Buffalo Trail Public Schools celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD). This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #EmbraceEquity. On March 9, 2023, we are hosting an in person event and Darci Lang will be engaging us in conversation during the evening. Darci has written four books and her book Embrace the 90% supports this year’s IWD theme.

Sign up here and contact Bri Blackie to pay for your meal ticket via e-transfer. Learn more about Darci Lang on her website.

Letters

Letter to Staff - Save the Date - International Women's Day 2023

BTPS Four Year Plan Educational Stakeholder Engagements - Letter #2

Media Releases

BTPS Four Year Education Plan Educational Stakeholder Engagements

BTPS Learning on the Trail Podcast

You can view all of our news releases on our website here.

Read Alouds

You can view all of our Read Alouds on our BTPS YouTube here.

Radio Ads

Quinn, from Edgerton Public Schools, shares our Annual Educational Results Report here.

You can listen to all of our Radio Ads on our website here.

BTPS Learning on the Trail Podcast

Check out all of our BTPS Learning on the Trail podcast episodes here.

Have you ever heard of sketchnoting? Sketchnoting is exactly what it sounds like; sketching notes. It has been found to improve memory, attention, and concentration. Students can summarize ideas, boil them down to the core message, and establish connections. It’s like seeing contents through a visual script. Visual learners will love this, and even if students can’t draw, they can still doodle a masterpiece! If you want to dive deeper, check out this resource, “Sketchnoting in the Classroom”. Another great way to use sketchnoting in class is during a response to reading like read-alouds or when annotating. Give it a try!

Wondering what tactics you might use to develop students’ mathematical understanding?

These printable math mats were shared by Gerry Varty. Download as a PowerPoint file, print on 11 x 17 paper, and laminate for your classes!

Mathology has 40 PDF Math Mat Masters! Access them individually or as one file in this Google Folder.

Common Sense Education supports K-12 schools with everything educators need to empower the next generation of digital citizens. The site also offers a free one-hour course called Teaching Digital Citizenship, which can help you prepare your students for success as digital learners, leaders, and citizens, creating a road map for teaching digital citizenship in your classroom. Common Sense focuses on five key areas including digital equity, literacy and citizenship, and tech accountability. You can also access free live or recorded webinars like this one, Making Digital Citizenship Meaningful. Full curriculum resources are available on the homepage, including a curriculum overview, which includes lessons like “My Social Media Life”. Along with digital citizenship, Common Sense Media rates movies, tv shows, podcasts, books, and more so families can make safer entertainment choices for their kids.

We still have available spots for students to register for our Dual Credit courses in the Trades (Automotive Service Technician) and University Transfer (Psychology 104 online) programs. Please consider what a great opportunity these courses can be for transitioning to post-secondary for our students and families. As well as allowing our students to get started on their post-secondary courses while they are still in high school.

Contact Linda.Koskie@btps.ca to register your student or check out our website (https://sites.google.com/a/btps.ca/cts-courses/) for more information.

Central office wants to say thank you to teaching staff that have submitted their new criminal record checks to comply with Bill 85 that was passed by The Government of Alberta.

Just a friendly reminder that prior to the end of April, we will require all teachers and substitute teachers to submit their original criminal record check to the BTPS central office. If you require the original back, please indicate it when you send it in. Once processed, we will forward it back to you.

If your local detachment charges for a criminal record check, BTPS will reimburse you. You will need to provide your receipt of payment and complete an expense claims form.

In 2020, Bill 204 (now renamed- Protection of Students with Life-threatening Allergies Act) was passed. This bill required all schools to have an EpiPen for severe allergy emergencies. After many years of creating policies, procedures, and ensuring we had the correct insurance, we now have them in our schools. Each school has 1 adult sized EpiPen. Schools with elementary grades 3 and younger also have 1 EpiPen Jr. These are to be kept in a location accessible to everyone. These are to be used if there is an emergency. Members of the public, staff and students with known allergies typically have their own. If they have forgotten to bring their EpiPen or it’s damaged, they can use it. If such an event occurs, please contact Don Doherty as soon as possible (780-842-8912).

Another component of the Protection of Students with Life-threatening Allergies Act was mandatory training for all employees. This training can be done online through https://www.allergyaware.ca/. This course is approx. ½ hour long. When you take this course, you need to create an account, so it can issue you a certificate of completion. This course needs to be completed by March 1/2023. BTPS needs to maintain a record that you have completed the course. Please forward a copy of your certificate to your supervisor and Don Doherty (Don.Doherty@btps.ca). This training can be completed during a staff meeting, or individually. To ensure this training is maintained, a refresher needs to be done at the beginning of each school year.

Packed full of some very exciting opportunities in February!

Wainwright FCSS is starting up a brand-new program called Adulting 101. A program offering valuable life skills to youth and young adults aged 16-24 through a series of free and informative workshops and presentations every month.

We currently have our January and February events scheduled:

-January 30 @ 7PM: Financial Literacy (Budgeting & Saving and Credits & Investments)

-February 28 @ 4PM: Healthy Friendships and Healthy Relationships

-March (not yet scheduled) but we are thinking a Tax Secrets or Tax Prep & Filing session!

View the January 2023 newsletter online here. For more information, visit www.cyfcaregivereducation.ca

Park Pass by Prescription

Did you know you’ll soon be able to visit a national Canadian park for free with a doctor’s prescription? Parks Canada has partnered with Park Prescriptions(PaRx) to provide free admission to national parks so that doctors can help Canadians improve their physical and mental health by prescribing time in a national park, national historic site, or national marine conservation area. PaRx has been endorsed by health partners like BC Family Doctors, Saskatchewan Medical Association, Nurse Practitioners Association of Manitoba, and Ontario College of Family Physicians. It also is collaborating with local teams to launch in every province and territory across the country. The program was approved in March 2022 in Alberta!

Education to Change the World

This year’s annual FREE well-being course -- the Power of Journaling -- contains quick videos and prompts to help us gain clarity on our life's purpose and 2023 goals.

Access the free resources here including the journal prompts workbook here.

Artwork submitted by Vermilion Elementary School Grade One students