Swan Hills School Council News – March 20, 2024

Local Journalism Initiative
·5 min read

The Swan Hills School Council held their March 20 meeting in the Flex Room.

School Trustee Report

2024-2025 Transportation Fees Approved

While most Pembina Hills School Division (PHSD) students receive free transportation to and from school, some transportation services are not funded by the province and are therefore offered for a fee. Each year, the Board reviews and approves these fees, taking into account their impact on families and the sustainability of the transportation program.

For the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, no changes were proposed to the fees, but there are updated deadlines for In-Town Transportation fees:

· ECS to Grade 6 students living less than one km from school can purchase bus passes between June 1 and August 14.

· Grades 7 to 12 students living less than two km from school can purchase bus passes starting on August 15.

Priority seating will continue to be given to funded students.

Approval of Capital Plan Priorities

As part of the province's annual budgeting process, school divisions must submit a list of capital projects for consideration. These projects can include new construction or modernization and are evaluated alongside other provincial capital requests, such as hospitals, parks, and highways.

In determining the priority list for PHSD, staff consider each school's age, size, enrollment, and maintenance concerns. Projects are selected based on each school's identified needs.

The Board has approved the following priorities:

· Barrhead Composite High School – Full Modernization & Right-Sizing

· Barrhead Elementary School – Partial Modernization

· Westlock Elementary School – Partial Modernization

Career Camp

PHSD will offer a career camp in July for students entering grade 10 in the fall. The camp runs for five days at R.F. Staples Secondary School in Westlock. Students will learn about careers in automotives, welding, heavy equipment operation, construction trades, aviation and agriculture. Students can earn three credits upon completing the program. Parents can register their eligible grade 9 child through the PowerSchool Parent Portal until April 15.

More information about this program is available on the PHSD website (pembinahills.ca/our-division/news/pembina-hills-offering-career-camp-for-students-entering-grade-10)

School Reports

Div. 1/2:

· The school is working on arranging some dates for Div 1/2 students to go swimming in April.

· Progress reports were released on March 15.

· The Scholastic Book Fair has been ongoing this week.

· Four staff members completed SIVA training (Supporting Individuals through Valued Attachments) at the beginning of March.

· Two handbell groups (junior and senior) and a vocal choir attended the Barrhead Rotary Music Festival on March 12. Both handbell groups and the vocal choir received high silver awards.

Div. 3/4:

· Basketball season has wrapped up for Div 2/3/4. The junior high boys won gold at the tier 2 tournament.

· The junior and senior high students participated in a successful curling program during their Phys Ed classes over the past month. The school is very thankful to the community coaches who were instrumental in facilitating this program. Three junior high teams participated in the PHSD Junior High Bonspiel in Westlock; all three teams made it to the B finals in their pools, with two teams winning their final.

· Badminton is starting up for junior and senior high students. They have been practicing in their Phys Ed classes, and tournaments for the extracurricular sports teams are in the works for April.

· High School progress reports will be released in mid-April.

· The junior high quarter 3 electives will end on April 12, and the quarter 4 electives will begin on April 15.

· Three high school students applied for the two available Pembina Pipeline RAP (Registered Apprenticeship Program) positions. Out of 35 applicants, 10 were granted interviews, including all three Swan Hills School students. One of the two positions went to a Swan Hills student.

· The ski trip to Jasper for grades 9 – 12 students was a success.

· The international school trip to Italy and Greece flies out on March 24 and will be gone for 10 days.

Grizzly Cubs

· The Grizzly Cubs brought in $1050 from Swancicle Days and would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped out.

P.A.W.S.

· PAWS continues to present the GeminAI Rising program (a 5-week education program on the risks of vaping) to small groups of 10 junior high students on a rotating basis during their enrichment block.

· PAWS is also presenting mental health first aid to students.

Old Business

· Grow Towers: The school has two grow towers. Both towers are active and growing.

· Bear Awareness: Unfortunately, the school will not be able to offer the Bear Awareness program this year as no Forestry Officers are available to facilitate it. Hopefully, the school will be able to offer this program during the upcoming school year.

· Mental Health Literacy + PD Day: The school has not had the opportunity to offer this program to staff. The plan is to incorporate this into the school's next PD day.

New Business

· Golf: The Swan Hills Golf and Country Club is offering junior memberships for $100. The school is exploring the possibility of including golf as a unit in Phys Ed. There has also been some discussion about offering work experience at the golf course.

· Alberta School Councils' Association (ASCA) Conference and AGM: The conference and AGM will be held at the Delta Marriott Edmonton South from April 26 – 28. PHSD has $5,000 to support the division's school council members in attending this event. The hotel room bookings for this event must be made by April 3.

The next School Council meeting will be on May 15, 2024, at 7:00 PM.

Dean LaBerge, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Grizzly Gazette

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