TURNER VALLEY SCHOOL NEWS - From Leprechauns to Art

The month of March has certainly come upon us quickly and looking at the thermometer confirms that we are getting close to being done with winter. As we move toward warm spring weather we remain clearly focused on learning. We appreciate the participation of parents in the February round of student led conferences. We had nearly 100% participation and the survey results are very positive indeed.
March is a transition month in the school year as well as in the seasons. The second term report cards will be prepared by teachers and will be sent home on April 5th. While there are no further interviews scheduled, parents are encouraged to discuss any aspect of their child's learning and school life with our staff. A strong home-school relationship optimizes learning and successful school experiences.
On the sports scene, we congratulate the Tigers on an excellent season in basketball. We had a great wind-up tourney at Percy Pegler School. Next up is a Choir Festival for our Grade 3-5 students, and of course our annual spring theatre production is well under way and will happen March 29th and 30th.
Finally, some comments on the annual Fraser Institute Alberta school ranking that was published in the media on February 26th. While we once again see that Turner Valley School has improved in the academic ratings on this report, we're not feeling too smug yet. Our school does tend to go up and down quite dramatically on these reports. We do analyze the PAT results and add that information to the larger body of data that we collect and analyze each year including provincial test results, staff, student and parent surveys, curriculum reviews and how well we are meeting the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement targets and school goals in our Education Plan. We are proud of the efforts that our staff and students make every day at school and don't rely on judgments from afar to inform. Rather than rely upon a single indicator, we believe that all of these sources must be considered in order to draw valid conclusions about current school effectiveness and to reveal areas for future improvement.
~ Education Together,
Rob Bennington
ST PATRICK’S DAY
St Patrick's Day is on Saturday March 17th.
St. Patrick was a priest who chased snakes out of Ireland and was very kind to people.
Some of the symbols are shamrocks, leprechauns, pots of gold and the color green.
For fun, build a leprechaun trap.
By Danielle
WORLD OF WHEELS
Did you go to the World Of Wheels 2012? Well I did, it was fun! They had famous Chip Foose, Zendaya Coleman and a special presentation from the one and only, Bigfoot the Monster Truck. When I was there I got to interview Josh Levair. His favorite car that he owns is a 1969 orange Dodge Super Bee and it was the first car he ever built. He started building cars at the age of 15. In 2009 he won the highest Award, you can get at the show; it's called the Jim Lesley Award. He won it with a 1969 red and white Dodge Super Bee and it was the first time a restored car won it. Even though Josh is in his early 20's studying Criminal Justice at University of Lethbridge, he has already built 6 cars and 1 truck.
By Garrett
DESTINATION RED DEER
This touring art exhibit is open March 5th to April 16th in the school library. This exhibit was developed by the Alberta Society of Artists in partnership with the Visual Art Department of Red Deer College for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program. The AFA Travelling Exhibition Program is financially supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.