Week at a Glance ~ September 23-27

Hello CPS families. We hope you were able to enjoy some of the warm sunshine over the weekend!

We would like to remind families that on inclement weather days, such as the downpour that occurred Friday, students are able to enter through the closest door. We have supervisors inside who will support getting all students to classes safely. We would also like to remind families that while it might be tempting to want to use the bus loop to avoid the weather, the bus loop is off limits to cars/families until after 9:15 am. Inclement weather days not only affect your commute but also our busses so we must leave the bus open to accommodate late bus arrivals. We thank everyone for their support.

The office staff would like to remind families that there are two ways to report an absence. First is by sending an email to Citadel@cbe.ab.ca . The second is by calling the school at 403-777-8063 extension ‘1’ for the absence line. Please avoid dialing ‘0’ for the office to report an absence as the phone lines are busy with other calls. All absences should be reported leaving information related to the child’s last name, child’s teacher and reason for absence. If leaving voicemail please speak slowly and clearly and spell the child’s last name.

As part of our student safety protocols, attendance is taken each day after school for students riding the bus. We currently have close to 200 students riding 3 different buses. Families of bussing students are asked to connect with the school via email or phone call if their child will not be riding a bus on a given day – as much advance notice is preferred. If there is an emergency and it is only becoming clear after 3:00pm they will not ride the bus, please call the school directly at 403-777-8063 ext 0 and speak with a member of the office staff. Similarly, if you are signing your child out early or have made alternate arrangements for the end of the day, please share that information with your child’s teacher and the office staff.  Clear communication saves us much stress at the end of the day. Thank you for your support.

The last week of September is shaping up to be a busy one. We would like to remind families that there is no school this Friday (PD Day) and no school next Monday September 30 as we recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.  

The weather looks wonderful for tomorrow’s rescheduled Terry Fox Run. Given the beautiful weather, we will be going ahead with our run as a whole school. Please have children dress accordingly as it is cooler in the morning. The assembly will kick off our morning and then students will move outside to show off the fantastic running skills they have been practicing during their physical education classes throughout September. The Terry Fox Run is an important opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by many people, including children diagnosed with cancer. Online donations in support of cancer research can be made at https://schools.terryfox.ca/72585. We ask that you do not send cash to school with your child. To date we have raised $980.00 – let’s see how far over $1,000 we can get! We thank the volunteers who originally signed up for Friday and those who are able to flex their schedules to assist us tomorrow. We appreciate your support.

This Thursday September 26 we will be hosting our ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening from 6:00-7:00 pm. Given the number of CPS families, we would ask that families whose last names begin with letters A-L attend from 6:00-6:30 pm. Families whose last names begin with letters M-Z should attend from 6:30-7:00 pm. This is an opportunity for families to tour the school, visit their child’s classroom and meet their child’s teacher. As there will be multiple families in attendance, please note that teachers will be unavailable for 1-1 interviews. Should you have specific questions or concerns about your child, please contact your child’s teacher outside of this open house time.

Thursday is also the day we will recognize our Indigenous communities through our work related to reconciliation through education. Students are encouraged to wear their Orange Shirts in commemoration of the challenges faced by previous generations of Indigenous children and families resulting from the residential school system. Our students will be participating in an assembly hosted by our grade 3 students. Given the capacity of our gym and the size of our school population, we have limited seating available for parents. As the grade 3 students are presenting, we would like to hold space and priority seating for parents of these students.

This Friday is a professional learning day for staff. We will continue our work related to assessment of student learning through the concept of calibration – reviewing and discussing learning criteria and achievement towards the learning target. We will also be exploring the MathUp resource being used throughout CBE in support of the new math curriculum.

Don’t miss out on school messages! That is the CBE message to remind families they need to sign up to receive emails which include information related to commercial content. These could be emails related to fundraising, student fees, field trip fees, fun lunches etc. Due to federal legislation (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, or CASL), parents/guardians need to subscribe to these types of messages. This weekly information email you receive is not the only communication CPS sends out. So, be sure to sign up! For more information visit:

https://www.cbe.ab.ca/about-us/policies-and-regulations/casl/Pages/default.aspx

Picture day is coming! This year, Lifetouch Photography will be on site at Citadel Park School on Thursday October 10.. Photographers will be taking individual student photos only that day. Please visit Lifetouch for suggestions regarding photo attire.

The CPS School Council would like to remind families about the fabulous fundraising opportunity shared last week. Please see the message sent regarding the purchase of apples from a BC orchard. Rumour has it they are delicious!

Have a great week! 

The Admin Team