| Briar Hill Update Our Professional Day with staff was most productive and focused on our continual work with the new curriculum, task design, assessment and time to explore the many resources to support our work with students. It's never enough time, but it is the continual collaboration together that makes our work stronger. Our second focus for the day was to plan for our first 'connect' experience with our students. The goal is to continue to build our sense of belonging at Briar Hill. Similar to buddy work, our 'connect' experience would provide a multi-age experience centered around building relationships (both with another teacher in our school and with other students), providing leadership opportunities, and lifting the unique skills and talents of our staff. We plan to create our first 'connect' experience on November 17th. Traffic and Crosswalk We appeal to parents to prioritize safety over everything else when picking up and dropping off students. Please take the time to slow down, especially through the main intersection of 21st St and 12th Ave. If you are walking, please do so in the crosswalk. Modeling safe driving and walking practices for our children is the only way to ensure everyone can arrive to school safely. Healthy Hunger – A & W Our next Healthy Hunger lunch is scheduled for Thursday, November 2 and is A & W. Please order through https://healthyhunger.ca/ where you can register your student(s). Once your account is created you will be able to view the up-coming Fun Lunches, place orders and pay online with Visa or Mastercard. This program is completely optional and you can participate in all, some, or none of the lunches that are set up. Briar Hill School and Parent Council want to ensure that every child that wants to, can participate. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly to Ms LaMontagne should you have any financial concerns relating to these lunches. The deadline to order lunch is Saturday, October 28 at 11:50 pm Casino Volunteers Thank you to all who have already signed up for the upcoming casino. The casino is a critical fundraiser which generates significant funds for our students (between 65,000 to 80,000 dollars). If you haven't already, you can sign-up to volunteer through the following link: If you have any questions, please email: lindyfritzler@hotmail.com https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F48ABA62EABF94-44997436-briar Halloween Howler Volunteers Summoning all ghosts, ghouls, and creatures of the night; please join us for BHS's Annual Halloween Howler. Get ready to dance the night away to wicked beats, indulge in delicious treats, and light up the night with glow sticks. Costumes encouraged (adults too)! For admission and to purchase tickets for food, raffle, etc., please visit:
Halloween Howler Tickets Thank you to those who have volunteered their time to make this event possible! If you are still looking to volunteer, please sign up here: Volunteer Sign-Up We will also be having our annual Pumpkin Walk. To participate, please bring your child's carved pumpkin to the school on October 26 or 27 (be sure to include their name). Students will have the opportunity to do a pumpkin walk to view all of the wonderful creations and the winners will be selected by Ms. La Montagne with support from all the classes! We ask that you take home your pumpkin after the Halloween Howler or after Friday's dismissal. Jacket Racket Briar Hill School's coat drive is back! We will once again be collecting gently used winter clothing for Jacket Racket, a volunteer organization which aims to ensure that all school aged children are appropriately dressed in the winter. Please consider donating winter coats, snow pants, mittens and hats for kids and families. There will be a collection bin by the main doors within the school building. Please send in any items with your child to give to their teacher and we will see that they get into the bin. Donations will be accepted between October 23 and November 3. Retakes Our picture retake day is Thursday, November 2nd. If your child requires retakes, please send a message to your child's teacher either through email or in your child's agenda. Upcoming Dates Friday, October 27 Halloween Howler 5:30 to 7:30 October 26-27 Pumpkin Walk November 2 Picture Retake Day & Class pictures (group picture) November 2 Healthy Hunger – A & W November 6 Earth Rangers Assembly 9 to 10 am *free performance November 8 Remembrance Day Assembly November 9-14 Fall Break November 17-18 Casino November 23 Pizza Lunch November 23 PM Parent/Teacher conferences November 24 No school for students November 24 Parent/teacher conferences 8 to 1 pm
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| Dear parents and guardians, On behalf of the Briar Hill staff, I want to thank each of you for your ongoing support, encouragement and dedication to our school community. My heart is full when I reflect on how this school community comes together to support one another, often in subtle, unnoticed ways. Moving into Thanksgiving weekend, I want you to know that you each make a significant difference in making Briar Hill school a most amazing school community. Deep gratitude to our students. Since school start, I have watched students step up to invite someone new to play, stop play when someone falls and needs attention, older students being open to their play being interrupted by a younger student and then adapting it so the younger student can play. I have learned about students taking sign language courses to support their interactions with students and witnessed the thoughtful ways they support one another. I also want to thank our staff who put their heart and soul into their work. They work tirelessly to ensure success for all and a safe space for each student to be their best self. The complexities of this work have increased significantly over the years, and the staff at Briar Hill continue to lean in to the challenges to ensure they are doing all they can for each learner. I Additionally, we have the immense support through our Educational Assistants, Ummay Habiba and Jeanette Yee. They joyfully support our learners with such dedication and care. Ms. Katie is the glue that holds our school together. It is her bubbly voice that greets you on the phone or welcomes your student if they arrive late. And not only does she do the most incredible job, but she is also the one checking in on teacher's wellbeing, going above and beyond to ensure everyone is at their best to do their best. We are so fortunate to have Ms. Olafson keeping the library buzzing with action and allowing students to fall in love with books! And to keep this place sparkling clean, Ms. Marty is simply the best. She truly is the most dedicated facility operator who excels in her job, but also has such care for our staff and students. She is a true gem. I often think back to the parent session by Dr. Jody Carrington when she spoke of the need for a community to work together to take care of each other. This is what makes this place so very special. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Communication Please know you can always reach out to myself with any wonders or worries. No matter what it is, I am here. I'm also very curious if you feel you are receiving the communication you need to feel connected and informed. It can be a fine line between over inundating families with emails while ensuring you have the information you need. If you have concerns about your child, please do reach out to your child's teacher. They may not be able to respond right away as they are busy in the class during the day, but they care and want to know. If you happen to witness or hear of an incident or altercation, even outside of our school hours, please do bring it to either myself or your child's teacher so we can work with all involved. ELL Assistant I am very pleased to share that we were able to hire a short term 15 hour per week ELL assistant. Mrs. Tracy Wiens will begin supporting our students on Tuesday, October 10 until end of January. This will be a great support for our students acquiring English as an additional language. Please join me in welcoming Tracy Wiens to our Briar Hill staff. Pizza Lunch – Grade One to Six Our next pizza day is October 19 and the order deadline is end of day on October 15 at midnight. https://www.briarhillplayground.com/shop Remember to select your child's teacher from the dropdown menu once you have added pizza to your cart. This helps make the pizza delivery to each classroom more seamless, and ensures no students pizza ends up in the wrong classroom. Pizza lunch is a fundraiser for our School Council and supported by our grade 6 leaders who are responsible for delivering and handing out the pizza lunch. We want every child interested in eating pizza to be included, if you need support, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. La Montagne at erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca On pizza day, please remember to send your child with a plate. With thanks, Briar Hill School Council Pizza Committee Parent Opportunity – Child and Youth Well-Being The Calgary Board of Education invites all parents and guardians to join us in an online series focusing on child and youth well-being. These sessions will be hosted in partnership with experts from Alberta Health Services and will explore topics such as vaping, brain development, mental health, and sexual health. Click here to learn more: Child and Youth Well-Being: A Webinar Series for Parents and Guardians CBE educators believe that parents and guardians can inspire their kids to make healthy lifestyle choices and increase protective factors – in order to do so, they need the right tools and information.
Well-being is a precondition for learning. As our understanding of student well-being continues to evolve, it is important for those that support children and youth to stay up to date on the same information so everyone can support student success. The intention of the series is to advance student well-being by raising family and caregiver's understanding of a variety of health-related topics. Thank you for your time and consideration to join us. Upcoming Dates | Monday, October 9 | Thanksgiving - No school for students | | Friday, October 13 | PM Kindergarten | | Tuesday, October 17 | School Council meeting – 7 pm | | Thursday, October 19 | Pizza Lunch | | Friday, October 20 | PD day – no school for students | | Friday, October 27 | AM Kindergarten | | Friday, October 27 | Halloween Howler – School Council event – more details to come | | Thursday, November 2 | Retake and Class picture day | | Thursday, November 2 | Healthy Hunger | | Friday, November 3 | PM Kindergarten | | Monday, November 6 | Earth Rangers Assembly 9 to 10 am | | Wednesday, November 8 | Remembrance Day Assembly | | Thursday, November 9 | PD day – no school for students | | Nov 10 to Nov. 14 | Fall Break | | Friday, November 17 | AM Kindergarten | | Nov. 17-18 | School Council Casino |
Have a most wonderful long weekend, Elan LaMontagne and the Briar Hill staff
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| And here we are, already 2 weeks into school! Coming back to work after a summer of bliss can feel like a bittersweet transition. But once we open our doors to our students, the work and purpose here all makes sense once again. As a staff, we are so excited for this school year and hope the first two weeks for families have been filled with more excitement than nerves or frenzy. We so appreciate all the warmth we have felt from our families as we started the 2023-2024 school year. We all have stories within us. Sometimes we hold them gingerly, sometimes desperately, sometimes as gently as an infant. it is only by sharing our stories, by being strong enough to take a risk - both in the telling and in the asking - that we make it possible to know, recognize and understand each other. ~ Wagamese We finished last year and started this year thinking about this quote and asking ourselves how do we build a sense of belonging for all at Briar Hill school. How does each unique person find their place in our community? How do we get to know each other so we can connect and better understand one another? These wonders and setting our priorities, helped us as a staff decide to ground our work around the question, “Who are we?”. This question will allow us to consider ourselves as learners, who are we as a collaborative community, and to further investigate who we are as explorers, mathematicians, writers and so on.
As part of our beginning this year and to launch our work with this question, we, including staff are all working with loose parts to create a self-portrait and consider one word to describe ourselves. Having a task from Kindergarten, all the way to us adults is a concrete and tangible way for us to show students how we are all connected and what makes each one of us unique. Loose parts are small items such as buttons, bolts & screws, small pieces of wood that you use to create an image or idea. Our staff portraits have been shared on our school Instagram @briarhillschool but you will also see our entire schools’ portraits displayed in our school for our Open House on September 21st.
Open House & Welcome Back BBQ & Briar Hill School Council AGM Please join us for an evening at Briar Hill where you have an opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, and to welcome our new families to our school. With thanks to our school council, there will be a BBQ on our school compound from 5 to 7 pm. We also welcome families to pop into the school to say hi to their child’s teacher and see their classroom space. The school will be open for families from 4 to 7 pm. For Kindergarten families, we will be scheduling a time to connect with the kindergarten team as your child is new to school and this provides an important opportunity to learn about your child. An email will be sent early next week with how to book this time. For all families needing to sit down one-on-one with your child’s teacher, we will be booking times on the Friday, September 22 from 8 to 1 pm. An email will be sent early next week with information on how to book this time. Please note there is no school for all students on Friday, September 22. Communication to Families from the School We value open communication and hope to keep you informed around whole school information and any upcoming dates through a biweekly Briar Hill update. Most often this is sent out on a Friday afternoon. We also invite families to follow us on Instagram at @briarhillschool for updates, week ahead and school highlights. If you have any wonders or worries about your child and their classroom, please reach out to your child’s teacher. During the day, they are busy in the classroom so it may take 24 hours before they can respond. If it is urgent around a pick up, being absent or late, please call the attendance line at 403-777-6140 or email briarhill@cbe.ab.ca. Additionally, please do not ever hesitate to reach out to myself should you have any wonders or worries. Email is a great way to reach out (erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca), scheduling a time to connect by phone works too, or I am also always happy to chat before or after school if convenient and/or can set up a time to meet in person. Mrs. Bachert – Our music specialist We are thrilled to have Mrs. Bachert continue as our music specialist this year. Mrs. Ali Bachert works Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays at Briar Hill school. Students in grade 1 to 6 each get an hour and a half of music each week, and Kindergarten have 30 minutes of music every week. Please see Mrs. Bachert’s letter of introduction:Welcome Letter - Bachert.docx Volunteers Needed We could use some extra support organizing our newly purchased (from Casino dollars) loose parts containers for each class. If you are available and love to organize, this job is for you!! Please email erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca to sign on up. We also are hoping for some support in re-wiring our computer cart. If Maria Kondo is your favourite person, then this would absolutely be a great job for you, and we would be ever so grateful. Again, email erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca to sign up. Upcoming Dates Friday September 15 PM Kindergarten September 18 to 21 Elder Shirley Hill Blackfoot/Hoop Dancing Residency – whole school September 18 to 21 Scholastic Book Fair – Library/Learning Commons Thursday, Sept 21 Kindergarten Conferences/Open House 4 to 7 pm Thursday, Sept 21 School Council Welome Back BBQ 5 to 7 pm Thursday, Sept 21 School Council AGM – School Gym 7:15 pm Friday, Sept 22 No school for students Friday, Sept 22 Scheduled Conferences K to Grade 6 *email to come Tuesday, Sept. 26 Picture Day Thursday, Sept. 28 Orange Shirt Day Thursday, Sept. 28 Pizza Lunch – information to come Friday, Sept. 29 No school – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Wednesday, Oct 4 Grade 6 vaccinations Friday, October 6 Terry Fox Run
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Hello families, We are turning the corner and entering our last three weeks of school. It is so hard to believe we are starting to wrap up and wind down to the end of the school year. If your plans have changed for next year, please do reach out to let us know as it helps with our planning. We will continue to share any news of upcoming changes as soon as we know. Please never hesitate to reach out should you have any wonders or worries.
Camp Kindle I also wanted to extend gratitude to our amazing parent volunteers who gifted our grade 5/6 students and staff their time to be out at Camp Kindle. It was so successful in part because of your energy and effort. I would also like to thank our grade 5/6 team for their dedication and time to making this experience possible for our students. There is much work that happens before, during and after a camp experience, well worth it, but a tremendous amount of work. We are thrilled students were able to enjoy Camp Kindle this year.
New Staff We were able to post this year for a position due to Mrs. Bishop’s retirement. There was great interest and strong candidates. Now that we area through the process, I am excited to welcome Karen Kobel to our Briar Hill staff. Karen comes to us with a wealth of experience, starting with an Early Childhood background and experience with our youngest learners, she has many years’ experience as a resource teacher and most recently, she was on the opening staff at Peter Lougheed School for the past 7 years. She is thrilled to join our school community.
We are so grateful to both Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Makkai for their exceptional work supporting the students in Room 10 (Mrs. Bishops class). They both feel so much a part of our Briar Hill family and have done a tremendous job moving learning forward for the students of room 10. As their contracts are considered, ‘temporary’, their contract ends on June 30. We hope they find their way back to our school in the future.
School Fees A friendly reminder that all fees are available to pay online via your MYCBEAccount: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/mycbe Please log in to pay online for your child’s fees prior to this school year end. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your school based fees, please reach out to our Office administrative secretary Katie – kafurlong@cbe.ab.ca
Pizza Lunch June 15 Our next pizza day is June 15 and the order deadline is end of day on June 11. https://www.briarhillplayground.com/shop
We want every child interested in eating pizza to be included, if you need support, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. La Montagne at erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca On pizza day, please remember to send your child with a plate.
Sports Day – June 27 PM – save the date We are excited to announce our much-anticipated Sport’s day is just around the corner. One June 27, our students will be participating in an afternoon filled with friendly competition, teamwork and fun.
Next week, we will send an email with a link to a Sign-Up genius. We appreciate your support and look forward to the fun!
Grade 6 Provincial Achievement Test(PAT) Schedule Tuesday, June 20 English Language Arts – Part B (reading) Thursday, June 22 Math – Part A Friday, June 23 Math – Part B Monday, June 26 Social Studies Tuesday, June 27 Science
Upcoming Dates June 15 Pizza Lunch June 15 All library books need to be returned June 19 Grade ½ classes to Calgary Zoo June 20 Grade ½ Lady Buggy – IN school learning experience June 21 National Indigenous People’s Day & Summer Solstice June 22 Money Mentors – Grade 5/6 LeVesconte in class experience June 22 New Kindergarten students visit & our Kindergarten June 26 U of C Wagonstage Theatre – Micro Forests Kindergarten to Grade 5 June 27 Sport’s Day – afternoon June 27 School Council organized Family Event 3:30 to 6 pm *more details to come June 28 Grade 6 Farewell 2 pm June 29 Last day of School for students June 29 Parents able to view report cards
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Briar Hill Instagram Upgrade – Exciting update Our Briar Hill Instagram is getting an upgrade thanks to our School Council. Moving forward, our council will send timely reminders around things like PD days, Volunteer opportunities, Pizza or Healthy lunch orders deadlines, and special events. They will also post a weekly calendar to show a quick view of the week ahead. A big thank you to council for taking on this intitiative.
Our Instagram handle is: briarhillschool
We understand not everyone has an Instagram account and/or wants to join the social media platform. The bi-weekly update from the school will continue as our main form of communication. Information from that message, will be pulled as a quick reminder for the Instagram account, however the school messenger email will always be the place where you will receive information first.
Grade Configuration It is at this time of year that we look forward to next year. We have already received our school budget to make decisions around how many classrooms and staff we can resource for next year. When looking at our numbers in each grade, it became evident that we might need to re-visit how we configure grades for next year to best meet the needs of our students. Unless anything drastically changes with our numbers, our plan is to move forward with the following for grade configuration:
AM Kindergarten | PM Kindergarten |
| Grade One | Grade One |
| Grade 2/3 | Grade 2/3 | Grade 2/3 | Grade 4/5 | Grade 4/5 |
| Grade 5/6 | Grade 5/6 |
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We have been carefully and thoughtfully working through next year’s class lists. Please know we put much thought into the class lists and there are multiple factors that we consider when we create the lists; one of them includes peer relationships. It is a very complex process and has a domino effect should anything need to be adjusted.
Having said that, should you have any worries or wonders, please do reach out to myself either through email at erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca or call the school to set up a time to connect.
New Casino Date – Nov 17 & 18 Thank you to our parent organizer for securing our next casino date. It is a massive fundraiser for our school community and provides enrichment opportunities for our students. Please mark your calendars for November 17 and 18 as it requires many amazing volunteers to make it happen.
Next Year Calendar 2023-2024-Traditional-Calendar.pdf
CBE has approved the calendar for the 2023-2024 school year. With the transition to one calendar for all schools, you will see a new Fall Break, with no school for students from November 9 to 15. We hope families who are booking travels during that time can make it back for the School Casino on November 17 and 18. J
Our school specific calendar will be approved mid-June and sent out when it is finalized. Our Briar Hill calendar will include our Parent Conferences and Professional Development days and Organizational days where you currently see “Non-Instructional Days”. All blue labeled days – non-instructional days- indicate no school for students, but working days for staff.
Volunteer Tea reminder – RSVP before May 23 We look forward to taking time to say thank you for all that you do. Our Volunteer Tea is on May 26th from 11:00 to 12:30 pm. To help with our planning, please RSVP to Briarhill@cbe.ab.ca with the amount of guests coming to our tea. We ask that you RSVP before May 23rd.
UPCOMING DATES May 22 Victoria Day – NO school May 23 Open Minds - Telus Spark – Mrs. Makkai May 24 Kindergarten Open House 5 to 6 pm May 25 Downtown Trip – LeVesconte/Cooper May 26 Volunteer Tea 11 to 12:30 pm May 29 PD day – NO school May 31-June 2 Camp Kindle – Grade 5/6 classes June 3 Bottle Drive June 8 Healthy Hunger June 9 Organizational Day – NO school June 20 PAT – Grade 6 – Reading - 9 am June 20 Lady Buggy – In school experience – Grade ½ classes June 21 National Indigenous People’s Day & Summer Solstice June 22 PAT – Grade 6 – Math Part A - 9 am June 23 PAT – Grade 6 – Math Park B – 9 am June 26 PAT – Grade 6 – Social Studies – 9 am June 26 Wagonstage Theatre – Micro Forests June 27 PAT – Grade 6 – Science – 9 am June 27 Sport’s Day – PM June 28 Grade 6 Farewell – PM June 29 Last day of school for students
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Dear Briar Hill Families,
We hope you are enjoying the warm sunshine and burst of green that has popped this week. There were many field trips last week to enrich and augment learning experiences for our students. Thank you for your ongoing support as field trips would not be possible without the support of our families, and the time out of your schedule to volunteer on the trips.
Volunteer Tea – SAVE THE DATE Briar Hill staff and students are excited to welcome parents back to our school to celebrate and honour you! We will host our Volunteer Tea on Friday, May 26 from 11 to 12:30 pm. As parents, you volunteer in so many ways – both directly at school or on field trips, and behind the scenes supporting your child. Please know you are all welcome to attend. More information to come, including a way to RSVP for the event.
Calm Corner One of our initiatives this year is to think about the spaces in our building and ensuring we are supporting all learners at Briar Hill. Through this work, and conversations with our grade 6 Student Council, we came to realize there was a need to provide a unique space for students to access when needed. Our student council met with Occupational Therapists and our Area Learning Strategist to learn more about what might be needed in this space. Along with this work, Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Gerla were engaged in CBE initiative called, Design the Shift, where they identified a problem of practice within a school and worked to create a shift and/or solution. From this collaboration, and funds through Design the Shift, our calm corner was transformed.
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Upcoming Dates *at this time, more may be added May 8-12 Open Minds - Telus Spark - Ms. Spidla May 9 Calgary Zoo - Grade ¾ classes May 9 Camp Kindle Parent Meeting 6:30 pm May 11 Kinder Bug Bonanza – In school experience – Kindergarten – both classes attend May 11 Queen Elizabeth Grade 6 tour AM May 12 Evergreen Theatre Musical Performance May 15-18 Open Minds - Telus Spark – Mrs. Makkai May 17 PAT – Grade 6 – Writing - 9 am May 17 School Council 7 pm May 18 Pizza Lunch May 22 Victoria Day – NO school May 23 Open Minds - Telus Spark – Mrs. Makkai May 25 Downtown Trip – LeVesconte/Cooper May 26 Volunteer Tea 11 to 12:30 pm May 29 PD day – NO school May 31-June 2 Camp Kindle – Grade 5/6 classes June 8 Healthy Hunger June 9 Organizational Day – NO school June 20 PAT – Grade 6 – Reading - 9 am June 20 Lady Buggy – In school experience – Grade ½ classes June 21 National Indigenous People’s Day & Summer Soltice June 22 PAT – Grade 6 – Math Part A - 9 am June 23 PAT – Grade 6 – Math Park B – 9 am June 26 PAT – Grade 6 – Social Studies – 9 am June 26 Wagonstage Theatre – Micro Forests June 27 PAT – Grade 6 – Science – 9 am June 27 Sport’s Day – PM June 28 Grade 6 Farewell – PM June 29 Last day of school for students June 30 Last day of school for Briar Hill staff
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Dear Briar Hill Families, Happy Spring Snow flurries! Thankfully, we have students to remind us of the joys of catching the big fluffy flakes. I needed this reminder today. Family Movie Night Deep gratitude to our parent council for organizing Briar Hill’s first family movie night. We look forward to seeing many of our families at the school to watch Puss ‘n Boots: The Last Wish. Doors and concession open at 5:30, with the movie starting at 6:00 pm. Please enter through the front doors of the school and the event will be held in our gym. There will be some mats for families to sit on, but you may also want to bring your own blanket/pillows. Please note, all children must be accompanied by an adult.
Healthy Hunger
Our next Healthy Hunger lunch is Thursday, May 4th and is A & W. Please order through https://healthyhunger.ca/ where you can register your student(s). Once your account is created you will be able to view the up-coming Fun Lunches, place orders and pay online with Visa or Mastercard. This program is completely optional and you can participate in all, some, or none of the lunches that are set up. Briar Hill School and Parent Council want to ensure that every child that wants to, can participate. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly to Ms LaMontagne at erlamontagne@cbe.ab.cashould you have any financial concerns relating to these lunches. Unfortunately, the Healthy Hunger lunch is only available for our grade one to six students. Please use this guide to help you set up an account :Parents_healthy hunger.pdf Message from Student Council Dear Families of Briar Hill school, Student council is delighted to announce we are opening a quiet, safe space for students to come to calm down. We would be very appreciative if you could donate the following items for our space: - Sound machine
- Noise cancelling headphones
- Pillows
Thank you for taking your time to read this list. Sincerely, Student Council (15 very dedicated and insightful grade 6 students) Parent Virtual Presentation – Tuesday, April 25 6:30 pm Raising Healthy, Happy Children in an Ever-Changing World Our kids are experiencing an unprecedented sense of isolation, interacting virtually in a world that seems ever more fearful with each news cycle. They absorb and internalize the stress and anxiety they see on their parents' faces and, on the phone, laptop, tablet, and TV screens that are ever before their eyes. Not surprisingly, their mental and physical health are suffering. As parents, we want to know how we can help.
In this presentation I’m going to help parents understand the mental, physical, and social toll that the changing world is having on their children. Thankfully there’s hope. I’ll provide proven strategies to help our children get back onto a healthy path.
When: Apr 25, 2023
Time: 6:30 pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86956143061 We will host interested parents in viewing the presentation together at Briar Hill, please email erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca to RSVP. Scooter Parking – Help J We love to see all the scooters being used to ride to school. We have designated a space inside the school for our scooters to be parked. If there is a handy parent out there who might be able to think creatively and build us a simple structure for the scooters to stand, we would be most appreciative. We would absolutely cover the cost of materials. Please email erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca if you would be able to help us out. Upcoming Dates April 25 Parent presentation – Tom Kersting - 6:30 pm May 1-4 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Ms. Jordan’s 1/2 May 3 OH Ranch – Mr McClellan’s 5/6 May 4 Healthy Hunger May 4 Calgary Zoo – Mrs. Eloho’s 5/6 May 5 PD day May 8-12 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Ms. Spidla’s 1/2 May 9 Camp Kindle Parent Meeting – 6:30 pm May 9 Calgary Zoo – ¾ classes May 11 Queen Elizabeth tour for grade 6 students May 15-18 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Mrs. Miller’s 1/2 May 17 PAT – ELA – Grade 6 – 9 am May 18 Pizza Lunch May 22 NO school – Victoria Day May 23 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Mrs. Miller’s 1/2 May 25 Downtown Calgary Field Study – Mrs. LeVesconte/Mr. Cooper grade 5/6 May 29 PD day May 31-June 1 Camp Kindle – Grade 5/6 classes
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Dear Briar Hill Families,
We had many smiling students return to school with lots to share about their spring break adventures. With the warmer temperatures, we hope to take our learning outside more regularly. Studies show a direct correlation between being well and focused to learn after spending time in nature.
Please remember there is no school on Friday, April 7th as it is good Friday, and Monday, April 10th is a Professional Development day for teachers. We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, April 11th.
Thank you to all our parents and guardians who volunteered their time this week with Mrs. William’s class on their Open Minds week at Telus Spark, and with Ms. Lawson and Mrs. Gerla’s class today to the Leighton Centre. We look forward to many more trips coming up. If you do not yet have your police security clearance, please reach to out Katie in the office to get it started. You can send her an email at kafurlong@cbe.ab.caor by calling the school at 403-777-6140.
Healthy Hunger A friendly reminder that our next Healthy Hunger lunch is Thursday, April 13th and is from Opa.
Room 2 Project – Gorilla’s on the Line Please see attach document about a very important project by our Grade 5/6 students in Room 2. They need your support! Gorrilas On The Line.pdf
Vaccinations – April 13 – From our School Nurse
Alberta Health Services Public Health will be coming to the school on Thursday April 13th , 2023 to vaccinate the grade 6 students with the second dose of routine immunizations. The grade 1-5 students will also try and be caught up if they have been absent at our previous programs and/or need to start or finish vaccine series.
The grade 6 immunizations include Hepatitis B (HBV) and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
The grade 1-4 immunizations are generally ones that were missed at 4-6yrs of age. Typically, these immunizations include dTap-IPV (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio) and MMR-Var (measles, mumps, rubella, varicella/chickenpox). Your child may have been offered additional vaccinations if they are missing other immunizations.
Each student is unique with their immunization needs and/or requirements so confidentiality is necessary to protect the personal information of each student.
To help make a positive immunization experience, we highly recommend the kiddo’s eat breakfast before coming to school and for them to wear a short sleeve shirt for easy access to the injection site! ????
AHS Public Health will only be vaccinating those students whose parents have provided consent. Please note that Covid-19 vaccine is not currently being offered through the school immunization program, and only routine immunizations with signed consents will be provided. For more information on immunizations offered in Alberta please visit: AHS Immunization | Immunization (immunizealberta.ca) If you have not returned the consents to the school, please do so by April 11th. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me directly and I’d be happy to help!
Thank you, Megan
Megan Neale RN, BN, CCHN(c) She/Her Public Health Nurse | School Team
Thornhill Community Health Centre Ph: 403-944-7514 Megan.neale@albertahealthservices.ca
Parent Presentation – April 25 6:30 pm With thanks to the support of our School Council, and funds from the Alberta Government, we are pleased to share we are joining 5 other Elementary Schools to bring in Tom Kersting for a virtual parent evening. We will host interested parents in viewing the presentation together at Briar Hill or for those wanting to watch from the comfort of their home, here is the link to the session.
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Apr 25, 2023 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Disconnected
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86956143061 Tom Kersting is a nationally renowned psychotherapist, author and television contributor. He is the author of the bestselling book, Disconnected: How to Protect Your Kids From the Harmful Effects of Device Dependency and the newly released bestseller, Raising Healthy Teenagers: Equipping Your Child to Navigate the Pitfalls and Dangers of Teen Life. Tom is a regular, guest expert on many national television news and talk shows where he offers insight and advice about parenting, relationships and wellness. He lectures throughout the country. His presentation description for our evening is:
Raising Healthy, Happy Children in an Ever-Changing World
Our kids are experiencing an unprecedented sense of isolation, interacting virtually in a world that seems ever more fearful with each news cycle. They absorb and internalize the stress and anxiety they see on their parents' faces and on the phone, laptop, tablet, and TV screens that are ever before their eyes. Not surprisingly, their mental and physical health are suffering. As parents, we want to know how we can help.
In this presentation I’m going to help parents understand the mental, physical, and social toll that the changing world is having on their children. Thankfully there’s hope. I’ll provide proven strategies to help our children get back onto a healthy path by:
· reducing screen time and increasing green time
· Developing robust social and emotional skills
· The importance of regular, meaningful conversation and interaction with our children · Understand ‘self’ in self-esteem
· reclaiming a structured day
· breaking the cycle of anxiety and depression
· and much more
Upcoming Dates April 7 No School – Good Friday April 10 No School – Professional Day April 11 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Mrs. Williams April 13 Vaccinations for grade 6s April 13 Healthy Hunger – Opa April 18 Medicine River Wildlife Centre – Visit with 1/2s and Ks April 19 School Council 7 pm April 20 Pizza Lunch April 21 Save the date – evening community event *details to come April 25 Parent presentation – Tom Kersting - 6:30 pm
We wish families a most wonderful long weekend. Briar Hill Staff
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| Dear Briar Hill Families
Wow! The book sale was a tremendous success and generated great spirit among our school and the greater community. Thank you to all involved in the planning, organizing and seeing the event through to the end. We are also so grateful to everyone who generously donated books.
Briar Hill staff wish all our families a wonderful spring break filled with rest, time to rejuvenate and plenty of new memories. Hopefully the weather treats us to plenty of sunshine and lots of opportunity to be outside.
Healthy Hunger – date moved to April 13
To accommodate all classes, we have shifted the next Healthy Hunger date to Thursday, April 13th. If you have already ordered, it will be transferred over for you. Please order through https://healthyhunger.ca/ where you can register your student(s). Once your account is created you will be able to view the up-coming Fun Lunches, place orders and pay online with Visa or Mastercard. This program is completely optional and you can participate in all, some, or none of the lunches that are set up. Briar Hill School and Parent Council want to ensure that every child that wants to, can participate. Please do not hesitate to reach out directly to Ms LaMontagne should you have any financial concerns relating to these lunches.
Upcoming Dates April 3 First Day back April 3-6 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Mrs. Williams April 6 Leighton Centre – Mrs. Lawson & Mrs. Gerla April 7 No School – Good Friday April 10 PD Day – no school for students April 11 Open Minds – Telus Spark – Mrs. Williams April 13 Vaccinations for grade 6s April 13 Healthy Hunger
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| It was so wonderful to have families in our school for parent conferences. Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to meet with your child’s teacher. While this is a formal time to connect with your child’s teacher, please know you can always reach out if you have any wonders or worries. Hopefully you are also finding the updates in your child’s agenda, the weekly emails, blogs and/or Instagram supportive of knowing what your child is currently learning. Additionally, please reach out should you have any feedback on the format of the conferences or our on-going communication. Parent Presentation – April 25 - 6:30 pm With thanks to the support of our School Council, and funds from the Alberta Government, we are pleased to share we are joining 5 other Elementary Schools to bring in Tom Kersting for a virtual parent evening. We will host interested parents in viewing the presentation together at Briar Hill or for those wanting to watch from the comfort of their home, a link will be sent out to families closer to the date. Tom Kersting is a nationally renowned psychotherapist, author and television contributor. He is the author of the bestselling book, Disconnected: How to Protect Your Kids From the Harmful Effects of Device Dependency and the newly released bestseller, Raising Healthy Teenagers: Equipping Your Child to Navigate the Pitfalls and Dangers of Teen Life. Tom is a regular, guest expert on many national television news and talk shows where he offers insight and advice about parenting, relationships and wellness. He lectures throughout the country. Tom's presentation description for our evening is: Raising Healthy, Happy Children in an Ever-Changing World
Our kids are experiencing an unprecedented sense of isolation, interacting virtually in a world that seems ever more fearful with each news cycle. They absorb and internalize the stress and anxiety they see on their parents' faces and on the phone, laptop, tablet, and TV screens that are ever before their eyes. Not surprisingly, their mental and physical health are suffering. As parents, we want to know how we can help.
In this presentation I’m going to help parents understand the mental, physical, and social toll that the changing world is having on their children. Thankfully there’s hope. I’ll provide proven strategies to help our children get back onto a healthy path by:
· Reducing screen time and increasing green time
· Developing robust social and emotional skills
· The importance of regular, meaningful conversation and interaction with our children · Understand ‘self’ in self-esteem
· Reclaiming a structured day
· Breaking the cycle of anxiety and depression Book Sale Wow, there has already been a tremendous amount of books donated and volunteer hours covered to prepare for Briar Hill’s book sale. Thank you for your immense support so far. There are still many spots to cover for volunteers, please use the sign-up genius to lend your time: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084ba8a929a3ff2-briar1#/ We continue to accept book donations through until March 16th. The book sale runs: March 20 Briar Hill Families only 3:30 to 6:00 pm March 21 Open to the community 9:00 to 6:00 pm March 22 Open to the community 9:00 to 8:00 pm with 2 for 1 madness 6 to 8 pm Pizza Lunch – March 16 A friendly reminder that our next pizza lunch is Wednesday, March 16. Orders are due before March 12 around midnight and can be ordered at: https://www.briarhillplayground.com/shop Order Online - remember to select your child's teacher from the dropdown menu once you have added pizza to your cart. This helps make the pizza delivery to each classroom more seamless, and ensures no students pizza ends up in the wrong classroom. Pizza lunch is a fundraiser for our School Council and supported by our grade 6 leaders who are responsible for delivering and handing out the pizza lunch. Unfortunately, as it is over the lunch hour, it is only for our grade one to six students. We want every child interested in eating pizza to be included, if you need support, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. La Montagne at erlamontagne@cbe.ab.ca On pizza day, please remember to send your child with a plate. School Council Please come join our council to connect with other parents, have a direct impact on your child’s school and learn about potential upcoming school events. Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 15th at 7 pm at Briar Hill School. The agenda and minutes from last month will be sent to families on Monday.
Upcoming Dates March 15 School Council 7 pm March 16 Pizza Lunch March 18 Bottle Drive 10 to 2 pm March 20-22 Book Sale March 24 Last day before Spring Break April 3 First day back April 3-6 Williams – Open Minds – Telus Spark April 6 Ms. Lawson and Mrs. Gerla – Leighton Art Centre April 7 No school – Good Friday April 10 No school for students – Professional Development Day April 13 Healthy Hunger *new date April 13 Grade 6 vaccinations April 20 Pizza Lunch
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