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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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Dear Students and Parents,

January is named after the Roman god of doors, Janus, because this month is the door to the year. Janus represents all beginnings and possesses the ability to see all things past and future. In January our students have been working hard to finish their first semester as strong as possible and are getting ready to open the door to begin semester two with habits and mindsets leading to a semester of progress. Second semester brings thoughts of next year’s core and elective courses. Students begin discussing course recommendations with their teachers and time is dedicated towards these conversations in advisories too. Grade levels will meet together in February at the elective town hall to hear the latest and greatest about these courses too. By the time we reach Spring Break at the end of March students will have their course recommendations for next school year. Taking care of ourselves during our busy days is so important. I saw a post recently, “Today was a Difficult Day,” said Pooh. There was a pause. “Do you want to talk about it?” asked Piglet. “No,” said Pooh after a bit. “No, I don’t think I do.” “That’s okay,” said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend. “What are you doing?” asked Pooh. “Nothing, really,” said Piglet “Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don’t feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either. But goodness, continued Piglet, “Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you’ve got someone there for you. And I’ll always be here for you.”

Original Source Unknown It is a good reminder to reach out or to check in with those we connect with. Soon we will have Bell Let’s Talk Day on January 29 to help create positive change and support mental health across Canada. (https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/)l will donate more towards mental health initiatives in Canada by contributing 5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet, social media “In September 2010, Bell Let’s Talk began a new conversation about Canada’s mental health. At that time, most people were not talking about mental illness. But the numbers spoke volumes about the urgent need for action. Millions of Canadians, including leading personalities, engaged in an open discussion about mental illness, offering new ideas and hope for those who struggle, with numbers growing every year.” (https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/our-initiatives/) During our busy school days, high school staff are mindful to keep building our connections with our community. At any time students and families can check in with us – administration, student services, teachers and support staff. We are ready to connect with you! Yours in Education, High School Admin.

Bharati Singh Doug Lamb Susan Boyd

Matter of Principal

Robotics Showcase News ............. ..2

FFCA Scholarship Program ........... ..3

Board Meetings ............................. ..3

SAIT Open House……………………4 School Counsellor Message .......... ..4

School Counsellor cont.………..……5

FFCA Board News…………………...5

FFCA Performing Arts……………….6

Uniform Expectations...……………...7

Registration Reminders……………...7

Attendance Reminders………………7

Bussing News……………………….. 9

In this Issue

Dates to Remember

FFCA High School 2116 MacKay RD NW Calgary, AB T3B 1C7 P: 403-243-3316

The Phoenix Messenger

Feb 4 - First day of Semester 2 Feb 4- Report Cards go home Feb 4 - School Council Meeting Feb 14 - PD Day no classes Feb 17 - Family Day no school Feb 19 - Grade 9 Vertigo Theatre Trip Feb 24/25 - Grade 9 Immunizations Feb 28 - Casual Day March 12 - Learning Conferences

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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Second annual FFCA Robotics Showcase was a big success!

On January 11, about seventy grade nine students and dozens of parents, siblings, and other guests from the community packed the halls and gym of the FFCA High School. That in itself is not unusual. What was unusual was that this was a Saturday and they were all gathered for the second annual FFCA Robotics Showcase.

This is the capstone culminating task for the grade 9 robotics class. As part of the course, students were preparing for an internationally organized competition. The competition is called FIRST LEGO League (FLL) and this year's challenge is called City Shaper. Within the City Shaper theme, students have to prepare for a Robot Game as well as develop an Innovation Project. The Robot Games contains several missions that are all a metaphors for the real problems and opportunities that relate to shaping cities of the future. Similarly, for the Innovation Project, students have to identify a problem – ethical, political, social, or technical - related to city planning and architecture and propose innovative solutions. It is the true definition of an all-encompassing STEM challenge. Throughout their preparation and during competitions, students are expected to adhere to a set of Core Values. All student teams will participate in the official FLL Calgary Championship on February 22 at SAIT. From there, teams can qualify for the FLL World Festival in Houston or Detroit. Our FFCA Robotics Showcase event was an opportunity for the teams to celebrate their accomplishments in the Robot Game, Innovation Project, and Core Values with their peers, teachers, parents, and community and prepare for the official First Lego League season. Overall, students performed exceptionally well. More importantly, they showed a lot of pride in their work and had a lot of fun in the process. Regardless of the final performance and the final scores, it has been amazing to see their development in problem solving, design thinking, creativity, teamwork, character, and leadership. I would like to especially congratulate the following teams:

Team 6 for scoring the highest points in the Robot Game 23rd Century for winning the Judges Award for best robot

design Mad Lads for winning the Innovation Award for best

project YYC ‘05 for winning the Team Spirit award.

I would also like to acknowledge all the people who made the event possible.

Mrs. Singh for the administrative support creating the robotics program

Ms. Codd for all the organizational support Janice Reisdorf and the parent council, along with Veena Lukic and Michael Olejnik, for all the support

organizing food and beverages Mrs. Anten and the student union for making sure the event ran smoothly Hiba Kharroubi, Mikal Kotadia, Will Trinh, and Farzam Khizar for being awesome robot game MC,

referees, and photographers

- Mr. Andre Shoucri

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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FFCA 2019–2020 High School Scholarships

Please go to our web page for complete details on the 2019-2020 FFCA High School Scholarship program.

ASC Outstanding Character ASC Outstanding Leadership Pritchard-Poole Scholarship HS Phoenix Athletics Female HS Phoenix Athletics Male HS Excellence in Mathematics HS Excellence in Language Arts SMS Outstanding Service Award NMS Academic & Performing Arts NMS Academic & Visual Arts SEE Excellence in Science SEE Excellence in Social Studies SWE Outstanding Academic Improvement Scholarship NEE Excellence in Trade/Technical Scholarship NWE Campus Society Valedictorian Scholarship Shelley Schroh Memorial Unsung Hero Scholarship HS Farley Mowat

Schedule of Board Meetings 2019-2020

Campus-based meetings begin at 6:30 p.m., Central Office meetings at 6:00 p.m. unless otherwise specified

February 12, 2020 @ NMS (Board & Organizational meeting)

NO MARCH MEETING April 15, 2020 @ NEW May 13, 2020 @ SWE June 10, 2020 @ HS

Central Office (CO) – Unit #110, 7000 Railway St. SE Southeast Elementary (SEE) – 9711 Academy Dr. SE

Southwest Elementary (SWE) – 898 Sylvester Cres. SW Northeast Elementary (NEE) – 1140 Mayland Dr. NE Northwest Elementary (NWE) – 719 – 44 Ave. NW South Middle School (SMS) – 8710 Ancourt Rd. SE

North Middle School (NMS) – 211 McKnight Blvd. NE High School (HS) – 2116 MacKay Rd. NW

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Admission Update – University of Calgary Grade 12 students may have questions about the application cycle for Fall, 2020 at the University of Calgary. The university has had over 10,500 students apply for admission; this number is up 9.5%from the same time last year. The university is scheduled to receive updated Alberta transcripts on February 14, 2020. The university expects to issue a large number of offer letters for students once the first term Grade 12 marks are reviewed. Don’t forget about the deadline to apply to the U of C. The deadline to apply for Fall, 2020 is March 1, 2020. This date is also the deadline to apply for the first-year general scholarships and bursaries. The university does have an Automatic Entrance Award (no application required) for applicants whose admission average is 95% or higher. This is the President’s Admission Scholarship. UCalgary Next Steps: Course registration does not begin until May, but for students who have accepted an offer of admission from the University of Calgary, they may be getting excited about their next steps. Students will be sent monthly communications about planning early for course registration. Students should familiarize themselves with the University Calendar to make a list of courses. The Master Schedule launches March 1 and students can begin to build a course schedule for May registration. A series of registration workshops and online webinars in March and April will be available for students. It is highly recommended that students attend a registration workshop so they can learn to make their first-year schedule. Admission Update – Mount Royal University Students are still encouraged to apply to Mount Royal University for the Fall, 2020 term. MRU will accept applications until they feel they have enough applicants for a program, then they will close the applications. Students should consider the University Entrance Option or Open Studies programs. These programs allow students to upgrade high school courses and take university-level classes at the same time. This is a great way to start a university program. If you are concerned about grades or worried about finding a place to study these are excellent choices. Additionally, don’t forget that March 1, 2020 is the deadline to apply for MRU scholarships.

From the FFCA School Counsellor: Shelley Geran

Join us at Open House on Feb.

8, 2020 from 9 am - 3 pm to check

out our programs, discuss your op-

tions and connect with industry-

trained instructors and fellow stu-

dents. Whether you're just begin-

ning to explore your options, have

already decided what you'll study or

want to take your career to the next

level, our faculty and staff will inform

and inspire you by the time you

leave campus.

Saturday Feb, 8 9 am—3 pm

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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Diploma Exam Results Grade 12 diploma exam results should be available by February 14, 2020. Students can find their final grades through their MyPass account. The school mark, exam mark, and final blended grade mark will all appear on the Detailed Academic Report. Post-Secondary Visits – February/March Ms. Geran has booked some noon-hour displays that are available to all FFCA H.S. students. In February, there will be displays by the University of New Brunswick and the University of Calgary. In early March, there will be a display by St. Mary’s University of Calgary. These displays will be outside the Main Office. Listen to the announcements for dates of these visits.

From the FFCA School Counsellor: Shelley Geran ...continued

FFCA Board

Ms. Diaz is a Senior Finance and Accounting Professional who has worked in the Energy industry in Calgary for the past 20 years. Her unique finance and planning background has given her the opportunity to work with government bodies on policy and compliance matters. Sumara has three children, two of whom currently attend FFCA and one who is a recent graduate. FFCA was the school system of choice for her fami-ly over 16 years ago and ever since, she has proudly promot-

ed chartered schools and choice in Alberta's education system. Sumara holds a Bachelor Commerce degree from the Universi-ty of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business and has her CPA, CMA designation. Her colleagues would say she is focused, dedicated, committed, passionate but rational, and a strong leader who is not afraid to challenge the status quo. All attrib-utes she feels strongly align with the character and leadership virtues instilled at FFCA. Sumara is proud of FFCA's high aca-demics standings and a strong believer that it is the character and leadership attributes that are shaping FFCA students into the leaders of tomorrow. She is honoured to have been elected to the board of directors of FFCA last year and looks forward to the remaining years of her term.

Director Sumara Diaz Elected December 2018 Term: 2019-2021

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Every year, FFCA prepares, produces, and performs One Act plays in the AHSDFA (Alberta High School Drama Festival Association) festival. This year we are producing 5-6 beautiful shows! Stay tuned for our line-up of incredible theatre! SAVE THE DATE: In-House Performances: Monday, April 27-Tuesday, April 28, 7pm (possibly Wednesday, April 29 as well) AHSDFA Zone 9 One Act Festival: Friday, May 1- Saturday, May 2 AHSDFA Provincial One Act Festival: Thursday, May 7- Saturday, May 9 (In Red Deer) Pictured below: The Provincial One Act trip students and banner. FFCA’s Any Night at Provincials in Red Deer, AB, 2019.

FFCA PERFORMING ARTS: ONE ACT

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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Start the Second Semester on the Right Foot!

High School Students often grow quicker than their clothes

can keep up. If your student has grown out of their school

shoes and you are planning on buying them new ones, please

know that black-on-black Nikes like the ones pictured are not

allowed at FFCA High School. They are not dress shoes at all,

and students who wear these to school will be in violation of

our uniform policy.

Registration Reminders and Elective Fees

Uniform Requirements

Just a reminder that

re-registration is

starting soon here at

FFCA High School.

Please look for upcom-

ing info regarding the

process and the time-

line and just a remind-

er this process is all

done on-line.

Friendly reminder that

for 2nd semester elective

fees will be posted by

Feb 15th . We encourage

you to log-on at that time

and pay your fees.

Thanks for your

cooperation.

When a child is going to be late or absent from school, it is the parent/

guardian’s responsibility to call the office and inform the office of the reason

for the lateness/absence before the end of day if possible. In order to ensure

accuracy on our end could you please spell out your child's first and last

name. Thank you.

Please contact the office at 403-243-3316, Ext. #1001.

Attendance: Notify the Office

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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Is Your Contact Information Up to Date?

Solution to last month:

Communications between the high school and families are mostly done electronically. Please take a moment to ensure that all your contact information is correct on the Family Zone (re-registration system). Family Zone Link: https://www2.ffca-calgary.com/myhome/familydefault.asp

FFCA Snack n’ Chat

Alberta Health Services - Newsletter

February 2020: Teen Health

Please choose this link for the February 2020Newsletter

Have you heard about Snack n’ Chat! It is a neat opportunity for 20 students to sign up each month to spend a lunch hour with Mrs. Singh, Mr. Lamb and Mrs. Boyd. This is a chance on the last Tuesday of each month to ask ques-tions, make suggestions, get to know your admin and yes even have a provid-ed snack! Posters are on display around the school for more information and the sign up is outside the school office. We hope to see you there!

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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER February, 2020

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IMPORTANT Information from Central Office

MOVING? If you are planning to move and your new home puts you within the boundaries for a different campus, please email a completed “Request for Internal Transfer” application to phoebe.greentree@ffca-calgary.com. Please note: Internal transfers do not occur mid-year. The form can be found on the FFCA website www.ffca-calgary.com under Menu/Parents/Internal Student Transfers. Internal transfers can only occur if a seat becomes available in the requested campus and we may not be able to accommodate all children in the same family. We do not provide transportation to students who live outside the boundaries of their current campus.

TRANSPORTATION NOTICE PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR ADDRESS ONLINE - Once you have made the change, the system will send a notification to the campus. You will need to check with our transportation coordinator, susan.goldsmith@ffca-calgary.com to ensure there is room on the bus assigned to the community you are moving to. Many of our busses are full and at capacity and there may not be a spot for your student on the bus assigned to your new neighborhood. **** If you are using a different stop than your morning stop regularly or on certain days, please let the transportation department know so the bus drivers are provided this information for afternoon drop offs.

IMPORTANT ****Also please note if you are moving, no new bus stops are created from Dec-June as the schedules of the FFCA bus routes are fixed.

BUSSING NEWS: Should your child need a bus pass, parents must e-mail their request at least 24 hours prior to the required date. Once your request in writing is received, the office then needs to confirm with our bus coordinator to ensure that there is room for your child to safely ride this new route. Please note that bus passes are not issued for social purposes. Email your request to: sherri.codd@ffca-calgary.com Note: The following busses are full and bus passes will not be issued under any circumstance.

Routes #19,#59,#30,#34,#49,#58,#52