Hello Lynx families,
It was wonderful to see students back in the building, despite the freezing temperatures and long weekend. Over the past week numerous teachers have come to speak with me about things they learned during teachers’ convention, and how they could go about implementing some of what they learned at school. As an administrator it is wonderful to see teachers so passionate about their learning and their desire to share this with students. I look forward to seeing some of these plans come to fruition.
I hope families have had a chance to sit down and look over their child(ren)’s report cards. These are available via your PowerSchool account. If you have been unable to view the report card, please let us know in the office and we will do our best to assist you.
With semester 1 behind us, we are approaching our second round of parent-teacher interviews on the evening of March 9th and the morning of March 10th. We will be opening the booking system for this next week. We are planning the evening of March 9th to be in person, here at the school, and March 10th to be virtual. Please watch for an upcoming email from the school with more information.
As many of you may be already aware of, we have also been recently dealing with numerous situations that stem from student use of online social media. Specifically (but not exclusively), via numerous Instagram and TikTok groups. It appears as if this has become a medium for many of the students to post about/towards each other, and teachers, and not always using the most appropriate terms. This has then carried over into apps such as “sendit”. While not every student is posting to these sites, many are following these pages, viewing what has been posted and then staying quiet about what is there. In some cases, students will create multiple accounts and usernames, or impersonate other students or even teachers, in order to create and post anonymously on these sites.
While we are speaking with students here at school, I believe, again, that working in collaboration with parents/guardians is essential in addressing issues like this. Please over the next few days, have a conversation with your child(ren) about appropriate use of social media and what to do if they are privy to inappropriate things. I would encourage parents to monitor their child(ren)’s phone usage, both for which application are being accessed but also how long they are spending on their phone.
I have attached a few social media sheets for parents to this email just in case anyone would like more information. You can also visit numerous websites, for example: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ where if you click on the “Parents Tips and FAQs” tab you can get information on numerous popular apps that students access.
Bonne fin de semaine,
Chad Edmonds – Principal GP Vanier
Alberta Education Assurance Survey Extension – Grade 7 Families
The deadline for the completion of the Alberta Education Assurance (AEA) survey to Friday, March 17, 2023. This extension applies to student, teacher, and parent surveys.
This extension is necessary due to an unexpected delay in the mail out of the parent survey invitation packages. The packages will still be mailed out in the coming weeks and the extension provides parents with adequate time to complete the survey.
Vanier School Council Casino: Friday March 24th and Saturday March 25th, 2023
Volunteers NEEDED! Please use the following link:https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D48ABA82AA3F4CE9-casino1
to sign up for THE MAJOR FUNDRAISING EVENT of the year! The Vanier Parent and Band Councils are coordinating this casino to raise funds for all school programs and activities.
When: Friday March 24th and Saturday March 25th
Where: Ace Casino Airport located at 40 Aero Crescent NE Calgary, AB T2E 6W5
We require over 30 volunteers to make this even a success. Future funding is dependent on our groups ability to fill all positions so please share this link with family and friends! Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age and bring photo ID. Any questions please email djmorrow@shaw.ca
Belcanfran Exchange – Date Change to March 1, 7:00-8:00, Haysboro Community Centre
We wanted to let you about an exchange opportunity that is outside of the Calgary Board of Education. The council of Ministries encourages the participation in short-term and long-term exchanges for language acquisition. Please see the attached two notices that outline the Belcanfran Exchange Program for French Immersion students in grades 8 & 9.
The Calgary Board of Education does not endorse any outside agencies exchange programs. We were asked to share this information with our community.
"Following our first information session to parents and students about the Belcanfran exchange program in November 2022 we are writing to offer a second information session for an upcoming student exchange with Belcanfran in 2023-2024. This additional opportunity is provided for families who have an interest in the program but who were unable to attend the first informational meeting. We have received a number of phone calls which have verified the ongoing interest in the Belcanfran reciprocal exchange. Please visit the Belcanfran website to gain further information: www.belcanfran.com "
Thank you & Merci
Last Chance to Purchase BONUS Beef Jerky!
We have a few extra packages of Beef Jerky for purchase from the office for $7 a package. Please have your child bring cash to the office if you wish to buy an extra package or two!
Email Mme Laurelle if you have any questions: lkedmiston@cbe.ab.ca
Library Fundraisers:
We have set up a few ways for families to help support our library in the purchase of books
Plant order
Parents can order plants between now and May 11th and pick up will be May 26th from 12:30pm-3:30pm. Parents can order on the Healthy Hunger website, they will login under their student’s homeroom and then purchase what they would like. Click here for specific instructions
and/or
Loonies for Literacy
Our school is participating in Loonies for Literacy again this year – to date we have raised $332.50 of our $1,000 goal. Thank you so much for supporting this initiative. Please continue to share our link with friends and family so we can reach our goal.
Last year our school community raised $862.00. These funds have allowed us to purchase popular new books students have requested. We will continue to take student book requests to ensure we are providing titles that will keep them interested and engaged.
We hope this will continue to promote a love of reading for our students here at GP Vanier.
If you would like to donate, please click on the link below and share with friends and family you think would like to support this amazing initiative. The campaign will run from February 1 to April 23. 2023. We have set our schools goal at $1,000 and would love to see the same community support to make this happen.
https://educationmatters.akaraisin.com/looniesforliteracy2023/GeorgesPVanier
To make literacy more equitable across the city, for every dollar raised by a school during this campaign, another dollar will be provided to a school in need through contributions from community partners like yourself.
Learning to read opens up a new world of information, imagination, and communication; literacy is essential to developing self-esteem, an understanding of the world, and one’s place in it. Please join us in ensuring that no student falls behind.
Upcoming Dates
February 28: School Council Special AGM and meeting: Click here to join the meeting
March 1 & 2: Grade 6 Field Trip to Interpretive Centre
March 3: Sr. Badminton Tournament 4:00 – 8:00
March 9 & 10: Parent Teacher Conferences
March 13: Sugar Shack
March 15: MRU Music Field Trip Grade 7 (details to follow)
March 17: Climbing Trip ENVOE9 (details to follow)
March 20 - 24: Semaine de la Francophonie/French Week
March 20 - 24: Artist in Residence – Mat Maitlandt
March 24 & 25: School Council Casino Fundraiser
March 25 – April 2: SPRING BREAK
April 3: Back to School
