Sunday 2 December 2018

Head's Up - Your Monthly Update From The Headmaster
Dear Rundle Community:

If your home is anything like mine, the Santa-themed books are out, the songs on the speaker are beginning to sound a lot like Christmas, the decorations are starting to emerge and we are well into our planning for the upcoming winter festivities.

As we enter a season of celebration, I’d like to wish our entire community many days filled with warmth, family, friendship, and love.  I look forward to seeing many of our community at the events that are coming up this December.

In this chapter of ‘The Narrative,’ we will be exploring the value of kindness and a few of the wonderful stories we have heard recently in our community.

I hope these publications give insight into the fabric that is Rundle.

Together,

Jason B. Rogers
Table of Contents:
I.     The Narrative – Part III – The Head’s Address at the Annual General Meeting
II.    Strategic Plan Highlight – Rundle 365
III.  Moving Walls at the Academy - What’s Next?
IV.   In the News - Private School Funding
V.    Good News Notes
VI.   On The Shelf
I. The Narrative Part III - The Head's Address at the Annual General Meeting 

Early in the new year, you will be receiving our 2017-2018 Annual Report in the mail. I hope our community takes a moment and enjoys reading about our students’ accomplishments last year.  

Below is an excerpt from the Annual Report:

“At Rundle, we often hear our teachers and leaders say to our students:

 
“When you graduate Rundle, your grades will be impressive; 
however, they will be the least impressive thing about you.”

We are proud to announce that in 2017-18, this vision was, once again, being achieved. Our students were striving to reach their potential, inside and outside the classroom, and we are pleased to join with them, their families and their teachers to celebrate their impressive accomplishments once more.

The Rundle story is best told through our pursuit of this vision, and it is worthwhile to take a moment and consider the school’s narrative from this past year. The chapters that encapsulate the past 12 months at Rundle College Society (Rundle) could be titled introspection, refinement, and growth.

Introspection
With the support of our entire community, Rundle underwent our first Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) accreditation review. The CAIS review saw 14 independent school experts from across Canada come to Rundle to evaluate our programs, policies and procedures. We earned numerous commendations from the committee and were left with several suggestions and recommendations that will help us continue to improve. I am thankful to everybody in our community who took part in this important process. The work has created a foundation for a bright future at Rundle.

Refinement
With the recent completion of the W.J. Collett School, we have now turned our attention to refining the Rundle Academy campus. With the support of our partners from IDEO, CANA, M2i, JC Interior Design and DIALOG, we have seen the start of a transformative process at the Academy campus. In a few short months, we were able to raise over $200,000 to kick start the ‘”Moving Walls” projects. These funds have allowed us to completely redesign the Junior High lunchroom and create a spectacular social and learning space. In the coming years, we look forward to seeing how the Academy staff, students and parents continue to transform these spaces into a world-class learning environment.

Growth
All programs at Rundle are finding ways to innovate and provide excellence in programming. These innovations can be seen in events such as the annual Calgary STEM competition at the W.J. Collett School, in the Robotics Team at the R.C. Conklin School or in the Junior Cobras program. The Junior Cobras program is particularly noteworthy as it brings students from K-12 and our alumni together in the pursuit of a lifetime of wellness through sport. This past summer also saw us run summer Mind & Body camps for elementary-age students. In our summer camp program, we saw students taking part in STEM activities (coding, robotics, design thinking and engineering) for part of the day and then taking part in a sporting pursuit (basketball, volleyball, soccer and rugby) for the remainder of the day.

It is very clear that, when looking back on the past year, I can say with confidence: 

 
‘Rundle’s grades were impressive; 
however, they were the least impressive thing about the 2017-18 school year.”
II.  Strategic Plan Highlight – Rundle 365

One of the more innovative pillars of our current strategic plan is Rundle 365.  Rundle 365’s strategic objective is: “Rundle will expand its offerings of impactful learning experiences in and out of the classroom.  The school will fully leverage our facilities on both campuses throughout the entire calendar year.” 

We are starting to see this take shape in several ways.  Some examples are:
  • Facility Rentals: Rundle has recently hired  Mr. Mike Duncalfe to oversee our site rentals.  Mr. Duncalfe is looking to expand our rentals to include special events, gym rentals and field rentals.  If anybody in our community has questions or inquiries about space rentals (birthday parties, meetings, special events, athletics, etc.), please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Duncalfe directly at duncalfe@rundle.ab.ca.
  • c.Lab: We are seeing the continued growth of our c.Lab through innovative offerings in STEAM learning and Jr. Cobra camps.  Our Spring and Summer Camp offerings will be coming out soon. Be sure to register early to secure your child’s spot.
  • Global Online Academy: We are very excited to be offering a huge selection of option courses to our College High School students through Global Online Academy!  Rundle College is one of two private schools in Canada to be accepted to this inspiring program.  
III.  Moving Walls at the Academy - What’s Next?

There are exciting days ahead for the staff and students at Rundle Academy!  The completion of the Junior High Lunch Room has inspired our whole community to come behind the next phases of this redesign project.  In the near future, we will be sharing more information on the next steps. For now, I am happy to share that we are engaging with a design team to consider ways to further enhance the experience the students enjoy while being at the Academy!

Stay tuned….
IV.  In the News - Private School Funding

As we move into a spring provincial election, I encourage our community to stay on top of the political scene.  From our side, we will do our very best to keep you posted as we become informed. For now, it is worthwhile to give this article a read and this podcast a listen.  I believe they give a good overview of some of the perspectives and talking points that are out there.
V.  Good News Notes

If you want a smile, and want to see why our schools are such special spaces, spend a few minutes enjoying this Academy Elementary production!

Finally, I would like to congratulate our Graduating Class of 2019!  We had an incredible 97% of our Academy and College future graduates support the bursary fund.  
VI. On The Shelf

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Article: The world needs more generalists 

Article: How to prioritize a school that puts kindness first

Highlighted Podcast: Head’s Up with Jason Rogers - Episode 52 & 53 - Global Online Academy & Rundle’s Secret Ingredients

Alumni in the News: Mike Klassen with the Ottawa Redblacks
 
Head's Up - Your Monthly Update From The Headmaster
It’s hard to believe that we are officially done 20% of this school year! 

A sincere thank you to all members of our community. Your efforts have created one of the best starts to the school year that any of us can remember.

In this chapter of ‘the narrative,’ we will be exploring wellness with a particular eye to agency and awareness.

I hope these publications give insight into the fabric that is Rundle.

Together,

Jason B. Rogers
 
Table of Contents:

I.    The Narrative – Part II – Awareness + Agency = “Be Well”
II.   Strategic Plan Highlight – The Fabric - A Meeting with the Minister of Education
III. The Rundle Experience – Post Secondary Planning
IV.  Athletic Therapy Pilot Project
V.   On The Shelf
 
I.  The Narrative - Part II - Awareness + Agency = "Be Well" 

Awareness: “The knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists.”

Agency: “The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.”

Be Well: “The aspirational value of Rundle whereby all students, staff, parents and community members find harmony in the areas physical, spiritual and psychological wellness.

Over the course of the past 18 months, Rundle has been strategically addressing emotional wellbeing in our community.  The commitment to the value of “Be Well” has included much outreach, consultation and action. In the course of our explorations, there have been two underpinning tenants that have come forward.  

The first tenant is that of awareness.  We continue to work with our entire community to consider what it means to be aware of our own condition and have empathy for the condition of others.  We see this manifest in programs such as Dare to Care, Peer Support, and Community Helpers, and in our our Emotional Quotient teacher and student workshops.  Furthermore, we are starting to see more and more parent engagement opportunities, whether it is small focus groups or larger parent Speaker Series events.

The second tenant of emotional wellbeing is agency.  If we are to improve, we need to understand that we are each responsible for actions that promote, or detract from, our own wellbeing.  To have the power to make personal change is the true essence of agency. 

To support the combination of awareness and agency, we have recently announced the ‘Be Innovative Wellness Grant.’  It is not too late to apply for one of these $1000 grants to support wellness initiatives in our community.  The grant is open to all parents, students and faculty at Rundle College.

At the bottom of this e-mail, you will see the text, video and application that was originally sent describing the grant and the application process.


Thank you again for joining us on this journey to a continually improving environment where wellness is not just a value but something we live.
II. Strategic Plan – Pillar 1 – The Fabric - Protecting School Choice in Alberta

On Wednesday of this week, AISCA (Alberta Independent Schools and Colleges Association) was invited to meet with the Minister of Education, the Honourable David Eggen, and I served as the representative from Rundle at this meeting.  During our time with Minister Eggen, there was a wide range of topics discussed. Most importantly for the Rundle community, we discussed the importance of choice in education and predictable funding for independent schools. T Minister Eggen went out of his way to assure us that he values independent schools and he is committed to both parent choice in education and a predictable funding model that supports our schools.  This was excellent news and we appreciate his steadfast support in spite of ongoing attacks on our schools by special interest groups.
I would encourage our community to continue to write their MLA and Minister Eggen and share their own personal stories of success at Rundle.  Minister Eggen was quick to refer to these advocacy letters in our meeting and I am certain they have had a positive impact on this government's overall perception of our schools.  

A great place to find information about the independent school advantage is on the AISCA website.  They have created some excellent advocacy advertisements that you may find interesting and useful.  Each of the unique advertisements is accompanied by a fact sheet. Lastly, another great resource is this video that was produced to help inform the general public of the value of independent schools.

Thank you to everybody who continues to advocate and inform on Rundle’s behalf.
III. The Rundle Experience – Post Secondary Planning & Preparation

It is hard to believe, but our Grade 11 and 12 students are already starting to make their post secondary plans.  As we see it, this is one of the top advantages of our program. Each of our Academy and College students are receiving one-on-one counselling to help them determine what will be the ‘best fit’ university, college or alternative option for their future.

On Thursday of this week, Rundle hosted an ‘Out-of-Province Post Secondary Fair.’  At this event, we saw dozens of the top universities from across Canada gather at the Rundle College campus to meet with our high school students.  

Whenever Rundle staff are in contact with these institutions, we receive valuable feedback about our program. We are happy to be told repeatedly  that Rundle students are coveted in the admission process due to the strong reputation of fine character and academic preparation among its graduates.    
 
IV. Athletic Therapy Pilot Project 

To support the wellness of our student athletes, Rundle College Senior High initiated the Athletic Therapy Pilot Project last year in partnership with Prairie Therapy. The goal was to  ensure all athletes were prepared to play and had access to immediate care if any injuries occurred.

Moving into the 2018-2019 school year, we are excited to announce that the College Senior High is expanding its partnership with Prairie Therapy for all staff and grades 9-12 student athletes. Therapy will be available during all practices, games, and home tournaments to ensure not only the safety of our athletes, but of our visiting teams as well. Given we have therapists on campus daily, we are extending their therapy services to staff as well. 

Click here for more information about Prairie Therapy and this exciting service offered to our staff and student athletes at the R.C. Conklin school. 

With the success of the program at the College Senior High, Rundle Academy has also initiated an Athletic Therapy Pilot Project. We are pleased to offer therapy services to their staff and student athletes as well.  
V. On The Shelf

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown

Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth by John Doerr

Highlighted Podcast: Head’s Up with Jason Rogers - Episode 50 & 51 - Conversations from the National CAIS Chairs and Heads Conference
Be Innovative Grant Information from the Head's Up September Edition

Dear Rundle Community:


In honour of World Mental Health Day, it is with profound excitement that I announce the Rundle 'Be Innovative' wellness grants.

With appreciation for a generous gift from one of our community members towards the Headmaster's Fund, we will be offering five 'Be Innovative' wellness grants of up to $1,000 each.  

All funds given towards the Headmaster's Fund this year are going towards emotional wellness initiatives. As a direct result of these donations, we have been able to provide professional development for our staff, add some additional human resources and now are launching the 'Be Innovative' wellness grants.  A huge thank you to all who have given. If you are curious about how to support this important cause, feel free to reach out!

Here's the 5W's of the 'Be Innovative' grants:

Why: The aim of the grant is to help our community continue to learn and live a healthy life. Furthermore, we believe that many of our best ideas come from the awareness and agency of our community. We hope to see some grassroots initiatives that take root and continue to strengthen Rundle College Society.

Who: Anybody (parents, students and staff) in the Rundle College Society community is encouraged to apply. Applications may be submitted by individuals or groups.

What: The grants are up to $1,000 each and there will be five of them offered this year. We don't know what people will suggest, but we are hoping they are creative opportunities to continue to develop a culture of well-being. You can let your mind go a little wild on the offerings, but here are a few suggestions that may get the ball rolling:
  • inviting a speaker in to do a parent speaker series
  • an awareness activity for the Rundle community
  • contracting external expertise to assist with a dimension of well-being
  • therapy puppies for the week before final exams to help students unwind and have some fun!
Where: We are hoping that the proposals focus on increasing well-being in our community.  The proposals may focus on a subsection of our community (parents, students, staff).

How: CLICK HERE to access the grant application. We encourage you to download it, fill it in and then e-mail it back to headofschool@rundle.ab.ca.

Once all applications are received, the 'Be Innovative' Grant Committee will convene to make the difficult decision on who will receive the innovation grant. The projects will then be implemented between January and May, 2019. In May, we will be hosting a celebration to share the successes of our innovation and wellness!

When: Grant applications are due November 5, 2018 and we will be announcing the recipients before December 1, 2018.

I can hardly wait to see where these wonderful initiatives will take us. Thank you to all who continue to support our school and the students who attend Rundle! 

My best,

Jason B. Rogers
Head's Up - Your Monthly Update From The Headmaster
Welcome back to another year at Rundle! 

A special welcome to all those families who are new to our community. We wish you all the best as you and your children begin your Rundle Experience.

This year in the monthly Head’s Up, I hope to share our ongoing narrative. Each edition will include a themed introduction, followed by some updates on happenings and events from across our programs.

I hope these publications give insight into the fabric that is Rundle.

Together,

Jason B. Rogers
Table of Contents:

I.    The Narrative – Part I – What does ‘well-rounded’ really mean?
II.   Strategic Plan Highlight – Happy To Be Here – Emotional Wellness Taskforce
III.  The Rundle Experience – Rundle Day
IV.   Fine Arts Day

V.    On The Shelf
I.  The Narrative – Part I – When we say 'well rounded'… what do we mean?

Just last week, I had the opportunity to visit more than 50 of our Rundle Alumni in the Toronto area. I was joined by our Director of Alumni and Advancement, Mr. Aaron Goettel and our Superintendent, Mr. Dave Hauk. We hosted two events: the first event was in Toronto for those who have convocated and are now in the workforce, and the second was at Queen’s University in Kingston.

During our time with these young men and women, a few themes started to emerge. 

1)    Community
2)   Leadership
3)   Agility
4)   Character

Community:

The students we visited were clearly connected to their past, present, and future through their Rundle experience. It was wonderful to hear the stories about their former Rundle classmates and teachers, the connections they have developed through our alumni network and their dedication to helping Rundle continue to improve. 

Leadership:

It was marvelous to see the way the Rundle Alumni embraced leadership in their education and their careers. On the first night in Toronto, we engaged with dozens of alumni who are now professionals leading in law, medicine, business, the arts, and engineering. However, as impressive as this was, it was just as impressive to hear about the involvement of our alumni at Queen’s University. Two examples are:
  • A third-year student is in charge of the entire orientation week for the Queen’s university. This involves the orchestration of thousands of employees and volunteers, operating a half million dollar budget and inducting nearly 5000 new students.
     
  • Another fourth-year student is the manager of Queen’s University peer support network.  She maintains a 24/7 crisis hotline and coordinates dozens of staff to provide ongoing support to all students at the university.
I made it my personal mission to ask each and every person, “Honestly now, did Rundle prepare you for university and your career?”  Without exception, the answer was, “Absolutely.” The anecdotal stories that followed were inspiring and affirming. The Queen's students emphatically stated, “We are more prepared than any of our peers, including others who have come from Alberta.  Academically, our first year felt like review and socially, we are used to getting involved, so the transition was eased because we were able to quickly find a community we belonged to.”

It leaves me affirmed that we are doing the right thing as we pursue the credo: “Rundle inspires leaders.”

Agility:

Countless times during the conversations with our former students, we heard of educational and professional journeys that took one 90 degree turn after another.  Stories of students who went into medicine and are now pursuing law or students who initially pursued engineering and are now successfully running their own technology businesses.  It was these moments that reminded me of the importance of our well-rounded curriculum and our commitment to preparing our students for an ever-changing future. Without fail, our students confirmed that they were well prepared for the challenges of university and the life that followed and much of that preparation started in the classrooms and hallways of Rundle.

Character:

A strong handshake, a gracious welcome, a deep personal engagement and a sincere thanks – these are the characteristics of each and every conversation we had during our time in eastern Canada.  Our former students really understand how to connect, how to care and how to communicate. Ultimately, they understand what it means to have a strong character.

What struck me most was the fact that almost every conversation came around to how these Rundle Alumni were giving back to their communities.  Hardly a conversation went by without comment of volunteering or giving. Maybe most impressively, all students talked about how they are excited to return to visit Rundle and to give back however they can.  We see this already happening in a variety of forms such as our career mentors, our Jr. Cobras coaches and donations towards current initiatives.

Improving Rundle’s Program:

This is not to say there were no conversations about how Rundle can continue to improve.  Our students were forthcoming with recommendations on topics that ranged from exposure to online courses to availability of options to more opportunities to connect with university students prior to them moving onto university.  

After hearing from our alumni, we are committed to taking the information away and sharing with our entire faculty and as a follow up we will seek to make some adjustments that will allow our students to have the best opportunity to succeed in years that follow their time at Rundle.

It is fantastic to see that our students are not only great ambassadors for Rundle and for themselves, but they continue to demonstrate the enduring value of kindness.
 
II. Strategic Plan – Pillar 3 – Happy To Be Here

We continue to work towards wellness in our community.  Before the middle of October, we will have had committee meetings with all our subcommittee groups: students, parents, and faculty.  We also continue to partner with a variety of external agencies who continue to give us opportunities to consult and leverage best practices.  A thank you to the Mathison Center for Mental Health Research and Education, the Centre for Suicide PreventionURSTRONG (GirlPower and GoodGuys), and Mind Up.

Out of these meetings, we expect to see further tangible actions that will support our community in achieving emotional wellness.

Last year, some of the highlights from our work were:

For Students: Focus on mindfulness in our classrooms, the pilot of the Menu of Engagement and increased focus on peer support, and the hiring of an expert in Executive Functioning.

For Parents: Creation of a parent advisory committee dedicated to emotional wellness and planning for upcoming speaker series on topics such as executive functioning and anxiety.

For Faculty: A new Personal/Professional Development Model that includes training on Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Personal Coaching, and Leadership.

On top of all this, the most exciting developments are yet to come.  Our committees will continue to keep our community informed as opportunities to engage and learn become available.

 
Teaser… one of our most creative projects is set to be revealed on October 5th!  This is potentially a game-changing initiative that looks to inspire our entire community to act!
III. The Rundle Experience – Rundle Day

On September 21, 2018, we celebrated the inaugural  Rundle Day! Students in all our campuses engaged in community building activities.  Some examples of this were a spirited school rally at the Academy, the first meeting of our Grade 4 and 12 buddies at the College and a Rundle-wide celebration of football at ‘Friday Night Lights.’  Thank you to all who participated and supported this important day. The day exceeded all expectations and I can hardly wait to celebrate it again next year with our entire community.
IV.  Fine Arts Day 

Yesterday we celebrated the annual tradition of Senior High Fine Arts day at the College campus. Faculty and students in grades 9-12 participated in a variety of activities - from drumming, hand bells, and balloon art to Bollywood dancing. The grade 12 students started a new Fine Arts Day tradition by inviting their grade 4 buddies to join them at the Conklin school to share the experience.

Thank you to Mr. Geer and his students for producing together this short video that captures the creativity and fun of Fine Arts Day at Rundle. 
V. On The Shelf

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness  by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

Factfulness: Ten Reason We’re Wrong About The World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, and Anna Rosling Ronnlund

Highlighted Podcast: Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell – Season 3, Episode 3 & 4 – An interesting examination of our memories.