Aug 23
Welcome to the 2023-24 School Year!

Dear Altadore Families,

I hope you all had a very wonderful summer and are enjoying your last few days before school starts back up.  I always feel that the year truly begins each September.  It is my favorite time of the year!  At the beginning of August, I start to think more deeply about all of the possibilities for the upcoming year and the anticipation starts to build.

Karlee Zelmer (our new assistant principal), Tori Wychick (who is taking over the lead secretary position from Darcia Pullan) and I have been unofficially back at work since Monday.  You are welcome to contact us at the school if you need information or have questions for us. 

As I write this letter there are still construction fences up at a couple of the entrances around the school.  If you need to come in to the school you will need to call the office first at 403-777-6910 so that we can come and meet you.  The fences could come down soon, and will be down before the first day of school for sure.  There will be some temporary railings for the first few weeks of September, but things will be fully functional for start up.  Yay!

We can’t wait to see our returning students and to meet those of you who are new to the Altadore School community!  Below you will find some of most important information about Back to School.

Please feel welcome to contact us if you have any questions or need more information.

Kelly Christopher
Principal, Altadore School


Jun 12
Main Door Construction Update

Dear Altadore Families,

We have a construction update from the project manager for our front entry upgrade. We are happy to announce that this project, which has been in the works for a few years, will soon be starting!

The goal of this project is to increase the accessibility of our school. A paved handicap parking spot will be created in the parking lot, a ramp will be added to the front door, and the pathway between the two will be dug up and redone so that it will be possible to enter the school without encountering any stairs. So far we are being told that 16th Street will not need to be completely blocked off, but we imagine that there will be at least some disruption to traffic.

This work is slated to begin on Thursday, June 15. The first few days will be organizing, putting up fences etc. We expect that we will lose access to the main entrance doors and the parking lot for the last two weeks of classes. This means that anyone who would usually use the front entrance will need to go to the Grade 3/4 doors at the southwest corner of the building to enter the school. We will have lots of signage to show the way.

CBE administrative regulations state that the doors to the school must remain locked while classes are in session. If you need to enter the school during the day, you can call the school from your phone or use the Ring doorbell that will be at the Grade 3/4 doors. Someone from the office will come to open the door for you, or will bring your child to the door. All of this will take extra time and we ask that you keep this in mind - especially if you are picking up or dropping off during the school day.

By starting now, the goal is to ensure that the heavy, dirty, and noisy construction work is completed before school starts in the fall, even if the work is somehow delayed. That being said, there may be some temporary railings in September as the final ones will be custom built only after all the concrete work is complete and will take 6+ weeks to manufacture.

Thank you in advance for your understanding. We know this will cause some disruption, especially for those of us in the office, but we also know it will be well worth it in the long run!

As always, if there is anything we can do to help, or if you would like any information, please let us know.

Kelly Christopher - Principal kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca

Mack Fraser - Acting Assistant Principal mefraser@cbe.ab.ca ​


May 19
Kindergarten Orientation PowerPoint

​​Thank you to everyone who came out to our Kindergarten Parent Orientation on May 16. It was great to see you all and to have the chance to tell you about our school.  Below is the PowerPoint that we shared that evening just in case you wanted to review the information shared or were unable to attend. ​


We can't wait to meet our new students this September,


Kelly Christopher, Principal

Mack Fraser, Acting Assistant Principal


Kinder Orientation -Altadore 2023.pdf






Apr 19
Results of School Development Plan and School Fees Survey

Hello Altadorians,

About a month ago we held a virtual meeting offering information about our School Development Plan, our school budget, and our school fees. After the presentation, we made a survey available to everyone who attended. We previously shared the responses to this survey in one of our Weekly Updates. If you missed it there,​ or if you would just like to dive a little more ​deeply into the data, you can read the responses here.


We also shared a survey about how clear and/or helpful the presentation itself was. You can read the responses to that survey here.


As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns


​Mack Fraser

Assistant Principal


Mar 15
School Engagement Survey

Dear Altadore Families,

As a part of the CBE, we are collecting some information from you about your understanding of our school development plan, our school budget, and our school-based fees.

We held an online meeting on Wednesday, March 15 for parents where we provided some background information and answered questions. If you were unable to attend the meeting, you are able to access the PowerPoint presentation below. Of course, you are always able to contact us if you have any questions, require clarification, or would like more details.​

We hope to get your feedback as we begin our planning for the 2023-24 school year. You can do that by completing the following survey prior to March 28. That being said, we recommend completing it before Spring Break so that you don’t forget.​


POWERPOINT PRESENTATION:

School Planning Engagement - 2023- FULL.pptx


LINK TO SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND SCHOOL FEES SURVEY:


https://altadore.cbedialogue.com/en/projects/altadore-school-2022-2023/engagements/altadore-school-planning-survey-2023-elementary


If you attended the presentation, please fill out the survey at the following link:


https://altadore.cbedialogue.com/en/projects/altadore-school-2022-2023/engagements/altadore-school-planning-meeting-evaluation


Feb 06
February Already!

Dear Altadore Families,

February already! It is so hard to believe the school year is half over. We have a very busy month - starting with a dance residency Monday morning.

We would like to say welcome to Cossette Mandin who will be teaching music for the next while.

Many of our students have a tradition of sharing valentines on February 14. We ask that families who choose to send valentines ensure that there is one for each student in the class. If you would like to send a treat or a piece of candy along with valentines, you may do so as long as they are individually wrapped and are labelled with the ingredients used. These treats will be sent home. Please do not send in any food to be shared during class time. Teachers will send more information home regarding any special activities happening during class that day.

February is Black History Month. Teachers will be looking to make connections between what they are doing in class, the history of Canada, and the current and past experience of Black people in Canada. We will also be highlighting literature by Black authors and illustrators and stories featuring Black characters.

As always, we are looking to highlight the different experiences and backgrounds of families who make up our school community. If you have any stories, experiences, or resources you would like to share, they would be most welcome. It is always our hope to mirror the lives of our students and to open windows that help us recognize and honour the rich variety of cultures present within our community.

Kelly Christopher, Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca

Mack Fraser, Assistant Principal
mefraser@cbe.ab.ca​

Jan 27
My Last Update
Dear Altadore Families,
This is my last Altadore Weekly update admin message, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your amazing support. I have enjoyed my three and a half years here at Altadore: your children are kind, brilliant, and fun.
The teachers are hardworking, creative, and committed to their students. Our support staff are flexible and eager to help. Altadore is truly a special school and it is in large part because of our amazing parent community. The generosity you all show through donations, volunteer hours, and community service is
impressive; you really do make Altadore a school full of opportunities and enrichment. Thank you for all that you do!
I would also like to take a minute to thank Kelly for her mentorship. This was my second Assistant Principal position, and I learned so much from her that I will carry with me as I move into my own principalship. Kelly works so hard, cares so
deeply, is so committed, and puts in more hours than any administrator I’ve met.
I know Mack will continue to benefit from her leadership as much as I have.
Thank you once again for all of your encouragement and support. I have loved my time at Altadore, and although I am excited for this new chapter and role, I will greatly miss this school community.

- Meagan

Kelly Christopher Principal                                             
Assistant Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca  

Meagan Lundgren
Assistant Principal
mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca


Jan 24
Report Cards

Dear Altadore Families,

Report cards will be available to all families in MyCBE starting on January 30. More information on how to access them next week.

They will look a little different this year.. Here are some highlights of the changes:

  • This year, students will not receive a mark in the Results categories of citizenship, character, and personal development like they have in the past. This decision to remove the Results reporting for this year was primarily to decrease teacher workload as they focus on implementing new curriculum. We will continue to keep you informed about citizenship, character and personal development in the comment section of the report card
  • There are a reduced number of stems under each subject; these changes were made to align with the new provincial curriculum (some of which is being implemented this year, and some that is planned for future implementation)
  • The new curriculum in K-3 for English Language Arts and Literacy and Mathematics, and the new Physical Education and Wellness curriculum for K-6 have different outcomes than the previous one. If teachers feel this will impact your child's marks, they will let you know.

We work very hard to ensure there is ongoing communication about how your child is doing at school (work sent home, sharing nights, conferences, emails, etc.). We do not want anything on the report card to be a surprise to families.

If you have any questions about your child’s report card, please reach out to the classroom teacher. If you have any questions or we can help in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Kelly Christopher Principal                                             
Assistant Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca  

Meagan Lundgren
Assistant Principal
mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca


Jan 16
Happy New Year

Dear Altadore Families,

Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful break and had a chance to recharge! Kindergarten registration begins on Monday. More information is included below if you have younger siblings or know children in our area who may be attending kindergarten next year.

At our School Council meeting on Wednesday, we will be sharing information about the Provincial Achievement Tests our Grade 6 students wrote last spring, about how the upcoming report cards will be looking a little different, and about the math goal of our School Development Plan. The meeting will be held in the school library and childcare will be provided. In response to several requests, parents will also be able to listen in to the meeting online - although they will not be able to participate or comment.

If you have any questions or we can help in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Kelly Christopher Principal                                             
Assistant Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca  

Meagan Lundgren
Assistant Principal
mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca


Dec 19
Battle of the Breakfast Cereals

Dear Altadore Families,

What a special time of year! With Spirit Week last week, Christmas Concerts this week, special activities with buddies and projects in classrooms, the school is abuzz with excitement! Spirit Week was a great success: we had so many festive outfits, hats, and hair; we had cozy pajamas and adorable stuffies, and students enjoyed carols at lunch. The week ended with the grand finale of the Battle of the Breakfast Cereals. The Pride Vibes club lined the halls with cereal boxes and we watched them fall like dominoes! We ended up collecting roughly 525 boxes of cereal for the Calgary Food Bank! Thank you so much to everyone who donated a box…or many boxes! It was hilarious to go into the Safeway in Marda Loop and hear, “You must be from Altadore School” when we purchased our boxes!

There is still time to help out the Calgary Food Bank this season. We will have monetary donation boxes at the Christmas Concerts each afternoon and evening. Our Grade 5 & 6 students will be accepting the cash donations on behalf of the Pride Vibes Club.

Speaking of the concerts, we are so excited to see all of you at the in-person concerts next week! Today, our illness absence rate was as low as it has been since Hallowe’en at 5.4%, which supports our decision to go ahead with in-person concerts. The students, staff, and especially Mr. Fraser, have been working very hard to prepare for these performances, and we can’t wait to share them with you!

Lastly, we wanted to let you know that this Weekly Update will be our last one until Sunday, January 15. We will send one after our first week back to school. We would like to wish our Altadore families a wonderful, restful winter break. We will see you in 2023.

Kelly Christopher                                Meagan Lundgren
Principal                                              Assistant Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca                      mllundgren@cbe.ab.ca

 

cereal-one.jpg

cereal-two.jpg
cereal-three.jpg
cereal-four.jpg

1 - 10Next

 ‭(Hidden)‬ Blog Tools

 ‭(Hidden)‬ About this blog

About this blog
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.
​​


Kelly Christopher, Principal

Email |
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca​


Karen Pope, Assistant Principal

Email |
kjpope@cbe.ab.ca​​

​​