Gator of the Week - Celebrating student character and leadership. First Gator of the Week for the new year was Magdalena. Magdalena found and returned a missing item last week - she always works hard in class and is friendly and kind to everyone in the school! Great job Magdalena! #kindlehearts

Senator Gershaw students are currently putting together February's edition. For any advertising, community event, or notice you would like to enter please email it to us at: [email protected].

Congratulations to our Sr Boys basketball team who placed 2nd at the Rosemary tournament this weekend.

This week's parent update. Have a great week!

Congratulations to the Jr B Girls Basketball team. They won gold at the St Mary's Jr B Tournament, beating out Irvine 47-18. This tournament has been going since 2006 and the Gators have only made it to the championship game one other time (back in 2008). This time they brought home the trophy (and rings). Congratulations to Makaya for being named the MVP and with that honour she gets to keep the tournament ball. Way to go girls!

We're aware of a large power outage in the area. The school is not affected by this outage and we're working as normal! Happy Friday!

Senator Gershaw students have taken over T&C Creations "In Our Community". Students have been applying for jobs this week and we will be getting the February edition out to all mailboxes for February 1st! Pricing will be similar to previous, more specific details out early next week! #igniteminds

Junior High students at Senator Gershaw were excited to get back to having ski trips and hit the trails in Elkwater today. Great day of skiing/snowboarding! #igniteminds #kindlehearts

<p>January 10, 2023 Board Meeting Agenda Package: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pIUA2pQQjklNVvuD0nZ-7ya6ueA16tiy/view?usp=share_link">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pIUA2pQQjklNVvuD0nZ-7ya6ueA16tiy/view?usp=share_link</a></p><p><strong>Warren Peers School Presentation</strong><br>Principal Lora Fletcher-Wilson and grade 8 student Cade Wilson made a presentation to the board showcasing the many initiatives taking place at Warren Peers School. The school is a K-9 school located in Acadia Valley with current enrollment of 41 students. The presentation focused on how the school has incorporated the new division-wide goals of kindle hearts, ignite minds and forge futures into daily activities and lessons. It was noted that for this year’s exhibition of learning the school will involve having all students be involved in writing a ‘how to’ book. Once the book is completed it will be published and an author signing day will be held where students can sign copies for friends and family. The full presentation can be found in the Board Agenda package.</p><p><strong>Building Operations Accountability Report</strong><br>Director of Maintenance Operations Darrell Drefs presented the Building Operations Accountability Report for information. Highlights of the report included an update around preventative maintenance projects, staff professional development, Infrastructure/Capital Maintenance and Renewal (IMR and CMR) expenses, completed IMR and CMR projects during the 2021-2022 year and approved projects for the current year. In total, the division spent $725,362 on IMR projects through the 2021-2022 year. Operations and Maintenance expenses for the 2022-2023 school year are estimated at $7,075,385 with a projected deficit of $1,109,799. The full report can be found in the Board Agenda package.</p><p><strong>Wellness Accountability Report</strong><br>Manager of Human Resources Tammy Toews presented the employee portion of the Wellness Accountability Report for information. Newly introduced strategies to promote wellness include HONE Work+Life (an app where staff can anonymously report personal wellness weekly) and strategies to increase staff capacity to access available health benefits. School psychologist Greg Godard presented information related to student wellness. In Prairie Rose, 7.8 full-time equivalent staff are employed as Family School Liaison Workers; an increase of 24% since 2019. The Student Wellness team supports counselling, group teaching, parent training, VTRA’s and crisis response. It was shared that the largest number of student cases being noted since September are related to anxiety, family issues and peer relationships.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Annual Education Results Report&nbsp;</strong><br>Superintendent Reagan Weeks presented the 2021-2022 Annual Education Results Report for approval. The report provides an overview of PRPS results in the assurance categories of Student Growth and Achievement, Teaching and Leading, Learning Supports, Governance, English Language Learners and First Nations Metis Inuit. It was noted that overall, Prairie Rose results were very strong, despite the many challenges faced by students, parents and staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The board approved the report as presented. The full report can be found in the Board Agenda package.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>South Alberta Flight Academy Field Trip</strong><br>The board approved the Eagle Butte High School / South Alberta Flight Academy proposed field trip to Washington, DC, from June 29 - July 4, 2023. The trip will include visits to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, International Spy Museum, a tour of College Park Aviation Museum, Holocaust Museum and a meeting with aviation professors at Georgetown University. Twenty-four students in grades 10-12 are expected to participate. The motion was put forward by Shauna VanderSpruit.</p>

<p>The January 10, 2023, PRPS Public Board Meeting will take place at the Prairie Rose Public Schools Division Office starting at 12:45 p.m. The meeting will be held in-person only.</p><p>The complete agenda package can be found here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pIUA2pQQjklNVvuD0nZ-7ya6ueA16tiy/view?usp=share_link">January 10, 2023 Board Meeting Agenda</a></p>

Happy New Year! This week's parent update, have a great week!

Wishing all our families a happy and healthy Christmas break! We will see students back on January 9th!

Gator of the Week - Celebrating student character and leadership. Gator of the week for last week was Mason. Mason has been a great addition to our school this year - he is very active on student council, helps out at the school all the time, is kind and welcoming to everyone (BIE students loved shopping with him), and he is diligent in his studies. Great job Mason! #kindlehearts

Students in Home Ec made gingerbread houses this week. Vote in comments for your favourite!

Grade 6 students were the ones in charge of making the food bank dominoes in makerspace yesterday. Thank you to everyone who made contributions to the food bank this season! We had mild success with getting them all to fall smoothly but that is part of the makerspace process. #kindlehearts #igniteminds

Grade 7-9 students got to go on their PE bowling and swimming field trip. Great time had by all students! #kindlehearts

<p>As we head into the final day before the winter break, we felt it was important to connect with parents about the challenges our province has faced this past week. While we always prepare for winter weather, this latest cold system is like none we have seen in many years.&nbsp;</p><p>One of the primary goals of Prairie Rose Public Schools is to ensure a safe, warm space for students to come and learn. This is why, whenever possible, it is the responsibility of school divisions to keep the doors open for students. Much like other school divisions&nbsp;across the province, we have also been able to do that. It is also important to give our families choices regarding what is best for their family. We know from our many conversations this week several parents have kept their children home from school. We have also heard appreciation for keeping the doors open for our working parents.&nbsp;</p><p>Together with our bus contractors, PRPS has done our best to keep buses running when possible. Our procedure states that bus cancellations can be made at the driver's discretion. From our perspective, our drivers are most familiar with their bus, the roads and their ability to drive in different weather conditions. While our drivers have done an excellent job all week, the extended cold snap is proving to be a bit too much for the bus fleets. Earlier today, Southland Transportation, which holds a majority 67 of the 83 PRPS bus routes, decided to cancel all routes for tomorrow, Friday, December 23rd. Based on this decision, our other six contractors have done the same.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>This means no buses will be running tomorrow (Friday, December 23rd) across the school division.</strong>&nbsp;</p><p>Schools will remain open for those who can attend class unless you are otherwise notified. PRPS is committed to reviewing our bussing procedures in the new year to consider whether any changes are required to the current guidelines.&nbsp;</p><p>We would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. There have been many wonderful opportunities for our students to experience this fall, and it is great to see our parents back in school. Please enjoy a much-deserved break, and we look forward to seeing everyone back in class on January 9, 2023.</p><p>~ Prairie Rose Public Schools, Executive Team</p>

Big shout out to our bus drivers this week! Best in the business continually going in these frigid temperatures! This picture was from today - THANK YOU bus drivers!