Featured Events

Conference 2011 "Celebrating and Sharing Innovative Practices"

Over 475 delegates attended Conference 2011 in Calgary on October 20/21.  The theme "Celebrating and Sharing Innovative Practices" in our schools was addressed by opening speakers Mr. Keray Henke, Deputy Minister and Mr. Roger Garriock, an expert on innovation.  These speeches set the stage for the 32 breakout sessions which followed on October 21 at the Calgary Science School campus.  Presenters from our schools as well as from Alberta Education addressed a wide variety of topics related to "innovative practices" - Student Engagement; ESL Proficiency Benchmarks; Formative Assessment; Teaching Humanities through experiential and hands'on learning;Teaching games through fundamental movement patterns; Best practices to engage the reluctant writers in the classroom; How to integrate health and wellness into the school; Creating space for the ebb and flow of student engagment; Mapping your way through Math; Social Studies/Language Arts "culminating Activities"; Transformational Leadership"  Digital Storytelling in the 21st Century; Pads in Education; Fine Arts networking; Parent and Community Engagment; Using Web 2.0 Tools to increase student engagement and enhance curriculum" are just some of the sessions which were offered.  At the end of the day we were pleased to have our new Education Minister join us to say a few words.  The Hon. Thomas Lukaszuk addressed the delegates and indicated his support for charter schools and stated his intention to continue and even enahance the process of collaboration with our association as new initiatives unfold at the provincial level.

Pre- Conference 2011 "Innovative Problem Solving"

On October 20, Mr. Roger Garriock, an expert on innovation and innovative practices, conducted a very successful workshop with 36 administrators/directors from our association. Mr. Garriorck, a retired IBM executive has worked extensively in the area of innovative problem solving and for over a decade, has assisted with Destination ImagiNation, the worlds' largest non-profit creative problem solving program for students.

During his workshop, Roger provided an indepth explanation and analysis regarding the participants' "problem solving styles" and then offered "tools" for how best to utilize an understanding of the various styles to be more creative and innovative in problem solving.  The discussion and exercises which followed were very engaging and informative.  It was determined that these "tools" not only apply to leaders but are also foundational for helping our students acquire 21st century skills.  As Roger noted, the 4 C's - Creative thinking; Critical Thinking; Collaboration and Communication, are essential skills which our students will require as they take their place in society.

At the conclusion of the day, numerous participants indicated their interest in learning more about the Destination ImagiNation program and its applicability to our students.

Annual General Meeting

The Association of Alberta Public Charter Schools held its Annual General Meeting on October 19, 2011 in Calgary.  Elections were held and the following positions were filled:

Co Presidents:  Jay Pritchard and Judy Gray

Co Vice-Presidents:  Jim Rigby and Joe Frank

Secretary-Treasurer:  Meredith Poole

EAC Committee members:  Garry McKinnon, Dale Erickson, Justin Kool, Ian Gray, Heather Christison, Megan O'Hara, Jim Rigby, Joe Frank, Judy Gray, Jay Pritchard and Garry Andrews

For more information regarding the Annual General Meeting please visit our website's "Meetings" section.