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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
We live in quite a world. We are pivoting from COVID to the war in eastern Europe and, once again, our world is rapidly evolving. Change definitely happens more slowly in this community, and in many ways we are thankful for that, but change is afoot! From planning for a new community centre, to how to spend the compensation received by the County for withdrawing its opposition to SR1, to a re-boot of the Springbank area structure plans, our community is in the midst of our own evolution. Our view is that residents should be heard - and have a robust opportunity to share input on our future. As a Community Association, we are trying to take a more proactive approach to planning our future. Historically, we have been hampered by inadequate notice and poor quality engagement opportunities from both developers and the County. Further, we have not had proper processes to review planning applications. Out of necessity, we have become reactive which is unsustainable and undesirable. With better engagement, notification and processes, we believe that change can be managed to create a thoughtful, practical and deliberate vision for the future of this community. Rocky View County will have a satisfaction survey out to residents beginning next week. This is a great opportunity for residents to ask themselves whether there is adequate notification and consultation from the County. Our Community Association is in the midst of change, too! We are wrapping up a bylaw review, re-engineering our Board to organize by portfolios and are completing our strategic planning process. We know we can be so much more for this amazing community and we look forward to sharing our progress at our May AGM! Stay tuned! This newsletter issue has many school updates, including some information regarding an interesting structure that you can see off of RR 33. You also may have noticed some beautiful wood signs that have been in our community for over 10 years that was a project of the Springbank Historical Society, along or adjacent to RR 33 as well. One of these, Tom Young Cabin, is the focus of our Chaps and Chinooks Moment.  The Springbank fog made this iconic tree particularly beautiful! This picture got a lot of ‘likes’ on our Instagram. Follow us to see more images of Springbank that you might not see every day.
Our social media posts on the beauty of our community are garnering lots of likes! We will to continue to focus on and appreciate our community even as some of our landscape will be marred by the ramping up of the SR1 construction. Hoping that March goes out ‘like a lamb’ and we can have improved weather for some star-gazing with Westlife Church and our Duke of Ed participants, and an improved outlook for our community and the world at large. See Nancy Bergeron’s article on how to reconnect with each other. Let’s make some good luck and opportunities for Springbank!
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FAMILY EVENT
NIGHT SKY VIEWING |
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 FAMILY EVENT - NIGHT SKY VIEWING Two FRIDAY EVENINGS LEFT: March 18 and 25 Westlife Church Parking lot @ 32242 TWP Rd 245, kitty-corner from Calaway Park 8:00 to 9:00 pm (no sign-up come and go)
Cancelled if no clear skies Sponsored by: SPRINGBANK DUKE OF EDINBURGH PARTICIPANTS AND WESTLIFE CHURCH Telescopes and binoculars will be available but visitors can bring their own as well! Our large Cassegrain telescope allows participants to see night sky objects clearly. Duke of Edinburgh volunteers will demonstrate the night sky app and assist with telescope questions and viewing!
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Thanks so much to Carla Berezowski and Alberta Indoor Comfort for providing support to the production of our newsletter.
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SR1 - Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir The Joint Land Use Advisory committee has been established and will start work next month. The Community Association will participate, along with Springbank Trails and Pathways (STAPA). Read the terms of reference. There are many issues to address with the SR1 lands, all of which will become new Crown Land! From fire risk, hunting, illegal camping to garbage management & maintenance, we hope that this committee will take community concerns seriously and ensure that these lands are responsibly managed. Further, we will endeavor to advocate for any positive outcomes from these lands for our community (bike trails, pathways, public parking, etc). We will keep you updated! Bow River Dam The Bow River Dam process is relatively silent right now - with one exception: TransAlta is applying to the Alberta Utilities Commission to build an electricity storage facility in the footprint of the Expanded Ghost Reservoir option. Ghost is one of the three options on the Bow River for new water storage - a $1B project! The other two options are Morley (for which there is really no information available) and Springbank, which would flood the Springbank Heights Way community. Alberta Environment and Parks confirmed the overlap of the projects in an email to us (the Springbank Board): "The proposed Battery Storage Project is sitting within the footprint of the proposed Relocated Ghost Dam option, which is one of three options being studied for technical feasibility and potential impacts of a reservoir and dam on the Bow River upstream of Calgary. At this time, Alberta Environment and Parks will not be objecting to the WaterCharger project at the AUC hearing based on it being in the footprint of the Relocated Ghost Dam option for the BRRO.
If the proposal is successful, the Phase 1 of the TransAlta Utilities (TAU) battery-powered storage facility may go live in 2023. The BRRO is in phase 2 of a potential 4-phase project, with a Government decision on whether or not to proceed to the next phase at the end of each phase. If a new dam is built, it is unlikely to be operational before the mid-2030’s. Any new development, including the battery-powered storage facility, will be considered at each phase of the BRRO." Given the conflict between this new storage project and the Ghost dam option, we are concerned that the approval of the battery storage facility may influence the decision on the Bow River dam. A decision is expected next year on this $1B water storage project. As an aside, Alberta Transportation (AT) spent over $60M last year to acquire land in Springbank on the Bow River behind Harmony. AT has not been able to explain what the purpose of the land acquisition was (aggregate operations, conservation have been tossed around). MLA Rosin stated in a letter the land is not for flood mitigation but the footprint of the lands do overlap somewhat with the Springbank option. We are in communication on these lands with the government and have requested further engagement as planning moves forward.
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 ROCKY VIEW COUNTY UPDATES |
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Recreation - SR1 Funds Rocky View County is creating a policy to use the $10M in SR1 compensation funds and we think that our community should have a say! We learned at Council in January that $2.2M of the SR1 funds were used to acquire the land next to the Park For All Seasons. So far, we have no information on future plans for the land. Our thoughts on the funds were captured by Rocky View Weekly The SCA wants to make sure that this money is used wisely, which includes exploring opportunities for matching grants and the creation of an endowment fund. This money could turn into $20-30 million if used properly. Unfortunately, the money spent on the land does not appear to have been eligible to be used for matching funds, which is a tremendous lost opportunity in our view. We also believe the SR1 funds should be used for projects outside those that should be funded by regular tax dollars (for instance, both Langdon and Springbank recreation facilities are included in the Recreation Master Plan). This is an exceptional situation - and opportunity - to create legacy infrastructure and lasting benefits in the greater Springbank Community to balance the lasting environmental and health risks of SR1. Springbank Community Centre The Springbank facility project continues to move along. The consultant has been reaching out to area groups, service providers and others who help determine what should be in the project, how big it should be and what the operating model will look like. The Stakeholder committee is meeting in the next few weeks and a recommendation from the consultant is expected at that time. The Springbank facility was identified in the Recreation Master Plan. A facility for Langdon was identified at the same time. Planning COUNCIL POLICY ON NOTIFICIATION: LET'S IMPROVE THIS POLICY! What is this Policy (Circulation Policy - Bylaw 327): The Circulation Policy bylaw describes who receives notification of a pending development, sub-division, application, etc. The Community Association is not on circulation lists for developments and planning items which means we often hear about planning items from residents. Unfortunately, we find ourselves having to constantly respond to planning items in shortened timeframes, without adequate due diligence and community consultations. What we asked for: In partnership with Elbow Valley Residents Association, Bragg Creek Chamber of Commerce and Langdon Community Association, we asked Rocky View County administration to revisit its circulation policy bylaw. Read our Sept 2021 letter to the County. Specifically, we have requested - repeatedly - to be added to the County circulation lists so that we can share important items with the community and thoughtfully respond. We have been told - repeatedly - that our request does not conform with the policy. So, change the policy, right? Well.... What RVC Told Us: In December 2021, we met with RVC administration who told us that Policy 327 is a Council Policy. Therefore, a Councillor must make a request to update the Policy. We were also told that the policy had just been updated in Spring 2021. We pointed out that the updated Policy did not appear to have any opportunity for public engagement and updating the policy without public engagement was a missed opportunity. We learned that Council Policies do not need public engagement! We made a request to Mayor Kochan and Councillor Hanson at a meeting in January to expand the circulation notice, per administration's guidance. Unfortunately, we did not seem to get any traction on this issue. Instead, Rocky View County is creating a "Satisfaction Survey" for residents. We were told that feedback from this survey would be used to craft direction on future engagement. We have not seen the survey and do not know its scope but hope that communication and notification are included. Springbank Area Structure Plans The Rocky View County website states that the Area Structure Plans will return to Council in Spring 2022. Given it is almost April and we have not heard a word on the ASPs, we are going to assume this deadline will slip. We will keep you posted! This is a critical planning item for our community and as soon as we have more information, we will let you know!
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Thanks so much to Kathleen Burk and RE/MAX for providing support to the production of our newsletter.
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Discovery Corner Preschool  They had a special visit from Miss Nicole from their Education partners at Bragg Creek Education. Miss Nicole did a We Thinkers presentation about their thoughts on bubbles and cooperation. The class worked on a Valentine's STEM project in groups using these skills. Valentine's Day Challenge - How many hearts can fit on the structure!
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Ecole Elbow Valley Elementary School  Ecole Elbow Valley students celebrated French Culture Week!  Students had an eventful week that was filled with music, dance, STEM Challenges and collaborating on their own Ice Sculpture Maze.   Students will be focusing on their Cooperation character focus in March. Through this, we will be making cultural and educational connections with people in the Tsum Valley of Nepal. Finally, our incredible parent community will be finding ways to show appreciation to our staff during Staff Appreciation Week March 14 - 18.
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Springbank Middle School  Springbank Middle School's Junior Girls A Basketball Team travelled to Black Diamond to compete in South Central Zones. After a strong first win against Holy Cross, Springbank advanced to the semi-final against Meadow Ridge. The girls played their hearts out and played one of their best games of the season. Sadly with 16 seconds left on the clock the girls lost 40-41. However, Springbank knew it wasn’t over and there was still a bronze medal on the table. The girls rallied quickly and finished their season off with a win, taking home the bronze medal! Ms. Coffin and Ms. Little are so proud of everything the girls have accomplished this season.  A huge congratulations goes out to the members of the Junior A Girls Basketball Team!
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Edge School  Looking for sport program offerings over the spring and summer?
Edge School has 20+ different camps now open for registration for youth between the ages of 6-15!  More information and Register Now!
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Springbank High School  Springbank Robotics is Provincials Bound! After the final qualifying round of the First Tech Competition, all three Springbank Robotics Teams find themselves heading to Provincials. Before qualifying, the teams competed in three rounds and needed an overall placement of top 20 to make it into Provincials. After months of hard work, late nights, and endless robot changes, all of the teams’ hard work paid off. The two grade 11 teams (with team members in grades 9 and 10) qualified 17th and 15th and the grade 12 team placed 14th. Although all teams and our robotics coach were looking forward to Provincials being in-person, it has been reverted to an online event with virtual judging. All members of the Springbank Robotics Team worked so hard for this and are all extremely excited for the final competition of the year. The teams wanted to give a huge Thank You to all supporters of the program in last year’s raffle run through the Springbank Community Association as the team would not have had the resources to perform this well without the help of the whole community. Everyone on the robotics team is beyond excited about their Provincials placements and are so thankful for all of the support from the community!
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Calgary Changemaker School  Many of you may have noticed the white dome structure that has popped up on the grounds of the Calgary Changemaker School along Range Road 33, across from Calaway Park! This non-permanent geodome structure was gifted to the school community from the CADMUS fund to support the school’s mission of providing creative, innovative and outdoor based learning opportunities for our students. This multi-purpose dome provides a special space for our students to engage in activities such as dance, yoga, mindfulness, music instruction, art and makerspace activities. It will soon also become the hub of our school community, as students and staff gather there for our school assemblies and smaller special events.  But that’s not all! We envision this little dome to serve the greater community as well! We hope that it can become a gathering place for residents of Springbank and beyond to rent for their intimate special events such as: yoga retreats, a pop-up market space, art shows and more. With the majestic Rocky Mountains and the sparkly twinkle lights as a backdrop, this space will surely provide residents with the opportunity to come together in meaningful ways. The community of Calgary Changemaker School looks forward to offering this space to their students and all of the people of Springbank as a unique place to connect and celebrate. They plan to open the space to the public in the summer of 2022. For more information email.
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 ROCKY VIEW SCHOOLS TRUSTEE UPDATE
JUDI HUNTER, WARD 5 |
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February was a short month as it included a break for Teachers’ Convention, giving students a week-long break. The Board of Trustees is now developing the Budget for the 2022-2023 year. The budget is based on the funds received from the Alberta government. The funding model consists of a variety of components, and there are rules around each of the various components. Read about the Funding model. Each new term, the Trustees visit the 53 schools in our District. It is a chance for trustees to understand first-hand the needs of the schools and where each school is regarding the implementation of the Board’s 4 Year Plan: I CAN - Connect Achieve Navigate. This document sets the framework for how our division meets the goals of the Alberta Curriculum and ensures that students graduate high school with the skills, knowledge, and attributes to live as productive citizens. The four-year plan is developed with input from parents, educators, business persons, and the public. We are currently ended year 3 of the plan. Black History month - Eventbrite put a spotlight on virtual events that showcase Black excellence in its many forms: food, film, comedy, music, literature, and more. These are events that energize, educate, and entertain — all while honoring and celebrating Black culture. In February, the Board listened to a presentation of a Grade 7/8 teacher who described teaching during COVID. She described how the public debate played out in the classroom, the lack of continuity in moving from in person to online learning, student absenteeism due to COVID isolation rules and gave a general overview of how teachers responded to support learning in this chaotic time in history. Rocky View School division has adopted an approach to literacy – called Layers of Learning. The approach represents the current research on how best to develop literacy k-12. All staff are being in-serviced in this methodology. The Provincial government is going to implement 3 curriculums this Fall. New feedback sessions regarding the curriculum are planned for the Spring. Rocky View District Website has a new look and feel. Users should find the website more intuitive to use and easier to find what they are looking for. Below is a link to a session by Dr Jacqueline Leighton, a professor from the University of Alberta: “COVID-19 and Children: The Perfect Storm of Stressors”, who gave permission to share the presentation. It was excellent and offered ways you can help you child through these difficult times. Watch the webinar and we also invite you watch our previous webinars.
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**Volunteer Wanted** If you enjoy working with youth, have a passion around your community and enjoy the outdoors, you will be a perfect candidate helping the Community Association operate the Duke of Edinburgh program. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Judi.
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Springbank Rawhides 4-H Club members successfully completed their communications requirement for 4-H at the end of January. Five members attended the Rockyview District area 1 competitions and one senior member will be competing this month in the Rockyview District competition in Balzac! Their club is excited for the upcoming 2022 4-H on Parade Show at Stampede Park May 26-29. This event showcases members from the Calgary Region. Members participate in beef, heifer, horse, sheep and canine shows. 4-H on Parade also displays and showcases non livestock projects; including archery, photography, foods, sewing crafts, small engines and wood working. Read more information on 4-H in Alberta. Our club will be starting the 2022-2023 project year roughly mid September 2022.
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Springbank Dancers has proudly been in full swing this season! They have a ton of classes running at their beautiful studio in the Springbank Commercial District, as well as at the Bragg Creek Community Centre and at Springbank Cottage Childcare! Highlights this season so far have include "Howl-o-ween" Bash, Karma Classes, Winter Wonderland Showcase, "Love is Sweet" Valentine's Party, and 34 of their dancers performing halftime at the Harlem Globetrotters game! They have launched their Summer Camps and can't wait for their remaining performances, upcoming competitions, and year end Recitals.
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How to Create Social Connection Through Conversation We all long to be heard and create lasting and interesting connections. Keep in mind when practicing these conversation strategies we should always remain conscious of the other person’s mood and comfort level. Be prepared to step back when our conversational connections are not welcome. However, with a little tact, sensitivity and a genuine interest in the people around us, we may often find that greater social connection is easily within our reach. Here are 6 strategies to try implementing in your conversations for connection: Be Curious – asking others questions about themselves ups our likeability. We enjoy talking about ourselves, but we underestimate the benefits of letting others do the same – to the detriment of our relationships. Take the time to build on the first question asked rather than jumping from topic to topic. Ask for further clarification for deeper meaning and understanding. Be Empathetic – but don’t assume to really know how it felt for them because we may fail to differentiate between someone’s experience versus a similar experience of our own. Definitely validate the speakers feelings – wow, that sounds like it must have been scary. Find Common Ground – find a topic that will be something that links us, and helps build further rapport. Even though we may want to share something new and exciting, it may be completely uninteresting to the person we are sharing with. Common ground deepens connection. Use Emotional Intelligence – don’t always go for mundane small talk. Ask deeper questions to create a real connection. This sends the message that we really care and have an interest in hearing their answers. It may surprise you how open individuals can be when we show a real curiosity on a deeper level than what do you do for work or how about that hockey game last night. Choose Honesty - it goes without saying that honesty is best served with a healthy dose of diplomacy. We should think carefully about the timing of our comments, the way they are phrased and whether the person will have the opportunity to make use of the information. However, honest communication proves to be far more constructive than people tend to predict, and the benefits of candid disclosure on overall wellbeing can last beyond the actual conversation. Listen to Understand – this is the way to tie up the entire encounter. Summarize or reflect back what you heard the person tell you. Unfortunately, we have the tendency when we are listening, to be thinking about what we will say next instead of truly hearing the speaker. If we have to listen to summarize what they are telling us, we are more likely to listen on a deeper level and thus the speaker will really feel heard. This will create not only likeability but connection. All of the above will take practice. Some of us are better with these skills than others. If we are longing for more connection, and deeper relationships this is a fine roadmap to get us there. Nancy Bergeron | nancy@viewpointcalgary.ca
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CHAPS and CHINOOKS MOMENT |
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Driving through Springbank you may have noticed some beautiful wood signs which is a project of the Springbank Historical Society to celebrate a few of the heritage sites and buildings that exist in our community. The ‘Tom Young Cabin’ sign is one that you may notice frequently so Thomas Young is the subject of our Chaps and Chinooks Moment this month. His eldest son, Eric, provides the write-up in Chaps and Chinooks.  My father was a short slightly built man with very erect bearing, twinkling blue-gray eyes, an aquiline nose and a large tobacco stained moustache. He had smoked a pipe since his youth and was much annoyed in later years as he was unable to hold the pipe between his gums for he had lost all his teeth before he was seventy and never had false teeth….Born in Hythe, Kent, England in 1856, the youngest son of a grocer…1888 emigrated permanently to Springbank, Alberta to occupy a section of land which had been secured for him by his brother William at a cost of $3.75 per acre. (…) [Eric writes] I remember the shack very well. When I was young the shack contained a workbench, hand tools such as saws, hammer, planes, etc. Also nails, screws, rivets and general hardware as well as cans of coaloil, sacks of grain and chicken feed, lanterns, light harness, saddles and a general assortment of the thousand and one items that accumulate on a farm. Chaps and Chinooks, Vol. I, p. 228-9.  [Editor’s note: Thomas Young donated the land for a school and a church and helped choose the name of our community. He died in 1946 just shy of his 90th birthday.]
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 BRAGG CREEK CORNER |
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 CONNECTIONS WITH COCHRANE |
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 Springbank Community Association Over 100 years serving the residents and businesses of Springbank Copyright © Springbank Community Association All rights reserved.
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