Week Ahead | September 25-29, 2023

Mark Your Calendars:

  • Sept. 27, 2023: Healthy Hunger Fun Snack – Cobs Bread
  • Sept. 28, 2023: Orange Shirt Day at Silver Springs School
  • Sept. 29, 2023: No School – National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
  • Oct. 2-6, 2023: Grade 3/ 4 Room 3 to Open Minds Stampede School
  • Oct. 9, 2023:  No School - Thanksgiving
  • Oct. 10-13, 2023: Grade 3/ 4 Room 1 to Open Minds Stampede School
  • Oct. 10, 2023: School Council Meeting
  • Oct. 11, 2023: Grade 6 Vaccinations
  • Oct. 16-19, 2023: Grade 3/ 4 Room 8 to Open Minds Stampede School
  • Oct. 20, 2023: No School for Students - Professional Learning Day
  • Oct. 24, 2023: Fun Lunch Edo Japan
  • Oct. 31, 2023: Halloween Howler

Dear Silver Springs School Parents and Guardians,

School Conferences: Thank you for meeting with our teachers for our first round of school conferences. This time is so valuable as we work together to get to know your child better, set common goals, celebrate early successes, and plan for next steps. It was lovely to hear that many students are really enjoying school, their classrooms and classmates, and being a part of our Silver Springs School learning community.

Student Drop off and Pick-up: Safety outside the school remains a top priority. We continue to encourage all parents and guardians to choose safety over convenience during drop off and pick up of students. A reminder that there is signage indicating that pick-up and drop-off of students in the parking lot is prohibited. Additionally, there is no parking on the street in front of the staff parking lot, as this area must be left available for our school bus and daycare vehicles. Please adhere to these rules for the safety of all students in the school.

Dressing Appropriately for School: Students should be dressed to go outside for recess and lunch - rain or shine. Our temperature within the school can also vary from area to area, so please remember to dress your child in layers that enable them to cool off (especially during a PE class) and warm up if they are in a classroom that is set at a cooler temperature. We also remind all students that dress and grooming at Silver Springs School should reflect that this is a place of work and learning. As such, we request that student dress is respectful and appropriate for the school environment: i.e., no revealing clothing, no bare stomachs, or any items that have messages that could offend others. We thank all parents/guardians for their support with this.

Safety Reminders: We would like to remind our Silver Springs School families that scooters, bikes and skateboards are not to be ridden on the school compound or the sidewalk that runs in along the front of our school as this is a busy place at drop-off and pick-up time. We ask that students, parents and siblings dismount and walk all scooters, bikes and skateboards through this area.

Orange Shirt Day at Silver Springs School: Staff and students will recognize National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Thursday, September 28, as there is no school on Sept 29th. Please wear an ORANGE (or Orange-ish) shirt on this day or your favorite shirt. Classes will take up the topic of the day in various ways that are appropriate to the age and maturity. This may include sharing a piece of literature of to help students connect and reflect on the Residential School experience, sharing a video to help students recognize the importance of Truth and Reconciliation, and/ or sharing an oral story that helps children recognize and express gratitude for the gift of a warm and loving learning community at Silver Springs.

CBE Student Code of Conduct: Part of our opening school year requirements is to apprise families and students of the CBE Student Code of Conduct. Administrative Regulation (AR) 6005 provides in-depth information about how these matters are managed within the CBE. Additionally, Silver Springs School has established a method of supporting students to work through these situations. We hold the belief that we all make mistakes, that these mistakes do not make us bad people, and those mistakes are opportunities for learning. It is extremely important to distinguish the behaviour from the person. For more on our Code of Conduct visit our Silver Springs School Our School webpage. For more on CBE Student Discipline Administrative Regulation visit www.cbe.ab.ca

Annual CBE Online Forms –OVERDUE: 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:

  • Demographic Verification 2023-24: This form includes your child’s personal information as well as parent / legal guardian contact information.
  • Citizenship Information Update 2023-23: This form becomes available if you change your child’s citizenship information on the Demographic Verification form.
  • Annual Authorization 2023-24 – Combines the following forms:
    • School District Use of Personal Information - explains how CBE uses personal information in providing education services.
    • Consent for CBE Use of Student Information – provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by school/district and third parties.
    • Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party) - provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by outside groups and third parties

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:

  1. sign in to your MyCBE account
  2. click on the SchoolEngage icon
  3. select the form
  4. complete or review and update the form
  5. click on Submit to send the form electronically to the school
  6. repeat steps 3-5 for each form

Invite | National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day Event - Sept. 30: CBE students, staff and their families and friends are invited to join an event being hosted by the City of Calgary in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. The third annual ceremonial opening is taking place on Sept. 30 from 9-10:30 a.m. at Fort Calgary (750 9th Ave SE). This year's gathering will include a smudge tent, in-person Indigenous speakers and performers, an aerial salute ceremony, and other events. The events will also include an intertribal dance demonstration featuring Indigenous students from the CBE and CCSD. Participants are encouraged to wear orange. Following the YYC, CBE & CCSD event, all are invited to join the Pokaiks – The Children Commemorative Annual Walk and Gathering 2023. The walk will begin at 11 a.m. at City Hall (15-minute walk from Fort Calgary or 2-minute drive) and continue to Shaw Millenium Park (30-minute walk). The walk will be followed by drumming/dancing, Indigenous community speakers, artisan booths, and food sales.

Sincerely,

Michelle Ryskamp,

Principal, Silver Springs School

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SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATES

2022-2023 Yearbooks: There are still 18 extra copies of the 2022-2023 yearbook available at a cost of $20 each. Please stop by the school office if you are interested in purchasing one.


The FARM TO SCHOOL FUNDRAISER is back! A flyer was sent home this week with students. Get your veggies for Thanksgiving and give 50% back to the school!  Ask your neighbours, family members, and friends. If you don't need veggies, you can still participate in the fundraiser by choosing the online option to donate a bundle to a family in need.

  • Order now through midnight on Sept 26
  • 2 different veggie bundles to choose from ($15/$25)
  • Pick Up Time: Friday, Oct 6 from 2 - 4pm at the front of the school. If this time does not work for you and you still would like to order, please arrange with another family you know to pick up for you, or reach out to the School Council at sssparentcouncil@gmail.com to make alternate arrangements.

HOW TO ORDER:

  • Go to peakfarmtoschool.com and select "BUY A BUNDLE"
  • Add your products to your cart
  • Click on “ Continue to check out” when you are ready to pay
  • Select province and Silver Springs Elementary (AB)
  • Enter in your child’s first and last name
  • Enter billing and payment information and click on “REVIEW ORDER”
  • Review your summary and “PLACE ORDER"

Thank you for your support!

Healthy Hunger: More fun lunches and snacks have been added to the calendar. Our next Fun Lunch is from Edo Japan on Tuesday, October 24 If you don't already have a Healthy Hunger account, you can register at https://healthyhunger.ca/parent-register. Once you log into your account, you are able to see the upcoming orders, and place and pay for orders in advance. Please log onto the Healthy Hunger website for more order information: healthyhunger.ca.

We need volunteers to help on the Fun Lunch days! Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090E4FADAB28A0FF2-funlunch2

Halloween Howler: The Halloween Howler is back!  Save the date: Tuesday, October 31 in the morning. We will need volunteers who have a valid police security clearance to help set up and run the activities for the students.  If you would like to be part of the planning committee, please let us know by emailing sssparentcouncil@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Loyce Sakuhuni and Olivia Parsons (School Council Chair and Vice Chair)

sssparentcouncil@gmail.com