Head's Up - Your Monthly Update From The Headmaster

Imagine this scene. It’s lunch at the Collett school and the Great Hall is filled with 200 elementary students eating their lunches.   In the crowd of students sits one boy, he has a very unique story and circumstance. In just a couple days he will be embarking on a medical journey that will take him several months to recover from. We know he may be nervous about the coming days and, more than anything, we are going to miss him when he’s not at our school. About 15 minutes into the students’ lunch, some music starts to play. Soon, it is apparent what the song is, “Three Little Birds,” by Bob Marley. You can see the confusion in the student body as they have never had music come on at lunch. Within moments of the song staring, a flash mob of teachers, support staff and administration descends on the Great Hall. The flash mob is clapping, dancing and singing. They slowly making their way towards the boy who will be away from school in the coming days. Seconds later, the student body is clapping and singing along with the chorus of the song, emphatically impersonating Bob Marley,    “Don’t worry about a thing,  ‘Cause every little thing is gonna be alright.”   In these moments of togetherness, we find the soul of our Rundle community. It is a place of warmth, support and kindness. We know that because we have each other, “Every little thing is gonna be alright.” And then, to cap it all off, from the balcony of the Great Hall, Mr. Clark chimes in, “Three Cheers… Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray!”  The student body follows his lead and erupts in a cheer filled with love and support. The best part of this story is that it is not unexpected - it’s just who we are. Thank you for continuing to believe in a place where we can share these moments. Together, Jason B. Rogers

In this edition of the Head’s Up, you will find:  Minister Eggen to Visit the Academy Summer Camps at Rundle On the Shelf Head’s Up: The Podcast (new episodes) Minister Eggen to Visit Rundle Academy   At Rundle College Society, we believe it is important to create a strong network of connections with our provincial, charter, public and separate school partners in education.   As a part of this ongoing process, next week, for the first time in recent memory, a standing Minister of Education, David Eggen will be coming to visit Rundle College Society.  Rundle Academy has the honour of hosting Alberta’s Minister Eggen. We are grateful that he has decided to visit the Academy and we are excited to share with him some of the wonderful things that are happening at Rundle. During Minister Eggen’s visit, he will have the opportunity to hear more about our programs and he will meet faculty and students.   The minister’s visit comes at an exciting time for all Albertans.  The province is currently in the process of reviewing the K-12 curriculum, reviewing leadership standards and making changes to School Act.  Rundle has a long history of providing excellence in education to its students and our community and through visits like these, we hope to find synergies where this excellence can serve to strengthen all aspects of Alberta’s educational system.   As members of our community, I also encourage you to be active participants in understanding and influencing our educational landscape.  In your ongoing pursuit of knowledge in this area, there are a few resources that may prove helpful:   “In the Loop” - here you will find the most recent updates from Minister Eggen.  In particular, theDecember 7th update touches on Bill 24, Bill 28 and the 2018 Accountability Pillar Survey.   Curriculum Development - on this series of pages, you will find the most up to date resources on the ‘what’s’ and ‘why’s’ of Curriculum Development. “Head’s Up Podcast” - on our school’s local podcast, you will be able to explore topics relating to local and provincial educational matters.  In particular, this past month we recorded episodes on design thinking, mathematics, and trends in education.       AISCA video - this video was produced to articulate some issues pertaining to the economics of education in our province. As always, thank you for investing in this journey of educational excellence and for taking up the opportunity to shape tomorrow’s leaders of Alberta.   Summer Camps at Rundle We are excited to have recently launched the registration for our Rundle Summer Camps Program. Our initial offering of the camps will be for students entering Grade 1-6 in 2018. These camps will offer activities for both the brain and the body. For the first two weeks of registration, we are opening spots exclusively for Rundle College Society members. Starting in early February, we will be releasing the camps to the greater community. If you have any questions about the camps or the offerings, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact Laurel Adolphe at adolphe@rundle.ab.ca. Space is limited - so be sure to sign up soon.   On The Shelf When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Dan Pink The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact  by Chip and Dan Heath Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari Head’s Up - The Podcast New episodes include: Kellie Adams - Design Thinking & Discovering Math Charity Helman - Google Apps for Education Joelle Kopp - Moving Mountains at the College and the Academy Top 5 Educational Trends - 2018 Edition Rundle’s Top Ten - 2017 Edition Robby Graham - Alumni - Transition to University If you are interested in giving it a listen, go to the Apple Podcast Store and search, “Head’s Up” (include the apostrophe) and you will see this image pop up.  Feel free to give it a listen and provide me with any feedback you might have.