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Samuel Shaw Principal Message
May 9th, 2023
 
Good evening to our Samuel Shaw families.  We hope this finds you well after a few days of showers after a few weeks of some sunshine, as is the weather this time of year in Calgary.
Over the last several weeks we have been transtioning our new lunchtime routines and I must say that our students are doing a fabulous job of adapting and using their time at lunch in great ways.  Our grade 7, 8 and 9 students are demonstrating their commitment to making the time at lunch work in good ways by being great role models for each other and using that time to connect with each other.  The grade 5 and 6 students are taking full advantage each day of accessing the playground structure and the lower soccer field and using their lunchtime to also build relationships beyond the classroom.  We are seeing such positive interactions outside amongst our students across the grades and look to continue to support them even more.
At our Parent Council meeting two weeks ago we were able to share some of the planning for next year with our parents.  This includes some shifting in programing which will result in us hiring a construction teacher and a foods teacher along with a computers / design teacher to compliment some of the learning opportunites for students beyond their core academic.  This will be in addition to the music, art and drama programs that currently exist. We will be meeting with students in grade 6, 7 and 8 in the next two weeks to seek their choices of complimentary classes for next year.  Along with this planning we will be looking to make some shifts in teaching assignments for next year as we work through the staffing process.  We have several teachers that are on contracts that expire at the end of June which results in the necessity of teaching assignments to change.  We are also looking at some time changes within the school day which means that we will be having a schedule that is a 4/2.  Meaning that we will have 4 classes in the morning and 2 classes after lunch.  Our morning will see us having a nutrition break mid-mornig for 5 minutes where students can go to their lockers, grab a snack as we know that the later lunch will need this kind of support. We have sought feedback from students that attended our Student Advisory Team sessions to seek their opinions. We can also confirm that our start and end times will remain the same for next year. As we firm up the plans and where we are going we will continue to share with you.
On June 1st we will be having a schoolwide activity day for all of our students.  Students will be signing up for their choices in the days to come.  If you have any questions on this day please reach out to your student's homeroom teacher and they can help answer questions.
We would like to ask our community to mark June 8th on their calendar and come join us for a BBQ and an opportunity to tour the school as we celebrate the learning that has taken place this year so far.  We are also using this as an opportunity to welcome our new students and their families to come and tour the school.  We will start our festivities at 5:00pm with a hot dog BBQ; the formal part of the evening will start at 5:30pm with a Band performance and Land Acknowledgement in the main gymnasium.  We are excited to be planning this amazing opportunity to celebrate our fabulous students.
Good luck to our grade 6 and 9 students next week as they take part in their Language Arts Part A of the Provincial Achievement Tests. We know our students will demonstrate their thinking and writing in great ways.
Just a reminder that we have our next SWS Council meeting tomorrow night.  This one will be online and hope we can see many of you there.
Have a great evening out there J.
 
Terry / Shannon
 
On the Horizon J
·       May 15th Grade 9 ELA PAT
·       May 17th Grade 6 ELA PAT
·       May 25th Treasue Island
·       June 1st Celebration of Learning 5:00 – 8:00pm
·       June 8th Eye of the Storm Activity Day
·       PAT Schedule
o   Monday May 15th             Grade 9 ELA Part A @ 9:30 – 11:30am
                                            Grade 9 K&E ELA Part A @ 9:30am – 10:50am
o   Wednesday May 17th                Grade 6 ELA Part A @ 9:30 – 11:30am
o   Tuesday June 20th           Grade 6 ELA Part B @ 9:30 – 10:30am
                                            Grade 9 ELA Part B @ 9:30 – 10:45am
                                            Grade 9 K&E ELA Part B @ 9:30 – 10 :45am
o   Thursday June 22nd                  Grade 6 Math Part A @ 9:30 – 9:50am
                                            Grade 9 Math Part A @ 9:30 – 10:00am
o   Friday June 23rd               Grade 6 Math Part B @ 9:30 – 10:40am
                                           Grade 9 Math Part B @ 9:30 – 10:50am
                                            Grade 9 K&E Math @ 9:30 – 10:45am
o   Monday June 26th            Grade 6 Social Studies @ 9:30 – 10:30am
                                            Grade 9 Social Studies @ 9:30 – 10:50am
                                            Grade 9 K&E Social Studies @ 9:30 – 10:45am
o   Tuesday June 27th           Grade 6 Science @ 9:30 – 10:30am
                                            Grade 9 Science @ 9:30 – 10:45am
                                            Grade 9 K&E Science @ 9:30 – 10:45am
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