We greatly appreciate all the students who arrive for
school on time. It is critically important for them to start their day on a
positive note as the teachers give them information about the day’s
expectations and help them to organize their day for learning. When a child is
15 minutes late, every day, they are missing 2,745 minutes or 45.75 hours of
instruction. Even missing 5 minutes of instructional time every day adds up to
a loss of 915 minutes or 15.25 hours over the course of the year. That is a significant
loss of learning time! Alberta Education mandates all elementary students
receive 950 hours of instruction and unfortunately, children are disadvantaged
when they miss large amounts of time. Please help your children to ready
themselves and get to school on time. We hope with your support, we can
significantly decrease the number of students arriving late each morning.
We have to love Calgary weather and the fact we live in a climate
notorious for unpredictable changes! We would like to remind you to ensure your
child is prepared for the sudden changes in weather by having a warm coat, hat,
mitts, and boots with them when they come to school. When temperatures reach
-20 Celsius or colder including the wind-chill factor, students will be kept
inside for recess or lunch breaks. The -20 Celsius guideline is comparable to
other school jurisdictions in Alberta and across Canada. However, we will run
the “Polar Bear Club” for students who would like to brave the colder weather (max.
-25 Celsius). This is voluntary, however they must be dressed for the cold with
a warm jacket, snow pants, scarves, mitts, boots etc. We will go out for a
short while (15 minutes), and at any time the students are cold, they will be
able to come back into the school. Thank you to the Leadership Team and other
staff members who are willing to supervise and join The Polar Bear Club! During
the winter, roads may also be congested and slippery resulting in possible bus
delays. Parents/guardians whose children take a yellow school bus can view the
status of their bus on www.mybusstop.ca/login.aspx.
Until the end of February, Alberta Education will be conducting the
annual Accountability Pillar Survey. In January, parents of students in grades
4, 7, and 10 will receive a survey from Alberta Education. In February,
students in grades 4, 7, and 10, and all teachers will be completing their
surveys online at school. All surveys are anonymous and ask questions
about experiences with the school. All parents/guardians receive the English
version of the survey in the mail, but Alberta Education also provides it in
Arabic, Blackfoot, Chinese, Cree, French, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish, Tagalog and
Urdu. If you would prefer to respond to the survey in one of these languages,
please let us know and a copy will be sent to you.
It is very important that parents/guardians complete
the survey and return it to Alberta Education. Alberta Education and the public
use the results of the Accountability Pillar Survey to assess satisfaction with
the quality of education in our schools. In addition, the Calgary Board of
Education uses the information to improve teaching and learning for your
children. If you “Don’t Know” the answer to a particular question, please
skip that question and go to the next one, otherwise your response will
unintentionally count as a negative one.
Your voice matters. Your participation in the survey
helps provide important information on the quality of education your child is
receiving. Alberta Education and the Calgary Board of Education thank you for
returning the parent Accountability Pillar Survey promptly. If you have
questions, please contact us at the school.
The Accountability Pillar uses a set of 16 indicators
consisting of surveys of students, parents and teachers on various aspects of
quality; student outcomes such as dropout and high school completion rates; and
provincial assessments of student learning. Interested in the results? Look for
them in school and the CBE 3-Year Education Plans and Annual Education Results
Reports, posted on the website.
We are looking forward to seeing you soon in and
around the school, at School Council, or during school events. We look forward to our continued work
together!
