Dear DGS Families,
We want to take a moment and start with an enormous THANK-YOU to all of our families who came to start the conversations with teachers about their students this year. We loved having all of you out, and I greatly enjoyed the time I was able to spend with alumni, families and students. An additional shout-out to our Parent Fundraising Society for arranging our Food Trucks AND for kicking off their fundraising year with a $1,047.50 prize won by Kaja Selnes. This fundraiser has contributed close to $1000 for student activities at our school!
The Continued Work of Reconciliation- Activities Leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
This week, our students and teachers have taken up work in our school related to our June 2023 Truth and Reconciliation commitment to further strengthening our learning community’s ties to land-based learning. We are taking guidance from our CBE Indigenous Education Team related to moving the work forward in a good way. Students are welcome to wear Orange any or all days this week. Each Grade Team has been asked to communicate their learning plan this week with families. This week, in a system meeting, I was quite taken with Director Lori Pritchard’s words- “reconciliation IS an act of citizenship.”
Assessment Information in Power School
Starting at the end of this week, core teachers will begin entering assessment information for viewing into PowerSchool. Teachers are expected to update PowerSchool with at least one piece of assessment information in each core subject area. These updates are available for viewing every other Friday in PowerSchool. Sitting down with your child and talking about their progress and achievement is a great way to stay involved with their learning.
Now is a great time to clarify what the information you see in PowerSchool means. The purpose of the assessment information provided in PowerTeacher Pro is to provide families with ongoing information as to how their student is demonstrating progress, growth and achievement toward attaining the intended learning goals, which represent outcomes from Programs of Study.
This information is provided through both formative and summative practices. Formative assessment is learning information that is gathered frequently and on an ongoing basis during instruction. It is used by teachers to plan for instruction and additional assessments, and to monitor student progress so teachers can provide timely and actionable feedback to students. For example, you may see an “observation” or “conversation” documented with accompanying comments from a teacher.
Summative assessment is gathered by teachers at the end of each learning cycle to verify to what extent students have achieved the intended learning goals. Summative assessment is used to make judgements about the quality of student learning as measured against established criteria to support the communication of information about achievement to students and families. This might look like a 1-4 on the indicator scale applied to one or more outcomes associated with that task or assignment.
Should you have any questions about the assessment information you see, please contact your child’s core teachers and they are happy to provide clarification and context. If, after Friday, you cannot see any assessment information for your student, please contact your child’s teachers directly and they will be able to look into it.
Terry Fox Run
Our Grade 7 and 8 Leadership Students are pleased to present this year’s Terry Fox Run. Our run will be held on the morning of Friday October 6, 2023. Our school-wide fundraising goal is $2000.00. If we start with every student and staff member bringing a toonie, we will be at just over $1400!!!! The top fundraising homeroom will be gifted a lunchtime pizza party. This is possible through an anonymous community donor. THANK YOU! Students will participate in the run during their typical Friday PLC Block that day. Winning homeroom will be announced on Tuesday October 9, with their party taking place on Thursday October 12. #tryforterry
InterSchool Athletics Expectations
Monday marked the beginning of our first indoor interschool athletics season of play for the year, and we are hosting games every night this week. Please note the following for all games played at Dr. George Stanley School:
DGS Students:
DGS students will be able to view the first home game (4:30pm start) without parent/guardian supervision. Students are to remain in the main gym watching the game.
Once the first game is complete, school administration will help all DGS students without a parent/guardian leave the building.
DGS students will need to be directly supervised by a parent/guardian if they would like to stay and/or return at any point after the first game is complete.
DGS students are expected to be in the main gym watching the game(s) and supporting all players/coaches/referees/parents/guardians in a positive manner. Any student who is not meeting the CBE Student Code of Conduct will be escorted out of the gym and school and may lose future viewing privileges.
Please note that DGS students should not attend games at any other school without a parent present.
Students From Other Schools:
Will not be admitted into the school, for any game(s), unless accompanied by a parent/guardian who stays for the duration of the time the student is in the building.
Once teams from other schools have completed their games for the evening, all players must exit the building, unless accompanied by a parent/guardian who stays for the duration of the time the student is in the building.
Student athletes who arrive before their coaches will be asked to wait at the tables in the main hall until their coach arrives.
All Parents and Guardians:
All parents/guardians are welcome to attend all games at DGS.
Parents/guardians who bring family members under the age of 18 are expected to supervise their child(ren) in the main gym.
All parents/guardians are expected to cheer/support all payers/coaches/referees/parents/guardians in a positive manner.
If parents/guardians are engaging in any inappropriate behaviour directed towards players/coaches/referees/other parents/guardians/school staff or school administration, the game will be paused and the parent/guardian will be asked to stop. If the inappropriate behaviour continues, the game will be stopped again and will not re-start until the parent/guardian leaves the gym and school property. If removed, the parent/guardian may lose future viewing privileges at DGS.
Our main goal is to provide and safe and fun opportunity for students.
Fall Interschool Sports Teams
Practices, meets and some games for Cross Country, Soccer and Basketball are all underway. 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. If you have questions, we ask that you contact your child’s coach directly.
Basketball Schedule
Cross Country Schedule
Soccer Schedule
When’s Lunch? What to Bring Each Day…
This week we have seen an increase in the number of students coming without lunch. While we keep a minimal stock of emergency lunches on hand, we want to remind families that food for lunch is quite important to learning readiness in the afternoon. Healthy Hunger deliveries began, and we are offering a wider selection of food for sale in our servery at lunch. Items range in price from $1-3 dollars. We continue to offer hot water for soup.
Did You Know…
When we offer field trips, we want all students to be able to participate, free from financial barriers. If you are facing challenges with fieldtrip fees, please let your child’s homeroom teacher know, and we are happy to set up alternate funding and/or payment arrangements.
Come Volunteer At DGS.
We welcome volunteers on field trips and with certain tasks at school or at home. Many activities or field trips would not be possible without the active participation of our volunteers. Follow this link for steps to volunteer with the CBE. As a CBE volunteer, you must have completed the Annual-Volunteer-Registration-Form.pdf and have a current police information check (PIC) to volunteer in the school CPS Vulnerable Police Information Check. If your PIC is not up to date you will need a volunteer letter. If you need to check if your clearance is still valid, please complete the registration form and send it to the office, so that we can look it up.
New this school year: the fee for a Police Information Check is no longer paid for by the CBE. The cost is $21.25.
Please note- from the CPIC website main page as of today:
"Processing: Police Information Checks are processed in date order. We are currently experiencing high volumes. We will not respond to status inquiries unless a full month has passed from the date your application was submitted. Once you have applied, please be sure to follow any further instructions you receive. Your patience is appreciated while we process your application. Results are available in your account for 60 days from completion. Please make sure you download and save a copy within this timeframe if desired. Your certificate will not be accessible in your account past 60 days, however, will be accessible if saved to a personal desktop or folder. Applications will not be processed immediately or expedited. We process all applications in date order of being received."
DGS Parent Fundraising Society
We are very excited about our upcoming Casino on December 9 and 10 at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino. We need approximately 50 people to be able to cover our shifts. This is a high value fundraiser that has afforded our students access to additional chrome books, learning commons materials, and fieldtrip busses. The sign-up link will be ready to go next week!
Purple Casino Night Invitation.jpg
Important Upcoming Dates:
September 29
- Observance of National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (SCHOOL CLOSED)
October 9
- Thanksgiving (SCHOOL CLOSED)
As always, I am available to answer questions- csmalette@cbe.ab.ca
Chantal Malette
Principal, Dr. George Stanley School
