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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
National Service
Every election year, we start to get proposals for various national service programs as ways to pay for college. The basic idea, though the details always vary, is that graduating high school seniors will work for the government for a year or two in a sort of domestic peace corps arrangement, doing fine and worthy things while accruing voucher credits to be used for college tuition. It's usually presented as some sort of 'rights/responsibilities' tradeoff, with the clear implication that opposition to such a plan could only be based on hippie-like narcissism and/or opposition to all things good. It's a particular favorite of centrist Democrats, since it allows them to connect financial aid to 'worthiness.'
I'm no hippie, and I like good works, but this stuff really doesn't sit well with me at all.
First off, it doesn't recognize the reality of who college students are. The picture people paint when they discuss these programs is of a sheltered, overentitled seventeen-year-old who needs some real-world seasoning before moving out to live in dorms and take classes full-time. Those folks exist, but they aren't the majority of students anymore. Students now come in all ages, often with jobs, and often part-time. Many of them have family and/or local obligations. The students most capable of taking advantage of programs like these are generally the students who are most advantaged anyway.
There's also the annoying fact that the wealthier folk would be able to opt out. So in addition to all the other advantages of wealth, they'd also get started on their careers earlier in life. Those lost earning years matter, especially with the move to defined-contribution pensions. Lost years of compounding returns matter quite a bit. (This is a little-noted but major implication of the shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution plans. Under the old style pensions, what mattered was what you made in the last few years of your career. Under the new style, what matters most is how early you start, since compounding is the name of the game. With educational requirements ratcheting up, newbies start later than they used to. Add a couple more years of opportunity cost with national service, and it gets even worse.)
And there's the sheer drudgery of much of the work. My recollection of high school – your mileage may vary – involves a lot of frustration, and a palpable eagerness to step up to the academic big leagues. Adding a year or two of soup-kitchen duty or trash pickup or helping old ladies across the street would be demotivating, to put it mildly. As the apocryphal saying goes, community service is something you're sentenced to. Besides, the idea of interrupting your math sequence for a couple of years, then jumping right into calculus, strikes me as, well, nuts. The same holds true for anything sequential and memory-based, like foreign languages. I don't even know how athletics fit into this.
I've done my share of drudgery. I've attended parking lots, washed dishes in diners, tested piston rings, stocked groceries, picked up the photocopier tan, temped, served food in cafeteria lines, and even stacked bags of ice in a freezer. But those were all short-term gigs, and they all involved at least some level of choice. (Admittedly, more choices would have been nice...) And anybody who thinks that living on the East Coast on ten thousand dollars a year in the 1990's was easy hasn't tried it. This isn't about dodging work, or living in Mom's basement and playing video games.
The message that national service programs send strikes me as dangerous. The implication seems to be that rich kids can just jump right into higher ed and start moving up the ladder, but the rest of us have to do our time first. It's a sort of penance for not having wealthy parents. I know our society worships money, but there should be some kind of limits. It implicitly defines higher education as a purely private good, which I reject out of hand. (This isn't just the perspective of a loony liberal, either. If you've ever been to Chamber of Commerce lunches, you know you could start a drinking game based on how many times you hear the phrase "educated workforce.") If we're the slightest bit serious about economic opportunity, or competing in the global economy, or preserving and exploring the cultures of the world, or retraining displaced workers, or giving disaffected high school kids something to shoot for, or – heaven forbid – fostering creativity for its own sake, we shouldn't put up more obstacles to higher ed. We should clear them away. If you really want to do a national service, improve the high schools.
My proposal? Streamline and increase financial aid, strengthen community colleges as academic starting points – since they're the most accessible to people of every age, income level, and family situation, improve the transferability of credits, reduce the reliance on loans, and recognize in a serious way that a highly educated population is a public good, worthy of support with public resources. Drop the insulting and paternalistic proposals for indentured servitude, and make it possible for people to pursue the education best for them when it makes sense for them to do it.
None of that is terribly original, and none of it is easy, either. There may be better ways. But the animating principles – freedom of choice, education as a public good, and respect for people's different life paths – strike me as fundamental. National service proposals manage to mangle all three.
The key advantage to national service is that it creates opportunities for young people in our far too divided society to meet people from other worlds. They (especially the more privileged among them, but also the not so privileged) might to feel part of something bigger than their own little corner of things.
I mean sure, you can have some sort of GI/National Service benefits afterwards, but that's not the purpose. Or it shouldn't be. And we have enough needs -- infrastructure, human etc. that there is plenty of work to go around.
It's also ageist-- I could only support it if everyone had to do it. Put it on the retirees and let them meet other people.
And it's bad for women because it takes away two crucial years of establishing a career before having children. I really can't say how much I loathe these proposals.
That said, when I think about the friends of mine who did (or considered doing) ROTC or Teach for America, they tended to be middle-class kids whose parents wouldn't (a fair number of these existed, and yet financial aid forms connect you to your parents whatever your relationship to their bank account into your 20s) or couldn't afford to pay for their college, and so those programs offered them a way to do it without having to go into massive amounts of debt while working and going to school full time. It gave them the option of being able to go away to school as opposed to having to live at home with their parents. In short, it wasn't the most privileged people I knew who took advantage of those programs, but people who were in the gap between me (grants and scholarships, a teensy bit of federally subsidized work study, work in the summer when I did not take classes, and only a tiny amount of subsidized federal loans made my dreams of going away to college and studying full time a reality) and students whose parents had socked away money to send their children to college since their children were born. So the appeal of these programs, I think, is NOT for the lower income students who go to CCs or to a 4-year that is local (returning students, students with family obligations that keep them local, etc., students who are only attending school part time), for lower income students who get decent financial aid and scholarship support, or for wealthy students who need to be tourists in soup kitchens to learn how the other half lives.
Instead, I think they're for the students who fall in between those two poles. For that middle range of students, such programs could potentially cut time to degree (they wouldn't need to bartend or wait tables on the side to pay to live in the dorms or for their books or whatever), could allow them the opportunity to have a college experience that they wouldn't otherwise have (living away instead of living at home), and could offer a way for them to return on the investment that has been made in them, even if that investment wasn't technically (emphasis on technically here) "need" based. The possibility that this could shorten time to degree means that your argument about retirement doesn't hold water, and also if students didn't emerge with debt, that couple of years in the field would be less detrimental than the trade-off of, conservatively, 30K in loans.
Now, would such programs have to be *very carefully* implemented in order for them to be successful on all levels - for students, for universities/colleges, and for the community? Yes. Are such programs a substitute for financial aid? Not at all. They'd have to be a supplement to financial aid, and I agree that financial aid needs to be streamlined and increased. So my vision is a Utopian one that will likely never come to pass, in terms of how I think such programs would work. But I think to dismiss them out of hand, well, I'm not sure what is gained by doing that. It seems like an unnecessary way of limiting our thinking about how college can connect to the broader social world that students enter when they're done.
If the goal is to foster a habit of community service, the required community service needs to be across the board and tied to public school funding (The children of the rich in private schools need this too, but I can't think of any way to shame the schools into doing it). Kindergarten is not too soon to start. Many people could use a healthy dose of compassion, and the best way to get that is to start young and make it a natural part of learning--for everyone--not just the poor. They already know what it's like to be poor.
Thinking more deeply, this could also be one of the ways our country makes poor people (I just can't say economically disadvantaged--having been there, it sticks in my throat) atone for the economic sin of being poor. The service gap is a way of marking them, in the same way some school districts mark students who receive free lunches be making them announce it each day in order to receive the food. What should be a step up and a help turns into a public division.
1. It must be universal.
2. The work must be meaningful.
3. The work must be compensated fairly and adequately.
If we can't do those thiree things, then national service becomes an example of a work levee, such as existed in the middle ages. And to that, I would say, "NJo, and no thanks."
I attempted to do national service when I finished school, through TeachAmerica or a similar program, or through AmeriCorps generally. I was unable to. I was 26 and married when I finished my education, and HARDLY ANY programs would take a married couple, and NOT A SINGLE ONE would promise to place you where your spouse lived. (And my husband's career was established.) Many had residency requirements that involved living communally with other volunteers, and required you be single, or living within particular city limits.
In short, they made it literally impossible for a young married person to participate. I had already lived apart from my husband for the first 18 months of our marriage while I finished school. I was not going to wait two whole extra years to start my married life because national service programs are wildly inflexible and unwilling to even discuss the issue.
I think national service sounds like a good idea in theory, but students already wait until they're 22 to start their "real" lives if they go straight through high school and college. Longer if they take a break, or pursue higher higher ed. It's unfairly burdensome to demand we spend ANOTHER year or two years waiting to start our lives because someone's decided my generation is inadequately engaged in society. (And I volunteered more than 200 hours last calendar year, thank you very much.)
1. the notion that "everyone should go to college"
2. the notion that post secondary education is a "right"
3. the notion that "national service" actually serves the public good
1. Under this worldview, the choice we make as a society is to NOT have a smart, capable, fully employed tradesman- in lieu of a smart, capable, unemployed/underemployed debt ridden college graduate. Community Colleges (in their "Trade School" role) used to fill a vital role in serving the needs of society and industry; now we must do without or import our tradesman from other countries.
2. The economics of this assumption will drive us in one of two directions. The "European" direction will lead to rationing and privilege. The opposite direction leads to "the tragedy of the commons" and the further loss in value of education (both intrinsically as quality drops and extrinsically as the market value drops).
3. It's the "Sports Referee Principle." At least half the population will disagree with every single form of national service offered. Do we want "working on re-election campaigns" to count as national service? How about "voter registration drives?" Naaaaaaah I don't think so. When dollars are forcibly extracted from real human beings to pay for things with which those human beings strongly disagree, and for which (arguably) government has no proper role, then it crosses the line into "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" country.
A secondary note on #3: ya know we used to have chain gangs performing all sorts of valuable "service" (clearing brush, paving roads, etc.). If I remember correctly there were a lot of problems with this . . . not the least of which was the "anticompetitive nature" of how the work details were assigned to economically reward/punish players in various free market enterprises.
It'd be even neater if the program taught at least some useful skill. That includes things like construction...never underestimate the value of being able to work on your own house! To counter intellectual stagnation, the program could offer low-cost college coursework at night to those interested, or encourage intellectual development in different ways. It would be up to the student to take advantage of the offerings, but then, they have to take advantage of college, too.
Several comments here seem to find national service acceptable only if it's compulsory. For me, that's weird. Can you explain your thinking?
In this sense Teach for America or similar programs are quite different from the pre-college national service because (in theory) they do give college graduates job experience relevant to their field. In that sense, they hopefully would not penalize the careers of students who choose to participate. There are similar programs of debt-forgiveness for law school graduates that encourage entry into legal clinics or public service work.
No workable system (meaning one that could be defended in a debate) had an opt-out clause for the rich, famous, or devious. Both Karl Rove and Bill Clinton would have had to serve a year or so, and you couldn't cut short a part-time obligation like Bush's TxANG service. Your 365 days in Vietnam would be treated the same as 365 days in Appalachia, both after a training period.
IMHO, a major flaw in the Democratic proposals is the lack of any reference to military service to the country as an option.
Side comments: It does not raise a civil liberties issue any more than the draft did, and that was always ruled constitutional provided there were alternatives to accommodate religious freedom. It would not be ageist if every 18 year old did it, as was the norm for the draft. Education is not a right guaranteed by the constitution; only equal access to it is guaranteed. Even K-10 schooling is not a right, it is a legal requirement! Only grades 10-12 are a right, and then only at local option. After that you are on your own.
Economics comment: The ratio of taxpayers to college students has a lot to do with the cost structure. As a larger fraction of that age group go to college, the burden increases. Efficiency issues (oft discussed here) then come to bear as well along with the job market for teachers and researchers. IMHO, part of the cost shift has resulted from the need to fund universities with *research* money, reducing teaching loads and raising salaries, not just state dollars.
Sorry to run long....
And it's tough to do service you want to do at 22 (after college), but at 18 it would be even tougher.
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Corbett offers broad-based energy plan
Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday went to the heart of Marcellus shale drilling to quietly announce details of a state energy plan.
His "Energy = Jobs" plan, which his office outlined in a 72-page report and at a website connected to the governor's homepage, looks to market the state's energy sectors to investors and business people.
As numerous Democrats clamor to take on Corbett in the November election, the Republican governor's plan touts the state's place as a big producer of natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewable energy, and expresses support for all of those sectors.
"Whether from the well pad to the corner grocery store, the expansion of our energy sector has made Pennsylvanians better off and made our commonwealth really the vanguard of American energy independence," he told a small audience at Pennsylvania College of Technology's Earth Science Center in Lycoming County. The county was among the leaders in new unconventional drilling permits last year, his report said. Shale drilling over the past decade made Pennsylvania the country's second-largest producer of natural gas.
The report says his "all-of-the-above" policy is guided by embracing free markets to allow customers to choose their energy sources, promoting the state's diverse energy portfolio, pushing industries to use cheap energy produced here and protecting the environment. It calls for supporting new technology that reduces emissions from coal-fired plants, making natural-gas vehicles more commonplace and backing the redevelopment of refineries for the natural gas industry.
A critic said the policy misses a chance to seize on the high-growth natural gas industry that took hold in shale-rich areas from the southwestern to northeastern corners of the state.
"A policy that embraces the status quo doesn't get us there," said John Quigley, a former state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources secretary. He said a good policy would promote building an infrastructure around renewable energy sources — wind, solar and water — backed by natural gas-fired power plants that can back up the grid with fewer emissions than coal.
"He tries to appease everybody," Quigley said. "We need policy and leadership to take advantage of opportunities in front of Pennsylvania."
One industry leader was quick to support the plan. The Pennsylvania Coal Alliance said the policy makes good business sense.
"It acknowledges the direct link between Pennsylvania energy and economic opportunity," said alliance CEO John Pippy. "It benefits the commercial base and individual employees."
Pippy said Corbett's free-market approach would allow all the energy sectors to succeed without heavy regulations such as a federal rule to limit emissions from coal-fired plants. That rule, he and other industry leaders say, will make it impossible to generate electricity from coal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. David Conti is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-388-5802 or email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Seane WarzusanPhotographer Male Dallas, Texas, US
My MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/Seane
Mayhem # 469359
About Me
HEADS UP! Officially website is DOWN right now! I'm doing some much needed work on it. Should be back up soon
I rarely update this port so if you would like to check out what I'm currently doing feel free to play about on my facebook http://www.facebook.com/seanewarzusan
And for a link to my figure work. You can see that here
I know it says I take paid assignments only but that's just to cut down on the insane amount of emails I get . I always have some kind of off-the-wall artistic project I'm working on so shoot me an email if you would like to work together. Another note to models, I will not pay to work with you unless I'm hired by a client and can sell your look to them. Then your money is technically coming from the client, not me. I really do my best to promote awesome models who test with and do concept work with me to get them paid because they deserve every cent.
If you want to see the full scope of what I do, then please visit my website www.SeaneWarzusan.com Thanks!
I am constantly working my hardest to transfer your personal image of perfection into reality. The creative process between two or more people is such an awesome thing to be a part of and I am so thankful to have this as a working business.
Preproduction is super important in any shoot and I always like to get together in advance to discuss what you want so we can achieve the best possible product. I have become extremely versed at "working on the fly" too
Have you worked with Seane Warzusan? Add Credits for Seane Warzusan! >>
"Seane is a very kind and talented triple threat -photographer, host, and model. It was such a pleasure to work with him and the images we created are incredible. It's really a joy to spend time with him and I can't wait to work with him again!"
Worked together 1 times; Most recent: June 2016
CoCo Harlow
See Sample Worked together 2-10 times; Most recent: October 2015
"I absolutlely love Seane for the person he is both professionally and as my friend."
See Sample Worked together 2-10 times; Most recent: November 2015
Credit Notes
Agencies, Fashion, and Companies:
-Toni and Guy
-The Makeup Artist Academy and Agency
-Crystals on Fire
-ROF Industries
-Oracle Lounge Radio
-Wet Brush Industry
-JC Model Group
-Amanda Celentano Fashion
-Small Guy Music
-Seven Studios hair salon
-Susy Jewelry
-World of Womble Jewelry
-Taylor Robinson Music
-Abdul Fashion
-Sara Hoffman Fashion
-Adrian White (Shalottlilly jewelry)
-Liz Trosper (Artist)
-Yelizaveta Nersesova (Artist)
-Lacy Rose (Musician)
-Niel Swanson (Musician, winner of Steve Via competition)
-Aallie #627969
-Abra Cadavra #393977
-Penelope Grace #603360
-Alison Mitchel
-Mckenna Tomlin #577146
-xo Fiona Black xo #252432
-Jess (Chesire Cat) #533124
-Madellyn #47538
-Matthew JC
-Tru3 Star #714105
-Sierra Leigh
-Brett Unruh #540394
-Corrie Loftin #160211 (Paris Hilton's New BFF)
-Adina Foreman
-Serina Caviness
-Angela Mclin #598327
-Jordan Jean
-Rhiannon Davis #752684
-Kellsie Elizabeth #782447
-Misha Talis #905090
-Lipa #832831
-Natalie Dickinson (actor)
-Erin Marie #169614
-Christina Campfield (Miss Dallas USA)
-Beth Amphetamines #1282720
-Jen Dixon #826342
-Kayla Giard #1344588
-Alexandria Dixon #1646266
-CoCo Harlow #1212398
-Tori Kim #2390115
-Nx-Model #577480
-Nadya R #2838073
-Voodoo Howyacall #191549
-nnninja #377234
-Melissa Lauren
-Kimberly Foster (Actor)
-Ashleigh Domangue (Actor)
-Sati Templar #1631441
-Samantha Plan (Natural Model Management)
-Ruca #1041856
-e-wack #2452506
-Erin Mishelle #890732
-Poppy Sinclair #2946983
-Hannah Jones (from America's Next Top Model)
-Dia Monroe #2872401
-Mia Rae
-Shalom Taylor #2938274
-Kara #1414983
-Amadea T #2314972
-Elizabeth_Blake #2800816
-Secret Weapon #1646266
-Kathy Yee #1685127
-Zamra Dollskin #532902
-Jacs F #2868429
-and plenty plenty plllllenty more... Very sorry if I missed your name
-Wet Brush Industry #717410
-Terry Ewton
-Dawn Hall #348794
-Ladonna Hearne #1039573
-Alexandria Dixon #898804
-George Tagle
-Theresa Hebert
-Stacey Lunt
-Kaia Bellanca
-Latonia Monday
-Chelsea Lee
-Mary Rae Arvizu
-Denise Hart Larsen
I figured since I get to see you, you should see me! So here is a shot of me on set doing a live shoot with the JC Model Group during one of the Rock Fashion Shows.
Always a fun time! :-)
I'm the one doofus wearing a grey shirt. Haha!
Invisible Clothing Photographer
LaDonna Stein Makeup Artist
Ms Painted Lady Makeup Artist
Secret Weapon Model
Barry G Oliver Photographer
Sati Templar Model
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Created 13 years ago, those multi-brand boutiques in Brussels have a strong fashion identity.
You can find there plenty of trendy clothes collections for women but also fashion brands accessories.
Thanks to its excellent service, No Concept gives priority to the comfort and the satisfaction of its customers.
Tel : 02 / 522 27 57
This boutique for women located in Ixelles has a large collection of clothes from the latest fashion trends. Go visit the shop and you will be seduced by the new lines.
Tel: 02 / 538 50 38
Visit this high-end shop on the Boulevard of Waterloo in Brussels and see their amazing and luxury collections of women clothes and bags.
Tel: 02 / 511 11 82
A large range of the luxury brand is presented in this luxury shop for women in the heart of Brussels, Avenue Louise. You can find there Burberry, D&G, Givenchy…
Tel: 02 / 545 78 30
Ideally located on the Avenue Louise, the women shop Bouvy offers outstanding clothing brands like Armani, Belluna, Bellerose…
Tel: 02 / 513 63 91


text:
One of the best things in life is learning how very different each person you meet can be. How you can fall in love with these people that can be so different from yourself. It's a mystery I love to explore.
When it comes to movies, I'm pretty critical and end up disliking most of them. Although, there are quite a few I do enjoy. Scott Pilgrim, Donnie Darko, Sin City, Seven, Fight Club, The Butterfly Effect, American Psycho, Sweeny Todd, Clerks, The Departed, Shutter Island to name a few of my favorites.
I'll watch any kind of anime, it's basically my favorite thing. (FLCL, One Piece, Neon Genesis Evangelion, FMA: Brotherhood, and Gurren Lagann being my favs). The Walking Dead is really the only non-animated show I watch these days.
All types of music are good with me, besides country. Few of my favs are A Perfect Circle/Tool, Gorillaz, Daft Punk, Muse, Emery, Foster The People, Deftones, Queens of the Stone Age, The Neighborhood, etc.
Always down to try any kind of food. Japanese and authentic Mexican is probably my favorite types.
2. Friends
3. Family
4. Anime
5. Writing
6. Video Games


text:
About Red Hat
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text:
SAN BERNARDINO — Police evacuated several homes late Thursday after a resident found a pipe bomb in a neighborhood.
San Bernardino police received a call around 10 p.m. from a resident who found a pipe bomb near the corner of Marshall Boulevard and Sierra Way, said police Lt. Dan Gomez.
Bomb squad personnel arrived and determined the device was live.
A few homes surrounding the device were evacuated while San Bernardino County sheriff's bomb squad deputies disabled it.


text:
October 27, 2010 BY Aaron Hope
It might be easy for US sneakerheads to confuse them with Japan's similarly named Limited EDT, but anyone who knows SE Asia can tell you that Limited Edt Vault is at the top of Singapore's sneaker boutique list. Revisiting a tag team that first released a collabo sneaker back in 2008, the Limited Edt Vault x New Balance M577BST will release at a bunch of the best boutiques around the world, but only in a tiny 100 pair run. The Tiffany-like black and aqua colorup is solid, but the real draw here might be a VIP ticket into the Limited Edt Chamber where you'll find a well curated collection on display. US sneakerheds will find these at Bodega, UNDFTD, Nice Kicks and Sole Boutique (plus Livestock in Canada) on November 20th, and you can see more shots when you click the jump below.
Filed under: Collaboration New Balance Running Upcoming Sneakers


text: It was a year of big change for software installation. Readers showed big interest in the AppX and Universal Windows Platform announcements at Microsoft Build 2016 and the launch of InstallShield 2016 with support for the Desktop Bridge and Windows Server Apps. Flexera's acquisition of open source application security provider Palamida and the latest news on Docker also received attention. For your convenience, here are the top 10 most popular InstallTalk blog posts of 2016. Microsoft Build 2016 Keynote Highlights InstallShield, AppX and UWP: Bridge to the Future InstallShield 2016 Launches with Desktop Bridge and Windows Server Support How to Create an Internet Shortcut with InstallShield Your Docker Questions Answered Here: Webinar Q&A Microsoft Ignite 2016: Breakout Session Focuses on Project Centennial, UWP InstallShield Wins Gold in Visual Studio Magazine's 2015 Reader's Choice Awards Docker: Three Basics Flexera Software Acquires Open Source Application Security Provider, Palamida InstallShield 2016 Supports Microsoft... Read more →


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Gleneagles Ch'axay grade 3/4/5 students participated in the Pink Project on February 18th, 2015, during the Vancouver Giants game. This is the third year for GE's involement in this Flash Mob format. The students discussed what acceptance means to them, during classroom discussions.
Students present the dance to the school on Pink Day, Feb.25, 2015. Students celebrate acceptance around the school
Your school does very well on FSA's so it must be a good
learning environment…..
I'm thinking of enrolling my child in French Immersion…..
I want my child at an IB school, but they're full…..
Technology is the way of the future and I want my child to
Do students at your school wear a uniform.......
Are there before and after school activities…..
These and other comments are part of the school shopping
season. At this time of the year parents
are looking for the appropriate learning environments for their children. Choice; it is everywhere. From International Baccalaureate programs, to
a Montessori influenced setting, to outdoor school, parents want their children
exposed to the right educational opportunity.
Each of these options has merit and certainly pedagogical arguments to
promote their philosophies. But what if
a school cannot claim one particular focus or choice? Is that school any less successful? The comprehensive neighbourhood school is an educationally
sound setting, without the title. It is
not a brand.
The local elementary school is a hub for the
neighbourhood. This is the place where
students enter school for the first time.
In some cases there are robust early years programs to transition children
to their formal school experience. It is
the place where a 'love for learning' initially develops. This is the place parents see their first
Christmas concert with neighbours and share social time before and after the
event. Children come back after hours
for soccer practice because they are on the community team with their
friends. Families gather for pancake
breakfasts and open houses. There are
after hours science fairs. Families
attend parenting sessions on 'hot button' topics and they sit with teachers at
conferences to review their child's progress.
Special events occur where the whole community is invited to share a
common community experience. It is where
connections are made.
The first choice for educating your child is the
neighbourhood school. Comprehensive programs
are designed to provide children a balanced education. Academics are the focal point and are infused
with inquiry based approaches, as well as direct teaching and in the case of
Gleneagles Ch'axáý, concepts are sometimes taught through the arts. Students focus on positive citizenship by supporting
local neighbourhood issues as well as meeting commonly held behavioral
expectations at school. Students are
encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle and attempts are made to provide out of
classroom experiences such as chess, visual art, karate, musical theatre and
fencing. A student's emotional and
social well-being is also taken into consideration by promoting self-regulatory
practices such as learning about life skills through cooperative games.
Determining the success of an individual school cannot be
done through one standardized test at one particular time of the year. Success is not subscribing to one particular
methodology. We know children learn
through various modalities. Success is
not in a name. Success is not measured
by one criteria. When students feel a
sense of belonging and connectedness, then there are more opportunities to
learn. Successful schools educate the
whole child.
Is your child proud to wear the school t-shirt in the
Dear Parents, guardians and caregivers,
Gleneagles shines in the following areas!:
Foundation Skills Assessment: overall
improvement for 3 straight years
Fine Arts: GE Choir performs with recording
artists, The Nylons; intermediate students perform Little Mermaid and primary
students Stone Soup
Pink Day: Grade 6/7 students perform at
Vancouver Giants hockey game to promote 'Acceptance' – Gleneagles is the only
school in West Vancouver to participate in this event for the last three years
Trinity College – over 40 grade 6 and 7 students
receive 'Distinction' on their Trinity College communication exams
Track and Field: several students achieve 1st,
2nd or 3rd in the annual District Track and Field meets
These were just a handful of outstanding achievements at
Gleneagles Ch'axáý this past school year. We anticipate even more excellence this year. Our school believes in a balanced approach to
education. Academic performance is key,
along with programs that support a healthy, physical lifestyle, strong
social/emotional development and positive citizenship.
This past year we established a Positive Behaviour Support committee. There was representation from teaching and
support staff as well as parents. The
team worked hard developing systems that promote positive expectations for all
students. We are currently working on a
matrix of behaviours for all areas of the school that we will share publically
and one in which you can provide feedback.
Students have been involved with workshops developing our POWER matrix;
P ositve attitude
O wnership
W e NOT me
E xcellence
R espect
All of our students are powerful
learners and these behaviours will be practiced consistently in and out of
The staff is looking forward to meeting all of you on Thursday, September 11th from
5-7 pm for the Meet the Staff – Open House evening. This is an opportunity to mingle with
neighbours and school personnel over a hot dog and some mouth-watering corn on
the cob. You will have an opportunity to
visit the school and more specifically, your child's classroom. Please mark your calendar for this important
first social of the school year.
Regular communication to the home is vital for us so that
you may be aware of what is happening at the school. Occasionally we will send home information on
paper, however, we are trying to be more conscious of this and will rely more
on electronic means where possible.
Every Thursday, you will
receive an ebulletin, like today, which will contain key information concerning
the school. Please set aside time to
review this source to stay updated with events at school and throughout the
community. Make sure we have up to date
emails at the office to ensure you receive these posts.
We are looking forward to seeing you all on Tuesday,
September 2nd.
R. Scott Wallace
Vancouver Giants support the Pink Project
As PINK Day, February 26, approaches we are reminded that we are a nation, a community of tolerant people. The word acceptance and its true meaning is brought to life by students celebrating their own differences. Gleneagles students have demonstrated this concept for the last three years by participating in the Pink Project. It's best just sit back, watch and listen.

On January 20th, close to 2000 BC school kids danced for acceptance. The 2013 installment of the Pink Project was presented in front of surprised fans during Sunday's Vancouver Giants hockey game. This 'flash mob' of elementary and secondary kids moved in perfect sync to the song 'Because You're Beautiful' by One Direction. Through dance and a shared experience the students learned about accepting people no matter who they are.
Huge thanks go out to Mrs. Fulton and Ms McLachlan for all their hard work preparing the students. After the show parents shared their excitement having watched the spectacle. Many were overcome by emotion as they watched a truly magnificent sight.
The Pink Project 2013 is a prelude to anti-bulling day on Feb 27th. All students are encouraged to wear pick to school to support 'Acceptance'. We will be having an assembly in which the grade 6 and 7's will show off their dance to the rest of the school.

Today the whole school decorated the classrooms and halls to start off the holiday season. We decided to 'Deck the Halls'. At 1:30 pm festive music played over the PA system as students and staff hung up decorations in their individual areas. The mood was positive and fun as buddy classes worked together for this special event. Here are a few pictures to prove the point.
Season's Greetings
Hello Everyone! My name is Aydin, and I will be the principal for the day today! I am in grade 7 in Division 1. In this blog I will keep you posted on how today went. Sounds like it's going to be hard!
7:00- Arrive at school
7:05- Empty dishwasher, brew tea for staff. Not the glamourous start which I expected, but someone's got to do it! The tea does taste good, though.
7:15- Set up message boards. It's important to maintain constant communication with parents, which makes the message boards essential. There are two boards in the school. One at the entrance to the office, and one at the primary entrance. I like having the board at the primary entrance because of the large amount of primary students coming through the entrance there. It also saves time for parents, so they don't have to walk all the way up to the office every single day. On these message boards are special events, schedules, and updates.
7:30- Settling into the office.
7:45- Find computer, log in. It took awhile to load the computer, and even longer to find a working charger. During this time, I also got the chance to introduce myself to the teachers, and I did various jobs for Ms. Sponza and Ms. Messenger (Office Secretaries).
8:00- Start work. Finally! The computer took awhile to load.
8:15- Mr. Wallace had a private meeting with one of the teachers, so I remain in the staff room. I am really excited to hear of my other jobs today.
8:30- Bell. Class begins for the day, and time for the teachers to dash to class!
8:40- Mr. Wallace and I just completed a supervision lap of the school to make sure everyone was going to class. Supervision is one of the most important jobs as a principal. I will be out supervising during recess, lunch and after school. Supervision is to make sure students are always making the best choices, and to assist them if in a crisis situation.
8:47- We just took a few photos to post on the blog. Man, do I look good!
10:02- Classroom visits. I just walked around the school, accompanied by Mr. Wallace, and visited each classroom. I explained what my job is, and what I have done so far. I would like to thank all the students for listening to me speak, and the teachers for letting me interupt classes.
10:05- Practicing announcments with Max. Mr. Wallace and I chose to extend recess for 5 extra minutes. I do hope everyone likes it.
10:07- I just finished editing a statement for Mrs. Messenger.
11:34- WOW. That was a busy hour. I supervised recess, and dealt with a problem in the office. At recess, I walked around, making sure everybody was behaving. I made sure nobody was goofing off to a bad extent. I also made sure everybody was feeling well. After recess, I quickly helped deal with the wounded, and then dealt with two people who were in trouble. I won't give out details, just for privacy's sake, but I will say that there was a little "fight" after recess.
11:38- I would just like to quickly thank everyone for being so kind towards me at recess. It means so much to me.
11:45- I just got a nice picture from "someone." I loved it. It really made my day. Thanks a lot!
1:01-Well, lunch is over. I had a child who was in trouble follow me as I checked everywhere. I talked with various people, and heard jokes from others. I also dealt with a tiny playground problem. The kid who was with me behaved faily well. Gosh, I'm really going to miss this. How will I ever be a normal student again? I ate lunch with Jayden and Max (Division 1), who were office monitors today.
1:53-More trouble. I just had three boys leave the office, each of them with trouble on their shoulders. It really is dissapointing, and it greatly saddens me when I see these guys walking out of the office with their heads bowed like that.
2:15- Mr. Wallace and I sang the birthday song to a student in grade one. She told us all about her party plans.
2:32- Wrapping up the day and packing up my stuff. Mr. Wallace has a staff meeting and then a parent meeting at 5:15 pm.
Today I learned so many lifelong skills. I know that many of these skills will be used in my life. I have learned how to act accordingly with children, I have practiced my public speaking skills, how to deal with trouble, and how to use power in a way that helps everyone. I have really enjoyed my position as principal for the day. I also saw another side of being a principal that nobody usually ever sees. I saw the side of the job that requires waking up early. I found out that being a principal requires more than just the ability to punish, and I really enjoyed learning about that side. This day has really made me consider becoming a principal of a school. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for supporting me today. I truly appreciate it.


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