“High school has shown us who we are and how we can take forward what we’ve learned and apply it to whatever we encounter in the future.”

Lindsay Thurber Valedictorian credits his time in French Immersion for success

Striving for excellence and continuously pushing himself to be his best version has landed Lindsay Thurber graduate Samuel Bakker the title of Valedictorian for the Class of 2023.

Samuel, who was given the news earlier this month, said it was an extremely exciting moment.

“I knew I was in the running for it, but I wasn’t sure if I had gotten it. I was able to keep myself composed when I was told, but I did a little happy dance after,” he said. “This year, the Valedictorian race was extremely close and all of the students in the running are all exceptional people who deserve this just as much as I do, but it is an honour to represent our class.”

Samuel, who has been in the French Immersion program at Red Deer Public Schools since Kindergarten, said the program has afforded him some great opportunities.

“The main thing that led my parents to register my sister and I in the French Immersion program was because it was something that was a little bit more challenging, and a program we might find a little more engaging,” he said, adding he recognizes it may open more opportunities in his future. “Overtime we learned the value of it, and what I have enjoyed the most is the sense of community we have with the people we’ve gone through the program with. It’s been nice to have a core group of people to go through my schooling with.”

A highlight of high school for Samuel has been the opportunity to be part of the school’s Student Council.

“I’ve loved the work I’ve gotten to do with the Student Council. I run our community division so I’ve gotten to do lots of charitable drives and fundraising,” he said. “We’ve been able to do so many wonderful things with the resources of the school behind us.”

As for plans after high school, Samuel will be heading to the University of British Columbia to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree. “I’m not sure yet what I will minor or major in, but I would like to do graduate school of some kind,” he said.

As part of his role as Valedictorian, Samuel will address his fellow graduates on May 25 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre during the school’s graduation ceremonies.

“The overarching theme of my speech is how we’ve been through the journey of high school together and are now heading off on our own adventures,” he said. “High school has shown us who we are and how we can take forward what we’ve learned and apply it to whatever we encounter in the future.”

As the Lindsay Thurber graduation is right around the corner on May 25, Samuel said he is looking most forward to the ceremony.

“I am really looking forward to walking across the stage, getting my diploma and being there with my family.”

Chris Good, Principal at Lindsay Thurber, said being named valedictorian is a testament to the hard work and dedication that Samuel has shown during his time at the school.

“He has earned this distinction through resilience and commitment to his course work. In addition to his academic achievements, Samuel also makes our school a better place to be through his work with student leadership,” he said. “I look forward to hearing his address to our graduating class.”

Class of 2023 gear up for graduation ceremonies

Grade 12 is an exciting and pivotal year for our students, which ends with the ultimate celebration of achievement – graduation! It’s a milestone in a young adult’s life – dressing in the cap and gown, walking across that stage, and celebrating with staff, classmates, family and friends. Our Grade 12 students look forward to their graduation all year and as educators, it gives us such great pride to celebrate this accomplishment together with our students.

Graduation celebrations for each high school will be as follows:

Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School – Thursday, May 25, 2023
- Two ceremonies at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre
Hunting Hills High School – Friday, May 26, 2023
- Two ceremonies at 10 a.m and 12:30 p.m. at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre
Pines Alternative School Centre and North Cottage – Friday, June 23, 2023
- One ceremony at 1 p.m. at Pines Alternative School
Gateway Christian – Thursday, June 29, 2023
- One ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at New Life Fellowship Church

“We recognize that graduation is an important milestone in a young adult’s life. It’s a milestone that is meaningful for our students and also for their families and friends as well,” said Chad Erickson, Superintendent of Schools. “Graduation is not only a celebration of the hard work and dedication of students, but the start of the next chapter in their lives. We know our students will move on to do great things, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.”

“We are very excited that we will be able to celebrate the dedication and achievement of our students at this year’s graduation event,” said Darwin Roscoe, Principal at Hunting Hills High School. “These students have demonstrated the extreme resilience and commitment necessary to reach this milestone. Over the last couple of years, the feedback we heard from our parents and graduates was that they enjoyed the staggered ceremony times, so this year we are doing the same while keeping the great things our students, parents and staff value most in graduation.”

“The thought of reaching graduation in a few short days is incredibly exciting, and simultaneously surreal. For as long as I can remember, high school graduation has been the biggest, most thrilling milestone to reach, making the decision to join the 2023 Graduation Executive Committee a no-brainer,” said Marin Walton, a graduating student from Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. “Through grad exec, we have been able to give back, and provide a memorable senior year for all of the graduates that unfortunately missed out on a majority of the ‘normal’ high school experience. Hopefully, through our various events including multiple spirit days, bowling night, wakefest, and the grad fashion show, we as a committee were able to reinstate the excitement surrounding graduation, despite our unorthodox four years that seem to have passed in the blink of an eye.”

“We are so incredibly proud of our graduates who have persevered, reached this incredible milestone, and are ready to take this new and exciting next step in their lives,” said Stephen Pottage, District Principal – Alternative Programs and Support Services. “Congrats to all of Red Deer’s graduates and their families.”

“What a privilege to see this group of kids successfully reach the milestone of graduation. I am so proud of each of them,” said Karen Wiebe, a parent of a graduating student at Gateway Christian School. “This is made all the more special to me as a Gateway parent because of the rich community developed amongst students, parents and staff in what feels like a small town school. I am truly excited for what is yet to come for this amazing class as they step out into the next chapter of their lives.”

Red Deer Public looks forward to celebrating the achievements of our graduating students over the coming months.

Related Topics:#Grad2023 #LindsayThurberComprehensiveHighSchool #LTCHSGrad #ValedictorianSamuelBakker feature

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Education

Parents should oppose any plans to replace the ABCs with vague terminology in schools

Published on January 2, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Paige MacPherson

According to a recent poll, the vast majority of parents in Canada easily understand letter grades on report cards but are confused by the nouveau “descriptive” grading adopted in British Columbia. This should serve as a warning to any province or school board thinking about adopting this type of convoluted descriptive grading.

In September 2023, despite overwhelming opposition from British Columbians, the B.C. government replaced letter grades—such as A, B, C, D, etc.—on K-9 report cards with a “proficiency scale,” which includes the descriptive terms “emerging,” “developing,” “proficient” and “extending.” If these four terms seem confusing to you, you’re not alone.

According to the recent poll (conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Fraser Institute), 93 per cent of Canadian parents from coast to coast said the letter grade “A” was “clear and easy” to understand while 83 per cent said the letter grade “C” was “clear and easy” to understand. (For the sake of brevity, the poll only asked respondents about these two letter grades.)

By contrast, 58 per cent of Canadian parents said the descriptive grade “extending” was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 26 per cent could correctly identify what “extending” means on a report card.

It was a similar story for the descriptive grade “emerging,” as 57 per cent of Canadian parents said the term was “unclear and difficult” to understand and only 28 per cent could correctly identify what “emerging” means on a report card.

It’s also worth noting that the poll simplified the definitions of the four “descriptive” grading terms. The B.C. government’s official definitions, which can be found on the government’s website, speak for themselves. For example: “Extending is not synonymous with perfection. A student is Extending when they demonstrate learning, in relation to learning standards, with increasing depth and complexity. Extending is not a bonus or a reward and does not necessarily require that students do a greater volume of work or work at a higher grade level. Extending is not the goal for all students; Proficient is. Therefore, if a student turns in all their work and demonstrates evidence of learning in all learning standards for an area of learning, they are not automatically assigned Extending.”

So, what are the consequences of this confusing gobbledygook? Well, we already have some anecdotes.

Before the B.C. government made the changes provincewide, the Surrey School District participated in a pilot program to gauge the effectiveness of descriptive grading. According to Elenore Sturko, a Conservative MLA in Surrey and mother of three, for three years her daughter’s report cards said she was “emerging” rather than clearly stating she was failing. Sturko was unaware there was a problem until the child’s Third Grade teacher called to tell Sturko that her daughter was reading at a Kindergarten level.

Former B.C. education minister Rachna Singh tried to justify the change saying descriptive grading would help students become “better prepared for the outside world” where you “don’t get feedback in letters.” But parents in B.C. clearly aren’t happy.

Of course, other provinces also use terms in their grading systems (meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, satisfactory, needs improvement, etc.) in addition to letter grades. But based on this polling data, the descriptive grading now used in B.C.—which again, has completely replaced letter grades—makes it much harder for B.C. parents to understand how their children are doing in school. The B.C. government should take a red pen to this confusing new policy before it does any more damage. And parents across the country should keep a watchful eye on their local school boards for any plans to replace the ABCs with vague terminology open to interpretation.

Alberta

Parents in every province—not just Alberta—deserve as much school choice as possible

Published on December 3, 2024

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Michael Zwaagstra

Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.

This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.

It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.

Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.

This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.

However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.

Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.

This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.

Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.

Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.

Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.