Good afternoon Colonel Irvine School Community,
Firstly, we’d like to thank our parents for bringing us treats today. We know how busy everyone is and really appreciate parents making and taking the time to drop off treats and spoiling us. It was great for staff to be able to grab a snack throughout the day. We have amazing students and parents at Colonel Irvine. We are so proud to be a part of this school community.
We will be entering our last week of Semester 1. The month of January has been very busy as we prepare report cards, Lunar new year celebration and our virtual open house on February 2, We will also have our second round of interviews during the first week of February.
The lesson for today's Wellness block for our Grade 7-9's was about identifying and dealing with stress. Students identified current stressors, took a Stress test to see if they had low, medium or high stress and then listened to a guided meditation. Take some time to ask your child what some stressors they identified. What was their experience with meditation?
Thank you for your continued support. Together we can make a difference in keeping each other and our learning environment safe.
Report Cards will be available for viewing on Monday, January 31st through your parent MyCBE account. Please see the following LINK for instructions on how to view report cards.
Wednesday, January 26 – Lunar New Year Celebration
Monday, January 31 – Non-instruction Day – No school for students
Tuesday, February 1 – Lunar New Year Day
Wednesday, February 2 – Grade 9 Vaccinations
Wednesday, February 2 – 6:00 – 7:30 – Virtual Open House
Wednesday, February 3 – Lunar New Year activities in the afternoon
Wednesday, February 9 – 4-8 online School Conferences
Thursday, February 10 – 4-8 online School Conferences
Friday, February 11 – 12:50-3:20 online School Conferences
Thursday, February 17 and Friday, February 18 – Teacher’s Convention - no school
Monday, February 21 – Family Day – no School
New – Updated Provincial Guidelines
Alberta Health Daily Checklist – This document has been updated. Please ensure you review this each day to determine next steps if your child is feeling unwell and when they can return to school.
New mask guidance – Families are still able to provide their own masks, but the government has updated its guidance. The guidance states: If non-medical masks are worn, they should be constructed of at least three layers: two of breathable, tightly woven fabric such as cotton, and an additional effective middle filter layer, such as non-woven polypropylene.
Positive Case Notifications – This week the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed that AHS will no longer be able to support COVID-19 and respiratory illness outbreak management in schools. Schools will not be providing notifications of positive cases to families. Please continue to let your school know if your child will be absent for any reason through the normal process. We will continue to monitor student absentee rates.
The medical grade masks that were provided by the government are available in each classroom, main office and at every entry point to the school in the morning. For parents who’d prefer to have the allotted 20 masks, please bring a suitable Ziplock bag or container to hold the masks and we will hand them out as needed. See picture below.
We will be having activities on the afternoon of February 3. We will be asking for some support from the parent council with our fortune treat. Please contact the parent council if you are interested in helping with this.
Monday – Grilled Bacon and Tomato Sandwich
Tuesday – Assorted Pizzas
Wednesday – Penne with Marinara Sauce
Thursday – BBQ Beef Burgers with Fries
High School Tours and Open Houses
James Fowler – will create video tours and sessions and share when ready
Diefenbaker – Open house January 27th, 7-8:30pm
On Thursday, January 27th CLICK HERE TO JOIN our session or if that link doesn’t work, please check our website for an alternative link
Churchill - Student session at lunch rescheduled (sorry) to Thursday January 20th
Aberhart – visit their website for videos and more information
Forest Lawn - evening open house will also be Jan 27 at 7pm-8pm, visit website
Bowness High School – No longer a ‘live’ Open House, they will post pre-recorded videos to their website sometime next week. Student orientation video is available here
Jack James High School – Program of choice, requires transfer application.
Queen Elizabeth - Here is a link to a student made video that shows you all of the great things about Queen Elizabeth High School. They are also hosting a Virtual Q and A on January 27th at 6:30pm. This Q & A will be hosted by the School’s Administration Team, and will answer parent generated questions about the school and the registration process, as well as some general information about High School. Please register in advance for this event and submit any questions you would like addressed. We look forward to meeting you virtually and sharing information about our school.
The high school transfer process opens February 1 and closes March 15, 2022, for the 22-23 school year. This process will be online, a link will be available on the CBE website when the transfer process opens. Scroll down to High School Transfers.
High School Course Pick Sheets
On Monday, students designated to Fowler, Dief, Churchill and Queen Elizabeth will receive their course pick sheets. Students designated to Bowness, Aberhart, Thirsk and Manning have already received them. We are still waiting for Forest Lawn pick sheets. Pick sheets are due back to school on Friday, February 4th. We will not be putting course recommendations on these sheets. Course levels are for you to decide as a family. Typically, if a student is receiving 3’s and 4’s they would take the –1 courses and Science 10 and if they have 1’s and 2’s they would take the –2 courses and Science 14. All courses do not need to be at the same level. If you are unsure feel free to reach out to the teachers and ask their opinion. Marks will be available January 31.
One on One Tutoring opportunity
Stars for Scholarly Youth (SSY), is a free, student-run tutoring service based out of the University of Calgary. This service is provided by university student volunteers and our goal is to offer free, academic opportunities for underprivileged and vulnerable youth in grades 6-12. www.starsforshelteredyouth.com
Check out Kin Market. A ‘Pay what you can’ market with fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs and pantry items. Currently located within the Saddletowne and Shaughnessy YMCAs and offered once a week. Check out Kin Market’s social media for upcoming dates and times.
Yearbooks are now available to purchase online using your Parent PowerSchool account. The final day to buy yearbooks will be Friday, February 11. The cost is $35.
At the main page after login at MYCBE PowerSchool,
* select "Student Fees and Service Registration" at the left side column menu, closer to the bottom of the page, it will bring you to a new page
* select your child's name just below the CBE logo,
* select "School Based Optional Fees" (you may need to scroll down a little bit to find this), then select “School Store Sale – Yearbook” to add to your cart, then pay.
Thanks to everyone who was able to contribute to the staff appreciation treat day today!
We’re looking for a volunteer for Events Coordinator, with thanks to Manikanth Pulicheri for his contributions. Time commitment is ~2 hrs / month, one for the meeting and one for coordinating the Sign Up Genius lists to organize parent contributions (e.g. for monthly staff treat days, Lunar New Year celebration, year-end staff appreciation, Gr. 9 farewell). No experience necessary -- we’re happy to train you! Email Kirsten (chair, kirsten.pugh@shaw.ca) and/or Berney (secretary, colonelirvineschoolcouncil@gmail.com) with any questions or to volunteer!
Mark your calendars for our next meeting on Feb. 8th (the meetings are always the 2nd Tuesday of each month, at 6.30pm).
