Latest news with #CalgaryBoardofEducation
Calgary Herald
04-06-2025
- Science
- Calgary Herald
Heritage Park pilot program 'immersing students in history' in teaching applied science, math
A new program at Heritage Park in Calgary aims to help students apply science and math through the lens of history. Article content Developed beginning January this year and meant to tie into the Grade 7 curriculum, Heritage Park's Resource Ridge Program allows students to apply knowledge from the classroom at various spots in the historical village. Article content Article content The program takes the historical basis of Heritage Park and integrates aspects of science and math, according to Cheyenne Henderson, a Grade 7 teacher at the Calgary Board of Education's John Ware School. Article content Tiffany Aubin, an education program specialist at Heritage Park, said the premise is that students come to the park as 'scientists' in the mid-1800s to early 1900s. Article content Article content 'We aim it around . . . after Alberta becomes a new province, a fledgling province, and the kids are here to evaluate certain things,' Aubin told Postmedia on Wednesday. Article content They look at things like temperatures of different buildings, a variety of structures and forces. There's also an ecology component, where students evaluate different flora, both native and invasive. Article content The historical precedent for the program is settlers coming out west and exploring the conditions here, particularly the Palliser Expedition, when the government sent geologists and surveyors between 1857 and 1860. Article content Every component also has an Indigenous perspective, said Aubin. Article content 'A lot of people who came here relied on (Indigenous) knowledge because they're not familiar with this area,' said Aubin, adding that a component of the program looks at the temperature regulation of tipis. Article content Article content Heritage Park's replica mine also allows students to look at mineral resources, and students can analyze a coal sample. Article content The mine was among the highlights for students, according to Henderson, who noted more than 100 Grade 7 students from John Ware were the first to experience the new program on Tuesday. Article content 'They were really, really loving the mine experience . . . measuring it with tools that you know aren't a measuring tape,' she said. Article content Henderson commended the efforts of Heritage Park on the program. Article content 'They are really just completely immersing students in history and in such innovative ways,' she said Tuesday afternoon.
Calgary Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
‘Extremely graphic' sexual content found in books at K-9 schools, province says
Books found in some school libraries in Calgary and Edmonton had 'explicit sexual content,' said the provincial government, as it aims to crack-down on materials with inappropriate themes. Article content Article content The 'extremely graphic and age-inappropriate' content was found at some Kindergarten to Grade 9 schools and high schools across the Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education, according to the province. Article content Article content Initial reports of the books came from concerned parents last November, according to the provincial minister of education and childcare. Article content Article content 'I sat down with the parents, and they proceeded to show me files with multiple examples of what I would describe as being incredibly inappropriate passages,' said minister Demetrios Nicolaides in an interview Saturday. Article content 'I was completely shocked and taken aback,' he said. Article content Most concerning of all were 'extremely inappropriate' graphic images that display sexual acts, said Nicolaides. Article content Four graphic novels were named in a media release from the province: Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe; Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel; Blankets, by Craig Thompson; and Flamer, by Mike Curato. Article content However, those were just the 'most severe' cases, according to Nicolaides. Article content 'We didn't have an opportunity to look at the entire list. There (were) maybe dozens and dozens of books that were flagged by some of these parents,' he said. Article content Article content Some of the books contained mature content such as sexual activities, sexual nudity, nudity, molestation, profanity, suicidal commentary, alcohol use, drug use, derogatory terms, violence and self-harm. Article content Several excerpts from each graphic novel were shown in a news release from the province, depicting the above themes in different instances. Article content It's unclear how long the books have been in some schools. In a direct message, Nicolaides' press secretary confirmed the books were found in a total of 57 schools across Calgary and Edmonton, but did not disclose which ones. Article content 'I cannot think of any rationale or reason why they should be available in a school for a child,' said Nicolaides. 'The biggest concern of mine, is that many of these books exist in elementary schools.'
CTV News
14-05-2025
- CTV News
‘Be aware': Calgary police say popular ‘Senior Assassin' game comes with risks
Calgary police worry it's only 'a matter of time' before a major incident will occur as students throughout the city participate in a popular game known as 'Senior Assassin.' The live-action game is typically played by senior high school students and involves players eliminating 'targets' during a set time period using water guns, spray bottles or other methods. In Ontario, police issued warnings after students with replica firearms or spray-painted water guns prompted lockdowns and community alerts. In Guelph, Ont., for example, a school was put into lockdown earlier this month and a teen was arrested at gunpoint after police were called about a group spotted with a gun. The weapon turned out to be a realistic-looking water gun. 'We haven't, fortunately, had any major incidents in Calgary yet,' said Insp. Colleen Bowers with the Calgary Police Service's Youth Services section. 'I fear that it could be a matter of time.' 'There are youth that are playing this game, and the concern is they're carrying replica handguns or water pistols that look like a real handgun, and when police or citizens see that, they treat it as a real handgun.' Both the Calgary Board of Education and Calgary Catholic School District acknowledge students in this city are playing the game and the school boards are working with police and school principals to address concerns. Weapons, including replica guns and water guns, are not permitted on school property, each school board confirmed. The game is powered by an app that assigns the 'targets' and uses location data of the participants, something parents should also speak to their teenagers about, police say. 'As parents, be aware of the social media. Be aware of what they're doing on their phones,' said Bowers. 'Make sure they know not to take any of this stuff into the schools and to be really, really careful when you're playing this game, because sharing your location to anyone – you don't know who's getting that, and they could have nefarious reasons for having your location. 'It's just not safe to do.'
Global News
08-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
PowerSchool hack: School boards face new ransom demands months after leak
Some Canadian school boards say they've been the target of ransom attempts in relation to the massive data breach of PowerSchool, which saw millions of current and former students across the country impacted. In letters to families on Wednesday, the Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board and Calgary Board of Education said they had been contacted by a 'threat actor demanding a ransom.' Each school board says PowerSchool is not reporting that new information has been accessed, and it's believed the data being used for ransom is what was obtained in December 2024. PowerSchool, the U.S.-based company that provides the student information system that was breached, said on Wednesday that it was aware that school boards and districts across North America had been contacted. 'We do not believe this is a new incident, as samples of data match the data previously stolen in December,' the company wrote. 'We sincerely regret these developments – it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized by bad actors.' Story continues below advertisement It said it had reported the matter to law enforcement in both Canada and the U.S. and was working with customers to support them. 2:08 Calgary law firm files lawsuit over massive PowerSchool data breach The company said following the December breach that it had paid a ransom, as it believed it would be 'in the best interest of our customers.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The Peel, Toronto and Calgary school boards said in their letters that the company had previously told them the data that had been accessed had been deleted with no copies posted online, but that was not the case. 'As with any such incident, there was a risk that the threat actors would not honour their commitment to delete the stolen data, despite assurances from PowerSchool,' the Calgary Board of Education wrote in its letter, which added it had not paid or contributed to any ransom payment. Story continues below advertisement The original breach happened in December, with boards across multiple provinces contacted. Global News contacted every school board across the country earlier this year to determine how many were impacted. Of those that responded, at least 87 were affected. Data from those that provided numbers showed that more than 2.77 million current and former students were confirmed to have been affected. In addition, 35,951 staff members, including teachers, were confirmed impacted, with one Nova Scotia school board advising that 3,500 parents' data was also accessed. Data including people's names, contact information, date of birth, limited medical alert information and, in some cases, social insurance numbers was accessed, according to both PowerSchool and several school boards. No SINs were accessed, however, at the Toronto, Peel and Calgary school boards that alerted parents this week. According to various officials and public statements from school boards, data breaches have been seen in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Quebec, New Brunswick, Nunavut, British Columbia and Yukon officials said their boards were not impacted. Canada and Ontario's privacy commissioners said earlier this year that they were investigating the breach. In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for Canada's privacy commissioner said the company had made it aware of the incident and remains 'actively engaged' to ensure PowerSchool is taking steps to respond to the breach. Story continues below advertisement The commissioner's office said it could not provide further details as its investigation is ongoing. A class-action lawsuit was also launched earlier this year by Calgary law firm Cuming and Gillespie, though lawyer Craig Gillespie told Global News there was 'no urgent call to action' for people to get involved at this time, as it still needs to be certified. Notices will go out for people to join once that occurs.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Calgary Surge and students team up for slam dunk on mental health
More than 2,500 Calgary Board of Education students piled in to the WinSport Event Centre Wednesday for the 2nd annual 'Be Well' School Day Game featuring a full Calgary Surge scrimmage (Mark Villani, CTV News)
