Dear DGS Families,
We did it! Welcome back to school!
Thank you so much for an amazing start to the school year with students and families. We took Thursday and Friday to welcome our new 6s and to get our Grade 7-9 students settled for a new year of learning. Currently, our enrolment is over our projected 661 students for this year, and we continue to register new students every day. We do not anticipate being able to make any changes to homeroom placements due to this continued rise in enrolment. One of the things we work very hard to do in the Spring is to create classes that contain a balance of students whose learning is made better by being together, a balance of students who have diverse learning needs, and a balance of numbers of students in each grouping. The same is true regarding exploratory classes- we are not able to make changes to course enrolments at this time. All exploratory courses will start on Monday September 11- this allows homeroom teachers additional time to build community in their classrooms and allows our exploratory teachers the opportunity to provide additional support to students who may need it as they transition from one grade to another or from one school to another.
Pantsing and Middle School Students: Why is it a big deal?
From time to time, I share information about things we are working on with students in our school community. This week, we have been working with students on why it is NOT okay to “pants” someone, even if they are your friend and even if we are “just kidding.” The intent of pantsing is, at the core, to humiliate someone. It falls into the same category as hazing and bullying behaviours, and we address it via progressive discipline. Thank you so much for helping us help our adolescents understand how to treat the other humans around them.
Grade Teams:
I am happy to share our Grade Teams and School Staff for the 2023-2024 School Year. We look forward to serving your students and families this school year.
Grade 6:
61- Ms. Janice Ramsay- LL
62- Ms. Laura Schwarz
63- Mr. Jonathan Look
64- Ms. Krysta Moore
65- Mr. Dmitry Shapoval
66- Ms. Bobby Ray Cody
Grade 7:
71- Ms. Anne Binks- LL
72- Mr. Garrett Klein
73- Mr. Tim Gordon
74- Ms. Katelynn Dutton
75- Mr. Adrian Murphy
76- Ms. Sarah Duhra and Ms. Kaja Hansen
Grade 8:
81- Mr. Adam Bailey- LL
82- Ms. Erin Markusoff
83- Ms. Jenna Lyster
84- Mr. Theo Titopoulos
85- Ms. Jessilyn Shank
Grade 9:
91- Ms. Katherine Cardwell- LL
92- Mr. Michael Evans
93- Ms. Kimberly Schumacher- LL
94- Mr. Doug Buist
95- Ms. Rebecca Brunsch
96- Ms. Megan Richardson
PE:
Ms. Sherri Collens
Mr. Spencer Hudson
Mr. Luke Dyer
Exploratories (Fine Arts and CTF):
Mr. Sanjay Bhandari- LL
Ms. Emily Thomas
Ms. Julia Viola
Student Services:
Ms. Brenda Wright- LL
Support Staff:
Ms. Anne MacInnes- EA
Ms. Hannah Engel- Lunch Supervisor
Ms. Dawn Koltusky- Lunch Supervisor
Ms. Chelsey Webster- School Secretary
Ms. Michelle Tremblay- Bookkeeper
Ms. Teresa Ardelan- Administrative Assistant
Admin Team:
Mr. Kenzie Rushton- Assistant Principal
Ms. Chantal Malette- Principal
Online Forms
School Engage digital forms regarding Demographics Verification and Annual Media Authorizations will be available shortly for parents to complete. We know the system can be a bit temperamental and it may take a few tries to be able to successfully complete the form.
Paper copies of the Annual Authorization for Athletics Try-outs forms will be provided to families this week in conjunction with try-outs and practice. Forms must be returned with parent signatures before students can participate.
Fall Interschool Sports Teams
Tryouts for Cross Country and Soccer are underway, with Basketball starting this week. The September Calendar for Fall Sports is posted on the DGS School website and has been attached to this message for your family’s reference. All tryout and practice schedules are made available on our school website for families and student athletes.
Basketball Schedule- Basketball2024tryoutandpracticeschedule.pdf
Cross Country Schedule- CCWebsite.pdf
Soccer Schedule- SoccerSchedule2023-revAug30.pdf
Grade 6 Students and Noon Hour Supervision
All Grade 6 students who stay at DGS for lunch MUST be registered for noon supervision. We have two fabulous lunchroom supervisors who work with students daily. Students who go home every day at lunch must check out and sign back in. Grade 6 is the last year families pay the noon supervision fee. We provide additional supervision for ALL DGS students so they can enjoy a safe lunch break. Noon Supervision (and registration) information can be found here:
https://cbe.ab.ca/programs/noon-supervision/Pages/default.aspx
Bikes, Scooters, Skateboards
We love seeing students riding their bikes, scooters, and skateboards to and from school. Please send your child with a sturdy lock to lock their bike, scooter or skateboard up each day. We have locking outdoor skateboard and scooter racks and these items cannot be stored in lockers, classrooms, or the main office. When locking a scooter to the racks with a bike lock, it’s important for the lock to be would around the rack several times and/or through one of the scooter wheels. The same applies to skateboards. Families also need to provide their child with a helmet suitable for the activity. It’s also a good time to remind families to register your child’s bike at https://bikeindex.org/, which is used by CPS in the recovery of stolen bicycles. Should your child’s bike or other property be stolen from any location, report it online at https://www.calgary.ca/cps/report-a-crime.html. Please note that the CBE is not responsible for theft or loss of personal property and use of bike and skateboard racks is at individual risk.
Soft Entry and Bell Times
Students are welcome at school beginning at 8:00am. Supervision is provided for students in their classrooms and in the halls until classes begin at 8:30am.
School Hours:
Morning Classes Start 8:30am
Lunch (Grade 6 and 7) 12:15pm-12:50pm
Lunch (Grade 8 and 9) 11:30am-12:05pm
Dismissal (M-R) 2:55pm
Dismissal (F) 11:55am
Parent Fundraising Society “Meet the Teacher 50/50 Draw”
We can’t wait to see you all on the evening of September 21! Who couldn’t use a little cash for late September? Our last 50/50 draw saw the winner walk away with just over $2000 in prize money. Funds raised last Fall have been invested in the purchase of 5 additional iPads for classrooms. We have 17 days until the big draw! Click here to get in the game:
https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/dgsfundraising
Principal Social Media
If you’re interested in some of the “learning happenings” at our school, follow me on twitter at @csmalette. Tweets are my own but are very often me capturing “evidence” of student and teacher learning all around our building. I use what I capture when I am talking to our staff, students, and our Director about what we see in our school.
Healthy Hunger Ordering and School Servery
We are in the process of setting up Healthy Hunger for this year. Details will come to you in a separate message. The school servery will re-open on Monday Sept 11. Students are able to purchase small “healthier option” snack items and drinks. We wouldn’t recommend trying to have it be your student’s whole lunch. Hot water for soups, etc. will be available at the server. We do not have microwaves for student use and foods sent need to be consumable in the form you send them.
School Store:
We have again partnered with Pro Sport Clothing Company for our school branded items. The store will close at midnight on September 23, and orders are expected to be delivered to your home address around Thanksgiving. Check out our swag here:
https://drgeorgeaug2023.itemorder.com/shop/home/
Busses
Students who take the yellow school bus are encouraged to be at the bus zone as soon as school dismisses for the day. The bus zone is located along Cranston Road. Students are expected to make their way independently to the bus. Adults are in the bus zone to support students in getting on the correct bus. I want to send a huge THANK YOU to all of our families who are not attempting to stop, drop-off or park in our Bus Zone. Our school’s growth means we now have 6 busses coming to our building daily. An expansion of the bus zone along Cranston Road is in the works. Transportation (and registration) information can be found here:
https://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/busing-and-transportation/Pages/default.aspx
Important Upcoming Dates:
September 14
September 15
September 21
September 22
September 26
September 29
As always, I am available to answer questions- csmalette@cbe.ab.ca
Sincerely,
Chantal Malette
Principal, Dr. George Stanley School
