Greentree School is back in class and there are many new faces among the students and the staff.

Back to school for Greentree was Tuesday, September 5. In a new twist, the school held an open house during the first half hour of school to welcome the students and get the year started off on the right foot.

“We are really excited about it,” said Principal Erin Bentley-Campbell.

While they are never sure of their school population until classes are in full swing, Bentley-Campbell says registration has been brisk.

“The number of registrations we have had over the last week has been phenomenal. So we are excited about that,” said Campbell.

The school is welcoming a number of new faculty members including Associate Principal Sarah Richardson. She began her teaching career in Golden Hills in 2007. Last year she worked as an instructional coach at the Golden Hills Division office.

She worked with teachers in areas of planning, instruction, assessment, critical thinking and classroom management.

She will be teaching physical education.

More new staff includes Rachel Evans who will be teaching Grade 6. She is a new University of Lethbridge graduate and is filling a maternity leave.

In Grade 3, Brittany Anderson is also coming on as a maternity leave. She is a new graduate from the University of Alberta.

The school also welcomes Ashline Mathias. She came on staff late last year to teach Grade 6, and now will be teaching Grade 2.

In Grade 1 Melissa Phillips is joining the faculty.

In Kindergarten, Melissa Flieger is joining the staff to cover a maternity leave.

The school community has been working hard on their new playground. During the first recess on Tuesday, September 5, they held a grand opening of the new accessible playground.

In the classroom, Greentree School will continue to work on critical thinking and powerful learning.

“We find these are really beneficial for all of us, not only our students but our staff as well,” said Bentley Campbell.

She said they are exploring the Leader In Me program and Seven Habits of Highly Successful people.

“These are huge programs, so we are looking at how we can implement and dabble in that. And along with that comes the leadership aspect,” said Bentley-Campbell.

(mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Associate Principal Sarah Richardson and Parent Council president Kim Groves receive a cheque from FCC employees Mandy Celik and Paula Solberg for the Breakfast Program on September 6,2017 in the Greentree School foyer. The Breakfast program feeds between 75 to 110 kids who may not have access to an early morning meal. In addition to food collection tractor tours across the country, FCC offices participate in local fundraising events in support of FCC Drive Away Hunger.

The Breakfast program feeds between 75 to 110 kids who may not have access to an early morning meal. In addition to food collection tractor tours across the country, FCC offices participate in local fundraising events in support of FCC Drive Away Hunger.

(Mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Ground broke on July 17 for Greentree School’s new playground extension.

The Town of Drumheller has donated time, energy, and equipment to continue to excavate the scene for installation of the new playground.

Children are encouraged to stay away from the area as it is now considered a construction zone until completion.

With the new donation from the Drumheller Rotary Club accounted for, the playground is only $4,000 away from their final goal.

“We are very excited to put that piece of equipment in for all the kids,” said Kim Groves, Project Treasurer.“It’s a good piece of equipment,” added Nikki Isley, Project Coordinator. “They have one at the Children’s Hospital and we’ve tried it lots. It’s quite fun.”

The Rotary Club of Drumheller and District 5360 of the Rotary has contributed $10,767 for a new Rollerslide as part of the extension.

The Playbooster Rollerslide brings a cool, sensory experience to the playground, and an inclusive play experience to kids of all abilities.

With assurity, the Rotary was pleased to help allow accessibility to young kids and create new relationships in the process.

“We thought that was a great project to put this money towards,” said Jim Fisher, Public Relations Coordinator for the Drumheller Rotary Club.

Western GM staff Murray Sutcliffe, Doug Lubinski, Brad LeDrew, and Greentree School Principal Erin Campbell-Bentley monkey around on the current Greentree School playground while presenting a $8,740.00 cheque towards the school’s new accessible playground extension on June 20, 2017. (Mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

The new extension will the first of its kind in the valley and gives everyone a chance to be on the same playing field.
    “It’s just great to support the community like this,” said Brad LeDrew, General Sales Manager at Western GM. “Greentree is just a fantastic school and this playground is just amazing and they’ve done just a great job so we’re just excited to be apart of that.”
    With this cheque, the school is only $20,000 away from their goal amount.

Greentree School Principal Erin Campbell-Bentley unveils the new playground that was under construction for approximately two months. (Mailphoto by Terri Huxley)

Absolute chaos is one way to describe the new playground unveiling at Greentree School on September 5, 2017. The Kindergarten to grade six childrenwere excited to test out the new equipment like the roller slide. Check out more below to see the equipment in action!

(Mailphotos by Terri Huxley)