BCSSA's newest members at the 2009 New Members Program in Victoria, BC,
September 27-29.

President's Message

Welcome to October everyone, a welcome time as we consolidate all of the enrolment, budget and class organization data, and turn our attention more to the everyday experiences of our students, families, employees and communities. I want to commend all of you for your strong leadership over the past weeks, particularly in terms of ensuring high quality consultation processes with your principals and dealing with outflow from provincial grant reductions, particularly the AFG. I know from discussions with many of you that you have demonstrated one of the most improtant traits of leadership, staying calm when things get tough.

I had the great pleasure on Sunday evening of meeting with our new members who were gathered for the New Members Program in Victoria, and I can tell you that it was more evidence of the torch being passed to fine educators and strong leaders. Thanks again to our membership services team for your onoing support of new members and people new to positions. Thanks as well to our professional development leaders for coming straight out of a great Kelowna event into planning for what will be another stellar fall conference in Victoria. I look forward to seeing most of you there.

While in Victoria we hope to see you all at the Annual General Meeting, November 19, as we move closer to closure on our BCSSA deliberations on influence and profile. As you are discussing in our six regions, ably facilitated by our chapter directors, we have determined that quiet influence at the provincial level matters, as does strong relationships with partner groups, a positive media presence and effective involvement of members at the regional level. All of that has led to a proposal for a form of paid presidency, a topic that will be front and centre for us in November. Stay tuned for more information including a notice motion that you will all see in the coming weeks.

Wishing you all the best,
Keven

The BCSSA office is located at:

Suite 208
1118 Homer St.
Vancouver, BC
V6B 6L5

tel: 604.687.0590
fax: 604.687.8118

BCSSA Staff

Wendy Lee
wlee@bcssa.org
Executive Director

Doreen Schieweck
dschieweck@bcssa.org
Executive Assistant

Lisa Aspinall
laspinall@bcssa.org
Communications Manager

Kim Young
kimyoung@bcssa.org
Professional Development
Coordinator

Colin McDougall
cmcdougall@bcssa.org
Programs Manager, Member Services

Ann Naymie
anaymie@bcssa.org
Special Projects

Visit our website:

www.bcssa.org

New Member Program

Some of the participants at this year's New Member Program in Victoria, BC, September 26 - 28, 2009.

The program, developed and sponsored together by the Membership Services Committee and the Ministry of Education, started with an introduction to the association and a workshop on The District Effect on Student Learning by Robin Brayne.  Membership services coordinator Colin McDougall, calls this session “excellent, and gets better every year.”

The second day involved a tour of the ministry offices and an opportunity to meet assistant deputy ministers and directors, with a discussion about ministry initiatives and directions.  The association thanks superintendent liaison, Sherri Mohoruk, for facilitating the agenda and a very informative day.


The third day was again at the ministry with deputy minister James Gorman leading a dialogue on governance, finances and priorities.  He spent significant time working with the new members and this was certainly a highlight for them.  Superintendents of achievement, Rick Davis and Rod Allen, completed the day focused on the student achievement agenda, which was an appropriate complement to The District Effect session and broadened the three-day gathering.

President Keven Elder and membership committee chair, Steve Carlton joined the group for Sunday dinner to meet and greet new colleagues.

The BCSSA would like to thank the 20 new members who travelled from their districts at this very busy time of year and also to the superintendents who encouraged them to come.  The knowledge and networks that they have brought back will be valuable to their work and their districts.

The next new members session will take place on Wednesday, November 18 from 2:00 - 6:00 pm in Victoria as part of the fall conference. More details will be announced soon.

Fall Conference 2009

The BCSSA Fall Conference - Student Engagement is quickly approaching and promises an exciting program with a stellar roster of speakers including Valerie Hannon, Andy Hargreaves, Alma Harris, Carla Robinson and Eden Robinson.

The event will be on Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20 at the Victoria Conference Centre.

Registration is open for the 2009 Fall Conference. Fees are the same price as last year, and you can save more by registering a team of five or more people.

$472.50 per person
$409.50 per person in district team of five or more

For comprehensive information regarding the program for this year's conference, please visit the fall conference website.

Fall Chapter Meetings 2009

Here's a list of chapter meetings taking place across the province this fall. For more chapter meeting dates, please visit the calendar on the BCSSA website.

Fraser Valley
November 5 & 6 in Harrison Hot Springs