"Teaching is a profession
of hope, optimism and living in the delightful moments of discovery with
children."
(Lorraine Kinsman)
I am, at heart, a very hopeful person - I actually consider 'hope' to be a very productive strategy for thinking forward and as a tool for active planning. I believe 'hope' is most effective for transforming thinking into reality and I strive to live every day with a hopeful approach to all I do and say. Some days this is an easy position to take, while other days prove to be much more challenging - for any number of reasons!
I want to begin this blog entry with huge appreciations for the staff who will be leaving us this school year, for personal as well as budgetary reasons. Opening a new school is a huge privilege and honour and I have been extremely fortunate to work with an absolutely outstanding team of teachers over the past three years - I could not imagine a more exciting, dynamic and visionary team with whom to open and shape a brand new school! As the 2018/19 school year closes, we will be saying good-bye to some favourite colleagues, even as we anticipate the return of others in the fall.
Ms. Wendy Campbell, our Assistant Principal, will be retiring at the end of June. Ms. Campbell opened Eric Harvie with us three years ago, teaching Kindergarten as part of our initial, 6-class large group of Kindie students, as well as taking on numerous AP responsibilities in this new school. She has sustained a strong connection to Kindergarten (definitely her passion!) over the three years and her contributions to our school have been greatly appreciated, including our Artist-in-Residence programs and grants. We wish her well as she begins her new life journey!
Mr. Brian Simmons is relocating with his family to Vancouver Island, a return home for both he and Mrs. Simmons and their children. Mr. Simmons has had a significant influence at EHS, spearheading the establishment of our Maker Space 'Studio', guiding the work on playgrounds that led to the Grade 1/2 Conoco Phillips Grant, the Open Minds work the grade 1/2 classes have engaged in this school year and the purchase of our 3D printer - among many other accomplishments. He will be greatly missed, even as we wish him and his family many exciting new adventures on the west coast!
Mrs. Kathy Ross is also relocating with her family, to Kelowna BC, as they embark on a new life adventure. Mrs. Ross was also part of our initial 'opening team' in 2016, helping to develop the multi-age teaching teams and literacy focus that continue to underpin the learning environment that is EHS. Her dedication to students and effective learning has clearly helped shape our school and we have greatly valued her amazing work with students. We wish you all the best in the sunny Okanagan, Mrs. Ross!
Mrs. Sarah Le will be relocating to another CBE school as a result of the budget constraints described below. Mrs. Le joined us briefly as we opened our school at the Tuscany location, leaving after just a few weeks, when her son was born. Following a year's maternity leave, Mrs. Le returned to EHS in our new location, re-joining the Grade 1/2 multi-age, team-teaching group. Over the past two years we have greatly appreciated her strong efforts to support all learners, her willingness to help out wherever needed in the school and her warmth and sense of humour. She will be greatly missed and we wish her every success in her future school.
Ms. Jenn Chang will also be relocating to another CBE school as a result of budget constraints. Ms. Chang has been part of our school-opening journey from day one at Tuscany School, teaching grades 1/2. Ms. Chang has been a leader with the ECO Team and an active supporter of the Calgary Young Writers Conference. As she undertakes new teaching adventures, we wish her well, knowing her contributions to EHS have been greatly appreciated.
Mrs. Heather Sigurdson joined the Grade 1/2 Joy Pod in the fall of 2018. An experienced, knowledgeable and deeply caring teacher, Mrs. Sigurdson's commitment to the Joy Pod students has been highly valued. She will be transferring to Terrace Road School as a result of budgetary constraints for the fall of 2019. Although her time with us has been brief, we have appreciated her wisdom, humour and commitment to EHS students. We wish her every success at her new school!
Mrs. Coreen Blenkhorne joined our staff in the fall of 2018, as a part-time Grade 1/2 teacher in Kindness Pod and as a support for Music with our Peace Assemblies. Mrs. Blenkhorne's time with us was brief due to a medical leave that began in January/19. She will be relocating to another CBE school as part of budget constraints, and we wish her well as she takes up a new learning challenge in the fall.
Ms. Asra Khan will complete her full-year, temporary contract as our Kindergarten teacher at the end of June, replacing Mrs. Joanna Mask while she has been on maternity leave. Ms. Khan has been much-loved by the Kindies and we will miss her enthusiasm and warm sense of humour as she awaits future deployment within CBE.
We will be welcoming back a large contingent of teachers who have been on maternity leave this year, for fall 2019, include Mrs. Joanna Mask in Kindergarten, Mrs. Jennele Coulson in Music/Fine Arts, Mrs. Sarah Day to Grade 1/2 and Mrs. Jackie Bates as Learning Leader. Mrs. Kallie Campbell will remain on maternity leave for the first few months of the school year.
Over the past couple of weeks, principals all over CBE have been grappling with budgetary constraints that are still ambiguous, given that the new provincial government has not actually presented a budget for the province yet. Constraints at the school board level have been influenced by the platforms of the recent election and the suggestion to be prudent in financial planning from Alberta Education. Although there have been no budget cuts per se, the removal of funding for growth in student numbers, and the anticipated introduction of the Education Act that will increase the ceiling for high school completion to age 21, with no additional funding to support this move, are, as I understand the situation, the most significant influencing factors on the proposed CBE budget for 2019-2020. Despite being apprised of the situation, I was nonetheless taken aback when I realized the real dollar impact on our school would be a reduction close to 14% of last year's school operating budget. For our school, this will mean approximately the same number of students, but 4.5 fewer teachers to meet their learning needs.
We are beginning to sift through possibilities and options, considering where we are able to consolidate programming supports, if there are any opportunities for streamlining or eliminating programs and where we may be able to reduce but not eliminate student support. Class size is, of course, a huge consideration and we are working hard to keep our class sizes below 23 - 25 in grades 1 - 4, and no more than 20 at the Kindergarten level, if at all possible. We are not just thinking outside the box, sometimes we are ignoring the boxes altogether. We have established EHS as a centre for student learning that engages students in work that is meaningful, supported as needed and offers multiple entry points that appeal to students' interests, capabilities and curiosities. We have every intention of sustaining this approach, even as we understand it may mean a much different road map to learning.
What we do know is that the Pod system will continue, with fewer teachers attached to each Pod but with the focus still on meeting the learning needs of students. We do know we will do our best to sustain a high level of additional learning support for our complex needs learners, although that may look/sound differently than it has during our first three years. We will sustain a Phys. Ed. specialist and a Music/Fine Arts specialist, although reduced times may be a factor. Details are still blurry and, indeed, the Leadership Team will be on a full-day 'retreat' June 13th as we try to bring some of these details into sharper focus.
As we work out details, we will share them with families, knowing all of us - teachers and parents alike - will continue to work as a large village to meet the needs of all our students. We appreciate your patience and understanding and look forward with great hope to a successful, albeit somewhat different, school year in 19/20.
I remain hopeful the new provincial budget expected in the fall will include additional funding for schools, and I am confident the outstanding teaching team remaining at EHS will develop strategies to best meet the learning needs of all our students to the best of our abilities.
Lorraine Kinsman, Principal
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