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Chris Akkerman Weekly Message Feb 26

Important Dates to Remember: 

February 28 – Assembly day. Formal Uniforms Please. Sadly, we do not have space inour gym to accommodate families for this event. 

March 1-3 Letters of Acceptance and Wait list letters will be sent electronically to families. Please do NOT call the school about lottery. We are doing the very best we can, this process takes time. Every call about the lottery delays the process for everyone. 

March 1 – On-line booking for Student Led Conferences Opens 6PM 

March 9 – Student Led Conference (Registration to open March 1 - 6PM) 

March 9 – School Council (Learning Commons) 7PM 

March 10 – Professional Development Day (No school for students) 

March 25 – April 2 Spring Break – School is Closed 

School Spirit Day (Presented by the Grade 5 Leadership Students) 

March 3 – Casual Friday  (Wear your Chris Akkerman Cubs T-Shirt, Wear School colours, Wear your uniform) 

March 17 – St. Patrick's day. Wear green, wear what makes you feel lucky.  

March 24 – Twin and triplet day. Dress the same as a friend or a group of friends, wear your hair the same as a friend or group of friends, wear your uniform – just like all of your school friends! 

We need parent volunteers!  

French Festival – March 2 (all day). We need parent support in the gym and outside helping our students with cultural activities. We can't do this without you. Even an hour of your help is appreciated. Please e-mail your classroom teacher or call the office. We need you to ensure this event is a success for all of our students. If you have a police clearance, please consider helping us out on this day!  

Scholastic Book Fair – March 6-10 We need parents to assist with this fundraising event or the event will be either shortened or cancelled.  

We need a Book Fair Coordinator. We can help you learn what needs to be done. A Book Fair Coordinator helps with set up, take down, advertising the event, organizing volunteers, collecting and counting all cash transactions.  

Parent Volunteers – We need parents to cover the following shifts at minimum 

Wednesday 7:30 – 2:30 (any amount of hours during this time is appreciated – police clearance required) 

Thursday 7:30 – 2:30 (any amount of hours during this time is appreciated – police clearance required) 

Thursday 2:45 – 3:45 (no police clearance is needed to assist with this time) 

Thursday 4:45 – 8:00 (no police clearance is needed to assist with this time) 

Friday 8:00 – 12:00 Take down and clean up (No police clearance is required to assist this date) 

Chris Akkerman School Engagement Opportunity 

Please provide us with feedback on the Chris Akkerman Budget, Fees,  and School Council.  There are about 8 questions on this survey. It shouldn't take longer than about 5 minutes to complete. We are eager to hear what fieldtrip and residency opportunities families would like their child to participate in. We are also eager to hear what fees for fiend trips and activities should be set for next year. We look forward to your feedback. 

The survey is currently open, it will close on March 15. 

***This is available in many languages. Please select the language that works for you in the top corner. Please forgive any language errors as the translation piece is not perfect.  

Engagement Survey 

Alberta Education Assurance Survey  

Grade 4 families, each year Alberta Education conducts a survey and seeks your feedback. The Alberta Education Assurance Survey is now open. It will close later in March. Alberta Education uses the Assurance Survey as a way for school authorities to measure their success and assess their progress towards meeting their learning goals. Parents / Legal Guardians of children in grade 4 will receive their survey in the mail.   You are encouraged to complete the survey online. Students and all teachers will complete their surveys online at school. Your voice matters. Your participation in the survey helps provide important information on the quality of education your child is receiving. Alberta Education and Calgary Board of Education thank you for returning the parent Assurance Survey promptly. If you have questions or need a link to fill in the survey, please contact Ms Bauman at djbauman@cbe.ab.ca  

Attendance and Lates  

Students arriving to school with time to spare have the luxury of settling in, greeting their teachers and classmates, and focusing their minds on the lessons to come. Students arriving late miss out on this natural transition period, and chronic tardiness may cause students to struggle with academic focus and relationships with peers. Showing up on time to school every day can help students develop the habit of being punctual, illustrates to them your commitment to their learning and friendships, and helps reduce classroom interruptions and distractions for all students. Missing just 15 minutes of school twice a week equates to 3 missed school days per year! Please ensure your child arrives to school on time. If you need support with ideas on how to arrive at school on time please reach out to your classroom teacher or Ms. Bauman djbauman@cbe.ab.ca as they will be happy to help. 

Lunchroom Registration and Fees 

All families with outstanding fees will receive letters indicating your fees owed at our Student Led Conferences.  At conferences you will be able to come to the office and pay your fees using the interact machine if you have been unsuccessful paying these fees on line. We are unable to accept CASH payments as the school is not set up to accept cash.  

It is important that all families log into their myCBE account to pay the fees for lunchroom, transportation, and fieldtrips/ recorders. These fees will not go away. In fact, the CBE does send families to collections if fees are not paid in a timely manner. If you are unable to pay your fees, please connect with the school at conferences. THe window for seeking assistance is quickly approaching. The CBE does not look favourably upon families who wait too long to connect with the school about unpaid fees. Please connect with the school as soon as possible if the current fees cannot be paid. 

Dressing for the Weather 

When students don't wear mitts/ gloves when it is cold they will keep their hands in their pockets. The trouble is, these days the school grounds are covered with ice. When kids have their hands in their pockets and they slip on the ice they will often cut their chin, cut their lips, their teeth will go through either their tongue or their lips - requiring stitches. It is best practice to walk with our hands out prepared to catch ourselves should we slip or fall. Please send your child with gloves/ mitts. Children are excited to play in the snow when the weather permits. Children need boots, snow pants, winter coat and good mitts to play in the snow. All students will be spending time outside several times each day. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather.  

Uniforms 

Part of being in a TLC school is the uniform. Students need to follow the uniform requirements. We will begin notifying students and their families of problems with their uniform. Thank you for assisting our amazing students in representing TLC well by following the uniform expectations! Some highlights: 

·       Pants, leggings, sweat pants are never worn under a tunic. Socks or leotards are worn under a tunic. Shorts are also great to wear under a tunic, but they should never be visible. 

·       If a student is cold at school, they should be wearing their cardigan, not a hoodie from their favourite sport's team.  

·       If you are wearing pants, they are pants/ trousers/ slacks. Jeans, sweat pants, leggings are not part of the school uniform. 

·       If students are wearing a shirt underneath their dress shirt, it should be white. 

·       Dress shirts should be white, not grey, not stained. 

·       Fancy coloured socks are part of weekend wear and are not part of the school uniform. 

·       Formal days include cardigans, tunics, ties for those wearing a dress shirt and pants.  

·       Hair accessories and heat coverings should match the TLC colours if at all possible.  

Taking pride in how we dress is an important part of being a TLC student. Wearing the TLC uniform correctly and proudly will improve student confidence. We look forward to celebrating how great the students look in their uniform this coming week. 

Did you know, a quick Kijiji or Facebook Market Place search results in many uniform pieces being sold at a very reduced price. Did you know that Once Upon A Child has many uniform pieces for sale in their store. DId you know Walmart, Old Navy, The Gap sell navy bottoms and white tops that work with our school uniform. Thank you for your care in ensuring the uniform is respected and worn with pride. 

French Festival!! 

Chris Akkerman's Francophone Festival Celebration is on Thursday, March 2, 2023. This Festival will last most of the day and will take place inside and outside the school. Therefore, please make sure your child comes to school dressed for the weather with tuques, mittens and snow pants.  

Our school staff and 'Canadian Maple Shack Inc.' will run the carnival. As part of our Festival each student will be provided with a Traditional Canadian Maple Syrup Candy, which is authentic maple syrup rolled on snow using a popsicle stick. Students will also be participating in authentic Francophone games/activities, such as tug-o-war, sack races and musical spoons. Students are encouraged to dress as a Francophone would dress. Examples of how to dress would be plaid shirt, tuques, or even a traditional Métis style sash around the waist (Ceinture Fléchée). Please see French Google Classroom for more examples. Of course, students can always wear their casual uniform.  

·       If your child is not able to eat the Maple Syrup candy (Maple Syrup cookies for M/Wed Kindergarten students), please put a note in your child's agenda indicating your decision. 

·       If you are able to volunteer and have security clearance, please let your child's teacher know. 

Should the weather not cooperate this event will be rescheduled.  

We are looking forward to this event and celebrating French Canadian culture, history and Indigenous connections. 

Merci, 

Mrs. Fontanne 

FSL Teacher 

Student Led Conferences 

On March 9 all parents are welcome to come with their child to experience a Student Led Conference. It is essential that your child is present for the conference.  Using your mycbe account, please sign-up for a 25-minute time slot. Sign-up for conferences will begin on March 1 at 6pm and will end on March 8 at noon.  

Kindergarten times slots on March 9: 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00 

Gr 1-5 time slots on March 9: 3:00, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00 

Kindergarten classes will have additional time slots to accommodate all of the kindergarten learners. Some kindergarten conference times will be during class time, while others will be later in the day. Thursday Kinders will be participating in special learning opportunities with our Music and French teachers while their classes are open for Student Led Conferences. 

Gr 1 – 5 families will have an opportunity to attend a conference immediately following student dismisal on Thursday or during the early evening on Thursday March 9. It will be important for all families to arrive on time for their conference as conference times will need to begin and end on time to accommodate all CAS families. 

 Children are preparing with their teachers  to share their current and most recent learning and next steps in learning in math, reading, and writing.  Many classrooms will also have health, science, social studies, and well bing activities available for your children to share with you. The music room will be open for your child to share what has been happening in music. French will be shared within some classes and in the Learning Commons for other classes.  

Before you attend Student Led Conferences, please ensure you have reviewed your child's report card on line. This is a great opportunity to reflect on the current learning discussed and shared in the report card, their next steps and best ways to support your student learner. It is also hoped you will see many curricular areas, not written about in the report card but where indicators of achievement were shared. If a picture is worth 1000 words, imagine what an experience is worth. We encourage all families to take this time to examine their child's work and how it relates to what was shared in the report card. We encourage you to find their strengths and their personal areas of growth and celebrate this with your child.  

Parents, during the conference, you will be asked to provide your child with feedback that will include both celebrations of what your child has achieved and your greatest hopes for the remainder of the school year. 

Student Led Conferences are a wonderful opportunity for you to connect with your child about their learning. Please allow your child to take the lead and share with you. During Student Led Conferences there will be approximately 5-6 other families in your child's designated space also participating in this learning and celebratory opportunity. This is the time to celebrate and acknowledge the hard work your child has done to date. This is not the time to conference with the teacher. If you have specific questions for the classroom teacher, please make an appointment with them for a telephone call, face to face meeting, or an on-line TEAMs meeting to discuss your child's learning. Due to privacy, Student Led Conferences are not the time for specific discussions with your child's teacher. Thank you for your understanding.  

Please note – the school office will be open to pay fees and begin your police clearance processes.  

The gym will be home to the Scholastic Book Fair – if we are able to secure enough parent volunteers. 

School Council will host a meeting in the Learning Commons beginning at 7PM