The Babies are Going Home.

Emily and Jourdan with their babies.

Grade 12 Family Studies students are taking home their newest family members starting this weekend.  The computerized babies simulate actual children and give our students the opportunity to experience parenthood.  Here is hoping for babies without colic.  I image the new grandparents will be hoping for the same.

Chopped!

On Friday, the Grade 10 Food & Nutrition class competed in a class based version of the popular tv show "Chopped". Students were divided into four groups and were asked to complete two challenges, Challenge One, Create an appetizer based on four secret ingredients (spinach, blackberry jam, chicken breast and puffed pastry) and Challenge Two, create a dessert based on four new secret ingredients (soda crackers, maple syrup, Pears, and cream cheese.) Students were given 5 minutes of optional computer time, and 45 minutes to create each challenge. A panel of three guest judges came in to taste test and evaluate.   

Tell Them From Me - Bullying and School Safety

A safe school environment is critical for students' learning and well-being. Schools are safer when school staff, students, parents and community agencies work together to prevent bullying, exclusion and sexual harassment. Bullying is when a person tries to hurt another person, and does it more than once. It can be physical, verbal, or social, and can also take place over the internet with emails or text messages. Sometimes a group of students will bully others.  Exclusion is when students feel excluded or treated unfairly at school because of ethnic or cultural background, gender, social class, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or other perceived categorical boundary. Sexual harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate language or touching that makes a person feel upset, hurt or angry. Exclusion and sexual harassment are forms of bullying, and often students that are excluded or harassed are victims of other forms of bullying. Students who are bullied are prone to experiencing low self esteem, anxiety, depression, and disaffection from school. In extreme cases bullying can lead to suicide.

Key Findings from the Research

·         * Data from Tell Them From Me surveys in 2009-10 found students who reported being victims of bullying were five-and-a-half times as likely to be suffering depression, and were almost three times as likely to have a low sense of belonging at school. They were also less likely to be intellectually engaged.

·         * Schools vary in their reported prevalence of moderate and severe bullying. In 2009-10, data from Tell Them From Me found that among middle schools the prevalence of moderate and severe bullying varied from 4% to 52%, with one-half of all schools having a prevalence between 24% and 35%. The prevalence of moderate and severe bullying reported was less in secondary schools; on average it was 22% compared with the middle school average of 29%.

·         * There are several actions schools can take to prevent bullying, exclusion and sexual harassment.  School staff must be able to recognize different forms of bullying and be willing to step in when they observe a student being bullied.  Positive school policies and practices can make it safe for students to report bullying when it occurs and ensure that there are clear consequences for bullying that are consistently enforced. Schools can help equip students with appropriate strategies to deal with bullying, exclusion and sexual harassment.

·         * Data from students can help school staff develop positive practices and policies.

A presentation on The Rise of ISIS

We are pleased to welcome back international journalist Gynne Dyer on Tuesday, February 23 at 2 pm in the Carman Collegiate Community Theatre.   Mr. Dyer is presenting to our grade 9 to 12 students on his new book, “Don’t Panic: Islamic State, Terrorism and the Middle East”.  If any parents or community members would like to sit in on this presentation, please contact the school at 204 745 2001.

Don’t Panic - A Lecture by Gwynne Dyer
Has the dam really burst? Is the reasonably stable world of the past few decades going to be overwhelmed by violence and chaos?
    The rapid rise of a terrorist “Islamic Caliphate” in the Middle East seems to mark a break with a past where things like that were simply not allowed to happen. The unbridled cruelty of the ISIS fighters who created the “Islamic State” in parts of Iraq and Syria last year (together with the capture of most of Libya by Islamist militias) suggests that Osama bin Laden’s dream of a Muslim world united under extremist leadership is creeping closer to reality.
            That probably won’t happen, although Islamic State, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, Boko Haram, al- Shabaab and the rest are revolutionaries with a political programme, not just vicious idiots with guns. Their political programme, for those who do not share their own quite peculiar religious convictions, starts at the implausible and ends up deep into the surreal, but all their actions are calculated to bring the day nearer when that programme will be fulfilled. Bad news for many people in the Middle East if they succeed, but there simply aren’t enough people and resources there to make them a global threat. And terrorism is a minor threat elsewhere, unless the potential victims succumb to panic and start doing stupid things themselves.
 It’s  a couple of months since the Russians began their air-strikes in Syria, and the countries that have already been bombing there for over a year – the United States and some other NATO countries – are working themselves up into a rage about it. But France is a prime target because French aircraft are part of the Western-led coalition bombing Islamic State, and because it’s relatively easy to recruit terrorists from France’s large, impoverished and alienated Muslim minority. Russia has also become a priority target since its aircraft started bombing jihadi troops in Syria.
             China, for decades a country dedicated only to growing its economy and expanding its overseas trade, is getting more belligerent abroad as the regime tries to distract public opinion from economic problems at home. It has frequent confrontations with Japan over seabed territorial disputes in the East China Sea, and it is building thinly disguised military bases all over islands and shoals in the South China Sea that are also claimed by South-East Asian countries that are far closer to them. This is a legitimate cause for worry, but it is unlikely to result in a war. Everybody involved is much more interested in trade than in fighting.
            There is a sense that the world is drifting out of control, and the level of fear of the future is definitely rising. This lecture is an attempt to assess the real level of risk. It’s not nearly as high as it seems. We’d do better to worry about really serious risks like climate change.

National Fair Trade Conference

On February 19, Chelsey G, Bailey G, Amber U and Ashley H attended the 4th National Fair Trade Conference at the Fort Garry Hotel. During the event, they heard from various speakers that discussed the concept of fair trade and the benefits it offers to producers and consumers, as well as, how students and schools can take action on these issues.

Extreme Sledding - Skills Manitoba

Recognizing that we live in a northern climate, it was time to have some fun and apply our technical skills!  Four of our grade 7 and 8 students headed into Winnipeg on Wednesday with Ms. MacPherson to put their skills to the test.
Energized by a 4 person team, our students constructed a human drawn sled, consisting of cardboard, 2- 2×4’s, and a pull rope. Racing through a moto-cross style course, the competition consisted of two trips around the course alternating riders with the pulling team.
This experience will help with the development of new skills, including: leadership, teamwork, problem solving and design. Our students, who were up to this challenge, had a fun filled day and captured top honours for their design.  Congratulations to Ben P, Caddy R, Mychaela R, and Stefan G for their hard work and excellent design.

Tell Them From Me - School Completion Data

Personal Assets Leading to School Completion
Longitudinal studies that have followed children through to their school-leaving age have identified a number of protective factors related to school completion. These can be grouped into seven broad categories:

1.      Demographic: grade, gender, parents' level of education, educational possessions in the home, having an advocate at home or in the community;

2.      Academic: school grades, no grade repetition;

3.      Social engagement: a sense of belonging at school, participation in sports and clubs, the ability to make positive friendships at school;

4.      Institutional engagement: valuing schooling outcomes, school attendance, positive homework behaviours, and positive school behaviours;

5.      Intellectual engagement: interest and motivation, effort, and being appropriately challenged in class;

6.      Positive mental health: positive self-esteem, not experiencing anxiety or depression;

7.      Learning climate of the school: high expectations for success, has an advocate at school.

Probability of School Completion

Tell Them From Me includes measures of each of these protective factors, which are considered personal assets that increase a student's likelihood of completing school. Some assets are more important than others, based on the results of a number of longitudinal studies. The assets can be weighted accordingly to estimate each child's probability of school completion.

At Carman Collegiate, 71% of the students have a probability of school completion that is greater than 70%. A further 12% have a moderate chance of completion, with a probability of school completion between 50 and 70%. About 17% of the students have a probability of school completion that is less than 50%.

The average probability of school completion at Carman Collegiate is 74%, while the Canadian average is 78%.

Welcome Ms. K!

Carman Collegiate is please to welcome Ms. Suzy Kotelniski to the Carman Collegiate teaching staff.  Ms. Kotelniski started with us on February 1 as our new grade 7 and 8 French teacher.  Ms. Kotelniski is filling the position as a result of Mrs. Rouire taking on the role as Vice Principal of Carman Collegiate.

New AFM Counsellor

Carman Collegiate would like to welcome Melissa Beaudry, the new Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) counsellor.  Melissa started at Carman Collegiate this past week.  She is taking over the position from Tara Smoker, who now works for AFM in Winnipeg.

Melissa's role as an AFM counsellor at Carman Collegiate is to provide support and information to both students and parents. Students may consider meeting with her if they are concerned about their own involvement with alcohol, drugs or gambling, or if they have concerns about the alcohol, drug or gambling use of someone close to them. Parents may be interested in contacting Melissa for information and support in understanding the ways alcohol, drugs or gambling may be impacting their youth. Her goal is to provide a safe, confidential and non-judgmental environment for students and parents to seek support.

Students may also have contact with Melissa through classroom presentations on alcohol, drug and gambling awareness. These presentations seek to provide education and early prevention, giving students the opportunity to consider the risks and impacts of their choices.

She will be available for drop-in meetings, appointments, and phone calls at Carman Collegiate on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Her private call line is 204 745 2810.

Welcome Melissa to the Carman Collegiate Community.

PHILANTHROPY GROUP

Susan Mooney from the fundraising group for the Boyne Regional Library expansion project met with the Philanthropy group to provide information about the project.  The presentation was informative with the students very interested and impressed with the proposal.  The Library expansion project is hosting an RCMP Regimental Ball on Saturday, March 5 at the Carman Community Hall.  Tickets are $50 per person and available from the Boyne Regional Library or contact Yolande at 204 745 1902. 

Family Movie night returns featuring The Good Dinosaur on February 18, 2016 at 7:00.  Cost is $5 per person or $15 for the family.  Popcorn, goodies, and water will be on sale for $1 each.  Proceeds go toward the Philanthropy group,

Tell Them From Me Student Survey

Our students completed the TTFM Survey in November of 2015.  The report we received is divided into three categories: School Completion Report, Bullying and School Safety Report, and Student Outcomes and School Climate Report.  Results were shared and reports distributed at the February 3 Home and School meeting.  Over the next series of weekly newsletters, segments of the report will be shared in each of the different areas.  

School Completion - An Introduction:
Only about three of every four Canadian students graduate from secondary school in the typical timeframe, although many students who drop out of school later pursue adult education programs that lead to a high school diploma.1 School completion is a significant predictor of a students' long-term health, economic success and general well-being. Therefore, the 'completion rate' is a key marker of the efficiency of the formal K-12 school system. Longitudinal studies that have followed students through to the school-leaving age have identified a number of demographic and school-related factors related to school completion.2,3 Literacy skills, engagement, and positive mental health are among the most important protective factors. Data on these factors can be used to gauge a student's chance of completing secondary school. Schools can improve school completion rates by increasing students' literacy skills, monitoring student engagement, building trusting relationships, tackling issues concerning bullying and school safety, and establishing effective family-school partnerships.4,5

Key Findings from the Research

* All children have a certain probability of completing school, which depends on a complex set of factors associated with their family background, academic achievement, engagement, mental health, and the learning climate of their school.
* The Tell Them From Me student survey provides reliable measures of these factors, which can be conceived as assets that children acquire as they progress through school.
* We can use data on students' assets to identify different types of students based on a profile of their academic grades, engagement, and mental health. Analyses of data from over 500,000 Canadian students identified five types of students with differing profiles of these key assets.
* Measures of students' assets can also be used to estimate the probability that a student will complete secondary school. The formula for predicting the probability takes into account the relative importance of the various predictive factors based on the findings from several longitudinal studies.
* We can consider two types of interventions. The first type entails whole-school initiatives aimed at increasing the academic and social-emotional assets of all students, thereby increasing the likelihood they will graduate. The second type involves identifying students who are most at risk of dropping out, and providing a targeted intervention to help them complete school.
* Schools can make a difference. The Alberta study, School Completion in Alberta Schools, provides compelling evidence that schools vary in their school completion rates, even after taking account of students' family backgrounds.

Students from Carman Collegiate completed the Tell Them From Me survey in November 2015, which included measures of the most important assets related to school completion. The report summarizes the results and discusses how they relate to whole-school and targeted interventions.  

If you would like to see a copy of this report, feel free to contact our school office.  Again, segments of the report will be shared through this newsletter over the next several weeks.

Prairie Rose School Division Public Budget Consultation

NOTICE OF MEETING
Public Budget Consultation
Parent Advisory Councils, members of municipal councils, staff, students, and
general members of the public are encouraged to attend. This is an
opportunity to provide input into programs in our schools and the
education of our children. The 2016-2017 proposed budget will be presented.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 AT 7:00 P.M.
ST. PAUL’S COLLEGIATE
3 PR. 248 S.
ELIE Manitoba

Brandon University Open House

February 16th
9:30 am to 2:00 pm
 

We are opening our doors to all grade 11 and 12 students.  Come and see what a Student Engaged Education looks like first-hand!
 

• Sit in on lectures and demonstrations from our five different Faculties: Arts, Science, Music, Education and Health Studies. 
• Meet faculty members and staff from all over campus during the Information Fair.  Ask questions!
• Explore campus!  Join current students on a campus tour, showing all of the great things BU has to offer.
• Enjoy a free lunch, activities, prizes and much much more!  See schedule here!
• Students can attend on their own or with family!
• Students under 18 will need to bring with them a signed waiver.