Dear DGS Families,
Welcome to the last Principal’s Message of 2022. Winter includes so many observances, festivals, celebrations and times of rest. To all of you participating in Hanukkah, Posadas, Winter Solstice, Yule, Tohji-Tasai, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Wren Day, Junkanoo, Gahambar Maidyarem, Omisoka, Hogmanay, New Year’s, St. Basil’s Day, Gantan-Sai, Three Kings Day, Coptic and Easter Orthodox Christmas, or you are entering a time of rest and quiet over the weeks to come, I wish you peace, comfort, and time with the people you love the most.
This week, we have asked students to clean their lockers out and bring home all of their September to December treasures with them. This is your reminder to get them all to clean their back packs and lunch kits at home on Thursday so there are no extra-juicy January 8 surprises lurking!
A huge congratulations to our Drama Society and their very successful four show run of The Shuddersome Tales of Poe. Our gift campaign for Toy Mountain ends tomorrow and we will have our annual Hot Chocolate Fundraiser, and as always, thank you so much for sharing where you can, to help our school make a difference in the greater Calgary community. Today is the draw for our 50/50 Raffle- the last time I checked, the take home jackpot was $2070!
DGS Badminton Try-out Schedule
Please see the attachment for all the details for grades 6-9 badminton try-outs schedules in January. Happy Holidays!
BadmintonTryoutschedule2023-new.pdf
Toy Mountain
This year, Grade 9 Leadership is organizing a Toy Mountain Donation Drive. Fundraising will run from December 8th to 22nd @ the DGS front foyer. Cash donations should be left with the front office. The goal of this fundraising drive is to make holiday dreams come true for less fortunate children by donating a new unwrapped toy, teen gift, or cash donation.
Happy Holidays from the Grade Nine Leadership class!
Spirit Week
Grade 8 Leadership is thrilled to be organizing our Countdown to Winter Break Spirit Week! Here are the Spirit Week events:
Friday Dec. 16th - Holiday Door Decor
Monday Dec. 19th - Ugly Sweater and/or Hat Day
Tuesday Dec. 20th - Twin Day (or Triplet Day… or Matchy-Matchy in a Group Day)
Wednesday Dec. 21st - Pyjama Day
Thursday Dec. 22nd - Movie Day
DGS Parent Council
The Dr. George Stanley Parent Council has kindly provided Hot Chocolate for the students to enjoy on Movie Day (December 22). In the spirit of giving, we would like to encourage cash donations at that time for Toy Mountain. Donation is not required to receive a hot chocolate.
DGS Parent Fundraising Society
The Dr. George Stanley Fundraising Society is excited to announce a 50/50 cash raffle! Please see the attachment for all the information you need to enter. Tickets are 1 for $5, 3 for $10 or 20 for $20. As of today, the jackpot winner takes home $660. Sales end Wednesday December 21 and the draw takes place Thursday December 22. Who doesn’t love Christmas Cash?
DGS Dec 2022 50 50 QR code ad.pdf
https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/dgsfundraising
Yearbooks
Yearbooks for 2022-23 – must be PREPURCHASED prior to February 10, 2023. You will need to self-add the yearbook to your account following these simple steps:
1. Login to your MyCBE account, using your username and password
2. Click the box “Fees, Waivers & Service Registration”
3. Select your student
4. Click on “School Based Optional Fees”
5. Click on the box “Yearbook 2022/23”
6. Click “Add to Cart” and proceed to payment
Digital Citizenship and Social Media
Recently, TikTok has become a source of complaint for our students. Trends encouraging students to “ship” (suggest a relationship) for their peers anonymously or rate one another have recently caused upset for members of our school community. Parents are strongly encouraged to check in with their children regularly around their social media use and presence. One of the challenges of platforms such as TikTok is that it is very difficult to have an account banned or removed when the creator of the account is not known. Which accounts does your child follow? How are they using the platform? How teens represent themselves on platforms such as TikTok and SnapChat can often follow them back to school and be the source of unwanted attention, conflict and harm. One thing we always should keep in mind as adults is that ultimately, the young person’s mobile device is registered to an adult who ultimately becomes responsible for what is on the device and how it is used. Another great resource is our digital citizenship presentation which can help guide a conversation around digital citizenship. Being an away-for-the-day school is one of the ways we work to alleviate some of the “digital complexities” students experience every day.
This is also a good time to remind families that we cannot be responsible for lost or stolen devices or accessories such as earpods.
Demographic Verification Forms
We have now printed copies of these forms for any families that still have not completed them and sent them home with your student. Please make any necessary changes, sign and send them back to the school as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can still sign into your MyCBE account to complete them. These forms are a legal requirement and must be completed every school year. If you are having trouble completing them, please contact the office for assistance.
Cold Weather Preparation
With the onset of this cold weather, we want to make sure everyone has the same information around soft entry, lunchtime, etc. Soft Entry starts at 8:00. We do not open the doors before this time. As of 8:00, teachers are on supervision inside and outside of the building. At lunch, all students are expected to be outside for half of their lunchtime unless the temperature with windchill is colder than -20 degrees Celsius. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather. We do provide outdoor supervision at lunchtime for students who are committed to being polar bears.
Keeping Sick Students Home
We ask that if your child is sick, please keep them home from school, as we want to see all of our community make it through cold and flu season safely. Please continue to phone or email the school each day that your child will be absent, with the reason for the absence (examples: illness, medical appointment, etc.). Teachers will continue to post assignment basics in Google Classroom by 4:00 each day for students to access.
Got Lunch?
We remain a closed campus at lunchtime. We want to remind families that students need to bring their lunch or have it ordered through Healthy Hunger for distribution through the servery. We do have a variety of lower cost items for purchase at the server including Cheese Buns, Ham and Cheeses Buns, and Chocolate Chip Buns from Glamorgan Bakery. Hot water is available for soup through the servery. We are not able to provide access to microwaves for student use. As a reminder, we are not able to receive Skip the Dishes, Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc. in the main office. The driver will be asked to return the delivery to the restaurant.
Fees Reminder
Course fees, lunch supervision fees (for students in grade 6) and transportation fees (for registered users) have all been assigned. Fees are due upon assignment.
Payment can be made on your MyCBE account or in the school office.
Upcoming Dates:
December 22
Movie Day
Hot Chocolate Fundraiser (accepting cash donations for Toy Mountain)
Last day to donate to Toy Mountain
Winner of 50/50 Raffle will be contacted
Last Day of Classes before Winter Break (Full Day of School)
December 23 to January 8
January 9
January 24
January 26
February 2
February 3
February 16
February 17
February 20
May the peace of winter surround you. As always, please feel free to contact me at csmalette@cbe.ab.ca OR 403 817 3556.
Chantal Malette
Principal, Dr. George Stanley School
