Week Ahead 

October 30	Regular Day
October 31	Halloween Pumpkinella
November 1	Regular Day
November 2	Camp Chief Hector YMCA Outdoor School Parent Information Meeting – 6:30 – 7:30 – Gym (an invitation was sent home with students in grades 4, 5, and 6)
November 3	Grade 5/6 Field Trip to the Military Museum

 

Upcoming Important Dates 

November 8	Remembrance Day Assembly – 10:20 AM, community members welcome
November 9	Non-Instruction Day – No School for Students
November 10 -14	Fall Break – School Closed
November 13	Conference Booking Opens (MyCBE account)
November 16	Child & Youth Well-Being Family & Caregiver Series Session 1 – Understanding Vaping – 6:30 – 8:00
November 20	School Council Meeting, 6:30
November 22	School Conferences 3:30 – 6:00
November 23	School Conferences 3:30 – 6:00
November 24	Non-Instructional Day, No school for students School Conferences 8:00 – 11:00
December 1	Good Neighbours Coffee and Community Connections 8:30 – 9:30
December 7	Winter Concert – 6:30, details to follow
December 8	Non-Instructional Day, No school for students
December 22	Last Day of Classes
December 26 - January 5	Winter Break, School Closed
January 8	Classes resume

 

Halloween at HMS

Students at HMS are invited to dress up on Tuesday, October 31. 

Please be mindful of a few guidelines for costumes:

• They should be easy to take on/off if needed
• Students should be able to move around in costumes (PE and recess will still be taking place)
• There should not be anything that students could get caught in the playground (i.e.: scarves, dangly belts, etc.)
• Be mindful of our littlest learners who may be sensitive to scary/gory costumes
  
• Accessories often get lost
• Please no masks, we encourage face paint instead 

In short, simple is better, less is more when it comes to costumes.

Finally, as much as we love the yummy treats that get sent in, we request that you refrain from providing these due to the variety of food allergies and sensitivities that we have in our school. We look forward to seeing the creative ideas of our HMS students on Halloween day. 

Reminder | Second Annual Pumpkinella Showcase

HMS students & families are invited to bring in a carved or decorated pumpkin on Tuesday October 31st for our Pumpkinella Showcase. 

Points to remember:

• You may design, carve or dress up a pumpkin to bring to school for display in one of the following categories: Book Characters, animals, cartoons, famous people, original creation, or sports.
• This is meant to be a fun event, not a scary experience. Please refrain from exhibiting excessive blood and gore or violence in your pumpkin creations. Please do not send real candles or lights (a small battery-operated tea light is accepted).
• Bring your pumpkin to the learning commons on the morning of Monday October 31st between 7:45 - 8:30am.
• Identify the student or family who is the artist of each pumpkin creation.
• All pumpkins will be sent home at the end of the day to be showcased on your front step in the evening.

Thank you to Ms. Eshom for organizing this fun event and for the Student Leadership Club for promoting it and helping with the set up.

Reminder | Please Complete Online CBE Forms

A message was sent during the week of September 4, 2023 regarding a variety of forms that parents / legal guardians are required to complete or review and update, some of which are paper and others online.

If you have not yet completed these forms, this message is a friendly reminder to complete the required online forms in SchoolEngage:

• Demographic Verification - 2023-24 – This form includes your child’s personal information as well as parent / legal guardian contact information.
• Citizenship Information Update - 2023-24 – This form becomes available if you change your child’s citizenship information on the Demographic Verification form.
• Annual Authorization - 2023-24 – Combines the following forms:
  • School District Use of Personal Information - explains how CBE uses personal information in providing education services.
  • Consent for CBE Use of Student Information – provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by school/district and third parties.
  • Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party) - provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by outside groups and third parties.
    

SchoolEngage is one of the applications found in your MyCBE account. This is the same account that you use to pay fees, view academic information, book school conferences, etc. 

Please submit the Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization forms in SchoolEngage for your child as soon as possible as these forms were due by Monday, September 18. These forms are mandatory every year for Alberta Education to confirm student funding. Thank you for completing them. 

Artist in Residence | One World Drum Co.

This week the sound of drums filled the school as we had our residency with David from One World Drum. Students learned about the djembe drum, how to listen and respond to each other and how to express themselves through drumming. This experience created a sense of belonging as students actively made music together. We learned that rhythm is regulating and research shows there are many benefits to drumming. This residency connected to our music program and the well-being goal of our School Development Plan around supporting students with tools and strategies to self-regulate. Drumming is one more tool. 

Thank you to our families who were able to attend our drumming celebration. The students were excited to share what they have learned with David and will never forget “Chocolate milk and potato chips”! We are grateful to our school council for this amazing opportunity! 

Lord Beaverbrook TRC Shoes Project | Collecting Shoes

As part of their ongoing commitment to Truth & Reconciliation Lord Beaverbrook High School is working on creating a prominent display that honours Survivors, their families, and communities. This project is being led by grade 10, 11 and 12 leadership students. This display will consist of 215 pairs of children’s shoes, each of which will symbolically represent one of the 215 children confirmed to be buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021. To support with this project, they are asking for donations of new or like-new children’s footwear.

They will be seeking the advice of Indigenous Elders to determine how long the display should remain. When the time comes to take it down, the shoes will be donated to local organizations who provide clothing to Indigenous youth in need. 

As Lord Beaverbrook is one of our feeder schools and part of our school community, we will be supporting their initiative by collecting shoes. If you would like to donate a pair of new or like- new children’s shoes, you can send them to school with your child until November 3. 

Candy Wanted | Student Leadership Charity Drive

The Student Leadership Club has been hard at work organizing a Candy Drive for a charity called 'The Happy Birthday Project'. This is a local charity that works to provide all the supplies necessary to bring joy to the lives of children and families facing adverse circumstances through the celebration of birthdays, holidays, and other special life events. 

Next week Haultain Memorial will be collecting candy to donate to this worthy cause. Please note that candy should not contain Halloween images or shapes and must be wrapped in original packaging. Candy donations can be brought to the office between November 1 through November 6. Thank you on behalf of the Student Leadership Club!