​It is hard to believe that March begins next week. Before you know it, we will be getting ready for our Spring Break!
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all the parents and guardians who are using our drop and go in the mornings or parking and walking to school, even with the cold weather. We will continue to use our pylons out front to help drivers understand where the no stopping zone is in front of our crosswalk. Please know that the pylons are not a place where parents drop off their children. It is a no stopping area. We remind all families to be sure to use the crosswalk when crossing the street as jay-walking is illegal. We need to do our best to keep our students and families safe. We will be working with School Council and our CPS Resource Officer to hold a traffic blitz during the month of March. More information will come out at a later date.
I would also like to remind parents that students are to use the front door if they arrive late to school. All drivers should use the round-about by Monsignor Doyle and drop off children in our drop and go zone along Scurfield Way. Students know that they are to use the sidewalk that leads to our front door, come to the front door and ring the bell so they can be let inside the school. The side entry door is closed just after 8:30 as teachers need to go to class and begin teaching. Our little drive loop directly in front of our school is only used by emergency vehicles, buses and daycare vans as well as CBE distribution services. If you pick up your child early, please use the street for parking and not our loop.
Our third round of learning conferences will be on Thursday, March 11 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Friday, March 12 from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. Please book your conferences through MyCBE/Powerschool which will open to parents on Sunday, February 28 at 7:00 am. Each conference time slot will be 15 minutes in length, so please be ready to receive a call from your child's teacher during your scheduled time. Learning conferences are an important component of the learning process and your child's learning journey. They are used as an opportunity to celebrate your child's successes and set goals for the next steps in learning.
Did you know that your children have an on-line learning portfolio? Please make time for your child to log into their Iris accounts and show you some of their learning tasks that they have accomplished or are working on – a great way to 'see' what they have learned after talking with their teacher. I have included a brief 'How to' info sheet on Iris at the end of my principal message.
As you can see, there is much going on at Scenic Acres School! Not only are we involved in many exciting learning adventures, we are also planning next year's calendar. If you know that you are moving out of the Scenic Acres community before September 2021 school start up, please contact the office so that we can adjust our school enrolment and plan accordingly for the 2021-22 school year. 
In closing, I would like to send out a very special thank you to the special events committee for supporting our 'Community Valentine' task. The students and staff alike enjoyed the day celebrating kindness and generosity together. The students were also very happy to receive pencils and erasers on this special day. Thank you as well to the families who tried the sugar cookie recipe!
Stay safe everyone!
 Sincerely,
Carol Hansen
 
How to Access Iris
Go to our school website: www.cbe.ab.ca/b352
Scroll to bottom of page and click on the quick link Iris. Your children will be prompted to enter into their learning plan using their username (student ID number) and their password. Once they have logged in you will be able to look at the artifacts that they have posted.
Please remember that this digital portfolio is developmental in nature. Types of postings you may see are:
-Pictures or samples of work in progress
-A special accomplishment
-Finished products
-Recordings of reading samples
Our students are excited to share their learning plans with you. Please take the time to look at their artifacts, ask questions about their learning and help support them in identifying what the next steps are for them. Through your conversation and viewing of student work, you should have a better insight into your children as learners.
If you have any questions about accessing Iris, please contact your child's teacher.