Good afternoon, Ian Bazalgette Community.
Today, September 30, is both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Orange Shirt Day
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”. The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
Steven Pike
Principal
Ian Bazalgette Newsletter Sept. 30 - Oct. 4 News
Invite | National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day Event - Sept. 30
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (sometimes shortened to T&R Day) originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day is a Canadian holiday to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
Orange Shirt Day was first established as an observance in 2013, as part of an effort to promote awareness and education of the residential school system and the impact it has had on Indigenous communities for over a century. The impact of the residential school system has been recognized as a cultural genocide and continues to this day.
The use of an orange shirt as a symbol was inspired by the accounts
of Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose personal clothing—including a new orange shirt—was taken from her during her first day of residential schooling, and never returned. The orange shirt is thus used as a symbol of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children that the residential school system enforced.
The 4th annual City of Calgary, Calgary Board of Education, and Calgary Catholic School District ceremonial opening of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day will be held on Monday,
Sept. 30 from 9 - 10:30 a.m. at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland (750 9th Ave. S.E.).
All CBE staff, students, families, friends, and neighbours are invited to attend to commemorate Indian residential school victims, honour survivors, and commit to Truth & ReconciliACTION.
Honouring Life Program
Permission letters have been sent home with self-identifying indigenous students for the Honouring Life Program. This is held in the Indigenous Learning Space in Room 205 every other Tuesday morning from 10-11 a.m. and is led by two great facilitators from the Calgary Aboriginal Friendship Centre. There is room for 25 students to join this amazing program. It will continue from September 24th and be bi-weekly until the end of the school year.
Letters must be returned with a parental/guardian signature by Tuesday morning when the program starts for students to attend.
Casino Call
To raise much needed funds for the school, the Ian Baz Parent Fundraising Society is registered to work a casino at Pure Casino on Dec 16-17. We need volunteers to fill several positions.
Please see the volunteer positions and a brief description for each position.
School Student Fees
The availability of rich learning opportunities that your child will experience this year depends on the collection of school fees. All applicable fees are available to view and pay online through MyCBE Account. Payments may also be made in cash, debit card, or credit card in person at our Main Office.
Families that would like to set up a longer-term fee payment plan are encouraged to contact our Main Office (slditlof@cbe.ab.ca).
Student Photos/ID's
Our photography partners at Lifetouch will return on November 4 for student photo. retakes.
Student Services
Why Is a School Routine Important for Teens?
Creating a predictable schedule gives teens and parents a sense of control. It also provides teens with a feeling of safety. Having an established structure to rely on helps the whole family transition into the school year more easily.
Furthermore, the skills that teenagers develop by adhering to a routine will serve them well when they enter college or the workplace.
Knowing what to expect and when helps teens with mental health conditions feel calmer and less anxious. With clear guidelines, teens can more easily relax and focus on their daily tasks.
Update | Modular Classroom at Ian Bazalgette
We wanted to update you on the project timeline as we complete the installation of the modular classroom at your school.
The modular is now in place, and the final work to prepare it for students is taking place. This includes electrical work, HVAC, plumbing and cleaning. In addition, some landscaping and streetscape work around the new modular classroom will need to take place before it is ready to use. We expect all work to be completed in early October, and the modular will be ready for classes by November.
Crews are working closely with school administration to ensure there is no impact on the school day.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding during the ongoing construction to install the modular classrooms. If you have any questions about this project, you may email accommodation@cbe.ab.ca.
Vaping
A reminder that smoking, including the use of vape and its paraphernalia is strictly prohibited on public grounds. Any student found to be smoking or vaping on school grounds will be suspended and may potentially receive a bylaw ticket from Calgary Police Services.
Volunteer Police Clearance
To maintain the integrity of the CBE volunteer database and prevent it from becoming overpopulated, applicants are to process their PIC within a 60-day timeframe. Volunteers must apply either online with the Calgary Police Service or in person with a police agency within 60 days of the date of the CBE issued volunteer school letter. Volunteers who do not apply within the 60 days will be deleted from the CBE Volunteer Security Clearance Process database and the volunteer will be required to reapply.
Continue reading on the CBE website.
What's Happening in...?
Research on best adolescent learning has shown importance must be given to creating curricular learning tasks that bring independent ideas and facts together under larger unified concepts - showing how what we learn applies to the world. This year, we will be trisecting the year under three conceptual lenses, using Niitsitapi values (Blackfoot Nation; Piikani, Kainai, Siksika) as guiding thoughts. These big ideas include being aware of the environment though observation, that our universe often contains balance, and that we should aim to transfer what we know to others.
- Kakyosin | Be aware of your environment; be observant
- Aoahkannaistokawa | Everything come
- Pommotsiiysinni | To transfer something to others
Grade 7
ELA
Students will continue to build expository writing skills. Some grade seven classes will also begin their first novel studies for the year. The novel is The Barren Grounds by Indigenous writer, David Robertson, other classes will continue reading the novel Front Desk by Kelly Yang. They will complete the week focused on reading comprehension assessments from the Commonlit reading website.
SCIENCE
Last week students focused on adaptations (physical and behavioural) and the types of symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism). This week, students will learn about human impacts in ecosystems and sustainability.
MATH
In grade 7, students will finish up learning of divisibility rules of 3,6, and 9. We will review prime factorization of a number. Students will write a final assessment on Thursday. Please check the google classroom for additional practice.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This coming week in Social Studies, students will begin to build their understanding of Treaty 7 Indigenous groups. They will begin research towards a larger poster project by using what they already know of attaining sources and citations to complete the task with a group of three to four other students.
Grade 8
ELA
Expository instruction will continue this week with grade 8 students revisiting topic sentences and building the paragraph structure. They will also focus on applying strong reading comprehension strategies, as they complete assessments from the Read Theory and Commonlit reading websites.
SCIENCE
Last week students classified examples of pure substances, solutions, and heterogeneous mixtures through a lab. This week, students will learn more about solubility, types of solutions, and factors that affect the rate of dissolving and solubility.
MATH
In grade 8, students will continue to review percents of 100 and equivalent fractions and decimals. Later in the week, students will start looking at complex percent of a number of problems.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week in Social Studies, students will continue to build their understanding of worldview by crafting a visual about aspects of worldview that have personal significance. They will then begin to apply these aspects towards their study of Renaissance Europe.
Grade 9
ELA
Students, under test-like conditions, will annotate a sample expository essay on Tuesday. They will focus on hooks, thesis, sentencing/paragraphing formation and transition words. Students will also complete their introduction paragraph of their essays to include hook, thesis and background. Their essays are based on research topics, global warming, or space expeditions. Students will complete the week with reading comprehension practice. The Daily Five framework of activities of writing, reading and word work will also continue throughout the week.
SCIENCE
Science 9 students will focus on Mitosis and Meiosis and how they relate to sexual reproduction. We'll explore the key differences between these processes, their roles in growth, development, and reproduction, as well as their significance in genetic variation.
MATH
Grade 9 students will begin applying their knowledge of rational numbers by focusing on solving order of operations problems and interpreting word problems. This will require students to combine their understanding of mathematical operations with critical thinking skills to solve more complex and real-world scenarios.
SOCIAL STUDIES
This week, students will continue working on their bills for their mock House of Commons and will begin presenting them to the class.
Complimentary Courses
What’s happening in Computer Science?
Q: What does a baby computer call his father? Answer: Data! Bahhhaa…
Computer Science students continued to finish off their designs and builds in the Minecraft design build off challenge. Students challenged and completed against each other in class to build and design their images through a customized virtual representation of buildings and structures from around the world.
Students in Computer Science begin each class coding in either Java or Python followed by independent work in the following four areas: 3D printing, Coding, Designing and Robotics. Students will be learning how to use Adobe animate and photoshop. Students will experience guided design projects based off the processes that real-world professionals go through every day.
What’s happening in Foods?
This week in Foods, we discussed "Herbs and Spices" in cooking/baking. We also looked at the most expensive spice in the world (saffron) and students were intrigued that this spice originated from the crocus flower.
Theory:
Students were asked to think about herbs and spices that they have tasted or used at home. They were also asked about the dishes that are cooked at home and the flavourings that are in these family favourites. Finally, students were asked about the form, taste and use of different spices/herbs.
This week in the kitchen:
Students made Naan Pizzas and these were a big hit! Next week, I will provide a general reminder on how to participate in the kitchens with peers, routine and cleanliness expectations.
On Friday, we continued with "Career Chat" and I informed students about the differences on being a Chef versus being a Cook in Alberta. We looked at the differences in salary and in training for these two careers. More information about these careers can be found on: https://alis.alberta.ca/
With the Fall season approaching, get in the kitchen this weekend and make a Fall favourite for you and your family.
What’s happening in Drama and Leadership?
Drama
This week in drama we will be engaging in some introductory improvisation activities. Students will learn basic improv techniques and strategies, as well as how to work collaboratively with others to create spontaneous story and character.
Leadership
This week in Leadership we will be officially starting our public speaking unit. Students will continue exploring different speaking techniques and strategies, as well as beginning to plan a short speech assignment.
What’s happening in Construction?
As a reminder, if you have not returned your Shop Safety Contract, please contact Mr. Aldridge at braldridge@cbe.ab.ca for an emailed copy of the contract.
Grade 7, 8, and 9 students continued working on their first projects. Their first projects are designed to get students familiar with the tools again, as well as working in the shop safely. We are excited to see how the first projects turn out as we learn how to cut, glue, sand and finish projects.
What’s happening in Art?
Grade 7 students continued working on identifying value in faces and will be breaking down their portrait photos into value scales. They will also begin to learn foundational techniques with acrylic paint in preparation for creating their portrait projects.
Grade 8 and 9 students will continue to work towards rendering their eyes using a medium of their choice. They continue to explore techniques in oil pastel, soft pastel, pencil crayon and watercolor pencils to decide the medium they will complete their project with.
Physical Education & Intramurals
Physical Education
All Physical Education classes will continue to be outside! Please dress appropriately for the weather.
Classes will be continuing with Rugby, Softball and Football.
School Intramurals
Dodgeball Intramurals will be starting on Tuesday! See the PE whiteboard for your teams and schedules.