December 18 - Year-in-Review Survey Closes

December 19 - Pajama Day !!

December 20 - Last day before Christmas Break

January 4 - Early Dismissal

January 18, Last day of Semester 1 classes

Greetings Fort High Families,

Our sixth annual Family Feast took place on Thursday and everyone enjoyed the festivities. The one aspect that stood out to me was the manners of the students at Fort High. The “please” and “thank yous” were abundant throughout the meal and activities, as well as the amount of students that volunteered to help clean up. We could not be more proud of the students at FHS.

A lot of hard work goes into the yearly event. Staff organization and community donors make the event a possibility. A special thank you to Mrs. Bienert and the Family Feast committee for all their hard work.

Please take the time to enjoy your family and friends during the break. From all of us at Fort High, have a Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in the new year.

Thanks to Mrs. Villetard for preparing these festive Jib Jabs. Enjoy!

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/feliz_navidad/8f2c31f8-9d62-479e-a1db-0b60fc5db0e8

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/Elf_snowball_fight/2308bd17-01c2-4b4c-96cc-5e1cc8293b75

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/beginning_to_look_like_christmas/ff0daaa1-612d-4cfa-b4d2-1a65f5cc4252

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/elf_fun_factory_christmas/b06de76d-4804-4bfa-bb39-78a1d6c7d858

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/twinkle_all_the_way/1309299e-9ad0-46cf-85ab-a5d9530ff8fb

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/a_christmas_carol/dd51ca93-e8d3-4c8c-8300-99a0fd05f3fb

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/elf_dance/3c644a16-b6cc-4585-9f40-f1f68aa61758

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/holiday-lil-nas-x-starring-you-ecard/3eb8b7a4-7ab6-4888-9718-58eab4a2bb3f

Have your say, EIPS wants to hear from you!

The Annual Education Results Report 2021-22 is now available. https://www.eips.ca/about-us/planning-and-results#AERR The report is a summary of how Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is doing relative to Alberta Education’s performance measures; how it's supporting students to achieve the best possible outcomes; and its successes, challenges and priority strategies moving forward. Both the full report and an overview are available for readers.

Reflecting on this report and the past school year, EIPS wants to hear from you to gain a deeper understanding of your confidence in the Division and its strategic direction. As such, the annual EIPS Year-in-Review: Stakeholder Confidence Survey is now open. Thank you for your patience while we temporarily postponed the survey—it's now reopened. Complete the Year-in-Review Survey by December 18.

The survey covers a range of topics, including student growth and achievement, learning supports, teaching and leading, governance and resource allocations. The information gathered will help EIPS:

• assess stakeholder confidence—families, staff, Grade 12 students and community members;
• gather input to guide future decision-making; ·

• gather feedback to enhance its Four-Year Education Plan https://www.eips.ca/trustees/four-year-education-plan; and
• provide a platform for families, students, staff and community members to have a voice in ensuring high-quality, student-centred learning environments in EIPS schools.

EIPS will share the results in the Annual Education Results Report 2022-23.

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D8S6YNN

Survey closes Dec. 18, 2022

If you’ve already completed the 2021-22 survey, there’s no need to do so again. Your responses have been recorded and will be included in the Division data.

NOTE: EIPS encourages everyone to respond honestly. Your identity and answers are confidential and cannot be linked to you or your child’s school. Grade 12 students will have an opportunity to complete the survey at school. Families who do not want their child to complete the survey simply need to advise their child’s school.

Please click on the link above for the January Exam Schedule. This schedule can also be found on our website, https://www.forthigh.ca/

SCHOOLS: Senior high schools

These 12-hour weekend review sessions are designed for preparing students to write their Grade 12 diploma exams in January 2023.

English 30-1 and 30-2 | Social Studies 30-1 and 30-2

Saturday, January 7 to Sunday, January 8

9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Salisbury Composite High

Mathematics 30-1 and 30-2 | Biology 30 | Chemistry 30 | Physics 30

Saturday, January 14 to Sunday, January 15

9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Salisbury Composite High

Registration is now open. Registration will close for English and social studies sessions on Jan. 4, 2023, and for math and all sciences sessions on Jan. 11, 2023.

Happening now! Whether your students want more information on their top program choices or are still exploring multiple options, there are events geared towards helping them find their path at the U of A available until the end of the week. Registration is available at uab.ca/programweek.

U of A Getaway

We are inviting 20 lucky Grade 11 students to get away to the U of A! Their adventure will include transportation reimbursement (up to a maximum based on location), accommodations, meals and a packed schedule of events. They will stay in residence, explore state-of-the-art facilities, uncover campus gems and experience U of A student life first-hand. Students can learn more and apply at uab.ca/getaway. The application deadline is January 31, 2023.

December Virtual Events

There are still a few more chances for your students to learn about the U of A before the end of the year. Registration and more information is available at uab.ca/recruitmentevents.

· Augustana 101: December 12

· Scholarships 101: December 13

Thank you 😊

Penny Smith (she/her), Counsellor

Fort Saskatchewan High School

(780)998-3751 (ext 4231)

Contacting 911

Kids Help Phone

Alberta’s Mental Health Help Line

Alberta’s Children and Mental Health Crisis/Mobile Response Team

Crisis Contact Numbers for Strathcona County

Fort Saskatchewan Community Mental Health Supports and Services

Hope for Wellness Help Line for Indigenous Peoples: 1-855-242-3310

https://mykickstand.ca/

Kickstand is an integrated youth service initiative that is currently available online (through Kickstand Connect) with the goal of opening in-person services at sites throughout the province.

AMH, AHS and other community partners are working together to provide this integrated community service for those aged 12-25.

Here is some info from the Quick Facts document attached:

What is Kickstand Connect?

Kickstand Connect offers a virtual walk-in clinic with trained professionals and a safe space for group sessions, exclusively for young Albertans aged 12-25 and their parents or caregivers. It is a free online portal and mobile app where young people can virtually ‘walk in’ or pre-book appointments (up to a week in advance) with a mental health professional, peer support worker, employment specialist or participate in group activities and workshops. Based on a single session model, Kickstand Connect offers various walk-in and pre-booked services, none of which require a healthcare card, referral, or any form of payment.

What services do we offer?

• Mental Health and/or Substance Use Counselling

• Peer Support for young people

• Employment Services

• Groups and Workshops

• Coming in the future: primary/physical care appointments, pharmacy consultation, family peer support and more!

Wellness together Canada was created 2 years ago in the beginning of the pandemic. WTC is funded through the Government of Canada. They have a large amount of counsellors throughout every province ready and available to support. When someone calls in they reach intake right away and can be put through to a counsellor in the moment. If there is a high volume of calls, they may have a wait time of an hour (counsellor calls you back) but this should be rare as they have many counsellors on hand. Phone counselling is available 24/7 at 1-866-585-0445. You can also connect through your computer by using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) such as Skype, Facetime, or Google Voice. If you don’t already have a VoIP installed, you can do an online search to find an option that works for you. In addition to a VoIP, you’ll also need: speakers/headphones and a microphone, or headphones that have a microphone built in, a reliable Internet connection, and a quiet, private place to talk.

If it is crisis calls are bumped to immediate.

In addition to WTC, Hope for Wellness is the same service but for the Indigenous community and is offered only by phone or text. Supports are available in Cree, Ojibway (Anishinaabemowin), and Inuktitut. Combined with WTG, it can provide many options.

The Basics:

· This is a free service available 24/7

· Once you have a single counselling session you can receive 5 sessions with that same counsellor, no wait times. 1 week in between sessions

· If you want ongoing counselling, you can simply close your case after 5 sessions and then call to reopen and request the same counsellor or a new one. There’s no limit. They work with everything! Addictions, trauma, crisis, grief, gender identity, etc… etc… I asked if there was anything they wouldn’t work with – no they work with everything.

· Counselling available in multiple different languages and regions

· Specific supports, Healthcare workers/ frontline, Kids, grief and loss coaching, Peer support,

· Available phone, video, text and live chats

https://www.wellnesstogether.ca/

https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/

Immediate/distress

Adults text WELLNESS to 741741, Youth test WELLNESS to 686868

Frontline workers text FRONTLINE to 741741

Indigenous peoples 1-855-242-3310, chat online through hopeforwellness.ca

If someone you care about is in distress 1-866-585-0445

From Feb. 24-26, 2023, Strathcona County will host the 2023 Special Olympics Alberta Winter Games. The County is seeking enthusiastic volunteers from the community to join in the celebration. They welcome students and adults 16 years of age and older to sign up to be part of the event. View all volunteer positions on the 2023 Games website.

Check out the picture gallery containing many of our Grad Composites that is posted on our website. The composites from years 2001-2012 will be added in the future as they have not yet been digitized.