School Logo

When a rock is dropped into a pool, it sends out ripples in all directions. The ripples continue to move and change and cause an effect that is more than just that moment in time.

Water holds the power of transition. The continuity in fluidity, from one state to another, is a symbol for metamorphosis. Michael Strembitsky was a leader for change. He was an innovator that stirred the waters to improve public education. His contributions are far-reaching.

In the Michael Strembitsky School logo, water is rendered to resemble the letter "S" for Strembitsky. The font is strong and contemporary, with emphasis on the surname. The colours are derived from the colour palette of the school's interior.

The Michael Strembitsky logo represents the fluidity of teaching and learning in the 21st century and alludes to the far-reaching connections between our school with students, their families, and beyond to the global community. The logo also reflects our school's willingness to embrace change and take risks to better enable students to develop to their full potential and contribute positively to their community.

There are over 500 species of Sharks worldwide, each one as unique as our own students.  They are a keystone population and their contribution to the ocean ecosystems are invaluable.  Sharks are known to be social, highly curious and exhibit behaviour that resembles play in the wild. Go Sharks!

Our Namesake 

Mr. Michael Strembitsky

Michael A. Strembitsky became Edmonton Public Schools’ eighth Superintendent of Schools in 1973 and over a number of years spearheaded the district’s transition to a school-based decision-making organization, the first of its kind in a large North American school jurisdiction. A firm believer in the empowerment of staff at the school level to be involved in making decisions for results which they then are accountable, he possessed a particular knack for translating well intentioned beliefs into reality. He believed in change processes that honored what was done in the past and at the same time engendered support for a “better tomorrow.” To him overcoming obstacles to change was an opportunity for a solution.

Internationally, he became known as the “guru of site-based school management”. In May 2004 he was named one of the 100 Edmontonians of the Century by the Edmonton Journal in honour of his contribution to public education. In 1986 he received the Province of Alberta Achievement Award of Excellence and in 1989 he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Alberta.

His personal standards and diverse interests, career success and contribution to public education are recognized by the Edmonton Public School Board’s annual Michael Strembitsky Award of Excellence, gold, silver, and bronze, presented to three outstanding graduating students.

His career with the Edmonton Public School Board began in 1956, teaching at Crestwood, and was followed by assignments at McKernan, Ritchie, Queen’s Avenue and Queen Elizabeth schools. In 1963, he briefly served as an assistant principal at Queen Elizabeth. In 1965, he was appointed assistant principal of Fulton Place School and in 1966 was appointed principal of the new Delwood School.

The year 1969 saw the beginning of his rapid progression through the administrative ranks of the Central Administration. In January, he was appointed acting supervisor of Elementary Education; in August, director of Elementary Curriculum and in December to the position of Assistant to Superintendent in the Superintendent’s office. In the latter position, Mr. Strembitsky’s various assignments included chairing of operational meetings of the assistant superintendents, preparing Board submissions on the new School Act and restructuring the Board’s processes and preparation for negotiations with the various employee groups. As the Board’s spokesman in teacher negotiations he successfully negotiated a groundbreaking collective agreement in which differences in teacher work conditions K-12 were eliminated; sabbatical provisions were greatly enhanced and negotiations moved from a calendar year to a school year.

In July of 1971, after his appointment as Deputy Superintendent Designate, he was granted leave to pursue doctoral studies at Columbia University, New York. Returning in February of 1972, he served as Deputy Superintendent until August of the same year, when he was named Acting Superintendent of Schools to fill the vacancy created with the departure of Rolland W. Jones, who returned to the United States.

Following a nationwide search, in January of 1973, the Board appointed Mr.Strembitsky the Superintendent of Schools. At the age of 37 he was the youngest incumbent in that position. In 1976, in order to achieve the greater involvement of the schools in the budgeting process, the Board appointed him to the additional position of Secretary-Treasurer for the district, the first such appointment in the Province of Alberta. Once school based budgeting was in place, this designation was relinquished with the appointment of a Board Treasurer and a Board Secretary, both positions reporting to the Superintendent of Schools.

The groundwork for the restructuring of the district’s operations to a school focus involved many incremental steps that took place over a decade. Then in 1979-80, the major reorganization took place. The district would continue to report to the province on a calendar year, but operate internally with the schools on a school year. Central office budget authorities that previously minutely controlled budgets in the past would “earn their keep” by responding to school needs.  Schools became the initiators of required actions rather than recipients of decisions made away from the schools. This form of school organization subsequently spread to a number of cities in the United States and other countries.

Not only a believer in involvement of front line staff, Mr.Strembitsky also believed parents should have more say in their children's education and introduced open boundaries as well as a number of programming options, including International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Fine Arts, Talmud Torah, Waldorf, Outdoor Education and bilingual programs in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, German, Hebrew and Ukrainian.

The number of female senior administrators increased dramatically during Superintendent Strembitsky’s tenure. At the time of his departure the senior staff complement was equally represented, male and female.

After 38 years with the Edmonton Public Schools, Mr.Strembitsky resigned in May of 1994 to take a position in Washington, D.C. with a “think tank” organization promoting reform and restructuring of school districts across the United States. For the next 15 years he worked full-time in the United States commuting, most of that time, from Edmonton.

He has also consulted to governments of New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel and the United States Department of Defense Schools [DoDDS] in Washington, D.C., Japan, the Philippines, Germany and Panama. In 2009 after 53 years of public service in advocating for public education, Mr.Strembitsky retired at the age of 74.

School Layout         

Michael Strembitsky is an ASAP school - owned, administered and operated by Edmonton Public Schools. The school has been built to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification, an independent rating system used to measure environmental efficiency. LEED Silver buildings are more energy efficient, cost less to operate, and provide a healthier work environment through improved air quality and use of natural light.

Core School Design

‌Coaching Support

Sharks Athletics is headed into our seventh year. We have had several teams not only go to City Championships, but win City Championships! To help our school grow athletically and promote school spirit,  we are looking for support from our community.

We know that there is a vast coaching expertise in our community and we have been lucky to have many volunteer coaches assist us in making our athletics program a success.  Interested in helping out at MSS this year?  Volunteer coaches will be responsible  solely for development of skills in practices, and coaching games, each team will have a teacher sponsor which will chaperone your league and tournament play. Administrative duties will be taken care of by the teacher sponsor and/or the Athletics Department.

If you would like to sign up as a volunteer coach, please contact Brent Sheehan by  email at Brent.Sheehan@epsb.ca  or by phone (780) 392-3500.

Athletic Teams at MSS

(teams are offered pending student interest and coach availability)

Running Club – Running Club at M.S.S. “runs” throughout the indoor season. During the colder winter months, Shark students will train indoors at school and compete at the Butter-dome located on the U of A campus and the Harrier races at the Kinsmen Centre. During this season, students have the opportunity to compete against other schools athletes across Edmonton. M.S.S. students, both male and female, can compete in all track events from the fast paced individual sprint, to the team relays. All levels of abilities are encouraged to join.  Our goal is to help each runner achieve their personal best, developing their athletic abilities to realize their full potential. All you need is a positive attitude and some Shark personality. Grades 4 - 9 welcome.

Soccer - Outdoor soccer runs in the month of September.  At MSS, we run a co-ed team with practices twice per week and games once or twice per week.  Soccer begins the second week of school so it is a great chance to get involved in school athletics early in the year.

Volleyball – The Volleyball season runs from September to early December. Practices are twice a week and games are usually once per week.  Each team typically plays in a variety of tournaments to develop skills throughout the season. Tryouts are open to all students in grade 7 – 9, boys and girls – no experience necessary.  

Basketball - Basketball runs from early December until mid-March.  Like volleyball, practices are typically twice per week with games once per week. Teams have the opportunity to participate in tournaments through the season.  Tryouts are open to all students in grades 7 - 9, boys and girls - no experience necessary.

Badminton - Badminton runs from March - May.  Students can compete a singles, doubles and mixed doubles in either the junior or senior division.  Tryouts are open to students in grades 7 - 9 and practices are typically 2 times per week with games scheduled once per week. Badminton is open to both girls and boys. No experience necessary.

Track and Field - The Track and Field program is integrated into the grade 7 - 9 Physical Education curriculum.  In May, a school-wide track meet takes place at J. Percy Page High School.  Qualifying athletes then move on to the Zone track meet against other schools in the south-west zone and then may even move on to City Championships.  The season runs from mid-April to early June.

Flag Football - Runs March - May Refer to Mr. Chinski for additional information.

A variety of extracurricular opportunities are currently offered at Michael Strembitsky School during the noon hour or after school. These opportunities are cross-graded and voluntary. Extracurricular opportunities provide students with enriched educational experiences to enhance learning and to build upon our students’ varying interests.

Grades 2-3 and 4-6 Choirs – If you enjoy singing, then join a Michael Strembitsky School Choir!  Choir rehearses once a week and learns choral music to sing at both in and out-of-school performances.  New members are accepted throughout the year, so come out and make a beautiful choral sound!

Handbell Ensemble – Our Handbell Ensemble is a dedicated group of Division 2 and 3 students who meet once a week to learn the art of bell-ringing.  Handbells are an excellent way to improve music literacy while making exquisite music!  The Handbell Ensemble works on a variety of repertoire to perform throughout the year.

Glee Club - The MSS Glee club is a musical group comprised of junior high students who love to sing and bring joy to others through song. The students in glee combine popular contemporary music with movement and harmonies; often creating their own medlies and mash-ups. The club, directed by Ms. Schneider, meets on a weekly basis and performs for school concerts and events.

Library Club – We have a great group of volunteers from grades five and six. Their enthusiasm for reading, books and helping our Learning Commons to run more efficiently is contagious, their commitment is sincerely appreciated and their collaboration and leadership skills are commendable.

Announcement Club - Students in grades 6 - 9 can join the announcement club.  The announcement club members report to the office and read the daily announcements over the PA system every morning.

Jr. ATB Bank

Shark News Team

Div. 1 and Div. 2 Winter Concerts - Grade 6 Christmas Play

STEM Club

Improv/Debate Club

MSS Book Club

Grade 4 & 5 Hockey Club

Kickball Club

Drawing Club

Doodling Club

Board Game Club

SAGA

MSS School-Wide Activities

Terry Fox Walk

Orange Shirt Day - awareness for the Indigenous residential school system and the impact it had on Indigenous communities.

Read-In-Week 

Scholastic Book Fairs

Glow/Halloween Dance

Valentines Day Dance

Leadership class - WE Scare Hunger Food Drive

Remembrance Day Ceremony

Postcards for Veterans

Alberta Opera

Fine Arts Evening

Strembitsky Parent Foundation Pizza Days

Jump Rope for Heart

Academic Activities

Museum School - Grade 3

Inquiry School at the Legislature - Grade 6

SMAK G Chocolate Project - Grade 8

STEAM Project - Grade 7

SSEP Showcase

Artists in Residence

Kananaskis Trip - Grade 7

Frank Slide Trip - Grade 8

Michael Strembitsky School values the contributions of our parent groups and parent volunteers. Together we work to promote the well-being and effectiveness of our students and programs. If you can spare even a half hour a week, or a day once a month - let us know what your interests are. We value any contribution you are able to make! Volunteering in our school is one way for parents to show their children that they value their education.

All visitors and volunteers are asked to enter the school building through the front door and to report to the school office upon entering and leaving the school. All visitors and volunteers are asked to wear a visitor/volunteer badge while they are in the school, and to sign in and out of the office. All volunteers must complete the district's volunteer form prior to working within the school or supervising a field trip.