Week at a Glance ~ October 12-16
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Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate! At Citadel Park School we have plenty to be thankful for... First, we wish to say a big thank you to our Citadel Park School Council & Parent Association for approving our spending plan last week. This means that students in grades 3-5 will soon be able to access iXL for learning this year, that our library will get some much-needed replacement of popular titles, that field trips will be subsidized to a degree to cover the cost of the bus and that our physical education related residencies will have costs covered. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of all the members of council and the association who work so hard to support our students and our school. Thank you! We also wish to thank Jenny Regal, CBE Board of Trustee for attending our school council meeting and sharing her perspectives with families in attendance. Second, last spring, our school community began an exciting partnership with the Citadel Community Garden where we planted a variety of crops - beans, peas, beets, Swiss chard, carrots and strawberries to name a few. This fall, we harvested what we grew and helped with weeding all while learning valuable lessons about plant growth, where our food comes from, and how plants and creatures depend on each other. Through this hands-on experience, our students have discovered the joy of connecting with the land, building community, and making a real difference. We look forward to continuing this meaningful partnership! We are grateful to our partners at the Beacon Hill Home Depot for their generous donations of seeds and gardening gear as well as to Jenna Leach, a dedicated CPS volunteer who helped make our gardening project possible. Third, we are also grateful to the CBE for the gift of another teacher. On Friday we learned that we will be receiving funding for an additional teacher from mid-October to end of June which will support reduced class sizes for our grade 1 students. While there will be some challenges that accompany this announcement, we are elated that we will be able to bring our grade 1 class sizes in line with all others in our school. We will be working on a transition plan this week and will communicate more with our grade 1 families as we determine how this change will be implemented. Given that we have no additional space available within the school, there will likely be physical changes of locations made that may impact more than our grade 1 students. As we finalize plans, we will communicate with all families impacted. This is a reminder that there will be no school for students on Monday October 19 as it is a professional learning day for teachers, and we will be spending our time focusing on our school development goal of vocabulary learning and assessment. In alignment with Alberta Education, the CBE will be sharing individualized reports for students who participated in the early screening initiative that took place from September 14-October 2. All students in grades 1-5 were assessed using a variety of literacy and numeracy provincial screeners. The results will be shared with families the week of October 26-29 so please look for an envelope coming home with your child. Upcoming Important Dates: October 20-22 ~ Grade 5 Trickster October 22-23 ~ Grade 1 Artfelt Studios October 26 ~ Grade 3 to Telus Spark Fashion Friday this week will be wear your favourite summer outfit one last time (hats, sunglasses, t-shirts)…it’s supposed to be sunny and 20 degrees! |
