Important Dates

Oct. 23 & 24 Ninja Mobile Obstacle Course
Oct. 25 Outdoor School Meeting for Grade 6 Parents 6:30 pm
Oct. 30 Picture Retakes 10 AM
Oct. 31 Halloween Celebrations
Nov. 1 Digital Citizenship Parent Session 6:30 PM Online
Nov. 3 The HOOT Fundraiser
Nov. 9 Non-Instruction Day - No School
Nov. 10-14 Fall Break
Nov. 16 Sharing Night
Nov. 23 Evening Conferences
Nov. 24 Conferences - No School
Nov. 29 School Council Meeting
Dec. 18 Kindergarten Grade 1 Christmas Concert
Dec. 19 Grades 4, 5, & 6 Christmas Concert
Dec. 20 Grade 2-3 Christmas Concert

Admin Message

Dear Altadore Families,

It will soon be time for cozy sweaters and hot cocoa. The weather is changing and students will need an indoor pair of gym friendly shoes (running shoes) to keep at school and an outdoor pair of boots. Students will be expected to take all their winter gear home everyday.

Students will be going outside for 15 minutes at recess, 25 minutes at lunch and often other times for some outside learning- rain, shine or snow. Please come dressed for the weather. A gentle reminder to check if everything fits and to please label belongings as we often end up with missing hats, mitts and jackets.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or we can help in any way!

Sincerely,

Kelly Christopher  Principal   kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca

Karlee Zelmer Assistant Principal kmzelmer@cbe.ab.ca

Photo Retakes                                                                       

Photo Retakes have been changed to Monday October 30 starting at 10 AM. If you would like your child to get a retake please have your child bring their photo envelope back with them with any instructions you might like changed for the photographer. For PM Kindergarten students wishing for retakes, please bring your child to the school at 10 AM and we will do their retake then.

Outdoor School - Grade 6

There is a mandatory meeting about Outdoor School for grade 6 parents on Wednesday October 25. This meeting will start at 6:30 pm and will be held in the grade 6 classroom.

Digital Citizenship Presentations Grade 5 & 6

Ms. Christopher and Ms. Zelmer will be visiting the Grade 5 and 6 classes to discuss digital citizenship. They will be talking with the students about the Student Code of Conduct, how to use technology safely and appropriately, and how we can avoid some of the pitfalls of social media, texting and group chats that we have had issues with in Altadore in the past. The presentations will be discussion- based and ensure all students understand to be a responsible digital citizen.

Digital Citizenship Parent Session November 1 at 6:00pm

Backing on to the in-class presentations with our Grade 5 and 6 students Ms. Christopher and Ms. Zelmer will be hosting a similar presentation for parents on Wednesday November 1, at 6 pm. This will be an online session via MS Teams. This session is open to all Altadore families. Our goal is to proactively address issues related to social media, online safety and cell phone use that come up here at Altadore. We hope that we can work together to give our children similar messages about their responsibilities online, what to share online, and online etiquette. We will also discuss how to respond when your child reports something to you, and when to involve the school. This presentation is geared toward parents of grade 5 and 6 students, but anyone who is interested is welcome to attend. A Microsoft Teams link will be shared closer to the date.

2023-24 Direct Donation Campaign

Say goodbye to bake sales and dull fundraising events that drain your energy and wallet! Our Altadore School Parents’ Association heard parent feedback, and created the direct donation campaign! You can quickly and easily make a monetary contribution straight to the School Council HERE, meaning we can put more of your generous donations directly towards enriching our student's education. We’re off to a great start, already sitting at 18% of our goal raised!

Envelopes with information for our direct donation campaign were sent home with students last week. They have an overview of why we hold this campaign, what the money goes towards, and a friendly reminder that we do provide tax receipts for donations!

If you're already in the know about the campaign and are willing to chip in, click HERE!

Pride Vibes Community Club

PRIDE VIBES COMMUNITY CLUB provides a safe and inclusive space where 2SLGBTQIA+ students and allies in grades 5 and 6 can be themselves and have fun. We educate, advocate and fundraise in our Calgary community. The club meets on Mondays at lunch time in Ms. Mackenzie’s room.

Further information about the role of GSAs (Gay-Straight Alliances) can be found at Creating Safe & Caring Environments for all LGBTQ Youth | School Culture & Environment | About Us | CBE and on the Albert Education website at Gay-straight alliances | Alberta.ca

Please contact ekmackenzie@cbe.ab.ca if you would like to learn more about Pride Vibes Community Club.

Run Club                                                                       

We will be continuing run club for all students K-6 on Thursday mornings at 8 am despite the cooler weather. Come dressed and ready to start the day with some exercise!

Leadership Club                                                                       

This club will be starting soon for interested Grade 6 students.

Extra Clothing Needed                                                                       

We are looking for extra pants and socks in sizes 6 and up. If you are able to donate any, please bring it to the office.

Parent Focus Group invitation from Alberta Education

On Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, Alberta Education will host a focus group with the intention of seeking feedback from parents. The focus group will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Purpose: To collect insight from a parent perspective to update the old “My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource" website into a brand new space that will be hosted on new.LearnAlberta.ca.

10 – 12 parents will be identified from metro, urban and rural school divisions, representing children of varying grade ranges (K-12) to participate in this focus group.

If you are interested please fill out this “expression of interest" survey. It will remain open until Monday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m.

Alberta Education Focus Group - Expression of Interest to Participate

Halloween

Children are invited to wear costumes if they wish. Those who do choose to wear costumes should wear them to school at the beginning of the day. Please give some thought to what is practical and appropriate to wear at school. For example, masks should allow for clear vision and not be so gory they are truly scary.

Classes will be doing a variety of Halloween/Fall activities throughout the day. You may send a special snack for your child to eat in the afternoon. If you send treats for other children, please ensure that an ingredient list is included. These treats will be sent home for later.

If your child does not want to dress up or your family does not celebrate Halloween, that is perfectly fine as well. Our goal is to recognize this day as a special occasion for many of our families, while being inclusive of all.

The HOOT FUNdraiser                                                                       

What's In Store?

• Grab some friends and plan the ultimate get away with a 7-day stay in gorgeous and tropical Nosara, Costa Rica (see the house, click HERE)
• Fun-filled ski package
• Flames Tickets
• Art and Electronics
• and much much more!

The event is sold out, but you can support our school by bidding on our amazing silent auction items online HERE, in real time with the event! You can also purchase your child’s HOOT art piece after the event on Nov. 3rd.

Wine Donations

Let's have the lucky winner of the wine raffle take home the ultimate wine prize! Drop off one of your household favourite bottle(s) at the office. But remember, let's keep the wine out of the children's backpacks!

Volunteers

We still need volunteers! Shifts will be short, so you will have ample time to socialize (and bid on art and auction items!). Volunteers will have a ton of fun while helping to raise funds for our school. Sign up with your partner or a group, and get the whole gang involved. There will be “light” childcare at the MLCA hall during the day from about 12:30-4:30 to facilitate the decorating and set up. The HOOT is adults only!

Thank You to Community Sponsors

We’d like to thank our community sponsors for their generous support of this event including Marda Loop Braces, Calgary Youth Physiotherapy and Bruni Law.

School Council and Parent Association Meeting Minutes

At the School Council and Parent Association Meeting which was held on October 11th, the minutes from the prior meeting on September 13 were approved. If you would like to review the minutes they can be found on our school’s website in the School Council section HERE!

As always, these meetings are open to everyone and we look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces at the next meeting on Wednesday, November 29 at 6:30pm.