How can it possibly be May already? (I will admit that it feels more like February though with all of the snow!) It is so hard to believe that we are down to our last two months of school, and as always, these last two months will be busy and will fly by. It has been so amazing to see so many folks volunteering in the school! Thank you to those parents and family members (including some staff member’s parents and family members!) who have supported various field trips and in-school opportunities such as grade one felting.
The school calendar is looking busy with several field trip opportunities in May and June, and teachers will be looking for volunteers to help. A reminder that if you want to volunteer for field trips or in the classroom, you must complete the CBE Volunteer Screening Process through Calgary Police Services. If you are interested in volunteering but haven’t begun the process, please contact Mrs. Wagler in the office for information.
Thank You School Council/Parent Association
Thanks to the ongoing support of our council members we have been fortunate to be able to continue to provide different opportunities for students including field trips and presentations, AT NO COST TO FAMILIES. These trips and opportunities are authentic and exciting ways to connect classroom learning with the world beyond the school, and we are so fortunate that we are able to provide these. Please know that these opportunities come at a cost, and because of the fundraising efforts of our Parent Association volunteers, these costs have been covered by them rather than being passed on to families. We also want to say a huge thank you to council for the resources and materials, including new laptops and iPads for students! Speaking of council/parent association, we are always excited to have parents attend our monthly meetings to share ideas and learn about what is happening in the school.
Every parent is invited to attend any or all meetings, and if you are interested in volunteering as a regular member of council.
Resilient, Respectful, Remarkable Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, May 8 - Hats on for Mental Health Day
- Friday, May 17 - No School-Professional learning day
- Monday, May 20 - Victoria Day - No School
AGM
Annual General Meeting will be on Thursday May 30, 2024 at 6:30 PM at the school. If you have a couple of hours each month to spare and want to become part of the executive, join us at the AGM. Executive positions include Chairperson, Treasurer, and Secretary. WE ARE REALLY IN NEED OF SOMEONE TO TAKE ON THE TREASURER POSITION. For information about the positions or meeting, please contact Mrs. Drefko or Ms. Derdall at the school.
Next Year Information/Full Day Kindergarten
Thank you, too, to all families who are contacting us with information regarding plans for next year. Knowing students who are moving from or staying at Radisson Park at this time helps us with our planning for the fall. Each year we gather this information so that we can make informed budget decisions and allocate staff as best we can. Please talk with your child’s teacher or simply jot a note in your child’s agenda or communication folder letting us know if you will be living in our area and staying at Radisson Park in the fall, or if you have moved or are planning to move over the summer. If you know any families who have moved into our area or who have kindergarten-aged children, please encourage them to register as soon as possible as this also helps us with our planning.
We are happy to say that we will once again have full day kindergarten for the 2024/2025 school year! As always, we will only be accepting and keeping student registrations for families living within our designated boundaries, especially with growing enrolment numbers and keeping our grade sixes! Thank you!
Have a Safe and Healthy Spring
Now that it is spring, we have some requests of our families: Spring is here and with it comes warmer and longer days. Although we are thrilled that children are able to be outside playing and being physically active in the evenings, we are also asking for family help to ensure that children are getting enough sleep. Elementary aged children need 9 to 11 hours of sleep each night to be rested and ready for each day of hard work and learning at school, and often we see increased negative behaviors are a result of being tired.
As always, it is important that students are at school each day on time, entering with their classroom through their assigned doors, and we ask for your continued support with this. School starts each morning at 8:20 AM, and believe me, every instructional minute counts, especially in these last few months. Teacher supervision starts at 8:05 AM, and spring is a great time for children to start their day with fresh air. Remember that our breakfast program (no cost, no registration) runs each day from 7:45 AM to 8:10 AM, and all children are welcome to attend to eat.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND STUDENTS TO SCHOOL BEFORE 8:05 AM UNLESS THEY ARE GOING TO EAT BREAKFAST. With the warm weather on its way, please know that we ask all staff and students to dress in a professional manner for school. Students will be asked to remove hats inside the school. The school is climate-controlled, meaning that it is often cooler in the school than it is outside, making it important that students are dressed appropriately. We also ask students to remember to pick up their sweaters and jackets each day if they take them off outside, and please ask your child to visit the lost and found so that we can get all lost pieces back to their owners.
Please have a conversation with your student about the importance of being kind and respectful, treating others the way that they would like to be treated. There are so many examples of unkind and disrespectful behavior in the world, and we don’t want our children/students to see these behaviors as okay. We talk with students all the time about how small actions can change the world, and right now, we need many, many small acts of kindness and respect in our world!
Finally, please help us ensure the safety and security of all children by having your child come home directly after school to check in with you before going to play at a friend’s house, a neighborhood park, or the school playground. There is no supervision on the playground after school, and if there is no adult to supervise, we insist that children go home to drop off their belongings and check in with an adult before they stop and play. We have been working with members of the Calgary Police Service who support this, and we thank you for your help in developing and practicing safe, healthy habits!
Just a reminder that the school is not responsible for any child’s valuables that are brought from home, including electronics, jewelry, and toys. These valuable items should be left at home. Children who ride their bikes to school will need to be sure to lock them carefully on the outside bike racks (we encourage them to use the racks outside of the office), and remember to wear helmets! We also want to take a minute to remind all dog lovers that all schoolyards are “No Dogs Allowed” areas under Calgary bylaws.
The official Radisson Park 2024/2025 school calendar will be sent with the June newsletter. Just a note for your planning that the first day of school for next year will be Thursday August 29, 2024. Again this year the Calgary Board of Education has made all non-instructional days common to all schools, with schools only required to personalize calendars with dates for Learning Conversations and other special events. At this time we know that our school start and end times will be the same for next year, with school starting each day at 8:20 am and ending at 3:05 pm Monday to Thursday. Fridays will continue to be our early dismissal days, with the student day ending at 11:45 am.
Once again, I want to thank all of our families for your ongoing support and partnership in learning, and please know that we recognize that our students could not have demonstrated the resilience, growth and progress they have so far this year without your continued support. Please take a minute to reflect with your child about how much they have progressed and learned since the beginning of the year, and celebrate their successes. Remind them that together we expect them to work hard and learn at school, and that we will not accept anything less than their personal bests. Yes, it is already May but we still have lots of work and learning to do, so we will continue to push hard, have high expectations and celebrate each child’s learning.
Thank you for sharing this commitment as well.
Mrs. Drefko