Dear Vincent Massey families, 

 

As I look out my window at a wintery Friday landscape, I'm grateful that band camp ran Tuesday through Thursday this week, in addition to yesterday's Grade 8 outdoor leadership skills camp. Both of these experiences are great examples of participation in hands-on, purposeful learning while building positive relationships with peers and adults, which is the heart of work as middle years educators. We're grateful to the various musicians and the Mount Royal Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership students who support these events, and to the teachers who volunteered significant extra time to make these trips possible. 

 

We’re looking for 8 more volunteers to help at the Vincent Massey Casino on November 19 & 20. This is one of our school's biggest fundraising opportunities, and the funds raised directly support programs, activities, and resources that benefit all of our students. The best part? No special experience is required, and just a few hours of your time can help generate thousands of dollars for our school! If you've been looking for an easy way to make a big impact, this is it. We would love your support in helping us fill the remaining volunteer spots and make this event a huge success. 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4BADAB2BABFFC25-64743644-vincent#/ 

 

Next week is Halloween and we invite students to wear costumes to school on Friday, if they would like. There will be a fun costume competition during the day. In planning those costumes, please work with your child to ask the following questions: 

  • Does the costume involve a weapon?  
  • Does it represent a negative stereotype?   
  • Does it involve a mask that hides their identity entirely?  
  • Does it have excessively gory elements?   
  • Does it involve changing the colour of their skin? ("Shrek green" is ok, however emulating another nationality/race is unacceptable).   
  • Does it allude to a culture that is not the child's own, such as a kimono, a turban or a feather headdress, etc.? 
  • Does it mock religious beliefs?   
  • Does it mock the LGBTQ+ community? 
  • Is it based on tragic or violent historical events?   

If your child can answer "no" to all these questions and the costume is consistent with normal standards of dress for school, then it is likely that the costume is school appropriate and they are good to go! If students show up at school with costumes that do not meet these standards, they will be required to change before joining class. 

There are a lot of other events in the next couple of weeks, including several home basketball games: 

  • October 26-27 – Grade 9 Outdoor Leadership Survival Camp, Lower Kananaskis Lake 
  • October 26 – Girls' Basketball @ Vincent Massey 
  • October 27 – Boys' Basketball @ Vincent Massey 
  • October 28 

o    Girls' Basketball @ Arbour Lake School 

o    Grade 8 Band Performance at Ernest Manning School 

  • October 29 

o    Boys' Basketball @ Vincent Massey 

o    Band Parent Association Meeting @ 6:30pm 

  • October 30 - Basketball feeder school tournament at Central Memorial HS @ 2pm 
  • November 4 

o    Girls' Basketball @ Twelve Mile Coulee School 

o    School Council Meeting @ 6:30pm – focus on Math and Numeracy learning at Massey 

  • November 5 

o    Boys' Basketball @ Arbour Lake School 

o    Grade 9 Outdoor Ed Hike 

   

All the best, 

David Pugh, Principal