YEG-GA Community Pillars Support EPSF
Panadera YEG-GA (back left) and Assymetry YEG-GA (second from right) with YEG-GA friends at Good Earth Cafe, March 14, 2016
YEG-GA Travels with Pillar One (P.O.) and Pillar, Too (P.T.)
This YEG-GA e-Public History travel space is a collaboration with two pillars of the Edmonton Public School Foundation and the Homeglen School of One Carver. As found below in the YEG-GA Vignettes crafted by P.O. ("Pillar One") and P.T. ("Pillar, Too" -- as in "Me, too!"), the EPSF is dedicated to raising, "awareness and funds to deliver on [their] promise to level the educational playing field for children who are disadvantaged." Their fundraising efforts have been aimed at helping to support Full-day Kindergarten programs at schools within socially vulnerable neighborhoods in Edmonton, Alberta. The EPSF, moreover, played a decisive role in the beginnings of the Homeglen School of One and encouraged its directors to engage in pilot projects directed towards promoting advanced literacy in collaboration with High School teachers and student teachers enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Alberta. Once those pilot projects began to unfold, the School of One Carver also learned about (and from) the women who work tirelessly at the Foundation, and how their respective insights and extraordinary example are part of a larger Canadian narrative. Hence, this micro e-Public History of women within an educational foundation in Western Canada was proposed by the Carver, and the YEG-GA Vignettes found below document the journeys of two pillars of the Foundation, with the most recent accounts received appearing first.
This e-space is also a collaboration characterized by seasoned veterans and larger educational histories. Even the two carvings have a well-worn pedagogical past documented elsewhere in School of One projects. P.O., who travels with the carving Panadera YEG-GA, has worked the longest time at EPSF. She acknowledges how her own elementary and high school education in Alberta continues to buttress and inform her commitment to pedagogical programs and academic excellence. She remembers, in particular, that Ms. Pattison, one of her physical education teachers, encouraged students, ". . . to do our best and was a great listener". P.T., who journeys with "Assymetry YEG-GA", also remembers how her own experience as both a teacher and a principal have led her to advocate for children.
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For further information and to support the Edmonton Public Schools Foundation, please see, EPSF
P.O. Account Received: July 3, 2017
Princeton Elementary School
June 7, 2017. A hot 25° C during the day, but an 8°C cool at night.
In 1964, Princeton School was established in the community of Balwin to support the growing population in North Edmonton. Its exterior follows the dreary "traditional brick" found in Public Schools constructed during the 1950s and 60s. Today, however, the walls on the inside of the school reflect the creativity of current students thanks to the help of an artist-in-residence.
P.O. Accounts Received: June 24, 2017
Lauderdale Elementary School
May 25, 2017. A pleasant day for History!
Lauderdale School was built in 1954 and was named after James Lauder who farmed and owned land in the north end neighbourhood. In 2004, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary and parents, community members, former students and staff enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to reconnect and reminisce about the school’s past. As part of the festivities, the current students unveiled a time capsule to be opened in 2029. Each of the classrooms put in an item they thought would be of great interest twenty-five years later.
Beacon Hills Elementary School
May 25, 2017. Beautiful sunny day!
Beacon Heights School is one of the six schools that receive funding via our Foundation’s generous donors to support full-day Kindergarten programming for children who come to the classroom with a learning disadvantage. In 2014, the kind-hearted Comrie Family donated $500,000 to sustain the program at Beacon Heights for five school years and was fittingly named the Comrie Family Learning Centre Full-day Kindergarten Classroom. Located in a residential neighbourhood in northern Edmonton, the school has served the Beverly community since 1953. It was a key part of the Town of Beverly, before Beverly was amalgamated with Edmonton in 1961.
P.T. Accounts Received: March 12, 2017
Certificate of Incorporation
Account Received: 5:52PM, March 12, 2017. Cold Outside!
Edmonton Public Schools Foundation became an incorporated society in 2009. We are a fundraising arm of EPSB but 100% of our donor's gifts go directly to support children who need the gift of full-day kindergarten.
National Philanthropy Day
Account Received: 5:49PM, March 12, 2017. Frosty Weather in Edmonton!
Every year we acknowledge our amazing supporters by nominating them for a National Philanthropy Award. This year we honoured ECECAF and Eric Haug.
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P.T. Accounts Received: October 31, 2016
Administration Appreciation Consultation
Account Received: 9:14AM, October 31, 2016. Warm indoors!
Edmonton Public Schools Foundation has a strong relationship with the schools who have full-day kindergartens supported through donations from the community. It is important this relationship extends to the people who make the funding possible. Meeting with school administration to discuss stewardship and donor appreciation is done on an ongoing basis.
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Martin Kerr Kindergarten Showcase
Account Received: 9:15AM, October 31, 2016. Pleasant environment.
Many of the supporters of the Edmonton Public Schools Foundation give of themselves in order to raise awareness for our cause. Martin Kerr, a local singer songwriter, has lent his talents to showcase the need for full-day kindergarten for children who are coming to school lacking some of the pre-requisite knowledge and social skills needed. Martin opened for the Jim Cuddy Benefit concert hosted by Mark Connelly from CBC. Proceeds from the concert came to our Foundation.
Mission of Care
Account Received: 9:15AM, October 31, 2016.
We are thankful to be a part of FS Financial Strategies' Mission of Care. This organization supports local charities by donating money to their client's charity of choice. This picture was taken the night that FS Financial Strategies hosted an evening dedicated to our foundation. We were given the opportunity to present about our work to a room full of clients.
P.O. Account Received: October 2, 2016
Calder Elementary School BBQ
6:30PM, September 19, 2016. Still warm!
I attended the Calder Elementary School BBQ on September 19, 2016 and this picture was taken at approximately 6:30 pm out back of the school in Edmonton, Alberta. It was a beautiful, calm and unpredictably warm evening. The historic 90 year old school resides in the Calder community, which back in the early 1900's was originally part of the Hudson's Bay Company reserve and home to employees of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Very little has changed over the years. When you enter through the back of the old brick school, you'll notice there are still separate doors assigned for "boys" and "girls" and out front are some of the very same single-family dwellings that housed the early railway workers. Every day, the legacy of the rails resonates among the students as they listen to the screeching of steel on steel and shunting of boxcars in their classrooms.
P.T. Account Received: September 19, 2016
Talent Show
7:00PM, September 17, 2016. Warm reception!
Edmonton Public Schools Foundation values community partnerships. On Saturday, September 17 at 7:00 pm, Sunlife Financial hosted the Edmonton Multicultural Talent Show. We were able to meet many "friends" and build awareness for our cause.
P.O. Account Received: September 11, 2016
Mee-Yah-Noh Elementary School
Account Received: September 11, 2016. Sunny, but Fall weather.
Mee-Yah-Noh Elementary School (Kindergarten to Grade 6) opened it's doors in 1961 and is in the north Edmonton community of Killarney. The school name is from a Cree word that means nice location, beautiful view; however, over time the school community has adopted the term "a good place to be." Today, the school is a buzz with over 220 kids from all types of cultures and backgrounds. It's a pleasure to enter the school because you are eagerly greeted by a student from The Leader in Me program, which is based on the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", by Stephen Covey.