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Dear Vista Heights Families:
We hope everyone is healthy and
safe as we begin to see a relaxing of restrictions. The playground is
now open, and it has been great to see some students coming to the school to
enjoy this.
Principal Blog
This week’s blog is a safety
video on crossing the street at the corner. I know this is a difficult
corner, and it is not very visible. I thought I would share a video
with the students about safety. I have noticed some students cutting
through the parking lot to get to the playground. This is an unsafe
practice. Please remind your children to use the sidewalk. Thanks for
helping to keep everyone safe!
https://principalvistaheights.blogspot.com/
Picking up Personal
Belongings/Report Cards
We will be asking parents to call
and book an appointment to pick up students’ personal belongings and report
cards. These will be available for pick up on the following dates:
June 24-26 – Kindergarten to
Grade Four
June 25-26 – Grade 5/6 – Rooms 5
and 6 (this is due to the Grade 6 Farewell on June 24)
You will also be able to log into
PowerSchool, and view your child’s report card as of June 24.
School Re-Entry
An email was sent to all CBE
parents on Friday about re-entry into school in September. If you did
not receive this email, please see the following link on our school
website.
http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/VistaHeights/about-us/news-centre/_layouts/ci/post.aspx?oaid=bc5d0b11-f0af-4dc2-98f3-5130dd3e56c0&oact=20001
Kindergarten Registration
Did you know kindergarten
registration is ongoing? If you have a child who is going to be 5 years
old as of December 31, 2020 and live in the Vista Heights area, they can
register for Kindergarten. Please share this information with any Vista
Heights community members who you know may have a Kindergarten age child. It is helpful for us to have kindergarten
registrations as we plan for the 2020-21 school year. We are looking
forward to meeting our youngest learners in the future!
A
reminder that Kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 School year
continues, with registration now online. You can find information
regarding the registration process at:
Registration Process
During a Health Emergency
If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact our school office.
Planning for the 2020-21 School
Year
If you know that your child will
not be attending Vista Heights school in the 2020-21 school year, please call
the school office to let us know. This information will help us as we
move forward with our planning for next year.
We are in the
process of determining class lists for the upcoming school year. The
placement process is done with great thought and many voices are considered.
We work hard to look at all the possibilities: teachers’ passions, cohort of
children so the classes have diversity and become a community. This
will process will not be fully completed until August. Please know that we
have the best interests of your child, and we will inform you of your child’s
classroom teacher on the first day of school.
Supports during the Covid-19
pandemic
Nutrition Supports
When school buildings are
closed, regular breakfast and lunch programs will not be available. Here are
some resources and supports that can help your family if food or other
supports are needed during the upcoming weeks. It is important that you
always check the websites of organizations however, as their locations, hours
or procedures may change day to day.
Wishing you health and happiness
as we end the 2019-20 school year!
Best wishes,
Karen
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| Dear Vista Heights
Families:
We hope this
update finds you and your family safe and adjusting to our ‘new normal’. Please know that we are here to support you
through “Learning at Home.” Reaching out
to others through ‘virtual communication’ with your loved ones can help us feel
connected. We hope with warmer weather
you can access the outdoors while maintaining physical distancing.
Principal Blog
Please be sure to
have your children check out the Principal Blog. The focus is “Fill Your Bucket”. I have created a challenge for students, so
be sure to listen to the video until the end.
You just have to click on the picture of Mrs. Bose to get the video
started! I look forward to hearing from
lots of students! Please see below for the link.
https://principalvistaheights.blogspot.com/
Kindergarten Registration
Did you know
kindergarten registration is ongoing? If
you have a child who is going to be 5 years old as of December 31, 2020 and
live in the Vista Heights area, they can register for Kindergarten. Please share this information with any Vista Heights community members who
you know may have a Kindergarten age child.
It is helpful for us to have kindergarten registrations as we plan for the
2020-21 school year. We are looking
forward to meeting our youngest learners in the future!
A reminder that Kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 School
year continues, with registration now online. You can find information
regarding the registration process at:
Registration Process During a
Health Emergency
If you have any questions, please do
not hesitate to contact our school office.
Planning for the 2020-21 School Year
If you know that
your child will not be attending Vista Heights school in the 2020-21 school
year, please call the school office to let us know. This information will help us as we move
forward with our planning for next year.
Personal Belongings
We still have a
number of personal belongings at the school.
If you have not yet picked up your child’s indoor shoes and checked the
lost and found, please call the school to book an appointment.
Supports during the Covid-19 pandemic
Nutrition Supports
When school buildings are closed, regular breakfast and lunch
programs will not be available. Here are some resources and supports that can
help your family if food or other supports are needed during the upcoming
weeks. It is important that you always check the websites of organizations
however, as their locations, hours or procedures may change day to day.
Wishing you health
and happiness as we enter the month of May!
Best wishes,
Karen
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| Dear Vista
Heights Families:
I hope
this message finds you well as we work together to navigate these challenging
times. I wanted to send you a quick note so that you would be informed about
the continuation of learning for your children.
This week
teachers have been very busy learning new technologies that they are excited to
share with their students. This is a new
way of teaching and learning for teachers, students and families. We will
navigate through this process together.
Please know that we are here to support students and families while we
all learn together.
The
students in Kindergarten – Grade 2 will be using their Blogs, (which the
students are familiar with) as their main technological platform. The learning
plan will be posted on the blog.
Teachers will be communicating with students and families via phone and
email. Since the teachers are working remotely, when they call it will come up
as Private Caller or No Caller ID.
The
students in Grade 3-6 will be learning a new digital platform, called Google
Classroom. There is information to
follow about Google Classroom. Teachers will be communicating with students and
families via phone and email to ensure they are able to access the Google
Classroom. Since the teachers are working remotely, when they call it will come
up as Private Caller or No Caller ID.
Mrs. Bose
will also be adding to the Principal Blog, by posting a message each week and
reading a story. There may even be a ‘fun’ activity for students to engage in!
All teachers
have been able to reach most families via email and phone calls to check in. Please call the school if you have not
received and email or phone call from your child’s teacher, and we will work to
connect you.
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| Dear Vista Heights Families:
I hope this message finds you healthy, rested and taking good
care of yourselves and your families. I know you received a message from our
Chief Superintendent and I wanted to follow with a quick update around next
steps for student learning at Vista Heights School during these unprecedented
times in our lives. https://www.cbe.ab.ca/news-centre/Pages/ongoing-learning-for-cbe-students.aspx
Staff will return to work on Monday with most working remotely
from their homes. The office will be open with very limited staff, Mrs. McKie
and myself, Access to the office and
the school is very limited. I realize there are some families that have
belongings they wish to pick up. Please call the school and we can coordinate a
time for you to come if necessary. The health and safety of our staff and you
are both priorities. Thank you for understanding.
On Monday, staff will be preparing to roll out on-line resources
and learning for students. Our first step will be contacting families to
ask how each student is doing, if your family needs any assistance at this
time, and about student level of access to on-line learning (access to a
digital device and the internet). Once we receive this feedback from families,
a plan will be put into place to support all of our students, including those
with limited or no access to on-line learning. This plan will include
information about how student learning will take place.
I also want to remind parents of the guidelines set out by
Alberta Education:
- Kindergarten
– Grade 3
- Education
content will focus on language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes
of the provincial curriculum.
- an
average of (5) hours of work per student per week
- Grade
4 – 6
- Language/literacy
and mathematics/numeracy outcomes, with opportunity to incorporate
science and social studies outcomes through cross-curricular learning
- An
average of five (5) hours of work per student per week
Thank you and take care of each other! Our staff are looking
forward to connecting with you very soon,
Sincerely,
Karen Bose |
| It’s hard to believe we are at the end of
February already! We have had a busy
month at Vista Heights!
Staffing Changes
In February, we said goodbye to Mrs. Joe Kong
(one of our L and L teachers in Grade 5/6) as she has gone on maternity
leave. In her place, we have Mrs.
Candice Riopel covering for her until the end of June.
Pink Shirt Day
February 26, 2020 is Pink Shirt Day. Students are encouraged to wear a pink shirt
(this is not mandatory) to celebrate
friendship and kindness. Students will
meet with their buddies for an activity.
Accountability Survey
The Accountability Pillar Survey was sent to
Vista Heights parents in Grades 4/5/6.
This survey provides feedback to Alberta Education on students’,
teachers’ and parent/guardians’ opinions about their school, their school work
and the opportunities their school provides. It also provides important
information on the quality of education students are receiving. The results are used by schools, school
authorities, and government to see what’s working and what needs to be
improved; and shared with the whole community.
If you have not yet completed the survey, it
would be greatly appreciated if you could go online with the code provided or
mail in the survey. The deadline is
February 28.
Student Led Conferences
As we look ahead to March, please mark your
calendars for Student Led Conferences.
These will take place on March 19 from 4:00-8:00 and March 20 from 8 am
-12:00 pm. The conference is an opportunity for parents to learn and engage
with their child around their learning.
Conferences will be in hour long blocks, and will include a time to meet
with the teacher.
SoundKreations
We had a great week with SoundKreations to
create Slam Poetry. We showcased our
‘work in progress’ with a Celebration of Learning. Thank you to School Council for this great opportunity.
School Council
Our next School Council meeting is March 10
at 6:30 pm.
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| Wow!
January has just flown by! We are
very happy to have some nice weather to end the month!
Staffing Changes
We are very fortunate to be able to add a
staff member to Vista Heights. We would
like to welcome Mrs. Dineen Brace to Vista Heights as our Resource
Teacher. Mrs. Brace will be supporting
our students with small group support, and supporting personalized learning in
our classrooms.
Flexible Recess
Many schools in the Calgary Board of
Education offer a flexible recess break. Vista Heights had a trial of flexible
recess during the last week of school, and will be continuing this practice
moving forward. This means that teachers
will be taking their students outside for a 15-minute recess break when it
makes sense for their learning. Often a
scheduled recess can interrupt student learning as they have to drop everything
at that moment to go outside. This gives
students the opportunity to have the playground or field with just one other
class. At lunchtime, half of the students
are outside from 12:00-12:20, and then come in to eat their lunch. The other half of the students are eating
first from 12:00-12:20, and then head outside for the remainder of the lunch
hour. The exception is when it is below
-20. We have blue days where students
have different activities they can choose as it is too cold to be outside.
Report Cards
Report cards will be going home with your
child on Thursday, January 30. There
have been some changes to Assessment and Reporting this year. Teachers shared this information during the
parent teacher conferences in November. You will see the indicator NATR for mathematics. This indicator means that the strand of
mathematics has not been fully taught and assessed. Your child will receive a number indicator
for the strands that have been fully taught and assessed. The mathematics strands have also changed
from last year. CBE has created a video
that explains all of the changes. Please
click on the link to view the video.
https://www.cbe.ab.ca/programs/curriculum/assessment-and-reporting/Pages/default.aspx
Professional Day Reminder
There is no school for students on January
31, 2020. It is a professional day.
SoundKreations Artist Residency
We will be working with an artist in
Residence from February 3-7. The
students will be learning about Slam Poetry.
We will have a Celebration of Learning at 1:30 on Friday, February 7,
2020. Thank you to School Council for
this great opportunity!
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| Happy Holidays
Dear Vista Heights Families:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all families an
enjoyable Winter Break. We have had a
very busy 4 months, and we look forward to continuing our great learning in
January. We will see all students back
and ready to learn on January 6, 2020!
Best regards,
Karen |
| It’s hard to believe it is already December! We had a very busy November at Vista Heights! Here are a few highlights!
Grey Cup Committee Event
We were very excited to be able to have the Grey Cup Committee come to Vista Heights to share a bit of Grey Cup spirit with us! The Committee arrived with a band, clowns, the mascot Charley Horse, the Stampede Queen and Princesses, and the First Nations Princess. We were taught a line dance by the Stampede Queen and Princesses and danced to some great music by the Grey Cup Band. City Councillor Ray Jones was in attendance, and Mrs. Bose was “white hatted” on behalf of the school! The Grey Cup Committee also donated $1000.00 to the school, which we are very grateful for.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher conferences will be taking place on December 5 (4:15-8:00) and December 6 (8:00-12:30 pm). Please book your child’s interview through PowerSchool. The teachers will be providing you with important information about changes in the CBE report card. There is also additional information on the school website under Assessment and Reporting link.
Winter Family Night
We will be holding a Winter Family Night on December 12 from 6:00-7:30. This event will be focused on Mathematics. You will have an opportunity to play math games with your child and enjoy some treats and hot chocolate!
Winter Assembly
Please join us for our Winter Assembly on December 19 at 9:30 am. All of the classes will perform a short song, and we will also have caroling in the assembly.
Calgary Food Bank Drive
During December, in the spirit of generosity our Student Wellness Action Team (SWAT) is asking Vista Heights School to donate non-perishable food items to support those who need our assistance. Please bring your items to the drop boxes by the office. We are hoping to fill 3 large boxes or more. Thank you! |
| We
will be holding our Remembrance Day Assembly on Nov. 8 at 11:00 am to honour
our veterans who fought for our freedom.
The classes of Mr. Harney and Mr. Pivarnyik along with Mrs. Lim have
worked very hard for the Remembrance Day Assembly. If you are able, please join us at 11:00 am
in the gym for our Remembrance Day Assembly.
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| I
hope all families had a wonderful long weekend with family and friends!
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences were held on
September 19 and 20. Thank you for meeting with teachers to share
information about your child to ensure they are successful in
school. I enjoyed meeting many of you as you entered the school.
Cold Weather
As
the weather gets colder, please send your child with warm clothing. We continue to go outside for recess until
the temperature reaches -20.
School Council
We need your help!
We are holding our casino on October 18 and
19 at Pure Casino. We have run low on volunteers for the Vista Heights
School Enhancement Society casino night. We are in desperate need of volunteers
in order to hold our casino. Casino Funds are used for a variety of
things for our school which have included building our school playground, field
trips, Artists in Residence.
Would you, your spouse, family or close
friends be able to help out?
The shifts are as follows:
Chip runner or Cashier: October 18 and or
19th 10:00am-6:00pm (day shift)
Chip runner or Cashier October 18 and or 19th
6:00p-2:00am (Evening shift)
Count room: October 18 and or 19th
11:00pm-3:00am (closing shift)
Last time this fundraiser brought in over
$65,000!
Please contact Justin Murray at justinm188@gmail.com if you are able to help out
School Council
Our
next school council meeting will be held at 6:30 on November 12, 2019.
Hallowe’en
Students
are welcome to dress up for Hallowe’en in the afternoon only on October
31.
Students
must not bring any accessories for their costumes that are of a violent or
scary nature (no weapons, knives etc), and no masks.
Safety Precautions
We
are required to hold 6 fire drills, and 2 lockdowns each school year. We held
our first fire drill on October 7, 2019.
The staff and students were able to exit the building in 1 min and 17
seconds. We continue to refine our
school safety procedures which include:
·
Locking
all doors
·
A
Fan-Out Procedure
·
Visitors
– are expected to regiser at the office
·
Volunteers
– must complete a Police Information Check (PIC) and wear nametags at all times
·
Substitute
Teachers – are provided with emergency information upon entering the school
Upcoming Events
Nov
1 – Professional Development Day ( No school for students) |
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