Important Dates

Sept 24-25 Yom Kippar
Sept. 28 Altadore Orange Shirt Day
Sept. 28 Eric Walters Author Visit
Sept. 29 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (No School)
Nov. 3 HOOT Fundraiser
Sept. 26-30 Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving)
Oct. 9 Thanksgiving (No school)
Oct. 18 First Fun Lunch
Oct. 20 Non-Instruction Day
Oct. 25 Outdoor School Meeting for Grade 6 Parents 6:30 PM

Admin Message

Dear Altadore Families,

We know that all of our staff and families want our school to be a safe place for everyone. As such we would like to bring a few items to your attention.

We are a nut aware school. We have many children that have severe allergies to nuts and/or peanuts. As a school we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students. Being nut aware we encourage you to try your best to pack snacks or lunches that do NOT contain nuts or peanuts. Although we cannot guarantee that there will never be nuts that come into the school, we do appreciate your support and cooperation.

There is always a traffic crunch along 45 Street at drop off and dismissal time. We ask parents to be very careful, to drive slowly, and to watch out for pedestrians.

Please do not park or stop in the area marked off by traffic cones - even for the short time it takes for children to get in or out of a vehicle.

We have put in a request to have another entrance/gate to be put into the fence along 15 Avenue and the Calgary Police Service has assured us they will be patrolling frequently and issuing tickets in school zones.

Thank you for being a part of our school community and making Altadore School a safe environment for all.

Sincerely,

Kelly Christopher  Principal   kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca

Karlee Zelmer Assistant Principal kmzelmer@cbe.ab.ca

 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

At Altadore we are committed to acknowledging and supporting the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action specific to education. Our school, along with all CBE schools, made a TRC Commitment to Action, which can be found on our website.

To honour Orange Shirt Day, we invite all students to wear orange on Thursday, September 28th. With their teachers, students will discuss Orange Shirt Day and The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Students will be creating a display of orange footprints that demonstrate their commitment to “Walk Together in a Good Way”. We will continue to weave learning about Indigenous ways and knowing and being throughout the school year.

All CBE schools will be closed on Friday, September 29 to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which is on September 30. This day is dedicated to honouring the children who never returned home from residential schools, the survivors, and their families and communities. There are many events happening to observe this day in Calgary that you might want to participate in, such as:

• The third annual ceremonial opening is taking place on Sept. 30 from 9-10:30a.m. at Fort Calgary (750 9th Ave SE) hosted by the City of Calgary in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. 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.
• 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.
• Arts Commons for a day of free events, including film screenings, an Indigenous makers market, and an evening presentation of the Elders Story Project.
• Telus Spark: Elder Speakers, Mapping Activity, Short Films, Storybook Readings

Eric Walters

Author Eric Walters will have a limited number of books for sale during his visit on Thursday. These range in price from $8 - $21 per book. If your child would like to purchase a book while he is here please have them bring cash. Alternatively many of his books are widely available from a variety of book sellers. If you are able to volunteer to help with the book selling please contact the office.

Fun Lunch is Coming!

Mark your calendars: Fun lunch will be on Wednesdays for the 2023/2024 school year. The first lunch will be Wednesday, October 18. Look for details in next
week's newsletter on how to register to order a fun lunch for your child through Healthy Hunger.

Want to volunteer? Sign up HERE!

PLEASE NOTE: you must have a valid CBE police check registered with the front office. Check in with the office, or email altadorefunlunch@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

Forms, Forms, Forms!

Each year, there are several online forms that parents are required to complete or review and update in SchoolEngage.

• Demographic Verification - 2023-24 – This form includes your child’s personal information as well as parent / legal guardian contact information.
• Citizenship Information Update - 2023-24 – 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 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

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

Volunteers for the Learning Commons

Mrs. Watson is hoping to have some volunteers who are willing to help out in the library. They will help shelve books, prepare books for circulation, and tidy the library. Volunteers must have a current CBE police check.

There is flexibility in when you can come in to volunteer. Please contact Anita Watson at alwatson@cbe.ab.ca if you can help out.

Altadore Garden Harvest Festival

Thank you to everyone who came out to the harvest festival! There was a great turnout, with amazing treats made from produce from the Edible Garden, and lots of fun had by everyone!

So far, we have harvested over 950lbs of produce that has been donated to the Calgary Food Bank! Fingers crossed we can get to 1000lbs this year!

The HOOT FUNdraiser                                                                       

Tickets

Hoot tickets are on sale HERE! Get them before they’re gone, this event sells out each year! Tickets are $25 for admission, with options to pre-purchase drink and raffle tickets.

Sponsorship and Silent Auction

We are seeking donations for our silent auction and raffle, or businesses interested in sponsorships. Any contribution is appreciated! Ideas include:

• Event tickets – hockey games, ski lift tickets, event centers (Telus Spark, Calgary Zoo, Art/Music/Dance lessons for children, etc)
• Weekend getaways
• Dinner-for-two gift certificates
• Many sponsorship levels available, email us HERE to find out more!

Wine Donations

We are looking for bottles of wine to include in our silent auction. If you have wine to donate, please drop off bottles at the school office to Kelly Christopher.

*Please have an adult drop them off… no wine in kids’ backpacks, please!*

Thank You/Questions?

Thank you to those who have contributed amazing items already! If you have any items to donate or would like to get involved in planning, please contact Felicity Aston (The HOOT Chairperson) HERE.

Altadore Gear - All Year Long

Altadore school works with Summarized Design to provide Altadore Gear for purchase in all sizes all year long. This is a fun initiative that many of our families enjoy, but please note that this is not a fundraiser effort, and Altadore school does not benefit financially from the purchase of Altadore gear.

T-Shirt and hoodie colours are changed periodically, and right now there are several different versions of multicoloured logos! You can order online and your purchase will come to the school in about a week (or maybe two at the beginning of the year!

Notes of Thanks 

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

• Everyone who attended our evening parent session this week with Saa’kokoto, great stories and conversations were had by all!
• Emma Geoghegan, Katie Dodd, and the entire garden committee for organizing an amazing Harvest Festival in the Edible Garden.
• To all the parents who brought special treats to the harvest festival, made with produce from the edible garden! From carrot cake to beet brownies, popcorn to apples, everyone was enjoying the treats!
• Janet Melrose for always keeping the garden at its very best, and helping all the children harvest vegetables at the festival.
• Ms. Zelmer, Ms. Andrews, and Mrs. Brown-Wolfe, students, and parents who kicked off our K-6 run club this Thursday morning, it was a ton of fun!

Questions?

Looking for school information you can’t find here?

Please contact: Kelly Christopher, Principal (kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca)
Karlee Zelmer, Assistant Principal (kmzelmer@cbe.ab.ca)
Julia Hikita, Altadore School Council Chair (altadoreparentcouncil@gmail.com