Dear SS Parents and Guardians,  

Our Spring Concert was Amazing!

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us for the concert our amazing Silver Springs musicians put on yesterday! Silver Springs School presented our SPRING CONCERT titled "A SONG FOR EVERYONE!" Our students were so excited to perform our benefit concert for a special organization called “Playing for Change Foundation.” Check out their website and ask your children how this organization started and what it does!  https://playingforchange.org/about/  
I did record it, and have the video, but my laptop is giving me grief and is not letting me do what I need to do... Grrr... I will see what I can do with it, and I will post it and share out the link to our parent community if I am able. Please stay tuned...  (I am a Mac guy and I could have had this done in about 4 minutes on my old Mac, but they made all Principals have to get a Windows computer now... Sigh...) 

Mental Health Awareness Week May 5 – 11  

Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week, and it is happening from May 5 – 11. This year’s theme, “Unmasking Mental Health,” invites us to imagine what it would feel like to speak openly about our struggles without fear or shame. Connection is so important for all of us, and being open to share our own struggles helps others to be able to understand us better, but also know they are not alone. Some resources Supporting Positive Mental Health that came from AHS are below and take that step if you need to.  

  • Alberta 211 provides information, mental health referrals and resources. Professionally trained specialists are available by texting INFO to 211, live chat through the website, ab.211.ca or calling 2-1-1.  
  • If a child needs someone to talk to, they can text CONNECT to the Kids’ Help Phone at 686868 or call 1-800-668-6868. This 24/7, free service offers professional counselling, information and referrals.  
  • If a parent, school staff member or other adult needs someone to talk to, they are encouraged to call the confidential, toll-free, 24/7 mental health helpline at 1-877-303-2642. This helpline is attended by a team that includes nurses, psychologists and social workers.  
  • The Alberta Health Services website Help in Tough Times also has helpful information, including the Text4Hope resource, which you can subscribe to for free by texting COVID19HOPE to 393939. It offers 3 months of supportive text messages written by mental health therapists.  

Silver Springs Casino Fundraiser  

We only have 2 more spots (and some backups please!) we have left to fill for our School Council/Parent Association Casino Fundraiser coming up on May 7 and 8, 2025. We still need volunteers from our amazing parent community to support this event by volunteering. Please sign up asap!  
You do not need to have any knowledge of casinos in order to participate! No previous experience is required. All training is done at the casino by gaming staff and our advisors. You will be surprised at how smoothly things run and how much fun it is for all of the volunteers as our past volunteers can attest to.  
Please sign up for a volunteer shift below on the Sign-Up Genius link. Training for each of the roles is provided, and you do not need experience. Sign up  
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE LEARNING OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR SILVER SPRINGS SCHOOL STUDENTS!!!  

Educationally yours,  
Derek 😊   

Derek Rakowski   
Principal, Silver Springs School    

Please Mark Your Calendars:  

  • May 7 – Hats on for Mental Health Day  
  • May 8 – Whole School Group Photo and Grade 6 Farewell Photos  
  • May 9 – Deadline to order Subway Fun Lunch  
  • May 13 – School Council Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 6:30 PM   
  • May 14 – Subway Fun Lunch   
  • May 15 – Grade 3/4 classes Zoo Field Trip   
  • May 16 – PD Day, no classes for students   
  • May 19 – Victoria Day, School Closed   
  • May 22 – Volunteer Tea   
  • May 27 – Grade 5/6 Field Trip to Reader Rock Garden   
  • May 27 – Kindergarten Orientation for 2025/26 at 5:00 PM   
  • May 28 – Grade 6 ELAL Provincial Achievement Test Part A Writing assessment   
  • May 29 – Grade 5/6 Field Trip to Reader Rock Garden  
  • May 30 – Wonder Day #4  
  • June 2 – Grade 5/6 field trip to Reader Rock Garden  
  • June 6-9 – Eid al-Adha  
  • June 6 – Sports Day  
  • June 6 – Deadline to order little Caesars Fun lunch  
  • June 9-20 – Swimming lessons for all classes  
  • June 10 – School Council meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 PM  
  • June 11 – Fun lunch from Little Caesars  
  • June 13 – Grade 6 Math PAT part a at 9:00 AM  
  • June 16 – Grade 6 PAT ELAL part B Reading at 9:00 AM  
  • June 17 – Grade 6 PAT Math part B  
  • June 18 – Grade 6 PAT Social Studies  
  • June 25 – Farewell assembly for Grade 5/6s and Grade 5/6 swimming  
  • June 26 – Last day of school for students – early dismissal at 12:35 PM  
  • June 27 – Organizational Day for teachers – no classes for students  

Silver Springs School Council & Parent Association Casino Fundraiser – Volunteers needed!

We are almost there! We still have 2 positions that we must fill for our Casino Fundraiser! Please sign up as soon as possible!  
Our school's largest fundraiser, the casino, is just under two months away! We need a lot of volunteers for this event, and as of today, we have 25 spots left to fill - grab a friend and volunteer together to help support our school!  

Casino Details