| Dear Silver Springs School Families,
As we conclude 2022, and break for the winter holiday, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who help make Silver Springs School an amazing place to be. In the spirit of this holiday season, I want to extend my thanks to all of you for everything that you do for our school. I thank our staff, both teachers and support staff, for their continued dedication to this hard work, their ability to connect and develop relationships with our students, their special way of bringing the curriculum to life for our students so that they learn to love learning, and for the caring learning community they help to build in their classrooms and our school. Parents, of course, you are such a critical part in helping to accomplish all that we hope for at Silver Springs School. I am grateful to you for all that you do as parents and acknowledge that you take on the hardest, but most rewarding and joyous job of all. Thank you for entrusting us with your most precious gifts. I am grateful to our wonderful, kind, creative, inquisitive, optimistic, and caring students. Often, they make us laugh, sometimes they make us cry, but always they make us think. Most of all, they make us better. I am so proud of their hard work and the way they create a special sense of belonging at Silver Springs School. Sincere gratitude to all our families and staff members who showed such generosity in purchasing gifts or gift cards from our Giving Tree. Through this initiative, we were able to help six of our own school families have a happy holiday. Here are some of their thanks: “Thank you so much for the support. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of the members of the community! It was so meaningful to pick up that box yesterday.” And “I wanted to express my gratitude for the gifts I picked up today for us. I'm thrilled to be able to make our family’s Christmas extra special. Thanks to our school community for supporting us this Christmas.” I want to acknowledge the hard work of the School Council parents who organized the return of the Santa’s Workshop event. We were astounded at the generosity of the families who donated so many wonderful, gently used “gifts” for our students to choose from. We also want to share our deep appreciation to all our other parent volunteers who gave up their time to sort items, wrap, and clean-up our Santa’s Workshop. We hope you enjoy the presents your children picked out just for you. We also want to celebrate that we were able to raise $496.55, which has already been donated to the Calgary Food Bank. It is also during this time, that I am reminded of my own good fortune to serve as the proud principal of Silver Springs School. Indeed, my career as a public-school educator has afforded me vast, varied and richly rewarding opportunities to teach and to learn from young people. Of course, I believe the faces of our children best express the true meaning of this special season. They radiate a sense of unbridled enthusiasm, untainted hope and unabashed joy for life and the opportunities that await them. As we enjoy the upcoming holidays, it is my wish that each of you receives and returns the seasonal bounty of blessings and good tidings that make these days truly special. We look forward to what lies ahead for us as a school community in 2023 - new learning experiences, new challenges, new opportunities and the joy that it will bring. To our families and friends of the Silver Springs School community, please have a safe and joyous holiday season. Please click this link and enjoy a special seasonal greeting. Michelle Ryskamp, Principal
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| Hello Silver Springs School Families,
The staff at Silver Springs School are so very excited to welcome you and your children to the new school year. We want to take this opportunity to share some important back-to-school information to help alleviate any worries that you or your child might be experiencing at this time of new starts and changes.
Our staff is committed to creating a safe, welcoming and caring learning community for our students. We are also committed to providing students with multiple opportunities to grow and learn, to knowing them as both a learner and a person, to cultivating wonder and a love of learning, and making this school year fun and engaging. Our teachers will work with each student to ascertain where they are in relation to the grade level curriculum and will take each student forward from where they are at.
School Organization We think that word has gotten out that Silver Springs was voted the #1 community in Calgary and with that our student registrations have continued to increase over the summer months. We look forward to meeting and welcoming many new students this year. We are hoping that all registered students will return to school by the first week and that we will not need to make any changes to class configurations or school organization. Below are our teacher assignments for the 2022-23 school year.
| Grade | Teacher | Room | | Kindergarten | Mrs Meredith Wilkes | 7 | | 1 / 2 | Mrs Nicole Ballinger | 2 | | 1 / 2 | Mrs Tammy Neufeld | 3 | 1 / 2
| Mrs Rebecca Ibbotson | 4 | | 3 / 4 | Mr Chris Teixeira | 1 | | 3 / 4 | Mrs Dana Downey | 8 | | 3 / 4 | Mrs Stefanie Markle | 10 | | 5 / 6 | Mrs Jackie Bates | 5 | | 5 / 6 | Mrs Beth Currie | 6 | | 5 / 6 | Miss Becky Dumoulin | 9 | | Music | Mrs Coreen Blenkhorne | |
Teachers will be contacting families by Tuesday afternoon to introduce themselves and provide first day of school information to their students and families. Additionally, we have assigned entry doors for all grades.
Start of Day:
This coming year, we will no longer have the flexible entry time. Supervision will be provided starting at 8:15 each morning. Students are asked to line up at their entry doors. The entry bell will ring at 8:27 and students will be welcomed into their classrooms. Instruction begins at 8:30. Any student arriving after 8:30 is considered late and must check in at the main office. Entry and Exit Doors: Door #1 Front door– Kindergarten, Room 1 Door #2 Front door (compound) by bike racks– Rooms 2, 3 and 4 Door #3 West door facing school playground– Rooms 8 and 10 Door #4 Back of school – Rooms 5, 6 and Room 9 Recess for all Students: Monday – Thursday: All Grade 1-6 students 10:30 – 10:44 Friday: Flexible recess Lunch: Grade 1-4: 12:00 – 12: 43 (Eat 12:00-12:21, Outside 12:21 – 12:43) Grade 5-6: 12:21 – 1:04 (Outside 12:21 -12:43, Eat 12:43-1:04) Fridays: No lunch as dismissal is at 12:35 pm Students in Grades 1 / 2 and 5 / 6 will eat in their classrooms. Students in Grades 3 /4 will eat in the library. Student School Supplies: Students will be provided with their own set of basic school supplies. The Library will be open and students will be permitted to sign out books to use both in class and take home. At this time of year, we want to be mindful of our driving and parking habits to ensure all of our students arrive safely and depart safely from school each day. Please honor the No Parking Zone in front of the school spanning from the crosswalk to the staff parking lot as this area is designated for our school buses. We understand that many parents want to ensure their child knows where to go in the first few days of school and we expect increased traffic flow around the school this coming week. Please pack your patience! School staff will be on supervision every school day beginning at 8:15am and will be visible in their yellow vests. We encourage as many parents as possible to drop their students at the edge of the school grounds (once they become familiar with their entry doors) each day. Similarly, at the end of the day, we encourage families to create a meeting spot at the edge of the school grounds to receive their child after school.
There will be so much more to share in the coming days and weeks. Individual teacher communication as well as communications from the school will come via School Messenger, so please ensure you are signed up to receive school emails and are checking your email regularly.
We wish everyone a restful last few days of summer holidays and look forward to seeing you Thursday, September 1, 2022 beginning at 8:15 am!
This is going to be a great year! Sincerely,
Michelle Ryskamp Principal, Silver Springs School Danica Burrows
Assistant Principal, Silver Springs School
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| Dear Silver Springs School Families, This school year has been another one for the record books. Without a doubt, the flexibility, compassion, and trust of our amazing Silver Springs team, students and community members has ensured our continued success through the school year. We were faced with many positive Covid cases, endless sanitization, countless messages home, isolation, at-home and in-person learning and following constantly changing health measures, and all of us, as part of a Silver Springs School learning community persisted, finding new ways to make things better, safer, great! We remain optimistic and hopeful for the fall of 2022, knowing that we are returning to a more ‘normal’ schooling experience, and together we can manage anything that is thrown our way.
Over the last year students have thrived and made us all so proud. Looking back, we are celebrating teaching and learning that is responsive and honours student growth from their own unique starting points. We have had opportunities to extend our outdoor classroom beyond good weather and see the benefits of getting outdoors and reconnecting with the land. June always brings both farewells and welcomes to our Silver Springs team. I believe Winnie the Pooh says it best: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard". Today we say goodbye to our grade 6 students and several staff members on our team. Their hard work, dedication, caring, and passion for children and education is evident in all they do! This includes: Mr. Avery, Mrs. Butterworth, Mrs. Drysdale, Miss Elma, Miss Faber, and Mrs. Sherlow. Further staffing updates to our team and teacher assignments will be made in our welcome back message in the late summer.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our community for trusting us with your precious children, for bringing them ready to learn and participate in school each day. To our staff, your dedication is so evident, thank you for always putting children first in all that you do. And to those who are always behind the scenes supporting and helping: our office staff, EAs, SAs, lunchroom supervisors, and facility team, thank you, your work does not go unnoticed. We also want to thank our hard-working and dedicated Silver Springs School Council, who support our school in countless ways!
It is important to emphasize that the summer is for families to spend time with each other. Don’t stress about schoolwork. In September, we will support students to learn from their starting points. Students and families have lived through a number of extraordinary years. It is important that students spend time relaxing and knowing that they are strong and capable. Reassure them with your calmness, share your strength with them and laugh a lot! This will help students to be centred, regulated, and ready to learn when they return to school.
Please plan to check your email on Tuesday, August 30, when you will receive an email from your child's teacher introducing themselves and providing first day instructions. Enjoy your summer together and we look forward to welcoming everyone back into the school on Thursday, September 1, 2022. Wishing you all a wonderful summer. Be safe, have fun, get some rest and take care of you. - Our school office will close on Thursday, June 30th at 1:00 pm. - The office reopens on Monday, August 29th at 9:00 am. - Your child’s teacher will reach out to you on August 30 via School Messenger. email. They will introduce themselves and let you know where your child will meet them on the first day of school. - Our first day of school will be Thursday, September 1st. School starts at 8:30 am. - More updates will be posted to our school website at the end of August. - A reminder that our Friday dismissal time will be shifting to 12:35pm. - If you have any general questions at that time you can contact the main office at 403-777-6070. Please note that our email and phone messages are not monitored during the summer. We will respond to parent messages within the first few days of school.
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| Dear Silver Springs School Families/ Guardians, It's hard to believe that this is our last update for the 2021 year. Wow, what a year it has been! From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank our school community for working with us at Silver Springs School. As always, we are grateful and appreciative for everyone who makes Silver Springs School such a safe, caring, welcoming, and special place. It is a great privilege to lead this school and work with your children each day. We would like to celebrate the heartwarming generosity shared by our community through our first annual ‘In the Spirit of Giving’ campaign. Together, you donated over $1700 worth of gift cards, which we were able to provide to several of our very own families, helping them to celebrate the holidays in a way they would not have been able to do without you! As we approach Winter Break, we also had the incredible joy of seeing the holidays through the hopes and dreams of children. We have had a fun and exhausting spirit week filled with mischievous elves, festive hats, crazy hair, holiday sweaters, pajamas, and carol singing. A huge thank you goes out to our teachers and support staff who ensured that meaningful learning was occurring each day, even as we counted down to Winter Break. Whatever your holiday traditions are, all of us at Silver Springs School wish you a safe and happy holiday with all the people you care about, and a New Year filled with health and happiness. Looking forward to connecting with you in 2022 and seeing what exciting things the new year has in store for us. Please check out the video below as we send you warm wishes for the holidays.
https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/sled_race/c4234e7d-3b96-48b3-b29d-bf14962cde13
Sincerely, Michelle Ryskamp, Principal Danica Burrow, Assistant Principal Reminders/ Mark Your Calendars: Tues., January 4, 2022 – Classes resume for students Tues., January 11, 2022 – School Council meeting online at 6:30 pm Mon., January. 17, 2022 - Kindergarten registration begins Tues., January 18, 2022 – Pizza Fun Lunch Mon., January 31, 2022 – Non-Instructional Day: No school for students Mon., January 31, 2022 – Term 1 report cards will be ready for viewing on PowerSchool Travel Reminders: Once again, we remind families planning to travel outside of Canada over the winter break to keep informed about changing travel regulations and restrictions. This could impact your child’s return to classes in January. Government regulations currently state that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students cannot attend school for 14 days after their date of return. Please do not send your child to school or you will be will be asked to pick them up and keep them at home until the 14 days have elapsed. MyCBE/PowerSchool Account Unavailable: MyCBE/PowerSchool will undergo routine annual maintenance from Dec. 20 at 8 a.m. to Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. The sign-in page and CBE system status will be updated when this work is complete. Read more on link on the CBE website. Virtual K-6 Draft Curriculum Session and Online Survey: There is an online survey (open until Feb. 2022) that you can participate in. We urge you to provide Alberta Education with feedback on the draft curriculum. Kindergarten Registration Begins Jan. 17, 2022: With more kindergarten programs than anyone else in Calgary, we have a program that is right for you. You can choose from a community school, language programs and a variety of alternative programs including science, Montessori, Traditional Learning Centres and more. Visit www.cbe.ab.ca/kindergarten to learn more about the programs we offer, and when your child can begin kindergarten. More information about the registration process is available on our registration page.
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| Hello Silver Springs School Families, The staff at Silver Springs School, are so very excited to welcome you to the new school year. We want to take this opportunity help to alleviate any worries that you or your child might be experiencing at this time of new starts and changes. Our staff is committed to keeping our students safe, to providing them with multiple opportunities to grow and learn, to knowing them as both a learner and a person, and to making this school year fun and engaging. Our teachers will work with each student to ascertain where they are in relation to the grade level program of studies and will take each student forward from where they are at. Our priorities will be focused on the continuity of student learning by providing greatest access to experiences that are most central to the student school experience. As we enter this school year, we will be following Covid-19 health and safety measures as outlined by the Calgary Board of Education, which includes: - Mandatory masking for students in Kindergarten to grade 12 - Students and staff will still be expected to use the daily checklist to identify if they should attend or stay home - Staying home when sick – students and staff who present with COVID-19 symptoms must stay at home until symptoms resolve - Proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette - Enhanced cleaning and disinfection of high traffic/touch areas - Enhanced ventilation in schools - Classroom cohorts in kindergarten to Grade 6 indoors, outdoor grade group cohorts - No unscheduled visitors, volunteers or external partners will be permitted in schools at the start of the school year
These measures provide layers of mitigation that will help keep our staff and students safe and healthy. As we have learned more about the Covid-19 virus, some protocols have been adapted since last school year. One of these changes includes greater flexibility of how we group students when outdoors. The following information outlines how we, at Silver Springs School, will continue supporting a safe learning environment: Your child is welcome to enter the school and their classroom between 8:25-8:35. Students arriving after 8:35 are considered late and must check in at the main office. If required to line up at the doors before the first bell, students are encouraged to wear masks and socially distance when possible Door #1– Kindergarten, Room 1 and Room 2 Door #2 – Room 3 and Room 4 Door #3– Room 8 and Room 10 Door #4– Room 6 and Room 9 We will have the Gr. 1 /2 students play in one area and the Gr. 3/ 4 in another. These areas will flip from day to day to provide variety of play experiences. Grade 5 & 6: 10:30 – 10:45 As there will only be three classes outside at this time, the Gr. 5 & 6 students will have choice of where they can play within school boundaries and supervised areas.
Lunch: Grade 1-4: 11:44 – 12: 30 (Eat 11:44-12:07, Outside 12:07 –12:30)
Grade 5-6: 12:34 – 1:20 (Eat 12:34 – 12:57, Outside 12:57 – 1:20)
Fridays: Grade 1 –4: 11:00 – 11:46 (Eat 11:00 – 11:23, Outside 11:23 – 11:46)
Grades 5 – 6: 11:50 – 12:23 (Eat 11:50 –12:13, Outside 12:13 –12:36) Students in Grades 1 / 2 and 5 / 6 will eat in their classrooms. Students in Grades 3 /4 will eat in the gym and classes will be placed in separate sections. Students will sit in every other seat rather than across from one another.
Students will be provided with their own set of basic school supplies. The sharing of learning materials, such as math manipulatives and Phys. Ed. equipment will be prioritized. When required, hand sanitizing will occur prior to and after use. The Library will be open and students will be permitted to sign out books to use both in class and take home.
We will begin the year much as we left, with students sitting in rows and space provided between desks. Teachers are still encouraged to keep materials and furniture in their rooms to a minimum to allow for greater spacing and movement. Students will be able to use coat hooks. Teachers will plan for strategies to stagger the number of students at their coat hooks at a time.
When planning the school organization and staffing for the 2021-22 school year back in the early spring, our confirmed numbers were lower than projected. We unfortunately had to make some hard decisions to surplus staff and make organizational changes. By the end of June, our enrollment was slowly creeping up. We are happy to share that over the last week we have had a number of new student registrations. This means that we have been making some last-minute changes to class configurations. We are planning to start the school year with the following classroom and grade configurations, as we would like students to be able to start the year off in smaller groupings. We are hoping that all registered students will return to school on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 and that we will not lose any students to the CBeLearn registration that is still open until September 3, 2021. Based on these uncertainties, there may be a possibility of needed changes in the second or third week of school. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ms. Danica Burrows and New Hire | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
At Silver Springs School, we will start the year with a special picture book titled “Kindness Grows” by Britta Teckentrup. We hope to bring this theme and messaging to life throughout the year in our K-6 classrooms. This story will be a way to further define our school culture, help create a common school language, and provide a place to ground our curriculum and work with students in a year that will again not look quite like "normal". This is going to be a great year! Principal, Silver Springs School Assistant Principal, Silver Springs School
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| Dear Silver Springs School Families, What a year this has been!
I want to thank you all for the wonderful welcome I have received being new to the school this spring. I feel so fortunate to have been able to join this incredible learning community. Your children light up my day, the staff work tirelessly to ensure all students are loved, supported, and successful, and our families have shown us such kindness and generosity this year. Goodbyes: June always brings both farewells and welcomes to our Silver Springs staff. This year, the farewells are particularly difficult. I believe Winnie the Pooh says it best: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard". Their hard work, dedication, caring, and passion for children and education is evident in all they do! - Mr. Vanderbeek, our Assistant Principal is retiring, after 6 years of helping lead this school. He will be missed! We know he will now be able to spend more time relaxing, visiting with family, and enjoying the outdoors.
- Mrs. Janice McKelvie started with the CBE in 2006 and joined the Silver Springs Team in 2007. Janice has made a lasting impression on the lives of so many of our students. She is looking forward to spending more time with her family and a grandbaby on the way!
- Mrs. Heather Forrest - We thank Heather for her 21 years of service with the CBE. We are grateful for her commitment and passion to teaching and learning shared with our staff and students at Silver Springs School over the years. This year she shifted her practice to become a Hub online teacher. She also looks forward to spending time with her family.
- Mr. Kirby Koch has taken the opportunity to pursue further career goals and will be joining Ms. Gillot at Riverside School as a Grade 8 teacher.
- Mr. Jeff Rosewarn joined our school community this past fall on a temporary contract as one of our grade 2 /3 teachers. Sadly, his contract is ending but we do hope that new opportunities in the CBE become available to him.
- Mrs. Alison Armstrong - As an Early Learning Practitioner, her contract is ending but we do hope new opportunities in the CBE become available to her.
- Mrs. Diana Ospina - As part-time lunch supervisor, we were unable to continue her contract, but we do hope new opportunities in the CBE become available to her.
- Miss Amy joined our school this year as a temporary cleaner. She and Mr. Simon have worked tirelessly to keep our school clean and keep our school community healthy throughout this year. At this time, we are still unsure if Miss Amy will be returning to our school in the fall.
Welcome to New Staff Members: June is also a time to welcome people to our team. We are so happy to welcome Ms. Danica Burrows as our new Assistant Principal. Ms. Burrows comes to us from Crossing Park School. We also welcome Mr. Chris Teixeira who will also be joining our teaching staff. He is returning to the classroom after a year exploring graduate studies through a Professional Improvement Initiative. Prior to that, he had been a long-standing teacher at Buchanan School. We also welcome three experienced Educational Assistants to our team: Mrs. Cukulin, Mrs. Kearl, and Mrs. Knaus. Next Year: Please plan to check your email on Tuesday, August 31, when you will receive an email from your child's teacher introducing themselves and providing first day instructions. Our school event calendar, with any and all information that we have confirmed for next year, is on our website. Please record all the dates now for your consideration throughout out 2021-2022 school year. And with this final message we wish you a happy and healthy summer!
Our school office will be open beginning Friday, August 27 at 8:30 AM, if you require assistance before the first day of school. Also our back to school information can be found on our website: https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/silversprings/registration/register/back-to-school/pages/default.aspx All the best! Thanks for a great year! Sincerely, Michelle Ryskamp Principal, Silver Springs School
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| Dear Silver Springs School Parent(s)/Guardian(s), It is with great pride and excitement that I write this letter of introduction as the newly appointed Principal of Silver Springs School. I am looking forward to joining and leading this dedicated and dynamic staff. I would like to thank and acknowledge the strong leadership of Ms. Nancy Gillott, who has supported my transition to principal. It is very evident how she and the staff have created a safe and caring learning environment. Through meeting with Ms. Gillott and Mr. Vanderbeek, as well as a review of the Principal Feedback survey, I sense the importance of community, connection, communication, as well as academic rigour to the Silver Springs School community. As I transition into this new role, I am committed to uphold these values and beliefs that make this school a wonderful place to learn and grow. As an educator, I have over 25 years of experience with the CBE spanning Grades K-9. My strengths and passions are in the areas of literacy, inquiry-based learning, inclusive learning, and childhood mental health and well-being. I believe that we need to ensure the personalization of learning for all students to ensure authentic engagement and high achievement.
My most recent leadership experience has been for the last five years as Assistant Principal at Citadel Park School (Grades K-4). Prior to my Assistant Principal role, I worked as a Learning Leader in various areas at Valley Creek School (Grade 4-9) including grade 5, grade 6 and the Learning Commons. I am elated to bring my skills as an educational leader to Silver Springs School and to work with you as a partner in education to ensure your child's learning success.
Along with staff, I will work hard to continue the legacy of success established at Silver Springs School by building strong relationships with parents, students, staff, and community partners. We will continue to focus on well-being for learning initiatives, fostering and nurturing a safe and caring learning environment for students, providing effective communication, continuing to use learning data to inform instruction, and providing exciting and challenging learning opportunities for all students. I anticipate a most successful conclusion to this current school year and transition into the 2021-22 school year as my team partner, Mr. Bob Vanderbeek and I support the academic, social, and emotional growth of your child. As Principal, my door is always open and I welcome your input. Please feel free to call or email to share any questions, concerns, suggestions, or ideas as we continue to make Silver Springs School a great place to learn. Thank you for taking the time to provide your thoughts in the feedback form to support my transition as principal of Silver Springs School. Should you have any additional questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free contact me at mcryskamp@cbe.ab.ca . I look forward to meeting and connecting with each of our families and students in the weeks to come. Sincerely, Michelle Ryskamp Principal Silver Springs School
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| Dear Students Thank you so much for being the amazing, caring, loving people you are! I am always so proud of the way you take care of other people in this building and while this year has been different (and sometimes difficult) you continue to show empathy and kindness. I have loved my time here and am leaving with so many memories! Whether it was sharing your talents in the library space, working on leadership ideas, learning new skills in our residencies, cheering loudly at the Student Vs Staff basketball game, doing Improvisation or just discussing life or world events in your classrooms, know you have brought me tons of joy!
You all have very bright futures ahead of you! You've managed through a COVID year, you have worked hard in your studies (especially in reading, writing and math) and you have made being back in school fun again. I wish you all the best and hope you keep in touch. I'd love to hear how you are taking care of yourself, others and this world! Thank you for all the kind words, cards and the pictures for my new office . I will remember all of you and the impact you have had on my life. I am a better person because you've been in my life. Take care, keep being awesome! Ms. Gillott
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| Dear Silver Springs Families, I am writing to let you know I have accepted the position of Principal at Langevin School and will be leaving Silver Springs School. My last day at Silver Springs School will be Friday, March 26, 2021. While I will miss so many things about our school, I am excited to take on a new challenge as a learner and a leader.
We have amazing children who bring gifts, talents, joy, and curiosity to school each day. They understand the need for continuous improvement and demonstrate genuine empathy and care for one another. They have incredible potential and are just beginning to make their mark on the world. I will miss each one of them and seeing the next steps in their journey. Parents and guardians of Silver Springs School care deeply about education. Over the last 4 years, no one has ever stepped back from a call to action. Whether it was reading with their child, helping their child solve a problem, or being their child's champion for learning, our families show up. Never have I seen so many enthusiastic volunteers, so many parents involved in their child's success, or a parent group so engaged in the work of the School Council. Thank you to our School Council for their tireless work. Your dedication has enriched all our lives and has supported learning, laughing, a sense of belonging, and the spirit of generosity. I have loved working with this incredible staff and applaud the way they leap into action. They go the distance in modeling teamwork, creativity, and a love of learning. Our entire staff routinely share “little wins" celebrating student growth! It is an absolute delight to hear staff engaged in rich professional conversations about promoting positive relationships and best practices. In this COVID year, our staff has overcome challenges never imagined. I am so proud of the way in which they have changed the way they work and remained vigilant to help keep our community safe. What a mighty team! Our Assistant Principal, Mr. Vanderbeek, and our leadership team will continue the work we have planned. My position will be posted on Wednesday, March 17, 202. This link will take you to the New Principal Survey where you can provide input on my successor. The survey is open until Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Once a new principal has been selected, you will be notified. Thank you for welcoming me warmly, and for always being open to new ideas and ways of working. I am leaving with beautiful memories and a very full heart. My time at Silver Springs has truly been the highlight of my career. I will miss you and wish you all the best in the future. Sincerely, Nancy L. Gillott
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We are so proud of the work that our students are doing in terms of our Wellness Goal and wanted to share what they are learning and their perspective on “wellness".
Surveying our division 2 classes, students tell us that being well equates to being kind, healthy, feeling good about their friendships and able to handle stress. Being unwell on the other hand, is when you feel judged, have friendship issues, when you are not getting enough sleep or you are hungry. Many of our students have shared that over the past year, COVID-19 has been hard because they do not get to see all their friends and they are missing their community activities.
In all of our classes, students are focusing on wellness. We are building our “growth mindset vocabulary" and are currently attending to these words; Conflict, rude, mean, aggressive, on purpose (intention) vs. by accident, tattling, judging and acceptance. All classes are involved to some degree with the Champions Mentorship Program, which connect classes to high-level athletes.
In our Kindergarten, Mrs. Wilkes has introduced “mouse and elephant problems". These are “problems I can solve by myself" and “problems I need help to solve". Our grade 1 students have been using literature to learn about honesty and our grade 2 and 3 students use regular sharing circles that allow for both negative and 'positive' discussions about our Silver Springs life.
In our division 2 classes, teachers have created a variety of visuals to help solidify their understanding of the terms mentioned above and students regularly visit the Calgary Board of Education's Bullying Prevention and Awareness Framework. This work is designed to deepen understandings and further develop an inclusive, safe and caring environment for everyone in our learning community.
While “wellness" is part of our health curriculum, it sits outside the formal teaching of “lessons". It is embedded in our everyday work.
“Wellness" shows up in how we greet students, do our check-ins and how we find ways to involve students in discussions. It is part of how we observe behaviors, encourage students and help students set goals. It is in the classroom joy and celebratory moments and in the quiet times when we ask students to reflect, analyze and plan. Wellness is mask breaks outside, physical activity, healthy lunches, strong relationships and, thankfully, we are seeing wellness is the closeness of the cohorts this year.
At the end of this month, our grade 4 students and a handful of Grade 5 and 6 students will share a video they are producing focusing on wellness and Pink Shirt Day. If you could be a fly on the wall, you would be very proud watching this project evolve. You would also be very proud if you could hear some of the rich discussions our students are having in classes, and you would love watching how they are taking care of one another in the hallways and classes with small acts of kindness.
Our students truly live the saying, “If you can be anything, be kind". Nancy Gillott, Principal
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+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;}}, null); 0x0 0x1 ContentType 0x01 898
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(Hidden) Nancy Brown, Principal
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Welcome to SharePoint Blogs. Use this space to provide a brief message about this blog or blog authors. To edit this content, select "Edit Page" from the "Site Actions" menu.
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Follow javascript: SP.SOD.executeFunc('followingcommon.js', 'FollowDoc', function() { FollowDoc('{ListId}', {ItemId}); }); 0x0 0x0 ContentType 0x01 1100 Compliance Details javascript:if (typeof CalloutManager !== 'undefined' && Boolean(CalloutManager) && Boolean(CalloutManager.closeAll)) CalloutManager.closeAll(); commonShowModalDialog('{SiteUrl}'+
'/_layouts/15/itemexpiration.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}', 'center:1;dialogHeight:500px;dialogWidth:500px;resizable:yes;status:no;location:no;menubar:no;help:no', function GotoPageAfterClose(pageid){if(pageid == 'hold') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/hold.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'audit') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/Reporting.aspx'
+'?Category=Auditing&backtype=item&ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;} if(pageid == 'config') {STSNavigate(unescape(decodeURI('{SiteUrl}'))+
'/_layouts/15/expirationconfig.aspx'
+'?ID={ItemId}&List={ListId}'); return false;}}, null); 0x0 0x1 ContentType 0x01 898
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