Dear DGS Families,
I don’t want to tempt fate, but I THINK we might be experiencing something like Spring. As we finish out the week and head into Spring Break, I’m hoping that you all get a chance to hug your adolescents close to you and explore the world around you. This week, while I was spending some time with Grade 6, I came across a quote from Sarah Thompson’s book Imagine a Day- “Imagine a Day… when the peace of a forest and the strength of a mountain become a cathedral for your heart.” I’m hoping for many of those days as the seasons change.
Today we were made aware that the SchoolMessenger program experienced a technical error, sporadically it was not contacting all listed Guardians. The error has now been resolved and we do not anticipate any further complications.
Emergency Preparedness Drills
This afternoon, we completed our fourth Fire Drill for the year. We want to thank our students for being calm, organized and safe during the experience.
The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience
A week ago, Monday, Alberta Health Services opened a new Centre specifically to better meet youth mental health needs. The Centre offers therapeutic support through a day hospital and community-based treatment.
It also provides walk-in services for anyone under 18 years of age and their family who would like to speak with a counsellor. Walk-in services do not require a referral and are open from 10am-10pm 7 days a week. More information about The Summit is located at: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/summit/summit.aspx
Traffic and our Bus Zone
We greatly appreciate how greatly improved driver behavior has been around our bus zone. We are working with Calgary Police Service and the City of Calgary to have both 4-Way stops by our school designated as “No-U-turn” intersections and to help drivers who consistently park within 5 metres of the stop signs choose somewhere else to wait for their child. We ask that parents be respectful of school staff who may ask them to move their vehicle- it’s no one’s favourite job!
Backpacks and Lunch Kit Fun
Students have all cleaned out their lockers this week- don’t forget to give backpacks and lunch kits a once-over when everything come home Thursday night- check backpacks for missing treasures and clean out lunch kits to avoid the April 2 game of “name that disgusting biohazard.”
Understanding Anxiety
The Calgary Board of Education is inviting all community members to join us for an inspiring evening of learning with experts in understanding anxiety. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns affecting children and families across the lifespan. Parents and schools play an essential role in helping children manage their anxiety. This session will explore what anxiety and stress are, how to recognize it, and how to support resilience.
On April 4, the CBE’s Well-Being team will host a free online session where parents will be able to join and learn from top experts in the field of health promotion, ask questions and receive follow-up materials.
You are invited to join us at the virtual session from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 pm on Tuesday April 4th. Click HERE on Tuesday April 4th at 6:30pm to join the session
Understanding Anxiety
Child and Youth Well-Being Series for Families and Caregivers
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
CBE educators believe that parents and caregivers can inspire their kids to make healthy lifestyle choices and increase protective factors — in order to do so, they need the right tools and information.
Since our understanding of student health and well-being is evolving, it is important for parents to stay up-to-date on the same information so everyone is supporting student success.
This is the fourth session offered in a five-part Child and Youth Well-Being for Families and Caregivers learning series that is offered at no-cost to all Calgary Board of Education employees, families, and community members between December 2022 and May 2023.
The intention of the series is to advance student well-being by raising family and caregiver’s understanding of a variety of health-related topics. Each session focuses on reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors.
Basketball Season has Arrived…
The 2023 Try-Out and Practice Schedule is located here:
https://school.cbe.ab.ca/School/Repository/SBAttachments/e451e5e9-450c-46ff-878e-5bebe47fc4da_2023Basketballtryoutpracticeschedule.pdf
As with other interschool athletics seasons, we work with the Schools in our Division to establish guidelines for hosting home games. Our Division has decided on the following:
For home games, DGS student spectators are welcome to attend the FIRST game of the evening only. Teachers will help students find the exits at this time.
No unparented spectators from other schools will be permitted at DGS home games.
No unparented DGS students are to attend other schools.
Parents attending Away games with their own child are asked to care for no more students than you have seatbelts in your vehicle. This is to prevent one parent from being “responsible” for students they did not bring with them to an Away game or that they do not know.
Journalism Request for Interviews: The Human Library Project
Grade 9 Journalism students are working on developing their interviewing skills through asking thoughtful and engaging questions as a means to gain deeper insight into a topic/idea.
We are hoping to host a “Human Library” experience (can be either in-person or digital through Microsoft Teams) on April 6th from 8:30am-9:30am where willing parent participants can be interviewed by one of our students. The purpose of a “Human Library” is to share one’s experiences and build a sense of empathy and understanding, as well as extend one’s understanding on a particular topic and/or issue. For more information on this topic, please see: https://humanlibrary.org/
Ms. Cardwell asked the students to compile a potential list of “Human Titles” that they might be interested in interviewing during the process. Some of the “Titles of Interest” students generated include (but are not limited to):
First Responder (law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, nurses, ER doctors)
Pilot
Chef
Actor
Oil & Gas Experts
Social Worker
Refugee
Immigrant
Musician
Writer
Climate Activist
Meteorologist
Game Developer
Entrepreneur
Lawyer
We love that we have interesting community members with stories to share!
If you have an area of expertise above (or something not mentioned), a story, or just are willing to come in and to meet a grade 9 student and be interviewed, please let Ms. Cardwell know at kpcardwell@cbe.ab.ca. We welcome family members of students from all Grade Levels to participate.
Upcoming Dates:
March 27 – 31
April 7
April 10
April 11
April 25
As always, please feel free to contact me at csmalette@cbe.ab.ca OR 403 817 3556.
Chantal Malette
Principal, Dr. George Stanley School
