SWH Cougar Tracks 2022-2023
Friday, March 23, 2023
Cougar Corner
To help parents and students stay in the loop as far as all things Sherwood Heights, our Cougar Tracks newsletter will be our weekly communication tool. Be sure to watch for email notifications at the end of each week and you can also find each of the latest and greatest Cougar Tracks newsletters posted on our website!
Mar 23: Deadline to complete the Annual Feedback Survey
Mar 24 - Apr 2: No School - Spring Break!
Apr 3: Classes resume after Spring Break
Apr 5: Bev Facey Gr.9 Info Night 6:00 p.m.
Apr 5: Early Dismissal
Apr 6: Smudge in Library
Apr 7: Good Friday - No school
Apr 10: Easter Monday - No school
Apr 15: Young Authors Conference
Apr 17: Outdoor Ed 9s Student Mtg at lunch
Apr 18: SWH Information Night (formerly called "Open House")
Apr 19: SAL Gr.9 Info Night 3:30-7 p.m.
Apr 25: School Council Meeting
- Thursdays are $3.00 Pizza slice day at lunch!!
Student report cards are live on Parent Portal!
While you’re logged in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal, please also take a minute to complete your Parent/Guardian Information Verification Form—available through the left-hand menu. The form only takes a few short minutes to complete and helps ensure Sherwood Heights Junior High School and Elk Island Public Schools have complete and accurate data for all parents and guardians in the Division. Parent/Guardian Information Verification Forms are due April 30.
Communication of Missed Assessments
In an effort to communicate missed assessments more efficiently teachers will be changing the way missed assessments will be inputed into PowerSchool. This new procedure will take effect on March 21, 2023. Previously teachers would not input any mark for summative assessments that students did not complete. With that process, the student's class mark was not impacted. Student work is missing or incomplete if it is not handed in on the due date, either because the student does not have the work or is absent.
With our new process, teachers will use the NHI (Not Handed In) code to indicate an assessment is missing when the class marks are uploaded to PowerSchool. NHI acts as a placeholder zero, communicating that the assignment is incomplete and the effect of not completing and returning the assessment on the student's mark.
Once the student has made up the missed quiz/exam or handed in the assignment, the NHI will be removed and replaced with the grade the student has earned. This change will better communicate that an assessment was missed and ensure that all teachers use consistent processes in PowerSchool.
Please feel free to contact the school if you need any further information.
Information Nights for Grade 9 students entering into Grade 10
Information Nights will be offered for parents of students entering into Grade 10 at SAL and Bev Facey to answer any questions related to their child's grade 10 course selections.
Bev Facey - April 5th at 6:00 p.m.
SAL - April 19th - 3:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Outdoor Ed 9 Camping Trip Dates
On Monday April 17th at lunch (12:22) all Outdoor Ed 9 students will be signing up for their camping trip date. If you are in Grade 9 and you took Outdoor Ed in semesters 1 or 2 please come to the gym at lunch on Monday April 17th and pick your camping date. There will be 3 dates to choose from:
- May 8 and 9
- May 11 and 12
- May 29 and 30
We will be camping at the Strathcona Wilderness Center for 2 days and one night. Bus will take students to our location at 9am the first day and return students back at Sherwood Heights for a 3:02pm pick up the following day. More information to follow once students have signed up.
Students can sign up with anyone (as long as they took Outdoor Ed 9) and are encouraged to make small groups to make planning and prepping for cooking meals easier. If students would prefer to do all the meal planning for themselves that is fine too. Check your calendars and pick your date. See all our Outdoor 9’s on Monday April 7th!!!
Athletics Corner
That’s a wrap on basketball season folks!! It was a whirlwind the past few months, we saw a LOT of great things from our athletes who never cease to amaze us!!
A huuuuge thank you to the parents, family, friends who took on the role of drivers and cheerleaders in order to help our athletes find success!! And a big old thank you goes out to the coaches for all their time and dedication they put into their teams!!!
Here’s how playoffs went down last night, and the final standings for our teams:
Jr girls had an incredibly close game!! They tied it up with a 3 pointer in the last few seconds of the game, but lost to a 3 point buzzer beater by Lakeland. The girls take 4th place in league standings!! This is a talented bunch of girls and were such a joy to watch this season!!
Jr boys met Cloverbar in the bronze medal match and beat them pretty handily to claim 3rd place!! These boys had an AWESOME season!! Even with a few heart break losses, these guys should be incredibly proud of all they’ve accomplished!!
Sr girls take home the BACK TO BACK CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE!!! They defeated FR Haythorne in an incredibly close game last night. Both teams had the lead at times in the game - you couldn’t have asked for a closer, more intense, fun final game!!! Congrats to these girls - who worked so hard all season!!
Have a well-deserved rest over the break everyone! We’re back at it with handball and badminton right away on Monday April 3!!!
***
Any parents or guardians interested in coaching or assistant coaching any sports in the 2022-2023 year please contact Kristin Alexander (Davies) at kristin.alexander@eips.ca.
School Council
Thank you to all the families who supplied our amazing staff with treats for the March staff meeting. They really appreciated it and there were so many yummy goodies, that they still feasted the next day! Cougar families rock!
School Council decided to continue providing treats for staff meetings in April, May and June. The April sign up is open now (and April staff meeting happens really fast after spring break!)
Thanks for helping to show appreciation for all the staff do for our kids.
https://www.perfectpotluck.com/EOJJ5313
Jacquie
P.S. – If there is someone who wants to organize this for May and June, please reach out to Jacquie at SherwoodHeightsSchoolCouncil@gmail.com
Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
EIPS Annual Feedback Survey for Parents and Caregivers
Dear Elk Island Public Schools families:
Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) wants to hear from you about your experience with the Division and your school. Share your thoughts by completing the 2023 EIPS Annual Feedback Survey: For parents and caregivers—open March 1-23.
Annually, EIPS conducts the survey to gauge its progress toward meeting the goals and priorities outlined in its Four-Year Education Plan. Families are asked a series of questions about their experiences with EIPS and the school their child attends, the overall performance of the Division, the quality of education being provided to students and areas for improvement. The survey feedback helps the Division develop new strategies to better serve students and the wider community.
TAKE THE SURVEY NOW!
Survey closes March 23, 2023
Open to all EIPS parents and caregivers
NOTE: The survey is anonymous and only takes a few minutes to complete. If you want to share the experiences of more than one child, or if you have a child who attends classes at more than one EIPS school—such as Next Step and an EIPS senior high school—simply complete the survey again.
The Division is also conducting a similar survey with students in Grade 9 and Grade 12, who are completing the survey in class between March 1-23. Like the parent and caregiver survey, the questions focus on the student’s experience with the Division and their school. EIPS will share the results from the 2023 EIPS Annual Feedback Surveys before the end of the school year.
Thank you,
Elk Island Public Schools
EIPS Summer School Registration
Registration for EIPS Summer School opens March 15, 2023. The Summer School program offers a number of senior high courses that allow students to earn credits, upgrade marks, lighten workloads for the year ahead or finish pre-requisite courses.
Registration is open to:
- current EIPS students (grades 9-12)
- students who will enter an EIPS high school for the 2023-2024 school year, as of Sept. 1, 2023.
Pre-requisite course requirement: In consultation with Alberta Education and senior administration at EIPS, if there is a pre-requisite course needed for the student’s summer class (for example, Social 20-1 to prepare for Social 30-1), that pre-requisite must have been successfully completed by June 25, 2023.
NOTE: Students are only able to register in one course for summer school as all classes run at the same time. The only exception is a student taking self-paced CALM 20, students could then register in one other course, or the classes are taught in different sessions. For example, taking CALM 20 in session 1 and Phys. Ed 10 in session 2.
Canteen Volunteers and Menu
Volunteering for shifts in our SWH Canteen with Mrs. Braun is an excellent way to help prepare our students for the world of work. These opportunities help students build confidence, increase skill range, and feel successful as they work towards entering post-secondary or the workforce.
Also being served on Thursdays is $3 pizza slices! Pick from pepperoni, cheese and ham & pineapple.
Canteen Volunteers
Canteen Menu
Vending Machine Information
Cyber Security Awareness
It’s always a good time to reflect on how to protect yourself and your organization from cyber threats, such as phishing. Phishing is a cyber criminal’s attempt to get sensitive information by pretending to be a legitimate sender like a bank or a government organization. If you have an email address or a phone number, use social media or browse the internet, chances are you’ve received a phishing message. In fact, phishing is one of the biggest cyber threats Canadians are facing. Learn more
Cyber security is a shared responsibility. To help educate students on phishing and cyber security, see the resources below: