Rocky View Schools

Rocky View Schools’ (RVS) trustees were back at it Aug. 18 having their first meeting after a two-month summer hiatus.

The school division has made lots of headway in moving to new digital tools to engage students and teachers, said RVS superintendent Greg Bass.

With ePearl and Mahara, two electronic portfolio managers boasting 1,450 users, the push for students creating online learning profiles is expanding well, he said.

The use of laptops by Springbank High School students has successfully been implemented, as has a new learning commons at Meadowbrook Middle School in Airdrie.

Crossfield Elementary School administration is developing a Centre of Excellence for students through collaborative research.

Cochrane High School has begun capturing podcasts in audio and video formats for its students in an attempt to give kids more control of their education.

“The power of the project is the extending of our school walls and placing more control in the students’ hands to manage their learning,” said Bass.

Schools will use Google apps and Moodle, an open source learning platform, to further strengthen its learning with students.

Bass praised the work of the school division to help build relationships with different groups including Stoney Nakoda and Tsuu T’ina Nation elders.

He said a few examples include the creation of a Stoney Nakoda parent advisory committee to meet with the school board — a network that consisted of parents, teachers and community members that were used as resource people in the RVS.

RVS also invited elders not only to the schools on a regular basis but also to the College of Alberta school superintendents’ recent meeting.

“Three Cochrane schools have Elders come to the schools,” said Bass, adding they often focus on story telling and cultural practices.

Challenges ahead include bolstering graduation rates, literacy and further participation by parents. The school division currently has 650 First Nations, Métis and Inuit students.

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