Hello Jennie Elliott families,
As we head into the Thanksgiving weekend, I'd like to acknowledge our gratitude for the volunteers that round out the success of our curricular and extra-curricular programming at Jennie Elliott. Already this year, we have had volunteers support our Welcome Back event, Terry Fox Run, courtyard clean-up, Learning Commons, school photo day, walking field trips and fun lunches. We haven’t even finished the second month of school yet!
As well, this week we had our School Council AGM where our new Executive was voted in, the 2024-25 budget was approved and the dates for the remaining School Council meetings were confirmed. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have committed their time to support the Jennie Elliott School Council (JESC) and the Jennie Elliott Parent Society (JEPSA) fundraising positions. Please see our Jennie Elliott School Council page on our website for more important information. It is going to be another fabulous year of building our Jennie Elliott school community!
There are many more opportunities for families to volunteer with various initiatives and events this year. Please watch for more information about those coming out next week.
Remembrance Day - Veterans Slideshow
An important part of our Remembrance Day acknowledgement is honouring the service members of the families of our students and staff. If you have a photo of a grand-parent, great-grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, etc. who served (or is serving) in any of the Canadian military branches, and would like this photo added to our Remembrance Day ceremony slideshow on November 7th, please send it to Mrs. Danchuk at jldanchuk@cbe.ab.ca no later than Friday November 1st with the veteran's name (and regiment if known), student's name and relation.
Highlights from the Music Program & Ms. Ling
“The purpose of Orff Schulwerk is to awaken the artistic potential in every individual
and offer a context in which this can be exercised.”
~ American Orff-Schulwerk Association
This quote captures beautifully what I hope to accomplish in our music program. Over the past week, Grade 3 and 4 students developed a sense of “musical form” through a series of directed listening activities. Through this experience, students learned to listen to music at a deeper level: noticing changes in dynamics, pitch, keys which are all important to any given musical structure. Apart from this, Grade 3 students engaged in the creative process by composing a soundscape inspired by the poem Wind Song while Grade 4 students took their first steps in learning how to notate rhythmic patterns from the songs they learned.
More than 40 like-minded budding musicians came together on Tuesday for their first official choir practice. The music room was buzzing with energy and excitement as they learned a repertoire of different musical styles. The Division II choir will be presenting a song at the Remembrance Day ceremony. Stay tuned for more information!
Jacket Racket
In the spirit of building a sense of belonging for our greater community, Jennie Elliott School is excited to be collecting donations of gently used coats, snow pants, hats and mittens for Jacket Racket this year. Donations will be collected in boxes in the front foyer from October 21 - 31, 2024. Jacket Racket has been providing clean, gently used winter jackets to Calgary children since the 1980’s. Donations are collected, sorted and distributed by a group of dedicated volunteers. The distribution is done through the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District.
In advance, we thank our JES families for their donations.
Quilling Club
Please read Mrs. Danchuk’s Quilling Club letter to grade 4, 5 and 6 parents/guardians if your child is interested in joining the club.
Cavalry Soccer Fan Appreciation Game
So far Jennie Elliott has sold 11 tickets to the game on Saturday, October 12th at Spruce Meadows. We are not far off from being in the top 3 schools to sell the most tickets, which would win us a visit from one of the Cavalry FC players to our school! If you were thinking of buying tickets, but haven’t yet, you can see more information and purchase tickets here.
Upcoming Dates
Oct 12 Dussehra
Oct 12 Thanksgiving Day (no school)
Oct 23 Take Me Outside Day
Oct 25 Non-instructional Day (no students)
Oct 28 Fun Lunch
Oct 31 Diwali
Oct 31 Halloween
Nov 5 School Council Meeting
Nov 7 Remembrance Day Ceremony
Wishing you and your families a warm and joyful Thanksgiving!
Lucene Tahmazian
Principal, Jennie Elliott School