Important Dates January 9 - Classes resume - See you Monday! January 12 - TLC Open House (for new families who wish to attend Chris Akkerman in the fall) 6:30 – 7:30 in the school gym. January 16 - Kindergarten lottery registration begins on-line (Please do not call the school) January 26 - 6:30 PM Learning Commons - School Council Meeting - All welcome January 30 - Report Cards are available to all families via your mycbe account February 3 - Non-Instructional Day (No school for students) February 15 - TLC Lottery for 2023-24 school year February 16/17 - Teacher's Convention (No school for students) Dear CAS Families Happy New Year Chris Akkerman Community! It is an honour and a privilege to work with our students, parent, staff, and the local community as a whole. Chris Akkerman School is a vibrant learning community with a strong and diverse student population. We are certain that CAS will continue to provide our students with a safe, caring and productive learning environment in the new year. We wish to thank you for your continued support of our amazing school and all who thrive within it! On behalf of the educational team here at CAS, we would like to wish all of our amazing families a Happy New Year. We hope the new year brings you joy, peace, great health and incredible learning opportunitites. Dr. Bettesworth Proud Principal of Chris Akkerman School January can bring cold weather All students will be outside before school starts, morning recess, and lunch recess, every day. WE are only inside at break times when the weather drops below –20 with wind chill. Kindly remember to dress your child for the weather. Dressing for the weather includes warm boots (not rain boots or fashion boots) warm winter jacket, warm hat, mitts, and snow pants. Thank you for dressing your child for the weather! On-Line Screen Time Apps Recently a few families (3 CAS families in total) have inquired about our RAZ kids account and Mathletics. They shared their disappointment that Chris Akkerman School was not funding the school wide subscriptions to both RAZkids and Mathletics. These were two computer based programs paid for by CA School Council for our families to use at home. Combined, these programs cost our school council several thousand dollars for school wide licenses for both. Sadly, we didn't have 50% participation in these two programs by our CAS families. This year, rather than encourage screen time and expensive programs, we would prefer to put books in the hands of students to advance their reading and provide families with math games to play to advance the procedural fluency of our students. Most Div 1 classes have started a home reading program. If your child has not started bringing home books, they will soon in the new year. Our Div 2 students (Gr 4/5) should be bringing home library books/ chapter books on a regular basis to read for pleasure. We will begin to share a math games via the weekly message that you can play with the dice, cards, and markers that were sent home in the fall. If families are interested in computer-based programs, there are a few popular programs listed below. Some are free, some are free to access through the Calgary Public Library, and some have a monthly fee or annual subscription. Please do note, we cannot endorse any of these programs, but do know they are popular with many families. There is nothing more valuable than a parent reading with a child or a parent playing a math game with a child. We do understand though, families are busy and may not have the time on a daily basis to sit down with their child. Please check these opportunities out if you are still looking for an on-line option for your child. Epic Books – Free to get one book per day or unlimited books for approximately $10.00/ month Tumble Books – Free with your Calgary Public Library Card Calgary Public Library – Free access to books and many resources XtraMath – Procedural Fluency Practice (Free) DuoLingo - English and French practice (Free) There are many languages available on this program Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr (Free with your Calgary Public Library Card) or with a monthly fee on line Mathletics - Fee based app available for all families IXL – Learning Website and App. Math and English (Fee Based) Dream Box – Literacy and math (Fee based) http://www.childrenslibrary.org/ - International Children's Digital Library (free) https://www.starfall.com/h/ - Starfall – learn to read website (K-2) (free) https://www.abcya.com/ Gr k-6+ Literacy and more (Free and Fee based) Students and parents can access e-books and audiobooks at the Calgary Public Library. Here is the information to access online books and resources: Accessing eBooks through the Calgary Public Library https://calgary.overdrive.com/library/kids/ · Students – CBE gmail address (educbe.ca) · Student PIN – 1234567 “How to" log in video https://youtu.be/d5Rc5mfCK8g | 
