Chinook's Edge School Division trustees voted unanimously to approve a new school calendar that is a hybrid of the current calendar and one CESD proposed last month.Students, staff and parents were surveyed in October on the proposed calendar, which would have added a weeklong break in October and one in February. CESD associate superintendent Shawn Russell said that the survey results show many respondents liked the idea of adding the break in February, but were less accepting of the proposed break in the fall.ìThose who didn't like the calendar, the reason they didn't like it is they like the Fridays off instead,î Russell said during the board of education's Nov. 9 meeting, explaining that the staff members who disliked the fall break did so because of similar reasons.ìThey (staff) thought October was a bit early. Thirty-seven respondents said it was a terrible time because of report cards.îThe new calendar will feature the proposed February break, add a half-week off around Remembrance Day, and retain a number of shorter weeks throughout the school year.Board chair Colleen Butler said the addition of the break around Remembrance Day was a good compromise.ìYou have two short weeks instead of a long week and then a really short week,î she explained, saying it was important to retain as many Fridays off as possible.ìI think the feedback we got was that this is really valued by parents, teachers and students. Those Fridays off give everyone a break when they most need it.îRussell said a total of 597 surveys were completed by staff, 1,113 surveys were received from parents ñ representing 2,098 students ñ and 1,799 were completed by students. Only 60 per cent of staff, 67 per cent of parents, and 63 per cent of students supported adding the fall break.The new calendar will be in effect for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. Russell said another survey will be conducted in the fall of 2013 to gather feedback on the modified calendar.Division agrees on distribution of extra government fundingThe Chinook's Edge School Division Board of Education agreed on a plan detailing how to divvy up $1.8 million in additional government funding during its Nov. 9 meeting.CESD Superintendent Kurt Sacher said a significant portion of the funding will be used to immediately address priority areas within the division: a total of $447,000 will be directed towards the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI); $200,000 to support the Family School Wellness Worker program; $50,000 for the extension of the Instructional Leadership program; and $75,000 for the Assistive Technology program to hire a new teacher and system services support employee.The use of the remaining funding, slightly over $1 million, will be determined by CESD's Resource Allocation Working Group, a committee comprised of school administrators, which will examine priorities across the division, including class size anomalies, special needs situations, and Instructional Leadership projects which support CESD's mission and vision for the future.ìWe're targeting what's best for our students,î Bowden/Spruce View trustee Connie Huelsman said. ìWe're hitting where we know what's best for our students, whether it's special needs in the classroom, class size or literacy issues.îDraft report on annual education results presentedRay Hoppins, CESD's associate superintendent of system services, presented a draft report on the annual education results during the Nov. 9 board of education meeting.Hoppins said board members will be given a couple of weeks to look over the draft report before the final report is presented at the next board meeting.ìThis is just a draft of our attempt to do a couple of things,î he said. ìFirst of all, to represent everything that we're working on as a school division and to tell the story of the great things happening in our school division, but also the things that we're working on in areas of improvement.îThe new report features a briefer format that allows board members to see everything at a glance, Hoppins said.ìIt's more of a brochure, informative format rather than written prose.î
