Week Ahead | September 11-15, 2023
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Mark Your Calendars:
Dear Silver Springs School Parents and Guardians, Upcoming School Conferences and Bookings: On Thursday, September 21 from 4:00 – 7:30 and Friday, September 22 from 8:30 –1:00, we will be holding our first round of School Conferences. This is an opportunity for you as parents to share what is most important to know about your child in order for the teacher to support your child in having a successful year ahead. This conference also provides an opportunity for teachers to share their initial impression of your child as a learner and together with you, set goals for your child this term. Conference bookings will take place through PowerSchool and will open on Tuesday, September 12 at 4:00 pm. To allow for greater flexibility for our families' schedules, we will be offering conferences both in-person and online using Microsoft Teams. In-person meetings will be held on Thursday evening and on-line meetings on Friday if you request Terry Fox Run: The 2023 Terry Fox School Run is set for Friday September 15, 2023 and we are so excited to be taking part! Students will be running with the whole school in the morning and we will begin with a kick-off assembly at 9:30 am. We ask that students wear their buddy group color if they can on this day (Blue, Red or Green).
If your family wishes to participate in donating to The Terry Fox Foundation in support of cancer research, the Foundation has created an online fundraising page customized for our school. Please use this method to donate rather than sending cash to the school. Donate online at: https://schools.terryfox.ca/29660 . Click the link provided to donate or search for our school name at terryfox.org. Receipts are issued immediately to donors by email from the Terry Fox Foundation School Photos: Lifetouch will be at the school on Monday, September 18 to take individual students photos as well as class photos. It would be appreciated if 2 or 3 parent volunteers were available to help organize students. You would be needed from 8:30am to 1pm. If you are available to help and have a valid police clearance, please email Maureen Bouchart mlbouchart@cbe.ab.ca . Annual CBE Online Forms Require Completion by Monday, September 18: Each year, schools have a variety of forms that parents / legal guardians are required to complete or review and update, some of which are paper and others online. In CBE, the forms that have now shifted to an online format (SchoolEngage) are:
SchoolEngage is one of the applications found in your MyCBE account. This is the same account that you use to pay fees, view academic information, book school conferences, etc. If you do not have a MyCBE account, on the MyCBE page click on Create a MyCBE Account. For online help refer, to MyCBE - Creating an Account (includes instructions and a video). To complete these forms:
School Calendar: Please visit our website to access our updated school calendar to help you plan for the year ahead. Included are non-instructional days, holidays, school conference dates, and school hours. Subscribe to Stay Informed: Due to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), you need to subscribe online if you want to receive email or text messages on “commercial” school topics such as picture days, student fees, eld trip costs, yearbooks, fun lunches and more. If you do not subscribe, you will not receive these important messages (or any of my messages continuing such content) but you will receive emails on non-commercial topics such as absence and emergency notifications. In addition, if you want to receive any text messages from your school or the Calgary Board of Education, you need to opt-in for texts. To receive all messages from your school and the Calgary Board of Education, complete these two steps: 1 | To subscribe to receive commercial messages, go to www.cbe.ab.ca/subscribe to enter your email address and click Subscribe. Use your primary email address on le at your school. 2 | To opt-in to receive text messages, use your cell phone to text the word YES to the six-digit number 978338. Your cell number must be on le with the school Student Belongings: Please remember to label your child’s lunch kit, water bottle, indoor shoes and outdoor clothing. As this makes it very helpful when these items inevitably go missing and need to be returned to their owner. For our younger students, it would be important to put an extra set of clothing in a plastic bag in the bottom of your child’s backpack, in the event of an accident or getting wet outside. Updating Your Volunteer Status: If you are interested and able to volunteer this year in helping with community walks, the Terry Fox Run, Sports Day, field trips, and more, you need to update your volunteer status, please email the school at SilverSprings@cbe.ab.ca. In your email, please express your interest in volunteering and attach a clear photo of your current driver’s license. Once the office receives this information, Maureen Bouchart will contact you with a generated letter that you will need to take to a police station to complete the security clearance process. If you are unsure of your volunteer status, please contact Maureen Bouchart, our administrative secretary, by email at mlbouchart@cbe.ab.ca. Please note that her response may take several days as we work hard to process many volunteer inquiries at this time. Please note that the CPS has contracted a new authorization vendor and there is now a cost of $21.25 ($15.00 for police clearance and 5.95+GST service fee) which is charged during the online ePIC application. This fee is no longer covered by the CBE. Your clearance is valid for five years. This process is taking up to three to four weeks at this time. We will also need to have all interested volunteers complete an Annual Volunteer Authorization form. Sincerely, Michelle Ryskamp, Principal, Silver Springs School ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATES We hope you had a great summer break with your little ones. This academic year is off to a good start with exciting updates and activities coming up. Healthy Hunger Fun Lunches: The Silver Springs School Council has set up this year’s Healthy Hunger Fun Lunches! Please register at https://healthyhunger.ca/parent-register The first Lunch is Little Caesars on Wednesday, September 20. This year we are expanding the Fun Lunch program to include regular Fun Snack days. The first snack will be Cobs Bread on September 27. These events are an important fundraiser for our school, so whether you participate in one or a few please be assured that the money raised goes towards school initiatives. Any child who is at the school during the lunch period is able to participate. Kindergarten students will be able to participate in the snack days. When possible, gluten free or vegetarian options are available. Please note that the cutoff order date for each lunch is 5 business days prior, unpaid orders will not be processed! For help registering or ordering lunches, please head to the FAQ page (https://healthyhunger.ca/ParentFaq) on the Healthy Hunger site or contact them directly at 1-800-818-6260. We need volunteers to help on the Fun Lunch days! Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4FADAB28A0FF2-funlunch2 School Council Meeting: Our first School Council Meeting is on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 from 6:30 – 8:30pm. All parents are welcome to attend these meetings. In doing so, you can hear more about what is happening in the school, as well as be part of the conversation and work that our council volunteers take on to support our school. Our meetings will be held in-person in the school library. If you are unable to attend in-person, we will also provide a Teams link so that you can join us from home. Click here to join the meeting We look forward to seeing you there! Casino Update: Thank you parents, teachers, friends, and family members for volunteering at this year's event. All slots were filled and the casino ran smoothly. We are pleased to announce that through your volunteer work, we raised $83,000, which will fund great projects for the next two years. This is the highest amount we have made through a casino and we couldn't have done this without your help. Loyce Sakuhuni and Olivia Parsons (School Council Chair and Vice Chair) |