Altadore School Bi-Weekly Update April 13-26, 2026

See our School Calendar for all of our upcoming Dates and Events.

Admin Message

Oki Hello Altadore Parents and Guardians,

Spring has now sprung, and we can hardly believe that there are only two more months of school. We have a lot of events happening, so please make sure to check both this newsletter and messages from your child’s teacher regularly.

In addition to class field trips, there are many upcoming events to watch for, including our Spring Concerts (May 12 or 13), Edible Garden lessons and planting, a Special Parent Council Meeting and Loose Parts Playtime (May 20), Volunteer Tea (May 21), 2026–27 Kindergarten Orientation (May 21), the Swim to Survive Program (June 1–4: KAM, G1, G3, G5; June 8–11: KPM, G2, G4, G6) and National Indigenous People’s Day (June 18).

Additional year-end events include the Kindergarten Celebration (June 22), Summer Splash Picnic (June 22 ), Grade 6 Farewell Ceremony (June 23), Sports Day (June 24 PM), and the last day of school (June 26). More information on many of these events can be found below.

In addition, our Grade 6 students will be participating in the Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) on the following dates:

  • May 25 – English Language Arts and Literature Part A (9–11 AM) * Please note this change
  • June 4 – English Language Arts and Literature Part B (9–10 AM)
  • June 12 – Science (9–10 AM)
  • June 15 – Math Part A (9–9:30 AM)
  • June 18 – Math Part B (9–10:15 AM)

For more information on PATs, please see the Quick Facts for Parents/Guardians on the Alberta Provincial Achievement Tests website or contact us directly.

Thank you for your continued support.

Take care,
Iikiinayookaa M. Yellow Horn          Karlee Zelmer
Principal                                              Assistant Principal
mfyellowhorn@cbe.ab.                   kmzelmer@cbe.ab.ca

Spring Concert

We are fast approaching our Spring Concert and Ms. Brown-Wolfe and the students have been busily preparing and perfecting their pieces.

  • On Tuesday, May 12, Our Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 students will be performing. G
  • Wednesday, May 13 Grades 4-6 will perform the next day.

Each group will be performing twice, once at 2 PM and once at 6 PM. We ask that you limit audience members to 2 per performance due to fire capacity. For the evening performance students can start arriving at 5:30 PM.

AM Kindergarten Parents - if you would like your child to participate in the afternoon concert on Tuesday, May 12 at 2:00 PM, you must bring your child to the school and have them sit with you in the audience. Seeds of Spice will bring in the AM kindergarten class, and your child is welcome to come up and join us at that time. After their performance, they will come back and sit with you in the audience.

Altadore Spring Concert

Yearbooks

Yearbooks are available for purchase for $15 each! Please note that the ordering window will close today (May 10), so be sure to place your order before this date. If you would like to order one for your child, please use the link below:

When completing your order, it is very important that you accurately enter your child’s first and last name, as this is how we will organize and distribute the yearbooks to students.Thank you for your support.

We’re looking forward to sharing this special keepsake with our students!

Pride Vibes Club

The PRIDE VIBES CLUB at Altadore School provides a safe and inclusive space where 2SLGBTQ+ students and student allies can be themselves and have fun. The student-led, teacher-supervised club meets on Wednesday morning at 8am in Ms. Mackenzie’s room. (Room 1)

Further information about the role of GSAs (Gay-Straight Alliances) can be found on the Alberta Education website at Health and Safety in Schools - GSAs If you would like to learn more about the club, please contact Ms. Mackenzie or Ms. Andrews.

Annual Neighbors Nursery Plan Sale (May 14)

The annual Neighbors Nursery Sale will take place on Thursday, May 14, from 3:00–7:00 PM in the Altadore staff parking lot.

We hope to have black currant, saskatoon, and rosemary cuttings, as well as various seedlings, available for purchase. Come and purchase plants and seeds for your garden.

Volunteer Tea (May 21 at 10:00 AM)

You are cordially invited to Altadore’s Volunteer Tea on Thursday, May 21 at 10 - 11:30 AM. Please join us as we gather together to express our sincere gratitude and celebrate the dedication and contributions to all our volunteers.

Please RSVP by May 15 at noon here.

Altadore Volunteer Tea

Altadore Edible Garden

We are about to start outdoor lessons in the Edible Garden. The school lessons in the garden provide many wonderful opportunities for the young students to apply real world science, social studies concepts, health skills and community service. Our lessons are scheduled to begin on May 19!

Altadore’s Edible Garden is one of the most unique and meaningful parts of our school community. As Calgary’s first organic, sustainable, large-scale school and community edible garden, it has been a place where students learn by doing — planting, growing, and harvesting — while gaining a deeper understanding of food, community, and giving back. It has also contributed thousands of kilograms of fresh produce to local organizations, connecting our students to the broader community in a meaningful way.

This garden was built as a volunteer-led initiative, grounded in our schools value of Unity in Community. The garden cannot operate without parent volunteers to lead and support it. We need a minimum of 4 committed parent volunteers to step into Garden Committee roles by June 1. If you are able to step forward — whether in a leadership role or to support ongoing maintenance — we ask you to do so now. Please email altadoreparentcouncil@gmail.com

Loose Parts Parent Playtime and Parent Council Meeting (May 20 at 6:30 PM)

We warmly invite all Altadore School parents and guardians to join us for our upcoming Parent Council meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with our school community, hear updates about what’s happening at the school, and share ideas that help create a positive experience for all students.

Our next session will be especially exciting as we welcome educators from the ReImagine Centre, in collaboration with Calgary Reggio and Common Digs, to lead an engaging workshop on their Creative Re-use Project. Together, we’ll explore how “loose parts” can inspire creativity, inquiry, and deeper learning experiences for children in ecologically sustainable ways.

Following this adult-only hands-on exploration, these learning materials will be generously donated to the school to help establish a Loose Parts Library for our students!

  • 📅 May 20 at 6:30 PM
  • 📍 In-person and online attendance options available
  • (Please note: this is an interactive workshop, so in-person participation is highly encouraged.)

Childcare will be available on site for all school-aged children.garten Celebration

Altadore Kindergarten families are warmly invited to join us for a special gathering in the Owl’s Nest as we celebrate time, growth, and community togetherness as your children finish their year of Kindergarten.

Date: Monday, June 22, 2026

Time: 10:30 AM (Mrs. Jackson’s class) 2:15 PM (Mrs. Lenz’s class)

Location: Owl’s Nest

During our time together, students will share a prepared song, followed by a meaningful moment of gratitude as they make a special presentation to you. Afterward, we invite you to stay and enjoy a relaxed picnic and yard games with our classroom community.

Please feel free to bring:

  • A blanket
  • A snack to share

We look forward to celebrating with you!

School Council Volunteer Opportunities

Altadore School Council is still looking for volunteers to help fill two valuable roles within our school community. We are seeking a Garden Committee Chair to support the ongoing care of the Owl’s Nest and Edible Garden. No gardening experience is necessary - just an interest in helping create engaging outdoor learning opportunities for our students while connecting with other families in the school community.

Beginning in July, we will also be looking for a School Council Treasurer. This role helps support council operations by tracking finances, assisting with budgeting, and providing straightforward financial updates at meetings. An accounting background is not required.

If you are interested in either opportunity or would like to learn more, please contact altadoreparentcouncil@gmail.com. We appreciate all the ways our parent community helps make Altadore such a wonderful place for our students and families.

Fun Lunch (June 10; Order Deadline June 5)

Our last Fun Lunch is scheduled for June 10 - Panago Pizza! Orders can be put through the Healthy Hunger system with an order deadline of June 5.

  • *Just a reminder that if your child is sick or absent on the day of a fun lunch or snack, please note that you have until the end of the day bell to pick up their order. It will not be held overnight.
  • If you have any questions or need help, please contact altadorefunlunch@gmail.com

Grade Six Party (June 18)

We're excited to celebrate our Grade 6 students at Wolfe Cadillac Calgary on June 18 and would love for everyone to be part of it.

  • Parents are warmly invited to stay and mingle or return early for pick-up, with light refreshments generously provided by Wolfe Automotive.
  • In lieu of fundraising, we kindly ask families to consider making a donation to help support this event (e-transfer to nurselaurie@gmail.com).
  • When you RSVP to Jenn for your child, please also let her know if you'll be joining at jgschnepf@gmail.com

Altadore Grade6Farewell

Notes of Thanks                                                                               

Thank you to the following individuals for their recent contributions to our school...

  • Thank You to all the volunteers who helped with the Fun Snack on May 8th - Kim Harrison, Christiana Hawkins, Kristi McAllister, Sumru Sezer, Ashily Allan, Jill Coxford, Katie Dodd, Yun Lee, Morgan McDonald and Larissa Kennedy-Chan
  • A special thank you to Casey Jones for organizing both a fun lunch and fun snack in the same two weeks!
  • Thank you to those parents who with the Kindergarten A&W special lunch they won at the Hoot!
  • Thank you to everyone who helped with the Edible Garden and Owl’s Nest clean-ups!
  • Thank you to our school Community for participating in Jump Rope for Heart. Our school raised $4820. 00 (321% of our goal) for the fight to beat heart disease and stroke! A special thank you as well to our Learning Leader Alison Predika for her incredible energy and dedication in leading Jump Rope for Heart at our school, as this success would not have been possible without her dedication to our PE program.

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