Archived Memos

Weekly Update

Updates for October 19

On Thursday, I spoke at the School Council AGM. There, I offered that our school's goal is to "Form free citizens who think deeply about problems and act virtuously to solve them." I believe this to be an incredibly brief but accurate representation of our mission, as represented by our values: Community, Excellence, Respect.

I then suggested that we are struggling with reaching this goal, as evidenced by survey data collected last school year. Some of the struggle comes from expectations not aligning with the school's mission. Other parts of the struggle come from being a school in its infancy and experiencing volatile change over 3 years.

While a fuller picture will be shared soon, I wanted to provide you with some preliminary data. Alberta Education has not released their verified data as of this writing. See below for tables presented at the AGM. The next step will be to reflect, collaborate, and act on this information in concert. My leadership team and I have been reflecting on this since July and we've been very deliberate with our actions since the start of the school year.

I need your input. Part of improvement is to ensure that all partners have a voice. Watch for "Spill Some Tea with Mr P" to start up again. Reach out with thoughts or anecdotes about your child's experience this year. Respond to a questionnaire that helps to inform priorities. Thank you in advance for stepping up to this request for input!

Weekly Update

Updates for October 12

Please remember that School Photos take place on October 13!

St. Augustine reminds us that "Prudence is love choosing wisely the things that help our beloved." (paraphrased) We've just finished a season of gathering information and sharing it at Conferences. Prudence calls both parents and teachers to action in order to guide children towards the next steps that will allow them to grow and flourish.

Students learn about Docility as a companion virtue to Wisdom (Prudence). Docility is the willingness to be taught. Help coach your child to recognize where they may grow in this virtue.

Part of caring for our students is to care for the Community. I hope to see you on Thursday, October 15 at 6:00 PM for the School Council Annual General Meeting where we can look at how the school is being shaped and what next steps might look like.

Weekly Update

Updates for October 5

It is on my mind that the goal of our project is to create free citizens who strive for the good, true, and beautiful. However, citizens are part of a Community that must abide by common rules in order to flourish. This requires individuals in the Community to take personal responsibility and have agency, as their age allows.

The lack of responsibility is straining the Community in a few places. Notably, the management of the Lost & Found is significant. We've extended the collection date to after Parent Conferences this week, so check through the displayed items before they are donated. Only 15% of items making it to Lost & Found have labels. If you cannot afford to use a service like Mabel's Labels for this, a set of initials on a tag will do. To my earlier point, a functional society requires its citizens to act in ways that are sustainable and that don't burden others. This is a great time to discuss stewardship and responsible habits with your children as a link to Wisdom.

The other point of strain is with busses. Drivers are being generous with our older students and as a result, this is affecting everyone else with late departures and arrivals. Staff are combing the building, myself included, to hurry students along. Ultimately, this will go in one of two ways. Drivers will leave at 3:25 PM without the students, requiring you to pick them up, or we will issue demerits and contact you to discuss the selfish behaviour and the impacts it's having. Your partnership in both of these areas is appreciated.

Part of the responsibility we want to encourage is reflected in the behaviour contracts that grade 5 - 10 students signed. This is a reflection of the student's dedication to the Student Code and symbolizes the understanding that breaking trust can result in extra-curricular experiences being impacted. Please sign and return these forms to the school by Wednesday, October 7.

Students learn about Docility as a companion virtue to Wisdom (Prudence). Docility is the willingness to be taught. Help coach your child to recognize where they may grow in this virtue.

I hope to see you at Parent Conferences this week! Remember to sign up by Wednesday.

Weekly Update

Updates for September 28

Though it was a bit dreary, our students completed the Terry Fox Run on Friday. We're so proud of our students for enthusiatically finishing their laps. There is still time to donate for the event. We are currently trailing our other Classical Academy schools from Calgary. Please help us reach our goal of raising $3,500.

Now that we are well into the school year, we expect students to take personal responsibility for important issues, as their age allows. Please see below for a reminder about being timely for bus departures. We want busses to leave by 3:25 PM!

As well, the Lost & Found will be emptied this week. Watch for an update to the Lost & Found page to see what items are currently in this space. Items that have labels get returned to their owners; please help to label your child(ren)'s clothes!

Students continue to hear about Carefulness as a companion virtue to Wisdom (Prudence). These items of personal responsibility require Carefulness to be accomplished. Help coach your child through these goals.

Weekly Update

Updates for September 21

What a beautiful day where families could get together for a pot luck. Thank you to School Council volunteers (organized by Meagan J.) who coordinated this event! I was pleased to connect with families during the time I had to mingle that day. Please watch for more opportunities to connect, including the upcoming Mother/Son Kickball event.

With habits related to hallways improving, the next place where staff will act is with uniform checks. This is not only to see that a proper kit is worn, but also that the main pieces are labeled. A properly kept uniform is a sign of self-respect and order which all of our students benefit from. Staff may send home reminders regarding missing uniform pieces over the next few weeks. Thank you for helping with this part of student growth.

There is another K - 4 general assembly on Monday, September 21. As we bridge into student performance with our Excellence Assemblies, parents will be invited as always. Watch for those to be announced in the weeks to come.

Students continue to hear about Carefulness as a companion virtue to Wisdom (Prudence). As you support your child's consideration of Carefulness, consider the quote to the right as guidance.

Weekly Update

Updates for September 14

The grade 6 classes had a great time at Birch Bay this week thanks to our parent volunteers. It is very important for the success of our trips that parents play their part. In this case, the presence of extra adult supervision was necessary for the trip to run. Many volunteers stepped forward to help make this a success. One parent commented on how upstanding our students were! On behalf of the students, thank you for helping out.

As students are like to do, we see some students pushing boundaries. The school may reach out to you to partner with families, working to curb unfortunate behaviour. Thank you for helping to direct students towards growth in virtue.

A kind parent also identified a hazard along 78 Avenue where a small sinkhole appeared. They contacted 311 already and alerted the school to the issue. This is the foundation of a caring community.

Lastly, messaging about labelling clothing hasn't hit home based on the number of unmarked garments collected so far. Please check out this page for images of items collected in the last 2 weeks. Staff are returning garments that are labeled directly to students, so everything shown is unlabeled.

Weekly Update

Updates for September 7

As staff welcomed back students this week, we aimed to shape expectations in the classroom and the building. New this year is guidance about voice volumes. We want classrooms to be places of respectful learning and hallways to be free of yelling. Your support of this initiative is greatly appreciated. Voice volumes should be appropriate for the student's context, so classroom, hallway, and recess volumes are expected to differ. Please familiarize yourself with the Student and Parent Code of Conduct in order to understand these and other school expectations.

Students are attending assemblies this week on Tuesday, which coincides with formal day. Grades K - 4 meet at 8:30 AM and grades 5 - 9 meet at 9:50 AM.

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