Dear Vincent Massey families,
These weekly updates are sent to provide you with an overview of events happening in the school. Some of this information can also be found on our school website, particularly under "Calendar" and in the "News Centre."
From time-to-time, I also provide some more perspective and background on the teaching and learning work that is going on in the school. This week our focus has been on establishing relationships with and between students. I spoke with each grade in a short assembly and emphasized that each of us can make contributions to our school not only by trying something new but also through simple kindness and compassion to others. Grade 7's will have the opportunity to expand their horizons and explore new possibilities. Grade 8's will grow in confidence and explore their personal passions in more depth. Grade 9's are now the leaders of our school and set the tone of our building. All students will be focused on our central purpose of learning throughout the year.
We continue to make adjustments to schedules as we respond to student enrollment numbers which ultimately determine our budget for the year. My goal is to provide stability for students, particularly in core academic classes, and to keep class sizes as small as possible to support more individualized instruction. We have received some requests for homeroom changes. These requests will be considered based on student learning and well-being needs. As in previous years, we continue to find that many students who are apprehensive about unfamiliar faces in their classes end up feeling very settled after a few days. Decisions regarding these requests will be communicated early next week.
Parent support is critical for our success as a learning community. All parents and guardians are members of our school council, which has its first meeting on October 1 at 6:30pm in the school learning commons. The affiliated parent association supports our programming through fundraising and volunteering. Please ensure that you have opted in to receive commercial messages if you would like to receive information - not only about Parent Association initiatives but also about picture days, yearbooks, fun lunches etc. If you have opted in, you will receive a message today from the Parent Association.
New families to Vincent Massey should be aware of the following requests we make of parents:
· Please do not order food delivery (such as DoorDash) for your child at school. Our office staff are busy and cannot be receiving and distributing meals.
· Please do not pick up or drop off students in the bus zones or the staff parking lots. This impedes traffic flow at our busy pick up and drop off times.
· Please support us in our expectation that all students cross the street at the marked crosswalks, especially if you are waiting to pick up your child on the east side of 45 street.
· All visitors must sign in at the office.
· If you need to pick up your child for an appointment, please call the attendance line well ahead of time. It can be very difficult to find specific students in mixed PE classes on short notice. Classes also often go on community walks or are out on our field.
Many of these expectations help keep students safe in different ways. We also support safety through regular practice of emergency drills. As such, we will be holding the first of our two lockdown drills this coming week on Thursday, September 11. During a lockdown, classrooms are secured and students sit quietly on the classroom floors. These drills help prepare students to be safe in the event of a safety threat in the building and are supported by Calgary Police Service officers. Lockdown drills can be a source of anxiety for students. Please take the time to talk with your child about this process next week. We will also have our first fire drill on September 23 – a generally less stressful process where students are evacuated to the back field and attendance is taken.
On a much lighter note, we are pleased to be starting our cross-country running and soccer seasons with soccer tryouts this coming week. Running is a "no cut" team, so it's a great way for all students to get involved in athletics and the coaches asked me to share the following:
If you would like to join the Cross Country Running Team come to our first practice on Monday, Sept 8 at 8:15am. Please meet us on the back field (west side of the school) at 8:15am so we can be ready to run at 8:20am.
We held an introductory meeting today, and shared information with students about our upcoming practices and meets. If you missed the meeting, you can still come to our first practice and learn more about being a member of the Cross Country Running Team. The Team is for all students in grades 7, 8 and 9. We practice twice a week in the mornings before school and we have three meets we will attend. Information will be provided at the first practice if you missed the meeting, including a calendar for our practices and meets. If you have any questions, please see any of the coaches, Ms. Ness, Ms. Eshom, and Ms. Klotz. We look forward to seeing you on Monday morning!
The annual athletic authorization form is part of the usual forms provided through PowerSchool. Parents/guardians of students who wish to participate in female-only teams will need to sign an additional form which will be provided to athletes at practice.
Our first field trip of the year is coming up, as Grade 9's participate in Riverwatch. This Science learning experience enhances classroom teaching as students raft down the Bow River in Calgary while performing experiments and gathering data about water quality. These field trips are only possible with the support of parent volunteers. Please complete the volunteer clearance process, so that you are able to help out if possible with this and future events.
Here is a summary of key events over the next three weeks. Please note the "meet the teacher" open house date and save the date in your calendar:
· September 8
· First Cross-Country practice, 8:15am
· Boys Soccer Tryouts, 4pm
o September 9 – Girls' Soccer Tryouts, 4pm
o September 10 – Grade 8 Outdoor Leadership, 8am (recurs every Wednesday)
o September 11
§ Grade 9 Outdoor Leadership, 8am (recurs every Wednesday)
§ Lockdown Drill
§ Cross-country running meet #1 @ Stanley Park
o Week of September 15 to 18 – Grade 9 Riverwatch trips by homeroom, more information in letter sent home today!
o September 16 – Cross-country running meet #2 @ North Glenmore Park
o September 18 – Picture Day
o September 19 – Terry Fox Day, special activities day at school
o September 22 – Cross-country running meet #3 @ North Glenmore Park
o September 23
§ Grade 9 Outdoor Education bike trip
§ Fire Drill
o September 24 – Band Parent Annual General Meeting (including Whistler Band Festival interest meeting) @ 6:30pm in the south gym
o September 25 – Open House ("Meet the Teacher") from 6:30pm to 8pm. This event will include an information session for any families interested in potential out-of-province learning trips such as West Coast Sailing, the Heritage Trip (Quebec & Ottawa), and our major Outdoor Leadership trips.
Thank for your continued support,
David Pugh
Principal