Hello Jennie Elliott families,
We have had fun celebrating our staff during Support Staff Appreciation Week this week! We have an army of talented and caring support staff at Jennie Elliott that help make every day better for our students. They are an integral part of our commitment as a school to ensuring Jennie Elliott is a safe, caring and welcoming place for everyone, and that our students feel a strong sense of belonging when they come to school. We would like to recognize our Education Assistants, Ms. Angel, Ms. Cecconi, Ms. Gabi, Ms. Robertson and Ms. Jasmine; our Lunchroom Supervisors, Ms. Minions, Ms. Kenny, Ms. Alex, Ms. Sheila and Ms. Vera; our Library Assistant, Ms. Toni; our Educational Interpreters, Ms. Tami, Mr. Perry, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Mann and Ms. Mac; our facilities staff, Ms. Julie, Mr. Crescencio, and Ms. Heregene; and our office staff Ms. Vargo, Ms. Armstrong and Ms. Jung! Thank you to School Council for bringing in yummy desserts for our staff today to finish off our week of celebration!
Gr 5 Celebration of Learning
We enjoyed a very special performance by our Grade 5 students who worked so hard to learn a beautiful Swahili song, as well as compose and play instrumentals that were inspired by a series of Blackfoot stories they read. The three sections of the performance were (1) Light at Night: Early Days Blackfoot Story of Creation, (2) The Way of the Buffalo: What the Buffalo taught the Blackfoot People, and (3) The Little Shadow that Runs Across the Grass. They also displayed their story-writing talent in comic format that they developed with their artist in residence, Rebecca Ellison, who helped the students bring to life their lived experiences with the concepts of resiliency, perseverance and inner peace. They are currently displayed in the school hallways, so please take the opportunity to read and enjoy on your next visit to the school.
Survey Action | Returning to Jennie Elliott Next Year?
So far, only 210 of our 465 students in K-5 have confirmed their plans for next year. This information is essential for planning class sizes and staffing. If you haven’t yet, please complete the 2025-26 Student Enrollment Form — it takes less than 30 seconds. You’ll be asked whether your child is returning to Jennie Elliott, not returning, or still undecided. Please fill out one form per student. Thank you!
RSVP Action | Volunteer Appreciation Event
Our students are eagerly preparing to celebrate and show their heartfelt appreciation for the incredible contributions of our volunteers! With the Volunteer Appreciation event approaching next week, performances of song, dance, and instrumental music are being thoughtfully rehearsed and refined. We would love to see you there—please let us know if you can attend by clicking the invitation below.
Class Cohorts 2025-26
As we begin preparations for next year’s class placements, we want to share an important update about friend requests from parents and students, which was shared at our last Council meeting.
In past years, we have considered friend requests when organizing class cohorts. While we understand that friendships are important to children’s school experience, we have noticed that accommodating these requests has posed significant challenges for teachers when creating the cohorts and on student well-being.
Besides the near impossible process of ensuring all requests are met due to the growing volume of requests we have been receiving in recent years, some of the issues we've encountered include:
- Discrepancies between parent, teacher, and student choices regarding friendships
- A high volume of summer emails requesting changes after fallouts in friendships
- Group requests that unintentionally exclude certain students
- Students finding out that some parents have requested their child not be placed in the same class.
- Over-reliance on a single friendship, limiting broader social development
Given these concerns, we are respectfully asking families not to submit friend requests for next year’s class placements. As mentioned, this was discussed at our last School Council meeting and was met with understanding and support. Some families at the meeting shared how their initial concerns about peer dynamics and their child’s class placements ultimately led to positive outcomes: their children formed new friendships, expanded their social circles, and developed greater confidence and resilience.
We know that helping students navigate the natural evolution of friendships is an important part of their personal and social emotional growth. To support this, as well as a sense of belonging for all students, we continue to prioritize intentional practices that foster connection and inclusion across the school. These include:
- Weekly Family Grouping time, where students from across grades interact and build relationships.
- Flexible Groupings, which encourage collaboration with a variety of peers.
- Talking Circles that guide students in resolving "friendship fires" with care and empathy.
- Ongoing lessons about friendship dynamics and peer to peer relationships as part of our commitment to student well-being.
Our teachers take great care in thoughtfully organizing and balancing class groupings to support the academic, social, and emotional growth of all students. In doing so, they consider a range of factors, including:
- Individual learning needs
- Academic strengths and areas for support
- Peer dynamics and social-emotional development
- Gender balance
- Class size and support requirements
We also know that helping students navigate the natural evolution of friendships is an important part of their personal and social emotional growth.
Your child’s teacher knows them very well and as a staff and administration team, we will be creating the cohorts for next year. With the above information in mind, if you think there is pertinent information that we don’t already know, or has a critical impact on your child’s learning environment next year, please inform myself (lutahmazian@cbe.ab.ca) and our Assistant Principal, Ms. Asha Hynes (adyanko@cbe.ab.ca) by email prior to May 12, 2025. After that time, our teachers will begin the creation of the class cohorts.
For other common questions regarding class placements for next year, please refer to our Class Cohorts FAQ.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we work together to create a safe, inclusive, and thriving learning environment for all students.
Hats On For Mental Health
Every year the Calgary Mental Health Association dedicates a week in May to raise awareness of Mental Health. This year Mental Health Week will run May 5-9th. Staff, students and families are invited to wear a hat on May 7th to raise awareness of the importance of good mental health. Let’s wear our hats on May 7th to show our support for Hats On! for Mental Health Day!
Rapid Access Counselling
Please click here to see further information regarding this counselling service that is available for families.
News from School Council
School Council Meeting and AGM
Please join us for our School Council meeting on May 6th when our grade 2 teachers will provide a brief overview of the grade 2 program and we will hear more about our staffing outlook for the 2025-26 school year, amongst other updates from the Principal’s Report. We meet in the Learning Commons of the school at 7pm, or you can join online by clicking below:
Click here to join the meeting
On June 3rd, we will also hold our AGM to elect the Council positions and vote on the budget for next year. If you are interested in volunteering for a School Council position, we are always happy to encourage more involvement on the Council. Please contact jennieelliott1962@gmail.com. We hope to see many families there!
Reminder | Year-Round Fundraiser - At Home Bottle Collection
We have one new fundraising effort this year, a year round opportunity to donate your bottles and cans to Jennie Elliott School Council. We have partnered with Trail Bottle Depot to have an easy pickup at your home of your bottles and cans. Just text Trail Bottle Depot, they will come to your home, pick up the bottles and send the money to the school, super easy! Please see the infographic below for details, what we love is 100% of the proceeds from the returns goes back to the school.
All funds collected will go to directly benefit causes for the school including the grade 6 year end experience for our graduates, play day, the new outdoor learning space, and much more. None of these initiatives are possible without participation by our school community. Feel free to share this with your friends and family as well!
News from JEPSA
Jennie’s Night Out Huge Success!
Jennie’s Night Out is a wrap! Thank you everyone for pulling together as the wonderful school community that we are to make this event a massive success. We are so pleased to announce that we have raised $19,200 towards the enhancement of our outdoor learning spaces at Jennie Elliott School. Our goal was $20,000 and we couldn’t be more grateful to our school community for your contributions that made this possible.
Thank you to all the families who donated items for the classroom baskets, businesses and families who donated for the silent auction, and everyone who participated in the live and silent auction. A special thank you to the planning committee, without everyone's contribution this wouldn’t have been possible.
Planning Committee:
- Alicia Dyck
- Heather Chapple
- Graham Newby
- Chrissy Gibson
- Dale Henshaw
- Jana-lyn Fairbairn
- Jenny Harrison
- Johanna West
- Amy Olivier
- Geoff Matthews
- Jeff Babich
- Robyn Calvert
- Ashley Harris
If you would like to be a part of the planning committee for next year's Jennie’s Night Out or the Bookfair we are looking for volunteers that want to be a part of these special events that bring so much value back to our school. Please email jennieelliott1962@gmail.com.
Upcoming Dates
Apr 28 – Fun Lunch
May 1 – Save the Date! Volunteer Appreciation
May 5 – Bus Driver Appreciation Day
May 5 – Dutch Heritage Day
May 6 – School Council (gr 2 teachers)
May 7 – Hats On for Mental Health Day
May 16 – Non-instructional Day (no school)
May 19 – Victoria Day (no school)
May 29 – Kindergarten Open House (for students already registered for next year)
June 3 – School Council AGM (gr 6 teachers)