Welcome to a new school year! We deeply missed our students and school families last spring. Thank you everyone for your commitment and cooperation last spring to make the best of our online learning during our pandemic times. September is a time of building relationships and creating a sense of belonging, safety and overall well-being for all students and their families. Welcome to our new students and families to Somerset School. Our focus will be on student well-being & safety and student learning. It is heart-warming to have students back at school and we also extend a warm welcome to our students who have chosen to participate in the online “Hub” learning experience as they are still an important part of our school community too! For our families who have moved on, for various reasons, we wish you all the best.
We also need to acknowledge the outstanding work of our school staff – teachers & support staff, for their hard work planning for a successful re-entry and welcoming students back as well as our Facility Operator and Cleaner team for their preparation for the year and their daily diligent work.
We are in the process of evaluating our school enrolment, our staff and school learning configuration/resources as everything is subject to change, thank you for your understanding. We will keep you informed as to any upcoming changes as needed in the coming days and weeks in September.
A big thank you to all our students and their families for respecting and following the health and safety COVID 19 re-entry plans and AHS – CBE – Covid 19 protocols for a safe and healthy start. We thank you for your daily care and diligence in following the safety expectations each day for the entire school year with your children to support daily school and AHS preventative measures.
Thank you again parents and guardians for following AHS directives for health and safety by following the “daily student” screening for student health and wellness questionnaire/protocols each day before coming to school each day.
Please follow attendance procedure and if absent a reminder to call the school office for the reason of absence too. Thank you for your support as we work with you striving to keep everyone healthy and well.
For student safety - A reminder to check your “school messenger – school email" and our
CBE main website on a daily basis for updates from the school and/or system regarding:
- Safety updates and COVID 19 updates and safety measures and/or directives
- Teacher – classroom-grade team messages to families to support the students
- School messages/updates – general information, new directives, school wide alerts for safety measures, requests for feedback, follow up on form completion and submission
Thank you to our School Council and FSSF for their support of the school. Look out for information coming on our first school council “virtual" meeting of the year and the meeting schedule for 20-21. One of the greatest predictors of student achievement is strong working relationships between students, teachers, parents and the community. All parents and guardians are always welcome and invited to attend. Thank you to our volunteer executive and committee chairs for their leadership roles with our Somerset School Council and Friends of Somerset School Foundation, for the 20-21 school year, led by our Chairperson Michelle P.
Communication and Collaboration is Key for Student Success
To best support student learning we know open and constructive home and school communication is key. We encourage you to contact your child's teacher directly with any questions or concerns you may have with any issues via email or phone. Teachers will respond to you before or after school by phone or email – thank you for your patience and understanding. Please call the office with urgent or emergency matters. Working together sends a clear and important message to each student that we care deeply about their individual needs and that together, we have their best interests in mind to be safe, secure and successful.
Meet the Teacher Conferences
We will be sending out more information on the format, dates, times and details for this important part of the school year. We will focus on learning more about each student, their strengths, interests and learning and developmental needs and how to best work together for success.
Choose “Safety and Clean Air" Over Convenience
We encourage a “No Idle Zone" around the school. Respect the space around our pedestrian sidewalks and fire hydrants - park five metres away for the safety. Please stop making U-turn's in pedestrian cross walk area. The Calgary Police Service and Calgary Parking Authority will do patrols to support everyone meeting this safety expectation including photographic enforcement.
We also encourage citizens submitting complaints to the Calgary Police Service “online complaint form" as another way to support a safe zone for our students, their families and our neighborhood. Together we can keep the students and our community members safe!
We welcome families new to Somerset to contact the school our number is 403-777-7001. We are still welcoming new kindergarten registrations – contact the office for information as well as the CBE main homepage.
On behalf of Somerset School, our staff and the Calgary Board of Education, we wish you a healthy and successful school year!
Kind regards – Mr. J. Gibb, Principal and Mr. N. deBoer, A. Principal
