T-Shirt Order Deadline is Monday
Monday is the last day to order New Brighton School t-shirts. Order forms were sent home and are also available in the office. Parking and Student Drop Off The brief snap of cold weather brought out some bad habits among a few parents. Choosing convenience over safety is the wrong decision. It is also the wrong decision to block our neighbors’ driveways. It is very wrong to block our neighbors’ driveways and leave a car unattended. Supervision begins at 7:55AM and if the temperature is below -20C (including wind chill) students are invited inside beginning at 7:55AM. Students can enter the school from any entrance (except the main entrance) at 8:10. Thank you for your support in getting all students to school safely and being good neighbors. Book Fair Scholastic will host our Book Fair this year on December 21 and 22. We are letting you know now – just in case you were interested in some Christmas shopping planning. Most titles will be available to take and the time of purchase. The Book Fair will be at New Brighton School during Parent-Student Conferences on December 21 and 22. Choir We are looking forward to our Grade 2-4 Choir performing at the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market this Friday (Nov 24). It is a great way for our students to highlight their great singing talents. They’ll be performing at 12:30PM. This Week Monday Nov 20 Grade 1 Art Club Tuesday Nov 21 Grade 4 Girls Group Thursday Nov 23 Pizza Fun Lunch (pre-order was required) Friday Nov 24 Choir performing at Spruce Meadows (12:30PM)
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We would like to thank all of you who were able to attend our Remembrance Day Assembly on Friday. Our students did an incredible job of showing their most respectful behavior during the entire time. That comes from both your impact and the importance our teachers put into ensuring teaching about Remembrance Day was more than just “being good” – it was about “doing good”. Our Veterans Food Bank boxes are overflowing and the notes, cards and artwork that are being distributed to veterans and those currently serving show the importance this time has for our school and our students. Our attention turns more locally now as we approach Christmas. As a community we will be supporting the Mustard Seed and G.W. Skene School. We know our students and families go above and beyond in any effort we take up and know this will be no exception. We also know that celebration is an important part of the upcoming holiday season and giving together and look forward to celebrating with you at our Warm Feet for the Street evening on December 7th. Information has either already come home or will come home on Monday.
Please check the dates below carefully. Our Early Dismissal on Thursday in unusual and a result of matching bus times with another school. We hope our students enjoy the extra time off this week. Monday Nov 13 K Food Impact Day Grade 1 Art Club Tuesday Nov 14 Grade 4 Art Club Wednesday Nov 15 Class Photo Day and Retake Day Thursday Nov 16 AM Kindergarten Attends Early Dismissal K-4 11:45AM Friday Nov 17 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS PD DAY We hope everyone enjoyed the extra hour of sleep – or time to get stuff done – with the time change this weekend. From the perspective of a school every hour counts between now and Winter Break. It was a very busy week at New Brighton School and we have a very busy week coming up. Lets begin with some celebrations: We have a School Logo Blog readers will be the first to see your new School Logo. We received over 160 ideas from students and teachers narrowed the choices down to three that inspired our final design. Thank you everyone who shared an idea. Congratulations to Ruby (Ms. Kelly – Gr 3), Kendra (Mrs. Clare – Gr 3) and Roman (Ms. Rooney – K) for the inspiration. Thank you to Cassidy’s mom and Roman and Calin’s mom for the design expertise in taking the ideas and turning them into the following logo. T-Shirt orders will be coming home soon and we are pretty confident we can have the orders back before Christmas. Details coming home soon. On Tuesday we kicked off our Veterans Food Bank Drive with a visit from Norella King. Norella is Miss Canada Globe and closely associated with The Canadian Legacy Project (Canadianlegacy.org). Canadian Legacy is committed to helping veterans who live in poverty. It's not easy talking to over 500 students from K-4 about a serious issue. She did a great job and our Veterans Food Bank is off to a great start. On Thursday our school was the proud recipient of a $10,000 donation from Staples (130th Ave) and Intel. As part of Intel’s Retail Edge Program our local Staples won a contest. Staples chose a school to receive the donation. We’d like to thank Jamey and all the Associates for choosing our school from the several within our neighborhood. Jamey said our school has a “presence and a culture” that is felt in the community and the decision to support New Brighton School was unanimous. We’d like to thank Sheldon Evasiuk (Technology Supervisor), Hardik Vyas (Technology Sales Specialist) and Madison Turner (Service Manager) for coming to our school to present the giant cheque to our school. On Thursday our students were able to be a part of an amazing presentation (your children must have shared with you). For over an hour EarthRangers shared some of their work and partnerships from across Canada. The presentation was educational and informative. And it was very entertaining with several live animals including a skunk (descented), porcupine and an owl. The highlight may have been the falcon that swooped from one end of the gym to the other. Our Grade 4 students also had an additional presentation. New Brighton School was fortunate to have this presentation. We’d like to thank Nova Chemicals and Isabelle (Gr 4), Kendra (Gr 2) and Maddox (K) for nominating us through their parents and NOVA. Remembrance Day Assembly
Friday November 10th at 10:15am our Remembrance Day Assembly will be taking place in the school gym. All parents/guests are welcome to attend this Assembly. If you are planning on attending the Assembly please arrive before 10:15 so that there are no interruptions throughout the Assembly. All students in choir are reminded that they will need to wear dark bottoms and a white shirt on that day. Any students that are in sparks, brownies, cubs, scouts, cadets etc may wear their uniform to school that day. All students will be provided with a poppy to wear on that day and teachers will be collecting donations to the Poppy Fund. If you have any questions, please email Miss Lysak at [email protected] Students are doing a few things in class to recognize Remembrance Day including:
This coming week is the last week to donate non-perishable food items to our Veterans Food Bank Drive. SAVE THE DATE Save the evening of December 7th. Details will be coming home soon. Our Family Christmas Evening will be a great opportunity to join the school community in an evening of giving and celebrating. We will be supporting the Mustard Seed Warm Feet for the Street project and some fun family activities. We’ve strengthened our relationship with the Mustard Seed this year and know that our project on December 7th will be distributed to Mustard Seed clients on Christmas Day. This Week Nov 6 Grade 3 (Mrs. V and Ms. Kelly) to Studio Bell Gr 1 Art Club Nov 7 Gr 2-4 Choir Gr 4 Girls Group Nov 8 Gr 1 Paper Art Club Nov 9 Grade 3 (Mrs. Clare and Mrs. Cose) to Studio Bell Special Lunch – Taco Time – Pre-order was required Nov 10 10:15 Remembrance Day Assembly First – apologies for the blank update last week – I must have missed a step… Our updates for the week are mostly contained in our Report to School Council below. Please take a few minutes to have a read. One of our examples related to math is attached. Feel free to take 60 seconds to look at the pairs of fractions and identify which one is the greatest. Parents at the School Council “enjoyed” participating and suggested we share it with everyone. If you have basic procedural understanding – as quickly as you can – you would convert the fractions to a common denominator (the bottom number) and whichever had the largest numerator (the top number) would be the answer. However, in 60 seconds, you wouldn’t be finished. If you use your conceptual understanding of fractions (what does the numerator and denominator represent individually and together) you should go faster. In math we want students to be able to do both. We’ll share more of our math understanding and learning with you over the next few months. For now – grab a piece of paper and set your timer for 60 seconds. Good luck. As a reference – these questions would be for a Grade 6 student. The answers are below – no cheating. This Week
Oct 23 Grade 1 Art Club Oct 24 Grade 4 Girls Group Choir Oct 25 Grade 1 Paper Art Club Oct 26 Special Lunch – Pre-order was required Family Movie Night – Tickets required (SOLD OUT) Oct 27 PM Kindergarten Attends Answer Key A 4/5 B 5/7 C 4/10 D 5/3 E 9/10 F 4/7 G 7/12 H 3/5 I 5/8 J 4/3 K 4/6 L 8/9 We hope you enjoyed the long weekend. Keep those suggestions and ideas rolling in for our new school logo – or we might end up with this one. Just kidding…but the deadline for suggestions is Friday, October 13. We’ve got some very creative students in our school and some great parents who have offered to help turn a concept into something that is print and digital ready. This one was created by a staff member – bringing a few laughs to end the week for all of us. Parking and Drop-off
Last year we had to send several reminders throughout the year designed to remind pedestrians and drivers about the shared responsibility in helping everyone arrive at school safely. We would like to thank everyone for being so responsible this year. As the cold weather approaches lets keep it up. Silent Auction Although this reminder might mean I lose my winning bids – the greater good says I should share. You have until Oct 17 to bid on the items at https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/24678/ in support of the Parent Fundraising Society. Coming up this week Oct 9 Thanksgiving Day Oct 10 Gr 4 Girls Group Gr 2-4 Choir Family Portrait Night (pre-booking was required) Oct 11 Gr 1 Paper Art Club Oct 12 Subway Lunch (pre-order was required) Choir Monday Oct 16 PD DAY No School for Students Weekly Update Oct 2-6
Terry Fox Run We had a great Terry Fox Run on Thursday. We hope your child shared their experience of dedication and perserverence. A lap around the pond is 1.2 KM and we had lots of students complete two laps and several who completed more than that. More importantly – we came together to remember and honor a true Canadian hero. The final tally is still coming in but we know we raised over $750 in the fight against cancer. Thank you for supporting your children and this important day. Thank you also to the many parents who helped make sure we all stayed on the course, and kept moving, through out our run. Orange Shirt Day Orange T-shirt Day (Sept 30) is a day that has grown out of Residential School survivor, Phyllis Webstad’s account of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential school in Williams Lake, BC. This day has become an opportunity to keep the discussion of all aspects of residential schools happening annually and an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. In honour of this day, we are encouraging all students and staff to wear an orange t-shirt to school on Monday, Oct 2. School Logo We’ve had a few great submissions to our school logo contest. Keep the entries coming until October 13. Coming up this week October 2 Orange Shirt Day October 3 Gr 2-4 Choir October 5 Gr 2-4 Choir October 9 Thanksgiving Day – NO SCHOOL Thank you for attending Conferences last week. We had many classes with 100% of parents attending (or scheduling some time different). There are lots of things that contribute to student success and parent involvement is one of the keys. Your input is valued by teachers as they make learning plans and targets for students leading up to our first set of report cards in mid-December (Gr 1-4). Connecting to a community larger than oneself or ones family is one of the roles of public education (and any public institution). It is a part of the Social Studies Program of Studies and often leads to students being part of making communities better. For example, last year, our Grade 1 classes received the New Brighton Residents Association Junior Neighbor of Year Award for their work around the question, “What’s the next best thing for New Brighton?” Over the next week students will be learning about and participating in two other community wide events. Our Terry Fox Run will occur on Thursday. We’ll begin with an assembly at 9AM followed by a run/walk around our pond. Parents, siblings and guests are welcome to join us. Donations (Toonies for Terry) can be sent to your child’s teacher. Next Monday ( Oct 2) we will be recognizing Orange Shirt Day. It is an opportunity of education and building understanding of residential school experiences in an age appropriate way for students from K-12. More information is available at: http://www.orangeshirtday.org/. Students and staff are encouraged to wear orange. We also wish many of our staff great success as they participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure on Sunday, October 1. School Council and Parent Fundraising Society Both parent groups met last week and you should know how focused each is on enhancing the school experience for students here at New Brighton. Our school report is attached. We share information via email but each group hosts a Facebook page where you can stay even more up to date or stay involved: New Brighton School Council: https://www.facebook.com/NBS.Council/ New Brighton Elementary Parents Association: https://www.facebook.com/NewBrightonSchoolCommittee This Week Sept 25 Gr 1-4 Running Club Sept 26 Gr 2-4 Choir Sept 27 Gr 1-4 Running Club Sept 28 Terry Fox Run – 9AM Assembly and Warm-Up 9:30 Run Gr 2-4 Choir Oct 1 CIBC Run for the Cure Oct 2 Orange Shirt Day Flames Tickets We don’t really share this for the money but if you are looking for a little family fun or a gift you might be interested in looking into this. It seems like the first 9 days of school have flown by. I know from personal experience the stamina of a Grade 1 student begins to pick up now as the pace of a full day of school begins to settle in. Students have had a busy two weeks settling in from K-4 with classroom routines, some good socializing and lots of hard thinking already. By the end of Monday, Ms. McComish and I will have had the opportunity to sit with every teacher and talk about their students. It is a set of conversations I look forward to every year – and am amazed by how well teachers have learned about their students so far. Teachers are very deliberate in their conversations with last year’s teacher, checking out student files and, most importantly, designing tasks that gather great assessment information to inform the next best steps for each student. This process continues for a bit – and an important component could not happen this week without your help – Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences. We sincerely hope each of you has booked a conference or will do so soon. 15 minutes of your input can go a long way to helping make the school year a success. Remember – this conference is mostly about what you know – as you know your child best. You book a conference using your MY CBE ACCOUNT - https://webapps.cbe.ab.ca/MyAccount/Account/LogOn There is something pretty great about a school where every Gr 1-4 student has a chance to “join a club” in the first month of school. Gr 2-4 students have the opportunity to join our choir (forms came home last week) and Gr 1-4 students can join the less formal but super enjoyable Running Club – there are details below. Because Lunch Registration continues to be ongoing – any student just needs to show up. We’ll be in tiptop shape for our Terry Fox Run on September 28. Would you like to volunteer during our Terry Fox Run? We’ll need parents spread throughout the course (around the pond) keeping kids on track and motivated. We’ll be running in the morning (9:30ish). If you have a volunteer clearance and would like to help out please email Ms. Nanavaty directly at: [email protected]. On Tuesday and Wednesday you might notice the Calgary Police Service (CPS) mobile command center in our parking lot. There is no emergency – just a great opportunity for many of our students to see one of our community resources up close. Our first School Council meeting of the year is this week followed immediately by the Parent Society (Fundraising) – meetings begin at 6:00. We are sorry but child care is not available at the meeting. An agenda an invitation are below. Run Club New Brighton is excited to have a fall run club this year! The club will run on Mondays and Wednesdays at lunch starting on September 18 and run until September 27. Just like our previous run club we will be running around the pond for the first half of lunch and then eating during the second half. Students in grades 1-4 are welcome to join. We will be meeting in the gym on Monday at lunch for those interested. Be prepared to run! This Week Sept 18 Gr 1-4 Run Club Sept 19 CPS Mobile Command Center (gr3-4) Sept 20 CPS Mobile Command Center (gr 3-4) Gr 1-4 Run Club Gr 1-4 Special Lunch - Little Caesars - Pre-order was required 6:00PM School Council Meeting and Parent Society Meeting Sept 21 Grade 2-4 Choir NO SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN - CONFERENCES 8:00AM - 3:00PM CONFERENCES KINDERGARTEN - GR 4 - 4:00-7:30PM Sept 22 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS - CONFERENCES 8:15-12:30 Sept 11-15 We hope your children had a great first week back to school. Our classroom blogs http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/newbrighton/teaching-learning/classes-departments/pages/default.aspx are full of interesting and exciting stories of our first few days together. We’ve been asked by several parents about fees. Thank you for wanting to stay up to date with fees. The CBE is waiting for Ministerial Approval for our fees. Please register for noon supervision as that helps with attendance a great deal – knowing who really is supposed to be there – and our other fees – when approved will be very reasonable – and definitely less than last year. We will keep you updated. There will be no fee for supplies and materials. Entrances and Exits Now that our first week is behind us we are ready to start letting families make some choices about the best place to exit the building. At entrance time Grade 1-4 students can use any entrance except the main entrance. All doors will open at 8:10 and students and families can choose what makes the most sense. At dismissal time Grades 2 and 3 students will exit onto the west side of the compound (by the windows that look into the Learning Commons. Grades 1 and 4 students will exit on the east side of the compound. Again – families can choose to use any exit (except the main entrance) if that makes more sense to them. At entry time the doors will remain open for 3 or 4 minutes as the people holding the doors open have classrooms to get to. After the doors are closed students are to come around to the main entrance. Students should be close to an entrance by 8:10AM. Supervision outside begins at 7:55AM. What are we reading? At the beginning of the school year we work hard to establish some shared understanding among the staff at our school. We feel continuity in some things helps create a shared culture of learning. Learning space design and the importance of displaying student work are two areas where we seek some continuity of belief and practice. When you visit our school I hope you will see some evidence of the attached articles embedded in our classrooms and other learning spaces. This Week Sept 11 Conference Booking opens 5PM (you will receive an email) Sept 15 AM Kindergarten attends – 8:10-11:45 Sept 15 Early Dismissal 11:45 |
Jeff HuttonNew Brighton School Principal, CBE graduate, native Calgarian, husband and father of two CBE students. Archives
June 2018
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