Linda Wigton

NGPS trustees met today with Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and local MLAs Todd Loewen, Shane Getson and Martin Long, to discuss NGPS' top capital ...priority of a new K-12 replacement school in Valleyview. Trustees are thrilled to announce that the Division has been granted $200,000 to begin the planning phase of the project! View NGPS' Capital Plan here https://www.ngps.ca/download/336056!

Together through it all #pbsstaff #weheartyou #bestteamintown

The NGPS Board of Trustees will receive a report from the Division Office staff regarding the draft K-6 curriculum, at our next regular Board Meeting on April 13th. In the meantime, please visit the website to read the curriculum draft and provide your feedback to the government. https://www.alberta.ca/curriculum-have-your-say.aspx

Tomorrow is the first day of school for many NGPS students! We are so ready to welcome you back! To assist schools, please use the Government of Alberta's Scree...ning Questionnaire daily to determine whether your child should enter the school or not. Screenshot it or print off a copy for your fridge for easy screening every morning https://bit.ly/32LePNj. Thank you! Families and staff are not required to manually fill out the form or to submit the form to their school. The questionnaire is a tool to assess wellness before coming to school.

NGPS return to school has been an epic journey. Thank you to all staff members for their incredible work to ensure that everything they could possibly do was done. I feel confident in our plan. We all have a part in this journey, ensuring we are staying safe within our communities. Have a great first day students and teachers!

UPDATE: It's almost that time of year again! The staff at Pat Hardy Primary School are getting ready to welcome our students, new and returning, for the 2020-20...21 school year. To allow families the opportunity to meet teachers, discuss new protocols and guidelines, see their child’s classroom and drop off supplies each classroom teacher will be having individualized meetings with students and their families. Grade 1 and 2 teachers will be meeting with families on Wednesday, September 2nd and Thursday, September 3rd. We will be following a staggered start for the days of Friday, September 4th; Tuesday, September 8th; Wednesday, September 9th and Thursday, September 10th. Our staggered starts will allow half the class transition into the new year as well as learn school and classroom routines in a smaller setting. Regular, full class instruction will begin on Wednesday, September 9th for grade 2 students and Friday, September 11th for grade 1 students. Grade 1 and 2 teachers will be contacting families on Thursday, August 27th with more details and to book your meeting. If your child is in grade 1 or 2 and you would like to book in advance you may call the school at (780)778-6266. Due to the range of part time and full time kindergarten options offered at our school kindergarten classes have an alternative schedule. These teachers have begun making phone calls to schedule times with their families and share their staggered start plan. If your child is in kindergarten and you have not heard from them by Tuesday at noon, please contact the school. Junior kindergarten e-mails were sent out yesterday and all families who were not contacted by e-mail yesterday will receive a phone call tomorrow. Please keep an eye out for more school start up information as we finalize details. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the school between the hours of 9am and 3pm. Thank you to all of our families for taking the time to speak with us and answer our re-entry survey questions! If you are choosing our online learning option for your child, please remember to contact the school by Monday, August 24th, so we may prepare.

I’m sad about this change. I know many educators that have dedicated themselves to curriculum development, under more than one government, I might add. Curriculum work is deep work, requiring many views and a great deal of collaboration. It takes years.

Instructional Learning Opportunities for 2020-21. Choose how your child will learn in September by August 24, 2020. In-person Instruction Scenario 1 ... Return to in-person classes with additional safety measures. Students who attend school will be assigned to a class where a classroom teacher will support their learning. If a student needs to stay home due to illness, their classroom teacher will provide work to support their learning. The teacher will not provide online instruction. At-home online instruction, Scenario 1 Students who are unable to attend in-person learning in September 2020 can be part of an online learning group with an assigned teacher. This learning format will include live online teacher instruction, directed activities and assignments that students will complete independently. Please notify your school of your selection by August 24, 2020. For complete information on instructional learning opportunities for the 2020-21 school year, please see our Re-entry Information for Families page https://bit.ly/2Q4L8kl and contact your school principal.

UPDATE: Board approves change to 2020-21 school year calendar. The first day of school is Wednesday, Sept 2! Recognizing that the fall re-entry of students requ...ires significant planning and set up time by classroom teachers, NGPS administration proposed a change to the 2020-21 school year calendar at yesterday's Board meeting. The Board approved the recommendation which moves the first day of school from August 31, to Wednesday, September 2, 2020. The difference of two days will allow additional preparation time for schools. Thank you for your continued support as we head into the 2020-21 school year, together! We can't wait to see you!

A staff member from your child’s school will be calling you sometime between now and next Friday morning, August 7th. We ask each family for 5 - 7 minutes of your time to answer a few questions about in-school classes and yellow bus transportation. Thank you in advance for your time.

Thank you for responding to our our Re-Entry Survey. We received over 3,500 responses! Your feedback has been used to help us build our plans for the 2020-21 school year. Our Re-Entry Plan will be shared this week.

Dear Class of 2020, It is with great pleasure and a little sadness that the Northern Gateway Board of Trustees sends their written congratulations to you, a member of the Class of 2020, instead of our in person graduation ceremony greeting. We acknowledge the many years of commitment you have made to your education, and celebrate with you the completion of this journey in public school education. We also recognize that this year has been especially difficult and you have ma...de many sacrifices in completing your education during a global pandemic. Your parents, teachers, and community are proud and wish you the very best as you move towards your goals. Whether you are continuing with post secondary education, doing some upgrading, joining the world of work, or taking some time to reflect and plan, these endeavours may look a little different at first, but be assured that life will return to normal and you will be able to reflect on this experience. Throughout history many philosophers, teachers, and successful individuals have expressed that the challenges we face throughout life teach us the most, and are instrumental in shaping our lives. We encourage you to face each challenge as a renewed learning opportunity, to work towards being resilient in the face of adversity, and to never give up. Stay connected with those you love and your community; everyone is rooting for you. The Northern Gateway Board of Trustees wishes you the very best. Congratulations on a job well done. It has been a great pleasure to be part of your learning journey. Stay well. And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about. from Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami Best wishes, NGPS Board of Trustees

It was a grad day unlike any other! Congratulations Class of 2020! You are an unforgettable grad class and it was a pleasure to celebrate each of you and your o...utstanding achievements today. We are Charger strong and proud! We have a few photos to share tonight. We will keep the celebration going by sharing many more photos and videos over the course of the next few days. We have a few people we would like to thank for their role in helping us celebrate our graduates. Thank you; Grad Council (Emma Schlosser, Katianna Taylor, Kyra Paul, Randi Lemoal, Luc Aubin, Kenzie Beck, Hannah Lyver, Rianna Hodgson, Shanitha Murry and Advisers Mrs. Christianson, Mrs. Blain and Mrs. Van De Kerckhove) for working together throughout the year to successfully achieve the one goal everyone had from the beginning, to have the most memorable grad ever! Well done! Hilltop Staff- For your teamwork and collaborative efforts to make this day happen. From printing banners to taking pictures to putting 120 yards signs out early this morning. You are an amazing staff who is always willing to help when needed. Special shout out to our Tech Dept for their help with our virtual celebration. Our Graduates - For your patience, perseverance and gratefulness. We are so proud of you! Our Graduates Families - For your support, kindness and appreciation. Kenneth Zadderey - For taking the on stage photos during the ceremony. Graduates will receive these photos in the fall with their yearbooks. NGPS and our honoured dignitaries for sharing video messages to congratulate the graduates in our virtual celebration. Vital Signs- for printing over 200 yard signs! Amazing Gifts - for donating a portion of the balloons Slideshow Songwriter Emma Hamel - thank you for allowing us to use your beautiful song in our slideshow and Congratulations! https://youtu.be/vJBKAYRTeBU Our apologies if we have inadvertently missed a thank you, we are incredibly proud of how our entire community has come together to celebrate all graduates.

Experience the Pat Hardy difference!