The month of March brings to an end the winter term at school. The promise of spring is not far behind. It has been a busy few months at MTS. The pandemic has presented additional challenges in terms of student and staff absences due to illness. January was a particularly difficult month with staff members needing to be home to recover and /or isolate due to the virus. As a result the CBE, and McKenzie Towne School struggled on some days to cover staff absence. Your child may have had several different substitute teachers as we maintained in school learning, often through redeployment of staff and internal administrative coverage of classes. As the case count has decreased, and restrictions have eased, we breathe a sigh of relief, as we are filled with the hope that we can once again “do things the way we have always done them” at home, school, and the world.
Staffing Update
I want to provide an update on staffing. I would like to thank Mr. Bruce Johnston who was Acting Principal for a couple of weeks in February when I was away from the school. Thanks also to our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Crosby and Learning Leader, Ms. Blake who supported in administrative responsibilities. We have welcomed back Mrs. Burch to the school as she has partnered with Mrs. Watson in the grade one class for the past month in transitioning back to full time teaching responsibilities. Thank you to Mrs. Watson who has done amazing work with the grade one class since the start of the school year in Mrs. Burch’s absence. The students have enjoyed having two teachers for the past month and will be sad to say goodbye to Mrs. Watson while coming to know and welcome Mrs. Burch. Ms. Cotton continues on medical leave and Mrs. Rachel Wuetherick has capably assumed responsibility for her Kindergarten and Music teaching assignment. Also, we welcome Ms. Morgan to the school, covering for Mrs. Kruger who is on medical leave. We are pleased to have Mrs. Penner in the literacy and math support role while Ms. Cooper continues her responsibilities with the grade 3 class as we await further notice about this funding initiative from the Alberta government.
Parent Conferences
March is a short month with parent conferences on March 10 and 11. We would like to invite all parents to join us for upcoming virtual conferences. Parents are asked to book an individual 15 minute conference time with the teacher through their CBE account.
Thursday, March 10 (Grades 1-4 conferences: 4:00pm – 8:00pm) (Kindergarten conferences: 8:00 am - 12:00pm and 4:00pm- 8:00pm)
· Regular day of instruction for 1-4 students, no school for Kindergarten
Friday, March 11 (8:00am – 1:00pm)
· No School for Students Online registration for meeting times is available through MyCBE/PowerSchool as of Saturday, March 5 at 8am.
To join the online conference, open the conference confirmation email or the calendar invitation. Scroll to the connection link and click the link Join Microsoft Teams Meeting. If the conference confirmation email has been misplaced, parents can obtain all conference details by logging into School Conferences via their MyCBE/PowerSchool account.
Please call the school if you require help or support with booking your conference. The conference is the opportunity for parents to meet with their child’s teacher in conversation about their child’s learning. Teachers will have samples of student work to share with parents in speaking about student learning and assessment.
Traffic and Safety
We would like to thank our dog owners who are walking their dogs to school on a leash and saying their goodbyes from the sidewalk or school ground boundaries. We truly appreciate everyone’s effort in this regard.
There have been ongoing concerns expressed over our parking lot and student drop-off and pick-up times. We are asking for your help in making MTS a safe place for our students to attend. We continue to experience difficulty with the parking situations around the school. The signage is very clear where parking is permitted and is placed in a manner to allow all our children to walk to school in a safe environment. Our Bus Zone is designed to allow the buses an easy/safe approach and departure from the front of the school.
Our staff parking lot is at its maximum capacity and having parents drop students off in the parking lot is against school board regulations. This is due to the fact it creates a very unsafe situation for our children walking to school who use the sidewalk that crosses over the entrance to the lot. The staff parking lot is for staff only. Parents should not be entering or parking in the staff parking lot.
Calgary Parking Authority continues to be contacted by a number of our neighbours who have had their driveways and garage doors blocked by parents/guardians of students attending our school. We strive to do our best to be good neighbours and as parents/guardians of students at MTS, you are all representatives of our school community. Unfortunately, the actions of a few can reflect on the whole, and we were saddened to hear about the lack of courtesy being offered to our neighbours and to each other regarding these safety issues.
Please read the reminders from The Parking Authority to familiarize yourself with the City of Calgary Parking Bylaws.
· Avoid double parking
· Watch for signs indicating ‘No Stopping’ and ‘No Parking’ zones
· Leave 5 metres (16 feet) between your car and any crosswalk markings. This will ensure children are visible when they enter the crosswalk.
· School bus zones must be kept clear so children can step off the bus and onto a curb instead of exiting into a busy street.
· Parking too close to stop signs, yield signs or intersections makes it difficult to see children in the area and obstructs the view of other motorists. A distance of 5 metres is required.
· Blocking entrances to garages or driveways angers neighbours. Stay back at least 1.5 metres (5 feet).
All parking infractions in school zones are subject to a minimum $50 fine. Please park responsibly and help make streets safe for our children.
Parent Surveys
There are two surveys that we ask parents to complete- one is for all parents and the other the provincial School Assurance Survey is for grade 4 parents.
1) School Planning Survey 2022
Learn and Share | School Planning
We know we make better decisions to support student learning when we build understanding and work together. That’s why we are asking you to share your perspectives about our school development plan, school budget and school fees.
· The survey is open from February 28th, 2022 to March 16th, 2022. Please visit: https://mckenzietowne.cbedialogue.com/en/projects/school-planning-survey-2022/engagements/mckenzie-towne-school-planning-survey-2022-elementary to complete the survey.
2) Alberta Education Assurance (AEA) Survey
Parents of students in grade 4 should have received an AEA survey in the mail that can be completed online with the random access code mailed to you. Children in grade 4 will also be completing a student version of the survey here at the school during our regular instructional hours. All surveys are anonymous and the results will be shared next fall at our School Council meeting and on the school's website.
The last day of school before spring break is March 18th. Students return to school on Monday, March 28th. Please take time to relax and rejuvenate over the break.
Sincerely,
Dr. Lorraine Slater, Principal
