|  Samuel Shaw Principal MessageMarch 5th, 2023 Good evening and happy Sunday to the Samuel Shaw community. We hope this message finds you at the back half of a nice weekend. In supporting your student in learning it is my intent to send out frequent messages from Shannon and myself. It is our desire to share with you some of the events, happenings, observations and thoughts with you to help provide more information about what is happening at Samuel Shaw from week to week. I want to start by sharing my gratitude to our students as they have been amazing in welcoming me into Sam Shaw. I was amazed last week as they held a Pep Rally where I saw the band perfrom, we had speches from students in connection to the Land Acknolwdgement and student representatives from the “Houses" shared their learning so far this year. We had students demonstrate their dance skills and this was all hosted by several student MC's who did a fabulous job. I can say the bar was set high if this is what I can come to expect in leading the community at Sam Shaw and I am excited by the possibilities that lay ahead. I was most impressed with the support that all these students received consistently throughout the rally and I can see there is much to celebrate at Sam Shaw. This past week our students participated in Badminton Divisionals and I heard there were many outstanding results for students from Sam Shaw. Congratulations to all of our athletes and thanks to our coaches and volunteers for supporting this opportunity for our Badminton players. The next season of play is Basketball, stay tuned for announcement in connection with that. Our grade 9 students have been quite busy these past few weeks as they have participated in some of their high school transition conversations. I know through experience this is always an exciting and wobbly time for our grade 9 students. Please know as your student is making these transitions that if you need more information and conversation to please reach out and we will help. Our grade 9's have also presented their YPI projects this past week. The grade 9 teachers reported the level of presentations was outstanding and certainly something to celebrate. Congratulations to our grade 9's for entering into this work in such fulsome ways. We have our second set of conferences coming up this week. It is one more way that we want to connect with you in regards to your student's learning. You should have received a couple emails on this opportunity over the weekend. If those times do not work, please do not hesitate to contact your student's homeroom teacher to make arrangements beyond those this week. It is a good reminder for me to share with our community that I do not want parents to wait unitl conferences to connect with your student's teacher. Please feel free to reach out at anytime and we will do our best to connect and share. We also have our Book Fair coming up. Information will be coming home for those that are interested in the fair. Again, on behalf of Shannon I would like to thank-you for working closely with the school and in partnership to support your student in learning. Have a fabulous Sunday J. Terry / Shannon On the Horizon J · Mar 7-15 Scholastic Book Fair · Mar 14 &16 Grade 8/9 Band Trip to Edmonton · Mar 22 Author Lorna Schultz Nicholson at SWS all day o P 1 9:10-10:00 Grade 9 o P 2 10:14 -11:04 Grade 8 o P 4 12:50- 1:40 Grade 5 and 6 combined o P 5 1:46-2:40 Grade 7 · March 23 Spring Formal · Mar 23 Junior High Improv Festival at E.P. Scarlett · Mar 27-31 Spring Break · Apr 3 Classes Resume · Apr 7 Good Friday · Apr 10 PD Day
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| As my transition to the System Principal position at Area 6 approaches, I would like to thank the students, staff, parents, and guardians for allowing me the privilege of leading SWS and trusting me to support our students through these last eighteen months. As my path leads away from SWS I will carry the important work and relationships that have sustained my enthusiasm and passion for student success. At SWS we have emphasized a collaborative culture and that we are “better together.” I am confident that our school will continue to support our students, exhausting all supports as the outstanding staff continue to put students first and make learning our central purpose. Lastly, I sincerely appreciate and cherish the well wishes you have sent my way, I am humbled.
New Principal As announced last week Mr. Terry Baustad was named the new principal of Samuel W. Shaw. On Friday, Mr. Baustad visited SWS and briefly met with staff and we began to plan as smooth a mid-year transition as possible. Mr. Baustad comes with a wealth of diverse experience as a leader across divisions, across the CBE and is very excited to be starting officially starting on February 21st. Debate Club Debate Club has been active again this year at SWS. We would like to thank the dedicated students that have been representing our school. Most recently, our students participated in the Atlas 3 Mix Debate Tournament at Sir Winston Churchill High School. These students spent Friday night and all-day Saturday competing against other debate teams from various school boards across Calgary. We want to acknowledge and thank Mr. Worthington and the Debate Team for their dedication to making themselves better thinkers and writers and putting the SWS Debate Team back on top! Staff Conventions/Family Day Our Staff Conventions occur on February 16th and 17th of this month. There will be no school for students on these days, as staff will be involved in professional learning. In addition, Monday, February 20th is Family Day and there will be no school.
Badminton We have had a tremendous amount of interest in competing for the teams this year. Teams from grade 6-9 have been selected and are carrying a maximum of 22 players as this follows CMLSAA regulations and tournament rules. With teams established, coaches will communicate schedules and tournaments.
Friday, February 24 Grade 9 @ Joanne Cardinal Schubert Students can arrive at 2 pm and start games at 2:45 pm
Monday, February 27 Grade 8 @ Joanne Cardinal Schubert Students can arrive at 4 pm and start games at 4:45 pm
Wednesday, March 1 - Grade 7 @ Lord Beaverbrook
Students can arrive at 4 pm and start games at 4:45 pm
Thursday, March 2 - Grade 6 @ Lord Beaverbrook Students can arrive at 4 pm and start games at 4:45 pm
Yearbook The Yearbook Club would like to remind everyone that the order deadline for the 2022-2023 yearbook has been extended until February 14th. Our Yearbook is $30 and can be ordered through your MYCBE Account. Please contact the office if you require support in ordering.
High School Registration We are currently working with our local high schools to complete high school registration this month. Our designated school is Centennial High School, however, since CBE designates students by home address, we also have some students registering at other schools, such as Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School. Students interested in the CBE High School transfer process are asked to refer to an email sent home last week, detailing this process. Those students interested in attending Henry Wise Wood, for the IB Program, must familiarize themselves with the transfer process and ensure their transfer is submitted as part of their IB application. It is our goal to set up all our students for a successful grade 10 year, please ask questions or seek clarification from teachers or administration if you are unsure about the high school registration process. Families, if you’ve yet to receive your registration form, please look for Centennial registration forms to arrive home this week. We ask that you review the form with your child, sign and return it as the Centennial guidance counselors will be here on February 23rd to complete registration with our students.
School Council There is no School Council meeting this month. Our next School Council meeting will not be held until March 16th, at 6:30 pm.
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| Dear Parents and Guardians, We have had a deep freeze to usher in December, but hopefully, there are warmer days ahead. We are very proud of our SWS Volleyball teams who all won their divisions! Special thanks to the athletes, coaches, and fans that supported our teams throughout this season. On November 18th, our volleyball teams were also victorious during our Staff v Student game. It was a rare occasion where the staff at SWS were the ones requiring ice packs following our crushing defeat.
Winter Concert On December 1st our Grade 5/6 Choir, Jazz Band along with our grade 7, grade 8, and grade 9 band hosted a Winter Concert at GCA. The event celebrated the musical talents of our students and the leadership and vision of Mrs. Smith. There were many moving parts that kept our audience thoroughly entertained as winter and holiday classics were enjoyed by all in attendance. Thanks to all our Band and Choir members for ushering in December in a musical way.
Foodbank/Drop-In Centre At SWS we are collecting donations for building “Frosty Bite Kits” for the Drop-In Centre and non-perishable food items for the Food Bank. Students can bring items to the STORM store and donation points will be awarded to their class house. STORM store will be pre-selling pizza on Wednesday, December 21. Vouchers can be purchased through the STORM store Monday, Dec. 19th, and Tuesday, Dec. 20th.
Book Fair On behalf of our entire school, thank you for supporting our Scholastic Book Fair! Our total sales were $3351.00, which gave us $1537 for new books and rewards to enhance our school learning commons. We could not have done it without your help. We look forward to the next time we can have a Book Fair with you!
World Cup We have been hosting World Cup Soccer games at lunch in our Aux. Gym for our students to enjoy. The energy and excitement were certainly the greatest for Team Canada, but there is much excitement still surrounding the remaining nations.
Badminton Badminton tryouts will start in January as we get ready for our Badminton season. Students in grades 6-9 will be able to try out for a team. In the New Year, grade-specific schedules will be shared. The season will run from January through the beginning of March.
Drama Production SWS Thundercat Theatrical Productions is proud to present “Everyone Gets Eaten by Sharks” on Thursday, December 15th. Doors will open at 6:45 pm with the performance commencing at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the show cost $5 and will be sold at school during lunch the week of Dec. 12th. Parents can also reserve a ticket through this link https://forms.gle/bezaxSLCM44ohbMJ6. Come and support our drama students.
Spirit Week December 19-22 is Spirit Week at SWS. Each day has a theme: Monday: Ugly Sweater Day Tuesday: Beach Day Wednesday: Anything But a Backpack Day Thursday: Pajama Day
Winter Break This year our Winter break begins on Friday, December 23 (our last day of classes is Thursday, Dec. 22) and runs through January 8th. We wish all of our students and families a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year. Classes resume for students on Monday, January 9th, 2023.
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| Winter has arrived in force. I hope you are adjusting to the cold temperatures that will likely become the norm. We had an amazing end to October with our school wide Oppor“toonie”ty Pep Rally where our students raised over $575 for the Terry Fox Foundation. Students had purchased raffle tickets and staff were then subjected to various humiliations from pies to the face, hair dying, leg waxing, and even a head shaving. The day concluded with an opportunity to participate in our Halloween Dance complete with student DJs, singing and some trick or treat surprises. On Thursday, November 10th our school will observe Remembrance Day. This year we will be having an assembly to demonstrate our respect and reflect on the significant costs of our freedoms. Friday, November 11th is a statutory holiday, and the school will be closed. Our Storm Volleyball teams have been enjoying enormous success this season. It has been amazing to have spectators back in the building cheering all the student athletes on. We are approaching the playoffs and we wish each of our teams' success. Our athletes have represented the Storm well as they continue to demonstrate teamwork and sportsmanship as they work together for a common goal. Part of our emergency preparedness plan is to practice two lockdowns a year with Calgary Police Service. Our first lockdown will occur this month. Teachers will be discussing Lockdown protocols with students so that they are prepared in advance.
Anti-Bullying Week with Guest Leo Barbe November 14-18 is Anti-Bullying Week. On Thursday, November 17th we are pleased to welcome Leo Barbe to Sam Shaw. Leo was born and raised in Toronto and is Nationally known for his ability to connect with youth and empower them to take control of the emotions that drive them. Along with his life experience Leo will share his “It Starts Within” presentation to help us as individuals recognize the ways we can contribute to a positive school community both inside and outside of the classroom. We look forward to hosting our Parent/Teacher conferences this month on November 23, 24 and 25th. These conferences will be delivered in a hybrid format offering opportunities to meet face to face and virtually. The schedule is as follows: Wednesday November 23rd 5:00-8:00 (in person hosted at SWS) Thursday, November 24th 5:00-8:00 (virtual via Microsoft Teams) Friday, November 25th 9:00-12:00 (in person hosted at SWS)
You will be notified through PowerSchool when the system is open and available for booking. If you do not have a PowerSchool account, you will need to sign-up for one in order to book these appointments. We look forward to these learning conversations and partnering with you for the success of our students. Please note there is no school for students on November 25th due to conferences. The Scholastic Book Fair will also be at Shaw to coincide with Learning Conferences. Students will have opportunities to preview and purchase materials the week of November 21-25th. This year's Winter Concert will be on Thursday, December 1 at Glenmore Christian Academy School. The concert will feature the grade 7, 8 and 9 bands, the Choir and the Jazz Band. There will also be a silent auction. It is going to be a great night! Tickets will be $10/adults, $2 for children 17 and under. More information will be provided prior to this fantastic event.
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| Happy New Year! We trust that the winter break and holiday season gave opportunities to reflect on the year that has passed and look forward (optimistically) to an improved 2022. Although school did not resume when we expected, it is a pleasure to welcome our students back today for in-person learning. We know that there are varying levels of comfort within our learning community with the return to school, and several parents have made the choice not to send their children at this time. Currently, only in-person learning is available, there is not an online option for students. We have been told by our board to be prepared for a shift to online learning should it become necessary. We will do our best to keep you apprised of the situation as it pertains to Samuel W. Shaw. We will continue to communicate through email. We would ask that parents continue to contact the attendance line to inform the office of an absence.
Rapid Testing Kits/Medical Masks We appreciate that the government of Alberta is providing Rapid Testing Kits and medical grade masks for schools. These are currently in transit and have yet to arrive at Samuel W. Shaw. When these items do arrive, we will notify our community and distribute these resources accordingly.
Basketball As of today, we are still permitted to proceed with our basketball season. We have been notified that this could change if our situation changes. Given that we have lost a week, the season will be pushed back a week to allow two weeks for our tryouts. Once teams are created, coaches will share an updated schedule. We want to thank our coaches for providing this opportunity for those comfortable and interested in participating. The tryout schedule for this week is as follows: Sr. Boys: Monday and Wednesday after school at 3:45pm Sr. Girls: Tuesday and Thursday before school at 8:00am Jr. Girls: Thursday after school at 3:45pm and Friday after school at 1:30pm Jr. Boys: Wednesday after school at 3:45pm Our staff are busy with the assessment and reporting process this month. These efforts will culminate in the first report card for the 2021-22 school year. Report cards will be available to parents online through PowerSchool beginning the week of January 31st-February 4th. More details will be shared later in the month. The Yearbook Club would like to remind everyone that the order deadline for the 2021-2022 yearbook is February 14th. Our Yearbook is $25 and can be ordered through your MYCBE Account. Please contact the office if you require support in ordering. Our next school council meeting will be held, virtually through Microsoft Teams, on January 20, 2022, at 6:30pm. Meeting details will be emailed out and shared on our website a few days prior to our meeting.
Once again, we are very appreciative of your ongoing support for our staff and our students. Stay healthy and safe.
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| We are halfway through September and the business of school is well underway. It has been a joy to welcome our students back into our school and resume learning. We thank you for your patience and support as we continue to balance the health and safety protocols as they pertain to our learning environment. Safe and Caring School At the beginning of every school year we, as a staff set goals and targets for our school. This year we have prioritized our continued work of creating a safe and caring school. Pandemic notwithstanding, we understand that the adolescent years can be very challenging for students to navigate. We want to work to create a culture of caring that is accepting of all students. Further, we believe that how we treat each other matters and will continue to work with our students to see the positive and negative ways they may contribute to a safe and caring school. Mistakes will be made, conflicts will occur, but ultimately our goal is to have all of our students grow and foster empathy and kindness. On-going work to be sure, but worthwhile as we want all our students to feel that they matter at SWS. Volleyball We are excited about the opportunities to provide extra-curricular activities this year. The athletics season starts off with volleyball and we have a full complement of participants for tryouts for our teams. These tryouts began on Monday and continue through Thursday, Sept 23rd. Good luck to all our participants. Unfortunately, due to public health restrictions, only members of the volleyball teams are permitted during volleyball games meaning no student or adult spectators. Meet the Teacher/Conferences Meet the Teacher is approaching, September 23rd 5:00-8:00pm and September 24th 9:00am-1:00pm. We had hoped to have conferences, in person, however here we are planning for virtual meetings, once again. While not ideal, we have decided that for this round of conferences to have 10-minute individual bookings for parents with their homeroom teacher for grades 5-9. We have prioritized our Friday conferences for IPP conversations. Conferences will be available to book through PowerSchool on Friday morning. Directions on how to book will be sent to families tomorrow. TikTok Challenge It has come to our attention that there is a school bathroom challenge on TikTok. The challenge involves stealing and damaging bathrooms at school and then posting photos on TikTok. Events at our school would suggest that the challenge is happening at Sam Shaw as we have had several our bathroom soap dispensers go missing. Obviously, beyond the theft and vandalism we are concerned that these behaviours will impact the health and safety of our students as soap has been at times unavailable for use. Further it is very disappointing and discouraging to our facilities staff who work diligently to keep our spaces safe and clean for our students. We need your help, if these items make their way home, please schedule an appointment with the office to return the items.
Thank you for your support and partnership as we work to make this a great year for learning.
Jason & Mary-Elizabeth
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After 29 years in education with Calgary Board of Education, I have decided to resign at the end of this school year – June 30, 2021. This is an open letter of gratitude to the Samuel W. Shaw community, as it is a near impossible task for me to individually thank all of the students, parents, staff, and volunteers of SWS. This decision was not an easy one, because of my deep connection to SWS, its students, its staff and the greater SWS community. My passion for teaching and being with young adolescents hasn't subsided. Admittedly, other opportunities and prospects have excited me as well and I want to explore them further. I have been a part of the SWS community for the past 12 years: the first four years as a parent and the last eight years as the Principal. It is difficult to express how appreciative I am for having the opportunity to be a part of the SWS community since Samuel W. Shaw opened its doors in the fall of 2009. Over the years, I've had the honor of working with remarkable and committed staff, parents and students. Samuel W. Shaw have been a major part of my life. I will always be a part of the SWS community, and SWS will always be a part of me. As I start the next chapter of my life, I do not know what the next steps hold in store for me, except perhaps a more flexible schedule and the opportunity for reflection. The world has so many opportunities to discover, to learn, to enjoy; so I look forward to this next adventure. So, if you see me out in the community, please come over and say hi say so we can reconnect. I will continue to work hard with and for you as principal and assist in the transition with the next appointed principal. In the coming weeks you will be receiving an email asking for your input on the selection for the next principal. My hope is that you participate in this opportunity, to add your voice to the selection process. As excited and anxious as I am about embarking on the next adventure, I also feel sad to be leaving this extraordinary school. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been an educator in such a vibrant and supportive community. Working with the students and staff of SWS has been a great experience for me, which I will not soon forget. I will deeply miss the daily interactions with each and every one of you. I wish all of you the best.
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| I cannot believe that we are already well into the beginning of October. We are so glad that the weather is cooperating, as we are outside as much as possible. I would like to say thank you to all students and families for working so hard to follow our expectations with our Re-entry Plan and, being diligent with managing our health. I would also would like to acknowledge World Teacher Day on October 5th. This is when all teachers are celebrated world wide for their work, compassion and desire to educate our youth. This tribute has even greater meaning this year with the current learning environment that our students and teachers are working in. I hope that we all can take some time to say thank you to our champions who are working with our students each and everyday. |
| I would like to welcome all to the 2020-21 school year at Samuel W. Shaw. This year is going to be one year that we will remember for a long time. We are currently working together getting the school ready for arrival of staff and students. Things are going to look different and there will be many changes to our school day and the protocols. What we have been used to in the past is going to look really different. This year is all about trying something different, learning new things, and being mindful of our health and safety. There will be a large amount of information coming your way through email and posted on the website. Please take the time to read through and if you have any question please to do not hesitate to call the school.
Darrin Fisher
Principal SWS
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| Hey everyone, I hope all of you are well and safe. The staff and I sure miss our students. I understand that most of us are feeling
anxious in the current situation; but we are doing everything to keep you safe
and well. As we work through this “new normal”, we are going to continue the
work in supporting your learning.
I know that over the past few days, teachers have been
reaching out to see how you and your family are doing. They are also checking to see what you have
at home to support your learning from home. Teachers are very excited to reach
out to you and hear all about what you have been doing over the past few weeks.
I know the teachers are also looking forward to seeing all of you through
Google Meet. Maybe you will also have an
opportunity to meet your classmates.
Starting next week, teachers will be sending a weekly schedule of
activities, assignments, office hours and times when students can meet as a
class to continue the learning.
I do have to say that I am impressed by how the staff has
responded to this crisis by collaborating and working together to get ourselves
organized. There has been a lot of new
learning for everyone.
This situation is new for everyone and just like you, we are
all trying to figure out how to support learning but in a different way. Be
kind to everyone around you – you family, your teachers and yourself. Working together, we will all come out on the
other side better and stronger as a learning community.
Darrin Fisher
Principal |
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