March 2020 Prairie Update

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Thoughts from Gayle

STEADFASTNESS of God

With the current political climate in Alberta, I’m sure that those of you in this province are busy trying to figure out what the recent budget means for your community. I attended a meeting recently on the new funding framework for schools and there are big changes there too. Alongside this uncertainty, I have been thinking about the STEADFASTNESS of God. Steadfast is an old-fashioned word, one that I don’t use very often (never) in my casual conversation. When thinking about God’s steadfast character, phrases like the following come to mind: firmly loyal, unswervingly dedicated, immovable, utterly dependable. Interestingly, when searching the Bible for references to “steadfast” a lot of references are not about God’s nature, but instead are directed toward US to be steadfast! With that in mind, be encouraged:

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be STEADFAST (firmly loyal, unswervingly dedicated, immovable, utterly dependable) . Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Approaching Deadlines!

A couple of deadlines are approaching for 2 fantastic opportunities:

ELDI
Aspiring Leaders are encouraged to apply to the Educational Leadership Development Institute. Many of our current school leaders have participated in this program and have found it to be very worthwhile. At this point, only teachers working at schools who are CSI members can SUBMIT. Deadline is March 20, 2020.

Teacher Excellence Awards

This is a new and exciting Canada-wide award that is sponsored by Christian Schools Canada, along with other organizations. Awards will be given in 5 areas: K-4, 5-8, 9-12, Global Perspectives and Lifetime Achievement.

The initial APPLICATION is simple to complete and due by
April 20, 2020. It would be great to have several PCCE teachers nominated.

Teachers

TfT 101 Days 3 & 4:

The final 2 days of TfT 1o1 will be held in two locations to facilitate participation:
Edmonton: April 27 & 28
Calgary: April 30 & May 1
We’ll be celebrating the learning done thus far and learning about the final two Core Practices of Throughlines and FLEx.
If you attended the October sessions, make sure you come back so that you have an understanding of the entire TfT Framework.
Edmonton Registration
Calgary Registration

Top Notch

If we could assign you “required reading” this would be at the top of the list!

How Kids Learn Resilience

Math Teachers: HERE are some picture books that “humanize” math. Remember that older kids like picture books too!

High School Math Teachers: If you have wondered about the “real work” aspect of the concepts your students are learning, this is a helpful and challenging ARTICLE.

High School Teachers: This ARTICLE has some wise thoughts to consider as you talk with your students about their future career plans.

The 2020 PCCE Convention planning is well underway and we are currently in the process of gathering names of people interested in presenting a workshop.

Forms have been prepared for either:

We are hoping to have these completed by April 6, 2020.

Information regarding the Convention is continuously being updated on the Convention WEBSITE.

Administrators

Business & Development Conference

There is still time to REGISTER to join our BC colleagues for their annual conference for business & development staff and board members on
April 6-7, 2020 in Harrison Hot Springs.

CSC Conference 2020

Registration is now open for the Christian School Leadership conference in Vancouver.

Early bird REGISTRATION is in effect until mid June. We want to have a strong PCCE presence at the conference so if there are financial constraints to your school’s participation, please contact Gayle as we have funds available to subsidize costs.

Our 2020 conference will be held on May 7-8, 2020 and we are delighted to have Steve Bell, songwriter, storyteller, writer, mentor, advocate, join us to lead us in a modified version of his Journey Retreat. Using a combination of music, song and storytelling, Steve will lead us through a series of sessions addressing topics such as:
- who is God and
- what it means to be made in God’s image and
- how this understanding impacts and is impacted by worship, the liturgical calendar and prayer.
REGISTRATION

School Boards

Business & Development Conference

REGISTER now to join our BC colleagues for their annual conference for business & development staff and board members on April 6-7, 2020 in Harrison Hot Springs. If you are attending, please contact our OFFICE and we will provide some level of subsidy (amount will depend on demand).

AT OUR APRIL AGM...

One of the workshops will be a presentation by the Christian School Foundation, where they will be explaining how they can partner with schools for long-term financial viability. The PCCE is considering an organizational partnership agreement with CSF but we need to know how beneficial this would be to our schools and how committed schools would be to using their services. As such, it is very important that every school has a representative at that workshop. If your school community would like to speak individually with a CSF, please let us know and we can arrange that.

BOARD TRAINING CONFERENCE

For those of you willing to travel to Edmonton, this CONFERENCE has lots of interesting workshop options.

The “Inspect” Aspect

Your job as board members can be summarized as Direct, Protect and Inspect. PCCE has two ways to help you with the Inspect part. We have a Leadership Review process where we inspect the work of your key educational leader/principal.

Additionally, our School Review process looks at your school as a whole to help determine if you are accomplishing the promise you make in your vision statement. Contact our OFFICE for information on either program.

Everyone

Annual General Meeting

Whether you are a board member, teacher or leader, you will want to be in Calgary on April 25th to attend our AGM. Along with all the regular stuff (budgets, reports etc), you will have a chance to hear Dr. Lynn Swaner tell us about Flourishing Christian schools. This is important research that can impact all of our school communities. Registration begins middle of March.

Important Dates

April 6 & 7

Business and Development Conference at Harrison Hot Springs

april 25

PCCE AGM in Calgary

April 27 & 28

TFT 101 North @ The King's University Edmonton

April 30 & May 1

TFT 101 South @ Emmanuel Christian Reformed Church, Calgary

May 7 & 8

Leadership Cohort Spring Conference at Entheos

September 28-30

CSC Leadership Conference

October 22 & 23

Teachers’ Convention in Calgary