Hello Jennie Elliott families,
Although a short week, this was a busy one! Thank you, families, for your cooperation and contributions towards a smooth start-up for our students. Getting them used to their school routines like being on time for school, coming in their assigned door in the morning, and getting plenty of rest the night before has a significant impact on the success of their school days. Students are already feeling settled and at home in their new classrooms, making new friends and diving back into great learning!
We All Belong at JES!
Ms. Caldwell and myself had the pleasure of meeting with our Kindergarten and Grade 1 students this week to talk about how we can all contribute towards creating a welcoming, safe and caring learning space for each other. Our youngest Jaguars are pretty smart when it comes to showing how we care and respect each other and using our manners as an example of demonstrating kindness! Next week, we will continue our visits with each grade group with the goal of starting the year with a common message that we all share the responsibility of developing each other's sense of belonging and wellbeing when we come together at Jennie Elliott School.
Introducing, Our Music Teacher!
My name is Deborah Ling, and I am thrilled to be joining JES as the music specialist. I have been teaching for over 20 years with the Calgary Board of Education. My role as a music specialist has taken me to schools with various focuses including Learning Through the Arts, Inquired-Based Learning, French Immersion…just to name a few. As a music composition major, I have always enjoyed bringing in a creative component to the music program. When I am not teaching, I like practicing my French with Francophiles, trying out recipes from around the world, and developing new hobbies like sewing and photography.
I look forward to working with your child and making some “joyful noise” together!
New Curriculum Implementation
As you may remember, last year CBE implemented new curriculum in Mathematics and English Language Arts & Literature in grades 4-6 as well as Science in grades K-3. This year we are implementing the new Science curriculum in grades 4-6. More to come about that from your teachers in their Weekly Messages throughout the year, and grade teams will have the English Language Arts & Literature and Mathematics curriculum displayed at the Meet the Teacher event so that families can see what the new curriculum covers in more detail.
Leaving Early
We appreciate that families are remembering to pick up their children before 3:20 PM if they need to leave early or waiting until the 3:41 PM dismissal bell to pick them up from their dismissal door. Our office and teaching staff are very busy during that period organizing for a safe dismissal of all of our students.
Weekly School and Classroom Updates
Keeping our families informed of school and classroom information is an important priority for us. Each week on Fridays, you will receive an update from your child's teacher as well as the Principal's Weekly Update with school-related information. Both of these updates will come to you via School Messenger, which is the program used by CBE to deliver email messages to families using the email address you have added to your MyCBE account. If this email address changes, please update this information with the main office by emailing jennieelliott@cbe.ab.ca. We appreciate families taking the time to read this information to stay up-to-date on important information and reminders.
Get Involved
As an important member of our school community there are many ways in which parents/guardians can contribute. For example, attending the monthly School Council meetings allows you to have a voice and contribute to our school’s success and help enrich the learning experiences for all students. We also have many opportunities for families to in various ways to support learning and community building initiatives that we will continue to share throughout the year. The first School Council meeting of the year and the AGM will be on September 24 at 7:00 PM in the Learning Commons. All parents/guardians are welcome!
Terry Fox Run - Save the Date!
Jennie Elliott School will be hosting the annual Terry Fox Run on Thursday, October 3. We will have two different times throughout the day that the school community will run together. The schedule for the day will be:
10:45 AM – Pep Rally!
11:00 AM - 11:20 AM – First run (all classes)
3:00 - 3:15 PM – Second run (all classes that wish to participate)
We are looking for volunteers for this run. On September 19 at the Welcome Back & Meet the Teacher Event, School Council will have a booth set up with a volunteer sheet for parents to sign up. More information about the Terry Fox Foundation fundraiser will be posted on our website next week.
Days of Recognition
Throughout the year, the CBE identifies some of the significant days and events that our communities recognize. While it is impossible to include all significant days, it is an opportunity for our Jennie Elliott school community to learn about the many ways our different social and cultural groups recognize important days or events and continue to build a culture of appreciation and inclusion, where students and staff can see themselves valued, respected and celebrated. We will be explaining some of these days in our morning announcements for our students, and some we will be recognizing in more school-wide or classroom-based learning, as in years past. We will endeavour to share these days through our Upcoming Dates below as well.
Upcoming Dates
Sept. 8 International Literacy Day
Sept. 11 Ethiopian New Year
Sept. 16-18 Korean Harvest Festival
Sept. 22 Treaty 7 Day
Sept. 23 International Day of Sign Language
Sept. 19 Welcome Back and Meet the Teacher event (4:00-6:30)
Sept. 20 Fall Equinox
Sept. 24 School Council Meeting (7:00pm)
Sept. 26 Orange Shirt Day (in lieu of Sept 30)
Sept. 27 Non-instructional Day (no students)
Sept. 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no school)
Oct. 9 School Photos
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Lucene Tahmazian
Principal (Acting), Jennie Elliott School