Destination Imagination Rocks!
District students had the opportunity to share their creativity and problem solving during the Regional Destination Imagination event hosted at Rosemont School. The adjudicators and parents were treated to an awesome array of presentations from Circus Acts to Extreme Environments to Structural Wonders! A huge thank you to all the volunteers that made the day possible, especially Brent Cross, Marion Hunter and the WKTEP contingent.
The Aboriginal Voice
The Aboriginal Voice is a publication highlighting the stories about the wonderful activities that take place throughout our District to support Aboriginal Education. Have a look at the most recent edition: AB ED Newsletter – April 2014
Check out the Second Edition of DESK.Sribe
A Grade 8 DESK (Distance Education School of the Kootenays) students has coordinated and developed a digital magazine called DESK Scribe. The magazine is a compilation of DESK (Kindergarten to Grade 12) student projects, art work, essays and poetry. Click the link here to have a look at this masterful creation! DESK.Scribe Issue 2
Students from Wildflower and L.V. Rogers schools Team Up for An Intercultural Experience!
As part of the LVR Dance Academy’s ArtStarts grant which involves bringing dance to our local community, 2 LVR students visited Cheryl Grant’s Wildflower Elementary class where they taught the children a choreographed dance, facilitated an art project which integrated culture and dance, and videotaped students as they explored questions relating to how dance reflects a community’s culture. In addition, one of the LVR students took the project to a global level over Spring Break where she worked at a Children’s Camp in Thailand and exploring with the Thai children how dance impacts culture. As a culminating activity, both the Wildflower class and the Thai class will have a chance to watch the videotaped interviews and dance in order to learn more about one another’s culture.
Building Professional Networks – Innovative Practice Grants
Building professional networks focussed on student learning in the areas of creativity and imagination, academic success, resiliency and citizenship is the focus of the Innovative Practice project initiative. Across all of our Families of Schools, teachers and support staff have created collaborative teams to work on a personalized ‘problem of practice’. They have met throughout the year to learn together and support each other.
As part of the project, teams committed to posting their learning on SD8Learns, our professional learning portal. Stories are beginning to come in and it is exciting to see the variety and the depth of learning demonstrated by our staff as they work together to support our students. Check out what is happening at https://sd8learns.sd8.bc.ca/innovativepracticegrants/and connect to the work by posting a comment!
Congratulations Deanna Holitzki
Deanna Holitizki is our Director of Human Resource Services in the Kootenay Lake School District. Our District can be very proud of her, and her most recent accomplishment. Let’s celebrate with Deanna, who has officially earned the Certified Human Resources Professional designation. “The Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation is a nationally recognized level of achievement within the field of human resources. It reflects a conviction that the professional practice of human resources management can safeguard the interests of employers, employees and the business community. The designation represents continuing recognition of the bearer’s professionalism.” (CHRP Website). This is a significant achievement, and demonstrative of professional commitment and capacity. It is very rare that school districts are privileged to have human resource professionals who present both a background in Education AND professional training/background in human resource services.
Well Done Deanna! We are proud of you!
Credit Unions Step Up -To light Up the Pedestrians
Heritage Credit Union and Kootenay Savings Credit Union have partnered with the Winlaw Fire Dept.’s WHAMS ( Winlaw Highway Accident Management Society) to sponsor the production and distribution of 2000 highly reflective slap wrist bands.
The purpose of these reflective wrist bands is to raise awareness to pedestrians and hitch hikers that they need to make themselves more visible to motorists, and, and to give them a tool to do this. Pedestrians wearing light coloured clothing or something with a reflective material will probably be seen in plenty of time to give them enough space.To the pedestrian blinded by headlights it might seem obvious that they can be seen, but to the driver, black on black just isn’t seen. If there are oncoming headlights and a driver switches to low beams, the driver may not see the pedestrian at all until they are passing them. If the pedestrian is walking facing the traffic, they have the option of ditch diving or
moving farther off the road. But, if they are dressed like a ninja and walking facing the wrong way, good luck!
These slap bands can be kept rolled up in a jacket pocket or wrapped around a backpack strap, for whenever someone is out on the roads after dark. Winlaw Fire Dept. members are distributing 1000 to the valley school students and staff from the Junction to New Denver. An additional 600 were distributed at the credit union branches from the junction to New Denver as well as 400 through retail outlets
throughout the valley. Reflective wrist bands are also available at the the Nelson dollar store, cycle shops and safety supply stores or on line.The generous financing and sponsorship by the credit unions made this program possible.
BE SEEN AND BE SAFE!
WHAMS
SD8 (Kootenay Lake) 