Edmonton... Students at 10 Alberta schools will directly connect to visitors at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, June 30 to July 11 in Washington, D.C, during live interactive video-conference sessions. The sessions will be linked by the Alberta SuperNet and will demonstrate how SuperNet is being used by schools for innovative education projects. “The festival is all about connecting people to people,” says Gene Zwozdesky, Minister of Education. “The interactive school sessions will demonstrate our educational culture and will showcase the benefits of our multi-million dollar investment in video-conferencing.” The 10 school sites were selected based on submissions from schools and represent a cross-section of school jurisdictions in Alberta. Each session has a theme with a natural connection to various local education activities, the provincial curriculum and Alberta culture. “Participating schools and students are very excited about this unique opportunity to showcase their activities,” Zwozdesky added. Alberta is recognized internationally as a leader in the development of innovative practices in learning and technology. The province is also recognized for the quality of its Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and its students’ achievement. The 40th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival showcases community-based music, crafts, work culture, cuisine and architecture from around the world. Alberta is the first Canadian province to be featured at the festival. For more information on Alberta’s participation, visit http://www.albertaindc.com/. As students and staff will not be in school during the festival, Alberta Education is providing each participating school with $5,000 to cover expenses such as student transportation, opening the schools, technical support, staffing and materials.
BackgrounderAlberta Education at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival ProgramFriday, June 30 10:00-11:00 MDT (12:00-1:00 EDT)
Celebrating Historical Significance and Cultural Uniqueness: The Calgary Stampede and Treaty 7 First Nations
Piitoayis Family School, Calgary Board of Education in partnership with Galileo Educational Network
Grade 4 students from Piitoayis Family School will talk about the Treaty 7 Indian Village at the Calgary Stampede and the many cultural practices that are celebrated there. Participants can engage in a conversation with an Elder, a powwow, live drumming and dancing, teepee raising, as well as learn about traditional games and foods.
School web link: http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b244/
Galileo web link: http://www.galileo.org/stampedeschool/ Saturday, July 1 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Happy Birthday Canada! What Mark Do We Leave?
Glendale Elementary School, Calgary Board of Education
Students will share the different ways in which Canadians celebrate the occasion and ideas about what it means to be a Canadian citizen. Students will then discuss how they can impact health decisions at home and in the Dominican Republic, with a focus on their work with a professional documentary reporter and a university researcher to support the purchase of water filters for orphans overseas.
School web link: http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b143/ Sunday, July 2 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Diversity and Rural Heritage in Alberta’s North
Rainbow Lake School and Rocky Lane School, Fort Vermilion School Division #52
Students from Rainbow Lake School will share their experiences living in a northern oil and gas town and Rocky Lane School students will share information on the agricultural industry and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Ukrainian populations.
School web link: http://www.fvsd.ab.ca/ Monday, July 3 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Cowboy Culture in Alberta: Still Stamping Their Brand
Red Deer Lake School, Foothills School Division #38 in partnership with Galileo Educational Network
With special guests from the Bar U Ranch, students will share stories and images of cowboy life including trail riding, storytelling, superstitions, camp cooking, poetry and art.
Galileo web link: http://www.galileo.org/cowboyculture
Tuesday, July 4 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
East Meets West in Alberta
Rosslyn Junior High School, Edmonton Public School Board
Rosslyn Junior High is a multi-ethnic school that celebrates the cultural diversity of students from
18 different nationalities. “East Meets West in Alberta” will feature the Mandarin bilingual program at Rosslyn Junior High School and will explore how students with a Chinese background celebrate their culture. Students also talk about how they improve their math through math games and video-conferences with other schools.
School web link: http://rosslyn.epsb.ca/ Friday, July 7 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Meet Marty Chan, Alberta Playwright and Novelist
Pembina Hills Regional Division #7 and Alberta Distance Learning Centre
Marty Chan is a playwright, radio writer, television story editor, and young adult author who was raised in small town Alberta. His signature play, Mom, Dad, I'm Living with a White Girl, has been produced across Canada, published three times, and broadcast as a radio drama. In October 2004, it had a successful Off Broadway run in New York. Marty will explore how he gets ideas for his writing and how he came to write plays.
School web link: http://www.phrd.ab.ca/
Alberta Distance Learning Centre (K-12): http://www.adlc.ca/
Author web link: http://www.martychan.com/ Saturday, July 8 – Two Presentations
9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Live from The Banff Centre
Young adult Alberta performers who have been selected to participate in the Banff Centre’s
world-renowned professional programs in the Fine Arts will talk about their lives in Alberta and their studies in the arts. 12:00-1:00 MDT (2:00-3:00 EDT)
Great Performances at the Banff Summer Arts Festival
Concert which features performers participating in the Banff Summer Arts Festival.
School web link: http://www.banffcentre.ca/about/ Sunday, July 9 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
What’s the Story in Alberta’s History?
Prince of Wales Elementary School, Calgary Board of Education
Grade 1 and 2 students will present a readers’ theatre version of the disappearing wooden grain elevator that once dominated Alberta’s prairie skyline. Artifacts from the Alberta Grain Academy will also be demonstrated. Monday, July 10 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Parading and Participating in the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth
Crescent Heights High School, Calgary Board of Education
This session features Grades 10-12 students who are participating in the Calgary Stampede, a 10-day extravaganza of parades, pancake breakfasts, midway rides, Western art and exhibits known as the greatest outdoor show on earth. Tuesday, July 11 9:00-10:00 MDT (11:00-12:00 EDT)
Alberta - Connecting to Our Neighbours
Northmount School, Edmonton Public Schools
Students representing 17 different cultural backgrounds will present “Alberta, Our Province,” which is based on Alberta’s Grade 4 Social Studies curriculum. Alberta SuperNet
Alberta SuperNet technology is a $194 million investment by the Government of Alberta that connects schools throughout Alberta to each other, to resource providers, and to outside agencies to provide opportunities for learning that would not otherwise be available. Video conferencing allows students to engage in meaningful exchanges with peers in other parts of the province; programs and services to be delivered to remote or small schools, allowing them to deliver the full provincial curriculum and remain a viable community resource; and allows artists or scientists and astronauts at facilities such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum or the Canadian Space Agency to visit students in their classrooms. It provides real-time, interactive exchange of information, ideas and assistance. SuperNet links approximately 4,700 government offices, schools, post-secondary institutions, municipalities, child and family services, health-care facilities and libraries. To date, SuperNet has been established in 1,600 K-12 schools in 429 communities across the province. | 
