Weekly Update Sept. 4-8 | Staff, Picnic, Gear, School Council, Dismissal, Forms, Fundraiser

Admin Message

Dear Altadore Families,

What a wonderful first two days of school! Students were very excited to come back to school, especially to see their friends and to learn who their new teachers were. Our new students are settling in and are starting to make connections already! The staff who are new to us are very positive and thrilled to be at Altadore. The energy in the school is amazing! As always we are thankful for the great sense of community that is characteristic of our school.

Our start up has gone very smoothly. The rain held off for the first day of classes, the construction in front of the school is almost finished, and we were able to reorganize our two kindergarten classes into three with a minimum of fuss.

Fifteen new students registered with us prior to school starting and five will not be returning to Altadore. This increase in students has allowed us to create the third kindergarten class. We are currently sitting at about 387 students which is the same number of students we had at the end of June, but is up about 20 from last September. In order to keep our class sizes small we are using the old music room as a classroom and music will be taught in the Learning Commons for a few days each week. Please see below for a list of all our staff.

This weekly update is a collaboration between School Council and school administration. It will be sent to you each week the day before school starts for the week. Most weeks this will be a Sunday, but on long weekends like this one, it will be on Monday.

We encourage you to reach out to us anytime- call the school, pop in, or email us if you have anything you would like to discuss. Here is to a wonderful 2023-2024 school year!

Kelly Christopher
Principal
kdchristophe@cbe.ab.ca 		Karlee Zelmer
Assistant Principal
kmzelmer@cbe.ab.ca

Altadore School Staff - 2023-24

Principal                      Kelly Christopher
Assistant Principal       Karlee Zelmer
Learning Leaders         Mack Fraser, Beth Mackenzie
Admin. Assistant         Tori Wychick
Office Assistant           TBA

Kindergarten               Aimee Jackson, Jill Wrightson
Grade 1                       Nara Duthie, Lindsay Howard, Andrea Lenz/Trish Mayerle
Grade 2                       Jenny Miller, Alison Predika, Ali Vejprava
Grade 3                       Breane Andrews, Ashley Bigelow, Rob Mitchelson
Grade 4                       Brigitte Almadi, Christa Ducey
Grade 5                       Noel Johnson, Beth Mackenzie
Grade 6                       Mack Fraser, Melanie Hutton
Music                          Catherine Brown-Wolfe
Ed. Assistants             Bobbie-Jo Edison, Natalie Patterson, Brenda Richardson
Library Assistant        Anita Watson
Lead Lunch                 TBA
Lunchroom                  Robert Bruce, Katrina Fontaine, Junko Matsuzaki, Andreia Monteiro, Sarah Sumner

Facilities          Jerry Dizon, Selamawit Mebrahtu

Back to School Picnic & Meet the Teacher: September (5:00- 7:00 PM)

We have decided to try combining our annual back to school picnic with a chance to come and meet your child’s teacher and to see their classroom, rather than have a separate set of conferences in September. We have had some feedback that this would be more efficient and decided to give it a try. Many families who have specific concerns have already met with their child’s teacher, and it is too early in the year for teachers to be able to share anything about how a child is learning at school. If you feel it is important to have a separate individual conference with your child’s teacher, please reach out to them and they will be happy to arrange a time to meet.

The picnic on Thursday will be in the back field. Bring your blanket and a picnic from home, buy some food at a food truck, or eat at home and come afterward. This is a very popular, well-attended, and fun event where you can meet new families. Staff will be mingling in the field when they are not in their classrooms.

Teacher’s will be alternating between time in their classrooms and outside so you will be able to come and see what your student has been up to.

  • Kindergarten: Ms. Wrightson and Mrs. Jackson have sent info home.
  • Grade 1, 3 & 5 will be in the classrooms from 5-5:30 and 6-6:30.
  • Grade 2, 4 & 6 will be in the classrooms from 5:30-6 and 6:30-7.

Altadore School Gear Available for Purchase

School Council Meeting - Wednesday, September 13 (6:30 pm)  

The first School Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 14th at 6:30 pm in the Learning Commons at the school. All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend. Certified Altadore students or alumni will be available to provide babysitting.

School Photos - Wednesday, September 13

School Photos will be taken by Lifetouch on Wednesday, September 13. We do not have an exact schedule, for the day, but usually start with the younger students and work our way through the grades. If you have a current CBE police clearance and would like to volunteer that day, please contact Ms. Tori in the office.

Dismissal Time

We would like to remind families that we teach to the bell at the end of each day. Once the bell rings at 3:20 / 12:15, students will begin to pack up and head outside.

Kindergarten teachers will dismiss students one at a time and ensure that they see their “person” before allowing them to leave the building. Grade 1 teachers will do this for the first few weeks of school, then transition to dismissing the students as we do with the older grades; they will pack up when the bell rings and head outside when they are ready.

We encourage you to establish a meeting spot for after school, as it can be quite crowded, and difficult for the younger students to see their parents when they

exit. It is also super important to model safety crossing the intersections and when parking!

Medical Forms

If you indicated a medical condition for your child (including severe allergies) on the registration form, or if your child has previously been identified as having a medical condition, you will receive a medical form in your child’s backpack this week.

Remember Label Everything!

We have been in school for 1.5 days and already have items in our lost and found! Please ensure you label your child’s items so they can be easily returned. Lost and Found is located just inside the northeast entrance to the school (the Grade 2 doors by the “Christmas Tree.”

Here is a link to the Altadore School 2023-24 Calendar

The HOOT FUNdraiser

Notes of Thanks

  • Thank you to the following individuals for their recent contributions to our school…
  • A huge thank you to Julia and Daniel Hikita for organizing the first day of school coffee!
  • Thank you Cara Schlenker and all of the parents who came to clean up the Owl’s Nest last weekend.
  • All of the Altadore staff who have worked so hard to make it a great start up for students and their fam

Questions?                                                                       

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