Questions and Answers regarding "the move"

In September 2011, Westmount Charter School moves from the Viscount Bennett Centre on Richmond Road to the Parkdale (K-grade 4) and Sir William Van Horne (grades 5-12) campuses, in time for the September 6, 2011 first day of school.

Every Wednesday,  an update will be emailed to parents, and a cumulative list of all “Questions and Answers will be accessible via the “Frequently Asked Questions”  link on the school website.  Questions will be grouped by theme, with the most recent questions at the top.

In order to help navigate this page, there are four basic categories of questions answered - just click on the category to head to that section of the page:
1. Buildings and Finances
2. Playground
3. Program
4. Transportation.

For access to the general "FAQ for new Westmount parents" page, click here.

BUILDINGS AND FINANCES

25 May 2011
I was wondering about the relative permanence of the new move – how long do you anticipate that the school will be at the new locations? Is it something that you are looking at for at least 5 years or 10?
At this point in time, Charter Schools receive their Charter approval for five years at a time, so that becomes the framework for much of our planning.  Westmount’s most recent Charter is approved from September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2016.  We anticipate that these locations will be our home for the duration of this 5-year charter.

What happens to the Viscount Bennett Centre once Westmount leaves?  Will Chinook Learning Services be staying?
While the CBE’s decisions about their buildings and programs are completely separate from us, the following information has been released by Alberta Education: “Chinook Learning Services provides high school upgrading programs to more than 9,000 part-time adolescent and adult students each year. Its 57-year-old main campus at Viscount Bennett Centre is beyond repair. [A recently-announced school infrastructure] project will allow Calgary Board of Education to renovate vacant or under-utilized schools in various areas of Calgary to provide regional [Chinook Learning Services] programming.”

18 May 2011
Do you have a general “status report” of the buildings?
Architectural drawings for both buildings have now been finalized.  After approval by our landlord (the CBE) the plans will be submitted to the City of Calgary so that the necessary building permits can be obtained.

Will the schools be repainted inside? Outside?
Some of the paint schemes are very dated in these buildings, so there will be a general “freshening up” of inside instructional areas, hallways and offices – basically, a fresh coat of paint to brighten the spaces and make them more inviting for our move-in.
The outside could also use an update, but that will need to wait for now.  What would be nice is to have some work done on the flower beds in front of the Parkdale building. If there are parents who would be interested in planting some perennials, etc., please be in touch with greg.wooley@westmountcharter.com so we can make arrangements.

Where will students park, and how many spots are there for them?
The Van Horne parking areas will need to be marked into proper parking spaces. We do need to know, however, how many of our High School students will actually be needing parking spaces.  Very few students drove themselves to the Viscount Bennett Centre.  If you anticipate that your son/daughter will need access to a parking space, please email greg.wooley@westmountcharter.com to help us plan the parking lot(s).

Is there a full-sized soccer field at Van Horne?
Yes. The playing field south of the Van Horne building, east of University Elementary, will be available for Westmount’s use.

Do you need volunteers?
We’d appreciate assistance for a number of tasks associated with the move, whereas other tasks will be under the sole direction of the contractors.   If you would like to volunteer to help with the move, please send an email to greg.wooley@westmountcharter.com indicating when you would be available to help, and what kinds of assistance you’d like to offer!

11 May 2011
Do you have any photos to help us "picture" the new facilities?
Our Student Services department has made two basic slideshows to help elementary and mid-high students picture the upcoming move.  Over the next couple of weeks, the intent is that the majority of classrooms will be visited with these slideshows.  In order to make this information available to parents as well, the slideshows have been posted as short (1.5-2 minute) YouTube clips on the “locations” page of the website. You may need to refresh that webpage in order for the videos & Google map to load properly – it’s a bit slow the first time it loads.   

4 May 2011
Will each building have a staffed Library? Will the Van Horne Library include age-appropriate books for grades 5 and 6?
There will be Library staff at both locations.  Each Library’s collection will reflect the student ages/grades at that location.  

Will there be Before/After School Care in the new schools?
We will be having this service available through our present provider at the Parkdale site.  We are trying to determine whether it will be possible to make before/after school care arrangements for grades 5 and 6.

29 April 2011
We’ve decided not to make this move with Westmount. How do we apply for a refund of our registration deposit? 
Simply send an email to registrar@westmountcharter.com, indicating the full name and grade of the child(ren) who are not returning.  In order to receive a refund on the registration deposit, the school will need to be notified by May 13, 2011 at 4:00 PM.  After that time, refunds will not be issued. 

You’ve moved closer to my house so I won’t need school bus after all.  How do I let you know that my transportation preference has changed?
All households—whether changing their bus preference or not—need to login to the school website by May 6, 2011 to confirm or change your transportation preference.   Households who are no longer needing school bus service can apply for a refund of their transportation deposit.  For more information about School Bus transportation and the re-selection of Transportation options, see page 10 of the May 2011 Newsletter. [see also the TRANSPORTATION section, below!]

Was there no way to move to one K-12 building?
Alberta’s Charter Schools are not eligible to receive capital funding to build their own facilities,  so we need to fit into available buildings.  We anticipate that few, if any buildings for a school our size will be coming available in the foreseeable future.  Now that we are moving to two buildings, we join Almadina Language Charter Academy, the Calgary Arts Academy, Calgary Girls School, and Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, as Calgary Charter Schools on multiple campuses.  Only the Calgary Science School (grades 4-9) remains a single-campus entity.

Are these buildings “move-in ready”?
Generally, yes. Priorities are being set in terms of renovations that will be required over the next two years at each school.

Can we tour the buildings ahead of time?
We will do our best to have a time when students and parents can visit the schools, and will communicate that if it becomes possible, but our number one priority will be to get the buildings ready for classes to start on September 6th. In the meantime, slide shows are being developed to help students and parents picture what the new locations will be like. Our Student Services specialists will be sharing these slide-shows with students at school in the week starting  May 9, and the shows will be posted on the school website at that time as well. 

Will we have to share the Parkdale school building with another program?
There will be no other students at the Parkdale building.  We will only be sharing the facility with CBE’s Area I Director and administrative staff. The north part of the Parkdale building has two floors and the south part has one floor.  Westmount will have all of the south (one-floor) area, including Gymnasium and Stage spaces, and will share the two-floor part of the building with CBE Offices.  A floor plan will be made available once it has been finalized.

Will we have to share the Van Horne school building with another program?
No.  Westmount Charter School will be the sole occupant of the Sir William Van Horne building!

Will there be a music lab in the Parkdale school?
We will be moving the elementary music lab to the new location.

Is there any place to park in these communities?
There is a some 2-and 3-hour street parking available near the Parkdale school, which we hope will make it easier for parents wishing to volunteer at school.  Van Horne’s vicinity has less parking available, but there is some 1-and-2 hour parking in the area.  As well, there will be some designated visitor parking at both sites.

Is there a Cafeteria in Van Horne?  Will it offer healthy foods?
Yes and yes.  There is a Cafeteria and we will are looking into contracting with a vendor who is committed to healthy food choices.  The schedule will have two distinct lunch times for mid-grades and high school. 

Is the K-4 split due to space constraints at Parkdale school?
Alberta Education’s funding formula specifies the number of square metres per student.  The number of distinct classroom spaces we have been allocated at Parkdale will only accommodate Kindergarten to Grade 4.

What will the administration team look like at each campus?
There will be one Principal for our two-campus school.  With Mrs Faulkner’s retirement, the principal search committee is well along in its work.  We hope to announce the new Principal by the end of May, and at that time will be outlining the configuration of the admin team.

PLAYGROUND

1 June 2011
How are things coming along for the Playground Committee?
The Playground committee has been formed with a group of volunteers comprised of  Westmount parents with children who will be attending both schools, as well as a few Parkdale residents.  We have been busy researching other playgrounds and their committees for input as well as the various Grants available.  I have met with the school, the CBE playground inspector, and  spoken with the Grounds Supervisor to make sure we are following the correct procedures and finding out what we can and cannot do. 

Everyone’s Input is Important

• Students - We have set in place a plan to get feedback from our students on what they would like to see in a playground. 
• Teachers -  We have one teacher - Lisa Drummond (Grade 3)  who has offered to be a representative for the classroom teachers’ input, as well as Scott Hebert from Phys Ed and Chris Hooper from Admin.
• Parents - We are looking at a suggestion from another school to organize parent/kid playdates at other playgrounds for feedback from parents. (And parents, please feel free to join the committee! )

Throughout our process we will try to keep everyone updated with our progress.  Here are some points in regards to the playground so far:

•     Currently, neither Parkdale nor Van Horne have a playground. We are one school on two campuses needing two playgrounds.
•     We will be building from scratch.  The current WESTMOUNT playground will not be moved.  The CBE playground inspector has said that "moving the current playground would be a disaster." It has already been moved once.
• The process of grant applications/approvals and funding takes some time.  Some playgrounds take a couple of years before they are completed. It would be quite optimistic to hope for a playground for next Spring, but trust that we are working hard on accomplishing this goal. 
•   Building a playground is time consuming as well as costly.  A playground can run anywhere from $60,000 - $200,000 or more.  
•   We will be meeting with suppliers very soon, for quotes to assist us in putting together a budget. The suppliers are very experienced in assisting playground committees in putting together a budget, and choosing age appropriate equipment. We will be considering the requirements for each location based on the ages of the children.  
•     This may be a 2-3 year project with Parkdale being the first focus.
•  Ideally we would like to incorporate a "natural aspect" into part of the play area and around other areas of the school.

Parkdale - ideas for September

•   the courtyard area does have some basketball hoops, and various games such as hop scotch etc. painted on the ground. 
•   The Phys Ed department is planning on having playground equipment - balls etc. available for recess as well.
•   I  am meeting with the grounds Supervisor to see if we can have some lower basketball hoops installed, repair the current ones, repair the tetherball on site, re-paint the games, and possibly add some multi-baskets 

Van Horne- ideas for September

• Van Horne has been given permission to share the playground with the neighboring school -  University Elementary - the schools are just coordinating their recess times.
•   For this playground we would like something that is appropriate for children Grades 5 and up, with some of the usual playground pieces, but more of a “ fitness area” than a “playground”.   
• Some  possible ideas are -  climbing structures, paved area for basketball, and possibly instead of “playground” equipment, more of outdoor fitness equipment  that could be used by all of the grades and gym classes, even teachers, and be a benefit to the community as well. (Chris Hooper has some great ideas for this).

Fundraising

• We will be doing various fund raisers throughout the year specifically for the playground.  Some of the grants we will be applying for will match money we raise, so please watch for these fundraisers and help out any way you can.  All of our children will benefit.  The funds will go to the cost of both playgrounds with Parkdale being the priority.  
•   Tax receipts will be available.
•   We have had some offers of donations already which is greatly appreciated
•   In the near future, we will be looking for anyone offering “donations in kind" -    (ie - landscaping supplies, bobcat, drilling, etc.)
• we are researching “naming rights”, as well as “sponsoring” a piece of equipment
•  it would be ideal to be able to install the "natural" play area at Parkdale for everyone’s use (as early as this fall If the grants and fundraising happen to come really quickly), and then add the playground equipment later as further grants/funding comes through.  

      
Keeping you informed

• In the fall we will have a display area that shows our goals, updates and has a visual to keep track of our fundraising efforts.    

With everyone’s help we can build two great playgrounds (fitness areas) for our children to enjoy for many years.
Thank you,  Michele Allison and all of the Westmount Playground Committee Volunteers

25 May 2011
I understand from last week’s Q&A that School Busses should be able to drop off at Parkdale by 8:35, with classes starting at 8:45.  Will there be any opportunity for children to play on the playground before school starts?
We will be providing outdoor supervision at the Parkdale campus from 8:30 – 8:45 AM.

18 May 2011
Will the younger students attending the Van Horne location have access to the nearby playground during recess, etc.?  Does the nearby equipment belong to University Elementary, or will our students have the opportunity to use as well?
The playground equipment behind University Elementary is mainly for their use and for the use of the community.  However, the Westmount playground committee is looking into the possibility of installing some equipment at the Van Horne location, as well as the Parkdale location. [please note - since this was answered on May 18, it has come to light that the playground equipment at University Elementary (UES) is indeed available for the use of both UES and Westmount. The two schools will coordinate this. The equipment is quite a ways from the Van Horne building, however.]

29 April 2011
Does the Parkdale school have a playground?
The Parkdale site has a very large, level schoolyard, but no play structures.  A committee of parent volunteers has been established to oversee the establishment of a child-friendly playground. 

PROGRAM

25 May 2011
Will the school be able to offer other options (such as Industrial Arts) for Jr and Sr high now, since Van Horne previously offered technical courses?
One of the realities of moving in to this building is that the amount of space we receive from Alberta Ed is based on a “square metres per student” formula.  In order to offer our full range of academic courses, most of the vocational/technical spaces will need to be converted to classrooms.
As new tenants in this building, we also need to abide by certain building codes that did not apply to the prior (original) tenant.  This means that the foods lab will need to be upgraded to meet current codes.  We are intending to offer “Foods” courses in future, but these required upgrades will make the lab unavailable for “Foods” courses for at least the first term.

Now that some of the details are falling into place,  my High School student would like to register for next year’s courses.  Will that be available soon?
2011-2012 High School course selections are now ready – our Admin team are going from class to class to go over the forms with our current grade 8-11 classes, and the information has been emailed to new High School registrants.   To access this information online, pick the “Course Selection: High School” link on the school website.   We are hoping that Mid-Grade course selections will be available by the first week of June.  

18 May 2011
What will the start/finish times (and bus drop off/pick up times) be at the 2 campuses?
Here’s the plan:
1)  Busses will drop off at Van Horne no earlier than 8:15 (same as currently at Viscount Bennett).  It is taking about 8 minutes to unload, which might be faster at Van Horne, depending on where the buses are able to park.  Mid-High classes will start at 8:30 AM (again, the same as our current times).
 2) Busses then proceed to Parkdale and should be able to drop off by 8:35; Elementary classes will start at 8:45.
 3) Mid-High classes (Van Horne) will dismiss at 3:22; Elementary (Parkdale) at 3:35.
One of the key considerations in these plans is the existing traffic flow along 29 Street NW/Uxbridge Drive NW.  At the beginning and end of day it is quite straight-forward to start at Van Horne, travel southbound on 29 Street NW and turn right (west) to access the Parkdale building.  If we were to load at Parkdale first, it would force the line of busses to make a difficult left-hand turn on to 29 Street NW (northbound) which could create serious traffic logjams.


Will grade 5s have lunch in the Cafeteria or in classrooms?
Grade 5 to 8 classes will have their lunchtime together, in the Cafeteria.  Grades 9-12 will have a separate lunchtime.

4 May 2011
With these new facilities, is Alberta Education willing to increase the enrollment cap?
As part of the Charter renewal process, a request has been put forward by Westmount for an increased enrollment capacity.  This increase in capacity, if approved, would be at the High School level.  

Now that we’re moving to different facilities, will there be any change in the school’s mandate?
Although we are moving to different locations, we will remain Westmount Charter School, providing programming for gifted students as outlined in our Charter. Westmount Charter School will continue to be governed by its own Charter Board; while we will continue to lease facilities from the CBE (Calgary Board of Education), we are independent of the CBE.

29 April 2011
Currently High School students are employed to provide playground and lunchtime supervision—how will this now be completed?  
We’re hoping that the easy access between buildings (Bus Route #20, 1.7 km walk, bike or car ride) will make it possible for some High School students to consider these positions.  We’re now close enough to U of C that some Westmount alumni might see this as a part-time employment opportunity. Over the years we have also had parents and community members employed in these positions.

Now that K-4 is at Parkdale, how will extra-curricular activities such as Elementary Choir (grades 3-5) and Cross-country running club (gr 3-5) going to work?
With the program in two locations rather than one, there will be some changes.  We will need to find creative ways of continuing extracurricular activities at both schools.

Grade 5 is pretty young to be in the Mid/High building.  Will grade 5 become part of mid-grades?
Even in our present building, the youngest mid-grade students (grade 6) spend a lot of time in their home room groupings—somewhat of a transitional year between elementary and mid-grades.  In the new building, the grade 5 and 6 classrooms will be their own part of the building; consideration is being given to finding an extra outdoor activity time for the grade 5-6 group; lunch time plans are still under review. Adjustments were needed when the grade 6s first moved from the elementary wing to the mid-high wing at Viscount Bennett, and we will be monitoring the impact of the move on our grade 5s—and, indeed, all students!—and adjusting as necessary through this first year.

Will class size change?
Westmount uses the Alberta “class size initiative” guidelines in determining its class sizes.  This means that High School classes tend to be larger than grade 4-6 classes, and grade 4-6 classes are larger than Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes.  This will not change with our move to these two buildings.

Will Fashion and Food Science be offered as electives at Van Horne?
We are planning to offer Foods classes in the existing Foods lab, but not Fashion.

TRANSPORTATION

18 May 2011
What will the start/finish times (and bus drop off/pick up times) be at the 2 campuses?
Here’s the plan:
1)  Busses will drop off at Van Horne no earlier than 8:15 (same as currently at Viscount Bennett).  It is taking about 8 minutes to unload, which might be faster at Van Horne, depending on where the buses are able to park.  Mid-High classes will start at 8:30 AM (again, the same as our current times).
 2) Busses then proceed to Parkdale and should be able to drop off by 8:35; Elementary classes will start at 8:45.
 3) Mid-High classes (Van Horne) will dismiss at 3:22; Elementary (Parkdale) at 3:35.
One of the key considerations in these plans is the existing traffic flow along 29 Street NW/Uxbridge Drive NW.  At the beginning and end of day it is quite straight-forward to start at Van Horne, travel southbound on 29 Street NW and turn right (west) to access the Parkdale building.  If we were to load at Parkdale first, it would force the line of busses to make a difficult left-hand turn on to 29 Street NW (northbound) which could create serious traffic logjams.

11 May 2011
Our household has decided to stay with the same transportation choice that we made several months ago. Do we need to log in and re-select our Transportation choice?
If you have not yet re-selected your Transportation choice for 2011-2012, even if you are staying with the same option you’d selected before, please do so immediately to complete your child’s registration for 2011-2012.   This information was due on May 6.  If you think you may have done this already but aren’t 100% sure, just log in to the school website – if your transportation still needs to be re-selected, it’s the first thing you’ll see when you log in! 

4 May 2011
How do I re-select my child’s transportation choices? I’m not seeing a link on the website.
Just log in to the school website here, using your usual username and password.  The transportation selection screen should be the first thing that appears.  Please submit your transportation re-selection by May 6th.

I’ve re-selected our transportation choice and would like to have my deposit refunded, is there anything else I need to do?
In order to confirm that you’d like a refund for your transportation and/or registration deposits, please complete the form emailed to you on Monday, May 2nd. This form is also available on the school website – just click on “school forms for download” link.

Will the school buses be serving both campuses?
We will continue to operate with one bus system so all students from both schools will ride the same buses.  There will be different bell times for each of the schools and we will coordinate our bus arrival times accordingly once the bell times have been set. (more on this in a future “Wednesday Q&A”)  

I’m not planning to use the bus, but if my plans change again after May 6, can I request bus service?
Families may register for busing after May 6th, but you will need to choose from an existing stop on an existing route once the routes are complete. All bus registrations received by May 6th will be considered in the Route planning process for next year. 

We will be moving this summer.  How do I notify you?
If your family plans to move between now and Sept. 1st and you know your new address for busing, please provide schoolbus@westmountcharter.com  this info before May 6th so your new address can be used in the route planning process.

It’s hard to picture new routes and new schools  What if I see the new route and decide to drive my kids instead?
For the 2011-12 school year only  you will have 2 weeks after the routes are released to decide if you want to proceed with busing for the 2011-12 school year;  if you choose not to proceed, you can change your choice(s) and get a refund of your $100 bus deposit.  Withdrawals from busing received after the designated date will not be eligible for a bus deposit refund.   

29 April 2011
You’ve moved closer to my house so I won’t need school bus after all.  How do I let you know that my transportation preference has changed?
All households—whether changing their bus preference or not—need to login to the school website by May 6, 2011 to confirm or change your transportation preference.   Households who are no longer needing school bus service can apply for a refund of their transportation deposit.  For more information about School Bus transportation and the re-selection of Transportation options, see page 10 of the May 2011 Newsletter.

Many additional details regarding Westmount’s school bus system may be found on the school website under “Transportation”.

-end-