We planted our giant sunflowers today! Thanks to Nutrien Ag. Solutions for sending us the planting packages. The students are enjoyoying the educational videos and games as well!

Thank you to Maria from Farm Safety Center for the presentation this afternoon! The students were very interested and your presentation led to a great discussion about safe choices afterwards. We look forward to your next presentation!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Unfortunately, we didn’t catch Lucky, the leprechaun, in any of our five traps. He did manage to get into some mischief while he visited. He hid the students’ shoes, switched their water bottles and bins, flipped over some furniture, and left footprints all over! What a mess!! Everyone showed their school spirit wearing green today, and we celebrated with green (Mountain Dew) floats this afternoon. They were delicious!

Students were given a choice to work on the computers or do some block building. Pretty soon they challenged themselves to make a snap cube snake that went from the farthest classroom to the front door! Great team work!

We had a wonderful ski day on Friday at Valley Ski near Alliance. Thanks Lorrie Thornton Tye for organizing and all the parents for driving and helping all the little ones on the hill!

<p><i>The board meeting agenda package can be found here:</i> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ro2XbuU_WcCMh26nIZoKuDjL6zukV5bz/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ro2XbuU_WcCMh26nIZoKuDjL6zukV5bz/view?usp=sharing</a></p><p><strong>Schuler School Presentation</strong></p><p>Schuler School principal Lisa Lindsay provided an overview of the school and highlights from the past year. Schuler is a K-9 school of approximately 70 students located 90 kilometres north of Medicine Hat. The school has implemented several new initiatives from the feedback received from students, parents, and staff through the 2021-2022 assurance survey. These include; new routines for junior high students during the recess and lunch break, increased choice in the option courses available, an active student voice, enhanced weekly communication to parents and the community, and opportunities for team building and collaboration amongst the staff. A summary of the school’s education goals was shared, focusing on literacy, deeper learning and promoting a positive culture. The full school presentation can be found in the meeting agenda package.</p><p><strong>Technology Accountability Report</strong></p><p>Director of Technology Wayne Rossler presented the 2022 PRPS Technology Accountability Report for information. The report includes a list of the division’s technology assets, along with a summary of key projects and priorities for the current school year, which includes; the digitization of student records, security upgrades, the moving of files to a cloud-based data centre and the installation of Chromebook internet filtering. It was noted that during the 2020-2021 school year, Prairie Rose Public Schools spent 1.3 million dollars on technology purchases and licensing. The full report can be found in the meeting agenda package.</p><p><strong>2022-2023 School Calendar Approval</strong></p><p>The board approved the school calendar for the 2022-2023 year. The calendar has a start date for students of August 29, 2022, a mid-week start to the Christmas break, a day for all students and staff to honour Truth and Reconciliation, and the inclusion of two wellness days into the calendar. The approved calendar is available on the Prairie Rose website:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.myprps.com/news/2022-2023-prps-school-year-calendar-1646873059180">https://www.myprps.com/news/2022-2023-prps-school-year-calendar-1646873059180</a></p><p><strong>Capital Plan Approval</strong></p><p>Chief Financial Officer Ryan Boser shared that Prairie Rose has been granted an extension by Alberta Infrastructure for late submission of the annual Capital Plan, which is usually required by the end of March. The division will be working with Ferrari Westwood Babits Architects to formally revamp the plan to ensure essential school facility needs are represented. The plan will be returned to the board for approval at the April public board meeting.</p><p><strong>GP15 Trustee Development</strong></p><ul><li>A modification was made to GP15 to allow trustees the choice to attend the Rural Education Symposium or First Nations Metis Education Gathering conference annually as part of their allocated PD budget.</li></ul>

<p>The Prairie Rose Public Schools Board of Trustees will be holding their next public board meeting on Wednesday, March 9th at 12:45 pm. The meeting will be held in-person at the Chamber of Commerce office in Medicine Hat located at:</p><p>413 - 6 Avenue SE<br>Medicine Hat, Alberta</p><p>The meeting agenda can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ro2XbuU_WcCMh26nIZoKuDjL6zukV5bz/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ro2XbuU_WcCMh26nIZoKuDjL6zukV5bz/view?usp=sharing</a></p>

<p>On Saturday, February 26, 2022, Alberta Premier Jason Kenny announced that the province will be moving forward with lifting most of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions on March 1st. For K-12 schools this will result in the removal of all current protocols, <i>with the exception of the sickness/isolation guidelines</i>.</p><p>Specifically, starting March 1, 2022, the following restrictions will no longer apply:</p><ul><li>Cohorting will be removed for grades K-6.</li><li>Youth screening activities for entertainment and sports activities will no longer be required.</li><li>Capacity limits for large gatherings are removed.</li><li>Indoor and outdoor social gathering limits will be lifted.</li><li>There will no longer be a requirement for those over the age of 18 to wear a mask, however, Prairie Rose Public Schools will continue to support any individual who wishes to continue wearing a mask.</li></ul><p>As mentioned, the illness and stay at home when sick requirements remain in place. <strong>Please continue to use our Student Illness Guide to determine whether your child is well enough to attend school</strong>. &nbsp;This requirement also applies to all adults visiting school facilities. A link to the most recent versions of our PRPS Illness Guides can be found below.&nbsp;</p><p>(<strong>Updated February 2022</strong>): <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12oedZgsqwxJlmL6yMMLlR86E4PeuvGMG/view">Student Illness Guide - Staying Home When Sick</a></p><p>(<strong>Updated February 2022</strong>): <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IJ8D-GrZniZOevr6tKsVJ0NGb-SRMChH/view">Adult Illness Guide - Staying Home When Sick</a></p>

Great job everyone for participating in Pink Shirt Day today! Love how our kids are always trying to find ways to be helpful and kind to others! ❤️

<p>Starting February 23rd, parents will start receiving survey packages by mail from Alberta Education for the 2022 Assurance Survey. &nbsp;Parents will either complete the surveys online or return completed paper copies directly to Alberta Education.&nbsp;</p><p>Here are some important notes for parents regarding the survey:</p><ol><li>The survey package will include:<ul><li>a copy of the Education Minister's letter</li><li>a Random Access Code for accessing the survey online and instructions for accessing the survey in other languages, if needed.</li></ul></li><li>Parents with more than one student in the relevant survey grades will receive a separate survey package and Random Access Code for each child.</li><li><strong>The survey will remain open until April 1, 2022 (the deadline has been extended)</strong>.</li></ol><p><strong>Who will receive the survey?</strong></p><ol><li>Where a school community is fewer than 120 students in grades 4-12, all students in grades 4 and above will meet the survey eligibility criteria.</li><li>Where a school community is above 120 only parents and guardians of students in grades 4, 7 and 10 will receive the survey.</li></ol><p>More information regarding the Assurance Framework and how the survey data will be used can be found by visiting the <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/accountability-education-system.aspx">Alberta Education Assurance and Accountability website</a>.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

We enjoyed a great zoom presentation with Mel Davidson today! The students loved hearing about her Olympic experiences. She reminded students of the importance of working hard and setting goals. Thanks Mel for taking the time to meet our kids! ❤️

Happy Valentine’s Day!! Everyone wore red to celebrate the day. We played some Valentines bingo, and kids were so excited sharing their valentines for the Valentines exchange. They were especially proud of the card boxes they created. ❤️❤️

💯 Day projects were amazing this year! Very proud of all the students’ creativity!

A huge thank you to GG Shiela Davidson for bringing Mel’s Olympic medals and rings to NBS. Thank you also for bringing the delicious ice cream cakes we all shared for Ridge’s birthday. The students and staff loved having you as a guest at our school!

Thank you to Diane and Karin from CARA for the Farm Safety Presentation today at NBS. The students were very interested and engaged. Thank you also for the Farm Safety kits for each family.

<p>The Prairie Rose Public Schools Board of Trustees will be holding a Special Board Meeting on February 10, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the following item:</p><ol><li>P113 - Workplace Health and Safety, COVID-19 Increased Safety Procedures</li></ol><p>The meeting will be held online and can be accessed here: <a href="https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTZkODA3ZGEtZTdkMS00YTExLWJlNzEtMDY5OTU0MjZhZGE0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c1a7f361-4369-4e63-af8a-db541e2c097b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2248a6a9b8-2a7b-494f-9523-0206f91ffcad%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d&amp;btype=a&amp;role=a">Join the Online Meeting</a><br><i>Once you click the link, click cancel (on the pop up), watch on the web instead, join anonymously.</i></p>

<p>Yesterday evening, Premier Jason Kenny shared details regarding the province’s plan for moving forward, beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Full details of the <i>Alberta plan for returning to normal</i> is available here: <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=8185996876395-A336-5B57-A82D6FEE916E1060">February 8, 2022 Announcement</a></p><p>As a result of these changes, please be aware of the following updates to our division COVID-19 response plan:</p><p>→<strong> &nbsp;Masking:</strong> Starting next week (February 14th), all masking requirements for students will be removed from the public health order for all K-12 students. This means that students in grades K-12 will not be required to wear a mask while riding the school bus, or while attending school. At this time, the Alberta Government still requires all adults (18 years of age or older) to wear masks while in schools. This includes school and division staff, bus drivers and any adult visitors to our schools. As always, our schools will continue to provide a supportive environment for those students who wish to continue wearing a mask.</p><p><strong>→ &nbsp;Daily Checklist and Isolation Requirements:</strong> Parents are encouraged to continue to use the daily checklist when making decisions regarding sending their child to school. All isolation requirements for students who are close contacts or test positive for COVID-19 remain in place. The <i>PRPS Student Illness Guide</i> can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12oedZgsqwxJlmL6yMMLlR86E4PeuvGMG/view">PRPS Illness Guide</a></p><p><strong>→ &nbsp;Spectators and Visitors in Schools</strong>: Restrictions on spectator limits (sports and performance) have been lifted, however all adults in school buildings are still required to wear a mask for the duration of the time they are in the school as per the current government direction.</p><p><strong>→ &nbsp;Field Trips</strong>: The restrictions to field trip activities have been lifted. Schools are still encouraged to prioritize outdoor field trips and maintain cohorts, where possible.</p><p><strong>→ &nbsp;After School Facility Use (youth)</strong>: Outside user groups for youth are once again permitted at Prairie Rose Public School facilities. Please contact your local school for details.</p><p>As part of the three step <i>Alberta plan for returning to normal</i>, it is likely more changes will be coming throughout the next few weeks. Our division will continue to follow the direction provided by the provincial government as they move toward reopening Alberta.&nbsp;</p><p>Thank you again for your continued patience and understanding as we navigate the challenges of COVID-19. If you have any questions, please contact your school principal.</p>

So proud of the Grade 4’s as they completed their math unit. They did a great job exploring and measuring angles, attributes of quadrilaterals, and congruent figures. They are very proud of their shape skeletons they built to end this unit!

<p>The Prairie Rose Public Schools Board of Trustees will be holding their next public meeting on February 8, 2022, at 12:45 PM. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the meeting will be streamed live.</p><p>The meeting agenda can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ernKY1U7tQ1DWjyzNfKzPQHsghhOqDky/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ernKY1U7tQ1DWjyzNfKzPQHsghhOqDky/view?usp=sharing</a></p><p>The meeting will be held online and can be accessed here: <a href="https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODNhMTE3YjQtZGJiZi00M2JmLTkxNGQtMmYwZTc3ZTE4Yzg2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c1a7f361-4369-4e63-af8a-db541e2c097b%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f7324c65-36e2-49e7-bfab-e0b3d9aa4a5d%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d&amp;btype=a&amp;role=a">Join the Online Meeting</a><br><i>Once you click the link, click cancel (on the pop up), watch on the web instead, join anonymously.</i></p>

Today we finished our Olympic 2022 banner! They loved learning about the flags and different events. Kids are so excited to chart the progress of our Canadian athletes! Go Canada!