As the first term draws to a close, it is a time to reflect on our success and accomplishments these past three months as we look forward to December days.
September 19 marked the day for our annual Terry Fox Run that is intended to raise awareness and funds in support of cancer research. Through the generosity of the community the school raised just over $ 2,000. As always, MTS families, showed their care and kindness for others in supporting this cause. An added bonus in meeting our goal was that Mr. Van Sluys sported a “tutu". This year, in solidarity with Mr. V. students and staff were invited to don a tutu for the day and join in the fun.
The fall term marked the completion of our in-school artistic/physical residencies with Three Left Feet Dance Company (K-2) and Alien In-Line Skating (3&4). We thank parents who through their fund-raising organization and support provide our students with the opportunity to extend their learning through these unique experiences. It was energizing to have parents in the school to enjoy watching their child’s accomplishment and performance and to support in the skating program.
The grade 4 students once again presented a memorable Remembrance Day assembly that was filled with music, and the representation of story, history and events through poetry and video. Students in the school had the opportunity to attend the assembly in the gym. Student art related to Remembrance Day once again beautifully decorated the walls of the school.
Parent- teacher conferences in November provided the opportunity to discuss student learning and achievement, celebrate student success and set goals for the future. Students will receive their first of two report cards on January 30, 2024 and the second report card at the end of June. The report cards will ba accessible online to parents through their CBE accounts.
Our Scholastic Book Fair during the week of parent conferences in November was highly successful. We do not have a final figure for net sales but based on the active purchasing of items by students and parents we expect that the event will raise significant funds to support the development of our library collection. We thank parents for their generosity in supporting their children as readers and for the support of the book fair at the school which provides for the enrichment of the school library. Thanks to our Library Assistant, Mrs. McLean for her organization and to the parents who volunteered to help at the book fair. Our Learning Commons continues to be a beautiful, well-resourced, and favourite learning space for students and teachers in our school.
Do You Have A Green Thumb?
As mentioned above our Learning Commons is a serene and bright area of our school that is further enriched and made healthy through the many plants that are part of the Living Wall and other beautiful plants that thrive in the bright natural light that shines through every day in the space. We are in need of some support from a parent(s) who might be interested in helping us maintain the greenery. This support would require watering the plants on a weekly basis and planting, repotting, weeding and trimming the plants. If there are individuals who could commit an hour a week (based on your availability) to help “keep us green” it would be much appreciated. Please contact Tara Robinson in the office if you can help us with this at the school.
Parking
A reminder that the staff parking lot is off limits for parking and for student pick up and drop off during school days and evenings when school functions such as Parent Teacher Conferences take place. Many of our staff have different start and end times throughout the day and as a result, we have vehicles, including large garbage/recycling trucks, constantly coming and going which creates an unsafe environment for students in the parking lot. Thank you for placing the safety of all students over your convenience.
​School Development Planning
Each year, our school prepares a development plan with input from teachers, school staff, students and parents. We review many sources of data, including report cards, provincial achievement test results and school surveys. Based on this information, we create our plan identifying targeted areas for growth. Our school development plan is not meant to represent all of the work that takes place in our school, but rather it focuses on specific areas for improvement. Our school also prepares a results plan, which looks at our previous school year. It shows our students' achievement and progress in meeting the goals and outcomes as set out by the CBE and Alberta Education, outlines some of the highlights of our school development plan and gives an overview of our school. These documents are available on our school website.
Grade One Winter and Christmas Celebration
This year our grade one students will be providing a celebration of song and poetry of the season on Thursday, December 14 at 8:15 am and 1:15pm. Please note these concerts will take place during the day- there will not be an evening performance. Family members may choose to attend either the morning or afternoon celebration. The concerts will take place in the west open area of the school. We thank Mrs. Allford who has been filling in for Ms. Morgan, our Music Specialist who has been on medical leave. Mrs. Allford has been working with our grade one teachers to prepare the students for the performance. We anticipate that on Ms. Morgan’s return we will be offering spring concerts at the other grade levels, and the continuation of lunch time Musical club activities.
McKenzie Towne School Supports the Magic of Christmas
Every year, MTS supports a charity of choice to demonstrate the characteristics of citizenship. This holiday season, we are asking MTS students and community to once again support The Magic of Christmas. This charity loads up magically transformed Calgary Transit buses that look like Reindeer Buses on Christmas Eve with gifts and volunteers dressed as Santa and his elves. These Reindeer buses deliver the Christmas spirit to homes and families that need it most. In previous years our school community has demonstrated their generous nature by filling box after box of new toys, and personal and household items in order to spread some magic during the holiday season. Please watch for a School Messenger notice in December that will provide further details of how families can support this charity through school donations.​
​On behalf of the staff here at MTS I would like to extend to all our families the very best wishes for a peaceful, restful, and healthy winter break. The last day of classes is Friday, December 22. We will see you back on Monday, January 8, 2024.
Dr. Lorraine Slater, Principal​