New Norway School

The 2024/25 Alberta Education Assurance Surveys are on the way to our grade 4,7 and 10 classes. NNS parent/guardians a letter and random access code was sent home with your child from their homeroom teachers.

Parents/Guardians of all Alberta grade 4, 7 and 10 students are asked to complete the AEA survey each year. To increase awareness and encourage parental participation in the AEA survey, Alberta Education has prepared a package providing information about the survey, why the survey is needed and how grade 4,7 and 10 parents/guardians will take the survey. This package also provides a Random Access Code (RAC) for accessing the electronic survey online (with instructions and the electronic survey link), and instructions for accessing the survey in other languages.

Thanks to our parents/guardians in advance for completing the electronic survey. Be sure to click submit at the bottom of the survey. The deadline for completion will be mid-March 2025, just before BRSD spring break. Your feedback is appreciated.

We then take these survey results to create our New Norway Schools AERR goals. So these do matter and we want to hear from our New Norway parents.

As 80% of children’s learning is visual, it is essential to emphasize the importance of scheduling an eye examination for all school aged children, and especially for kindergarten students as they begin their in-school learning years.

Early detection and intervention can significantly impact a child's educational journey. Alberta Health coverage is available for child’s eye exams up to age 19.

Kindergarten Eye See…Eye Learn™ Parent Brochure

BRSD Education Plan Stakeholder Survey: Your Voice Matters!

We want to hear from you! The BRSD Education Plan Stakeholder Survey is a quick and anonymous way for staff, students and families to share feedback that will guide meaningful improvements in our schools, while supporting the implementation of our Education Plan.

What to expect:

• The survey will take 12-15 minutes to complete.

• Data collection is conducted externally through Blulantern, ensuring confidentiality.

• Your responses will help shape strategies in our Education Plan to support BRSD’s priorities: Learning Success for All, Enhance High Quality Learning and Working Environments, and Well-Being.

• Survey links will be shared on February 24th with all staff, families and Grades 4-12 students, and will remain open from February 24 until March 10, 2025.

We encourage staff to complete the survey. Your feedback is critical as we focus on striving for continual improvement in all areas of our Education Plan. Thank you for your engagement!

Battle River School Division (BRSD) is excited to announce that registration for the 2025-26 school year is open as of February 3, 2025. Families with current BRSD students will receive automatic student enrolment verification forms in the summer. New families are now able to register on the BRSD website.

Kindergarten students had the exciting opportunity to make bannock as part of their new Science curriculum, Stepping into Science. This hands-on activity focused on the importance of following instructions and understanding how each step contributes to a successful outcome. It also provided a meaningful connection to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FMNI) cultures, enriching our students’ learning experience.

In what can only be described as a “hot” new approach to learning, Chemistry 30 students took their calorimeter lab to sizzling new heights—by literally burning chips and marshmallows. It’s not your average Friday afternoon experiment, but for these budding scientists, it was a crispy chance to make some "high-calorie" discoveries.

Did you know? Snow is an excellent insulator and inside your snow shelter it can be a “cozy” -5 degrees, even when the temperature has plunged into the -20s and -30s outside.

Pronounced kwin-zee and of Athabascan origin, a quinzee is, in essence, a large pile of

snow that has been hollowed out for a place to sleep. Quinzees are versatile structures, and not nearly as particular in their building requirements as snow caves or igloos. You can build them in any kind of snow, not just hard packed, or wind blown snow and you don’t need to find the leeward side of a hill. To build a quinzee, you can simply find a sheltered spot in the woods and start piling up snow. (Okay, there are a few more steps than that, but not too many.) Just ask any of our Junior High Outdoor Ed class, they are becoming experts!

New Norway School is excited to participate in Jump Rope for Heart this year! Our students will discover fun ways to get active, practice healthy habits and learn about helping others while raising money to beat heart disease and stroke. Our event date is set for February 28th, however, we kicked off Jump with a school assembly on February 6th with an amazing performance and demonstration from the Camrose Spirals! Join our school online: https://jumpropeforheart.crowdchange.ca/80871

February

17- Family Day - No School

26th- Pink Shirt Day

27th- Sr. High Courses add/drop deadline

March

2-4- Sr High Ski trip

6- Hot dog Hot lunch- in support of the HS International travel club.

7- Staff Meeting/PD day - No School For Students

12- Grade 5-9 Ski trip to Canyon

18- Parent Teacher Interviews

19- Adulting 101 Fair (Grades 10-12)

24-28 Spring Break (Schools are closed)

April

4- Staff meeting/Collaboration day - No School for students.

15- K-6 Farm Safety Presentations

18/21- No School (Good Friday/Easter Monday)

Athletics

February

19- Junior Basketball Away Game vs Cornerstone Christian Academy

20- Senior Basketball Away Game vs Daysland

21/22- Co-Host Pastor Charlton Memorial Senior Basketball Tournament

24- Junior Basketball Away Game vs Cornerstone Christian Academy

25- SENIOR's/RIVALRY NIGHT - Senior Basketball Home Game vs Bashaw

26- Junior Basketball Playoffs

27- Senior Basketball Away Game vs Cornerstone Christian Academy

28-March 1- Junior High Regional Championships

March

1- Junior High Regional Basketball Championships

6- Senior High Basketball Playoffs

14/15- Senior High Zone Basketball Championships

20-22- Senior High Provincial Basketball Championships

LIVESTREAM

GREAT NEWS. We will provide livestreaming for gym sporting events whenever possible. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the New Norway School YouTube Channel as links may change.

Our Senior Men’s basketball team played 5 games in little over 24 hours and 4 games in one day. The Spartans had big wins over Innisfail, David Thompson and the host team, Caroline and earned the opportunity to play for gold in the tournament championship. They had to play that game immediately following their last round robin game, without a break. Down a starter to injury, and missing another key member, the odds were definitely stacked against our dear Spartans. However, that is when Spartans rise. This hard working band of brothers believed in themselves and believed in each other, played as a team, everyone contributing and gritted out a huge win over provincially ranked friends - Bawlf School to win the tournament! Way to go Spartans ! We are so proud of you! Thank you to all of the families, parents, siblings for cheering and supporting our team. Your thoughtfulness and care throughout the weekend did not go unnoticed. You were awesome! You gave them that just a little more energy and spirit that they needed. Our parents could even be seen, after that final game, cleaning up the gym and helping the hosts put away chairs and gather garbage even though a late, dark, long drive home was ahead of them. I am so proud to be a Spartan! This is the Way . . . the Spartan Way. Thank you Caroline School for being such great hosts!

Our Junior High students-athletes continue to demonstrate excellence in athletics. Right now our basketball teams are rolling! Here are some of our student-athletes sporting new Spartan Athletic swag and attempting to bring the dab back! Is it working?

Well- being

School Goal: Foster a culture of well-being where students, staff, and the broader school community feel supported, valued, and empowered to thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. At New Norway School, we aim to create an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and proactively supports mental health and well-being.

Enhance High Quality Learning and Working Environments

School Goal: Continue to build our culture of excellence where all students, staff, and the broader school community feel valued, supported, and engaged. At New Norway School we strive to cultivate high-quality learning and working environments by prioritizing equity, fostering inclusivity, enhancing professional practice, and ensuring that resources are aligned with student and system needs.

Learning Success for all

School Goal: Meet students where they are in their learning and support their growth through personalized and targeted strategies, with a strong emphasis on functional literacy and numeracy development to ensure continuous progress for all learners

New Norway School- A Great School for All

February 13, 2025

Dear Parents and Guardians of BRSD:

Subject: Alberta Education Assurance (AEA) survey

I hope you are having a great start to 2025. Your school will be distributing the annual Alberta Education Assurance (AEA) survey to parents or guardians of students in Grades 4, 7 and 10 from February 18 to March 21, 2025. Your participation is important as your feedback will be used to help us to best meet the expectations and needs of our families and students. This information sheet is for parents and guardians completing the AEA survey.

Our division’s Annual Education Results Report (AERR) is available on our website. This report highlights BRSD’s proud moments and successes that our students, parents/guardians, and staff experienced during the 2023-24 school year. We are committed to continuing to provide the best possible education for our students.

Notable AERR highlights:

• 86.8 per cent of teachers, parents and students are satisfied with their overall quality of basic education
• three-year high school completion rate increased by nearly eight percentage points (75.6 to 83.5 per cent)
• implementation of sound field systems in all K-6 classrooms reduced vocal strain, enhancing student engagement and teacher well-being
• 86.8 per cent of parents, students, and teachers feel students are safe, are learning to care for others, respect others, and are treated fairly
• significant increase of parent participation in the Alberta Education Assurance Measures survey, with 343 parents responding this year—a 53 per cent increase from previous participation rates

For more details about AERR successes, please see our media release.

The Board has approved the 2025-26 school calendar. Thank you to families, staff and students who provided feedback. Please find the calendar here.

I look forward to working with you all to achieve our collective goals for our students.

Sincerely,

Rhae-Ann Holoien
Superintendent of Schools

To ensure a safe environment for all, we kindly ask that all parents and guests come to the school office upon arrival during school hours. Please refrain from using side doors to enter classrooms or the gym unless it is during authorized after hours event.

We appreciate your support and understanding as we prioritize the safety of our school community.

Please take a few minutes to complete your child's demographic forms on PowerSchool.

It is important that this information be kept up-to-date every year, especially if there is a change in medical status, parent/guardian/emergency contact information, and/or address.

Students who do not have their forms in by the end of Sept. will see a disruption in their computer access.

If you need assistance with using PowerSchool - including completing and submitting yearly consent and demographic forms online - please contact Miss Miller in the office.

4.At the top of the calendar you can choose how you would like to link events to your phone.

I’d like to acknowledge that we are on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional meeting grounds, gathering place, and travelling route to the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene and Nakota Sioux. We acknowledge all the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit whose footsteps have marked these lands for centuries.