs McKay – In ELA, last week, we made "How to"; books to practice our
procedural writing and transitions. We will have these printed out and hopefully share them with
younger grades next week. In Math, we had a quiz on how to apply BEDMAS to do the correct order
of operations. We are looking forward to solving equations involving algebra next. In Science, we are studying the Solar System, and in Social Studies, we are learning all about Provincial government. We have skating booked for February 12, which is also when we will celebrate Valentine's Day.
Grade 7/8 (Cristin Zimmer): (Mrs V. Zimmer) – In ELA we are working on our 2025 goals and 2024
reflections. In math the grade 7 class just finished fractions decimals and percents and have been
working on a variable, constants and coefficient unit. In social they have been working on Canada
Before Confederation and are in the war and peace unit. In science they just finished a heat and
temperature unit and are starting structures and forces next. They are wrapping up their own projects in Industrial Arts, some are building shelves, cutting boards, and small sets of stairs while others are building signs and backdrops for medals and awards. In phys ed they are working on cooperative games and have been tasked with making their own games to play with the class.
Grade 9 (Candice Guhle): Mrs Tobler - In ELA, students are starting Romeo and Juliet! It will be fun
to see how they like it. Mrs V. Zimmer - In Social 9 we are getting into studying immigration in
Canada! It's been interesting learning where student's families originate from and what impact
immigration has on our society. Mrs Walker - Grade 9s have finished up Space Exploration and have
just started the Chemistry unit in Science. We'll be working on classifying matter and naming
compounds for the next few weeks. Mrs M. Zimmer - In math 9 we are almost finished chapter 3,
they will have a unit test mid next week! Otherwise, we have been continuing to do non-calculator
quizzes every few weeks. :) All is well.
Grade 10 (submitted by Carrie Carriere): Mrs M. Zimmer – We are finishing our last unit test
tomorrow (Wednesday), we will then have a few days of review. Students will have some review
package to questions to help prepare for the final exam. I have had conversations with most students about if they should register in math 10C, or 20-3! Parents can reach out after the final exam with questions about course selection if they have any.
Grade 11 (Teena Kasha) – Students are (or should be) studying!
Grade 12 (Jeanni Hoermann) – Mrs. M. Zimmer - as of Wednesday 15th: The Math 30s are writing
their last test today, and I plan to have all their marks entered by tomorrow (end of class). They write their Math 30 diploma on Friday, and then they are finished with math for the semester! Their final school marks will be in PowerSchool by tomorrow, so they know what they're sitting at before the diploma. Mrs. V Zimmer, as of Wednesday 15th: I think I can speak for nearly everyone teaching Sr. High right now and say that we are in the thick of exams! Part A of the ELA 30 diploma exam is completed, Math 30 is on Friday, Part B of ELA 30 is on Monday, and the last day for Physics is Tuesday, with their exam next Friday the 24th. All students will have the study materials they need by now, too. Good luck to all involved! Mrs. Walker, as of Wednesday 15th: And Mrs V Zimmer summarized it perfectly. Busy busy busy! The only thing I will add is that there is a grad meeting next Tuesday the 21 at 5:00 pm at the school for all grade 12s and their parents/guardians.
VII. Business arising from minutes: None
VIII. New Business:
a) School Councils Engagement Grant - $500 available to be used by the end of June 2025 from AB Government - Albertschoolcouncils.ca. Motion: Candice moved use funds to purchase supplies, promotional magnets, and printing of pamphlets for Literacy night. Brenda seconded. All in favour. motion carried.
b) Water bottle sharing - reminder to not share water bottles with other students.
IX. Adjournment
Teena adjourned the meeting at 7:55pm.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 7:00pm at Daysland School.
