"Heads Up -  Headmaster Update:  The Rundle Experience" March 3, 2015 Dear parents, February was an incredible month in our Rundle Schools. I hope this update can capture some of the experience! Coming Up: Rundle College is Hosting the Senior Varsity Girls Basketball Provincials This event is coming up quick.  If you have a moment, have a look at the excellent webpage that has been set up to highlight the event. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Laurel Adolphe at adolphe@rundle.ab.ca. Spring Break Travel Before this month is over, Rundle College & Academy students will set foot on 4 different continents, will have explored dozens of cities, and will have offered hundreds of hours in volunteer work.  We hope they all 'take pictures, leave footprints and make memories' while they are away! TEDx Event Our very own TED certified teacher, Karen Goepen-Wee, applied to host a TEDx event and her application has been accepted.  The date of the event is June 6th, it will be held at Rundle Academy, and the theme is Diversity=Us.  Stay posted for more details on the event! Uniform Store Goes Online We are still on track to have our online uniform store up and running for April 6th!  If you have any questions about the upcoming uniform store sale or the launch of the online store, please contact Mrs. Lisa Hansen (hansen@rundle.ab.ca). Gone By: In the coming months, I will frame this section with the key components of the 'Rundle Experience': Character, Arts, Athletics & Academics' Character Family Skate - A big thank you goes out to all Primary staff, parents, and students who took part in our family skate.  It was inspiring to see students having such a great time with one another on and off of the ice.  Another shout out goes to Rundle Academy's Kids Helping Kids who were sharing the experience with our youngest Rundle students!

Arts Mardi Gras 2015 - talk about a once in a lifetime experience!  This past month our Senior High Marching Band performed in New Orleans during Mardi Gras!  A highlight of the trip had to be marching in the Mardi Gras parade!  Congratulations goes out to all the staff who assisted in this spectacular event.

Athletics Summit Series - Teachers vs. Students - The annual event was held at the Westside Rec rink and did not disappoint.   It was great to see the student support from the stands and to see the comradery between the students and the staff on the ice.  This year's game ended in a lopsided victory: 17-5.  (I have intentionally left out who lost to save a little face.)

On a slightly indulgent note, I would like to send a big congratulations to the Rundle Academy 6/7/8 Boys Basketball Team who won their first banner last week.  I had the honour of coaching many of these boys two years ago and all I'll say is that they have come a long way together under the direction of their coach, Sheldon Locking.  Congratulations team, we are all very proud of your accomplishment.

Academics Diploma Exams, Science Fair, Reach for the Top & Women of Engineering - As you can see, I have struggled to keep this section to just one event.  We have had a spectacular month of academic achievement. Congratulations goes out to all our Academy and College teachers who helped our students prepare for their diploma exams.  As the results trickle in, we are left with the assurance that our academic program remains at the top of its game.

Beyond these standardized exams, we have had several authentic learning opportunities in our community - Science Fair, Reach for the Top and Women of Engineering to name a few.  I think the picture below says it all.  This is a shot of a student's notes upon the completion of a Reach for the Top tournament in High River.

Heads Up - Experience Rundle ​This past month I had two transformative learning experiences.  I was able to read Paul Tough's book, "How Children Succeed"  and I traveled to Boston and saw Sarah Lewis and Sunni Brown speak.  You will see an example of a 'doodle' note that was taken at the conference I attended this week.

I am not going to belabor either topic in this post because I suspect you will be hearing elements of both in upcoming speeches and blog posts. If  you want to learn a little more about the book, I do have two copies to give away.  I will put the copies in the mail to the first two parents who respond via e-mail. I'm looking forward to another great month of 'Rundle Experiences.' Sincerely, Jason B. Rogers