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Credenda High School Celebrates Student Success
Prince Albert, SK - Jun 16, 2010 In a virtual ceremony, Credenda High School celebrated its very real student success on June 16. Forty-eight Grade 12 graduates were recognized as well as numerous others who had achieved academic excellence or demonstrated great determination.

Mayor Jim Scarrow
Mayor Jim Scarrow speaking via web cam in Credenda's online high school graduation ceremony.

Tyrone MacPherson, Principal of Northern Campus, welcomed participants and introduced Mayor Jim Scarrow, our honoured guest speaker. After congratulating all students, parents, and Credenda staff, Mayor Scarrow emphasized, "Credenda is one of the most technologically advanced online virtual schools of its kind. This innovative form of delivering live classes to students has become just a natural way of life for its 48 graduates and all those who are enrolled." Mayor Scarrow identified a duty for Credenda graduates to tell others about the unique learning opportunity offered by Credenda. "This is the inspirational story you must tell all others that you come into contact with-- that you are a graduate of Credenda."

Lori Poitras, Principal of Southern Campus, closed off the ceremony with wise words for all of us from Dr. Seuss. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the one who'll decide where to go." She pointed out that high school and post secondary education gives students tools to better steer their direction.

Director Vince Hill thanked everyone for attending and encouraged students to study hard for the upcoming exams.

"Be the Change" 2010 Leadership Camp
Prince Albert, SK - Apr 16, 2010 - Credenda, in collaboration with SaskEnergy, is offering an exciting leadership training opportunity to students enrolled in Credenda Virtual High School (CVHS).  A "Be the Change" 2010 Leadership Camp will be held at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park from May 25- 28.

Credenda and SaskEnergy recognize it is essential that youth receive training so they can fill leadership positions in the workplace and in society.  This camp offers students a foundation as they identify key leadership qualities and skills.  Lori Poitras, Principal Southern Campus and organizer, explains that the camp goes further than just the foundations, "We have arranged featured guest speakers who will help our students understand leadership from many different aspects plus targeted activities to help build the collaborative teamwork essential for all leaders in today's world."  Guest speakers include Gary Merasty, Edward Mirasty, Chief Lonechild,  Janet and Chief Wally Fox, Colin Sutherland, and Harry Lafond. Accommodations and activities will be outdoors weather permitting.

To apply, Credenda high school student submit a one page essay answering the following questions: "What does student leadership mean to me?  Our Credenda motto is 'Be the Change you want to see.'  What does this mean to me as a young person?"  A letter of recommendation from the student's Principal or Vice-Principal must accompany the essay.  The deadline for application is April 30.  Essays and letters of recommendations can be emailed to Lori Poitras, lori.poitras@credenda.net or faxed to (306) 332-1442.  Questions can be emailed to Principal Poitras.  If a student is selected, expenses for the camp will be covered.

Click on then right click and play.

Credenda Cares for Haiti
Prince Albert, SK - Feb 17, 2010 - Credenda eStudents and others at Father Gamache Memorial School in Fond du Lac used not only the virtue of caring but perceptiveness. They recognized that a double double is not just a latte. Using a Valentine's Day activity of pink hearts acknowledging donations, the team of Tanya Pacquette, Kathy Pische, Myrna Fern, Ruby Adam, Karen Mercredi, and Helen Laurent, raised over $500 for Haiti which was doubled by Credenda and doubled again by Canada. This means their contribution $500 was doubled to $1000 and doubled again to $2000.

Father Gamache
Pink Heart fundraising team. In back, Myrna Fern and Tanya Pacquette.
In front, Ruby Adam, Helen Laurent and Kathy Pische.

There is another heart-warming Credenda story involving a triple double. Kasey Fulton, eInstructor, and her son love baking together and Kasey's husband, works at a place where they love eating. Kasey and her son made up the cupcakes and Kasey's husband took them to work for a complete sell out. How does the triple double come in? The Fulton family generously matched the money raised by the cupcake sale. The family doubled, Credenda doubled and then Canada doubled for a triple double.

Fulton Bakery
Youngest Fulton Baker eager to whip up cupcakes for Haiti.

As Vince Hill, Director of Credenda wrote in his email acknowledging all donations, "Thank you for all your efforts to help the people of Haiti. Sixty-six emergency family kits were purchased because of your efforts, plus another 66 matched by the government. Feels good to help out doesn't it?"

eStudents & eStaff Donations
$1815
Credenda Matches
$1815
Canada Matches
$3630
Total Relief
$7260

World Vision Haiti

For an update on Haiti, visit World Vision's Newsroom.

Online Learning Evolves at Credenda
Prince Albert, SK - Feb 09, 2010 - Credenda Virtual High School and College continues to be a leader in online learning. Its synchronous virtual classroom, Elluminate Live! provides teachers and students a real-time online meeting room and a new learning management system, Desire2Learn is being welcomed by all.

Even in the education community, many people are unaware of synchronous online learning as most online learning is asynchronous. Students worked in isolation on their own time, emailed their teacher, and sometimes phoned. Asynchronous learning typically has a low success rate, especially with teens, because students need to be highly motivated, self-disciplined, and committed. With Elluminate Live! students meet and interact online with classmates and teachers. High school students are scheduled for one hour per day and college students are scheduled for three hours one evening per week. Elluminate Live! offers audio, whiteboard, chat, web tours, breakout rooms, and a host of other features to facilitate learning and insure student success.

eStudent Gerald Askomitis wrote, "… I value most the verbal communication and presentation skills I learned. I actually attribute these skills to helping me land my current job, and being able to learn faster because I can ask questions in a manner that makes it easier for others to answer. Since I have taken this class my abilities keep growing, which is something that I have not been able to say in some time."

Supporting the Elluminate Live! virtual classroom is the new Credenda learning management system (LMS), Desire2Learn (D2L). As well as linking to the virtual classroom, D2L offers students course content 24/7, email, calendar, grades, drop boxes, and even a virtual locker for files. When asked about the switch to D2L, eStudents reacted positively. A sampling of responses showed a number of features in particular are winners: "Oh yah I like that it is much easier to sign in to the live class not like the other one." and "D2L is a great, it is quite easy for me to find what i need. I like the upgraded email and dropbox features." Credenda expects students and teachers will appreciate the upgraded email as for the first time, emails are not restricted to a particular course, but can securely to forwarded to one email address saving everyone from checking multiple email accounts.

Credenda receives $2 million from Cameco
Prince Albert, SK - Jan 29, 2010 - Credenda Virtual High School has received a $2 million contribution from Cameco Corporation to support its programs in northern Saskatchewan. Credenda is a non-profit educational institution based in Prince Albert that connects high school students from across northern Saskatchewan with accredited teachers in online classrooms.eStudent Demo

"Once again, we’re seeing the benefits of the long-standing partnership between Cameco and northern people," said Hill.
"Better educated people will strengthen northern communities. Industry will have a deeper pool of qualified young people to
sustain their operations. "We thank Cameco for their vision and continuing investment in the people of the North."

Hill says Credenda is proving that distance education, delivered in partnership with the schools, can achieve successful outcomes.

Cameco Training Center

"No group has a monopoly on educational success, no matter what the subject matter, and our determined students are demonstrating they can succeed in any area if they are given the tools," Hill said.

Photo Captions: Credenda officially opens Cameco Training Center in new office. (top) eStudent Jessica Constant demonstrates Credenda's unique online learning system to Cameco president and CEO Jerry Grandey in the Cameco Training Center in Credenda's new office. (bottom)

Check out Saskatoon's Star Phoenix's "Cameco gives $2M to virtual school" and Prince Albert's Daily Herald "$2 million donation to help northern students in math and science". Also on Global at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKUlw33MZ9k. Eagle News Credenda article available at http://aborigin.sasktelwebhosting.com/Resources/February_2010.pdf.

New Real Building for Virtual School
Prince Albert, SK - Jan 12, 2010 - Excitement is high at Credenda Virtual High School and College and Cameco as they prepare to officially open the new customized Credenda office location in Prince Albert on Friday, January 29 at 11:00 am. The program will include demonstrations of Credenda's real time delivery process, discussions with eStudents and presentations by eTeachers.

One significant benefit of the new building is the Cameco Training Center. The Center has 16 Windows 7 computers or plug-ins and wireless for laptops. Credenda IT staff will no longer have to waste time assembling and disassembling data projector, screen, and extension cords. This spacious computer lab with an interactive whiteboard will have a variety of user groups. High school and college eStudents who are visiting Prince Albert can arrange time online to keep up with classes. The Center is ideal for the blended virtual and face-to-face Credenda professional development. Also, companies and others can make arrangements for face-to-face or blended training for their staff.

Cameco has not only fund the training center, it also sponsors the Credenda Virtual High School (CVHS) math and science bursary program for northern Saskatchewan students. Each applicant may qualify for a bursary worth $500 (one math or science class) and up to $3000 (a maximum of six classes) annually with CVHS.

The office has many impressive First Nations works of art, especially the board room and the reception area. The board room is equipped with a large screen TV for teleconferencing as well as going online. Staff and guests have a lunch room with the essentials. Credenda has included a fitness room as it is very aware of the importance of fitness not only for health but for efficiency. On fair weather days, eStaff are able to take advantage of the nearby walking trail.

Credenda Unveils New Social Responsibility Course
Prince Albert, SK - Dec 06, 2009 - As Credenda enters the new year of 2010, we have two exciting news items. We are moving to a new LMS, Learning Management System, and we are offering another new high school course, Social Responsibility. Desire2Learn (D2L), our new LMS, will replace our Angel LMS. Administrators, eDevelopers, and eInstructors are pleased with the minimal learning curve and recognize that it is so well designed that eInstructors and eTeachers will spend less time on managing and more time on delivery.Be the Change

Credenda Virtual High School is a virtues based school where we encourage staff and students to reflect and practice all of these gifts in their daily lives. We are offering a new free high school credit that will promote and develop virtues like idealism, service and caring. It will provide authentic opportunities for students to develop these and other virtues
as students become agents of change in the world. This course will be of interest to those students who want to make a difference in the world by recognizing local and/or global issues and wanting to contribute to positive change.

When Term 2 begins on February, 2010, Credenda will be offering this new course called Social Responsibility 20. This course will be project based and students will attend classes one hour per week on Mondays from 3 to 4 pm. In addition to the classroom component, students will be involved in a charity based project during the term. This credit course is being offered free of charge to any student who wishes to enroll.

Credenda Offers Professional Development for 21st Century Learning
Prince Albert, SK - Sep 09, 2009 - Learning in the 21st Century calls for the adoption of new approaches to connect, collaborate, and contribute to teaching and learning, with technology as its essential linkage.

Credenda is at the forefront of the development of programs that establish a bond between the classroom and the outside world, responding to the needs of education and training in today`s evolving learning environments. As an extension to Credenda’s 21st Century Learning Project last year, Professional Development for 21st Century Learning seeks to build on the strengths of those sessions.

In keeping with the tenets of 21st Century Learning, teachers and instructors need to be guided in making the most effective use of technology in their daily teaching. Bill Tracey has joined Credenda to share his nearly 15 years of knowledge and practices in the e-learning field.

One goal will be facilitating synchronous and extended-duration group exploration of methodologies, strategies and resources for growth opportunities. Another is to work one-on-one with the staff of Credenda Virtual High School and Credenda Virtual College, as well as teachers and instructors from other schools and districts, to encourage their awareness and practices in education for the 21st Century.

The Professional Development for 21st Century Learning initiative is concentrated on

  • developing online seminars
  • peer coaching/training
  • providing workshops on web 2.0 resources
  • highlighting best practices in integrating technology

Please keep your eyes open for notices about scheduling and contacting for Professional Development for 21st Century Learning.

Credenda Offers Free Leadership 20 Course
Prince Albert, SK - Sep 02, 2009 - Credenda recognizes the world beyond academics and is offering a Leadership 20 course. Our guidance counselor, Steve Winkler, is enthusiastic about leading this class. Winkler exclaims, "To think that I might have the chance to influence a student to explore and exercise the qualities of leadership within them in their schools, communities, and among their families and friends, is truly a worthwhile use of my time. I'm all over that one!"

In its rationale, the course explains:

The Leadership 20 course is designed to develop students’ knowledge and skills about Leadership.  The course will promote student growth in the following areas:  servant leadership, goal setting, problem solving and decision-making, group dynamics and communication skills, community participation – all with the aim of providing the skills necessary for students to effectively participate in community leadership roles. 
Prairie Spirit School Division

The course has both asynchronous, self-selected time and synchronous, eTeacher selected time. The class will meet in Elluminate on Tuesdays from 3 to 4 pm. The majority of class time will be a the student's discretion. Registration open until September 15, 2009.