Important Dates to Remember 

• December 16- Fun Lunch. Last day of ordering was December 10 
• December 22 to January 2- WINTER BREAK  
• January  5 - Classes Resume 
• January 12 – Registration starts for School year 2026-2027  Please do NOT call the school. Please visit the CBE Website for all questions and registration links. 
• January 22- Open House- For details Check School website 

Special Events – Last Week Before Winter Break 

• Our Grade 5 Student Leadership - Special Events team has planned some fun spirit days for the final week before winter break! Participation is optional—students may always choose to wear their uniform instead. 
• Monday – Winter Clothes Day 
  Wear blue, white, purple, snowflakes, and snowmen. 
• Tuesday – Christmas Celebration 
  Wear red and green, Santa, or the Grinch. 
• Wednesday – Light Day 
  Wear bright colors and bring a flashlight. 
• Thursday – Ugly Sweater Day & Grinch Day 
  Show off your festive (or funny) sweater and Grinch gear. 
• Friday – New Year’s Celebration 
  Wear black, white, and sparkles. 
• Comfy Clothes & Movie Day 
  Every grade will enjoy an age-appropriate movie this week as a reward for all their hard work this term. The date for your child’s movie day will vary by grade. On that day, students may wear comfy clothes—and if they’d like, those comfy clothes can also be festive! The movie is intended for entertainment and relaxation, and we know our students and staff deserve it. 

January 12 – Registration starts for School year 2026-2027 

Help and Support for Regitsrtaion 

Please visit the website, please do not call the school.   

Grade 2 Assembly 

A huge thank you to all the families who braved the cold to attend our Grade 2 assembly—it was truly a joy to share this experience with you! The students were amazing to watch. Their song about the river was spectacular, and the Acknowledgement of the Land, paired with those thoughtful actions, was both beautiful and meaningful. The artwork they shared, connected to their classroom learning, was nothing short of impressive. 

Our classrooms are busy places where your children are learning lessons that will impact them for a lifetime. We’re so glad the two-day format worked well for families—it gave everyone a chance to enjoy the assembly without the rush. Thank you also for following routines so smoothly, from parking to home-time transitions. It looks like we’re all becoming pros at this! 

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to more opportunities to celebrate student learning together. 

Healthy Hunger: FUN LUNCH 

https://healthyhunger.ca/index.php 

Cold Weather Reminder 

 Winter has officially arrived, and so have the frigid temperatures! Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather every single day. This means: 

• Coats zipped up (not flapping in the wind like a superhero cape), 
• Hats on heads (not in backpacks), 
• Mitts on fingers (not in pockets). 

If your child rides the bus or just dashes into the building, they still need to be fully bundled up. And about mitts—those thin dollar-store mitts are no match for Calgary’s winter. Tiny hands deserve warm, insulated mitts that actually keep the cold out. 

Finally, label everything—jackets, boots, snow pants, mitts, hats. Our lost and found looks like a winter clothing store, and most items have no names. We’d love to return these treasures to their rightful owners, but without labels, it’s a guessing game. 

Thank you for helping us keep kids warm and cozy this winter! 

Healthy school and heathy students and staff! 

We need your help to keep Chris Akkerman a healthy place for learning. When children come to school sick, they generously share their germs with everyone—and lately, we’ve had more than our fair share of “sharing.” Over the past two weeks, many teachers have been away ill, which makes it harder for students to thrive and creates a cycle of more illness. 

Here are the expectations: 

• If your child is vomiting: They must stay home for at least 24 hours after the last time they throw up. 
• If your child has a fever: Once the fever breaks, wait a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school. 
• Remind your child: Wash hands often and sneeze into their elbow—these small habits make a big difference. 

When sick children come to school, it impacts everyone. If we all work together, we can make our school a much healthier place as we head into winter break. 

Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students and staff well! 

Washroom Shenanigans 

It seems our school bathrooms have become the hottest social spot in town—unfortunately, not for the right reasons. While most students know and follow the expectations, we’ve had some creative interpretations of bathroom use lately. Think: parties, screaming, dancing, slamming doors, multiple people in one stall, locking doors and crawling under, standing on toilets to peek over, turning off water, filling sinks with paper, and even using the floor or urinal as a toilet. Yes, this is real. And yes, it’s happening across all grades—even kindergarten. 

Here’s the truth: bathroom behavior is a family responsibility taught at home. We suspect many families already teach and remind their children about the basics—quiet voices, one person per stall, washing hands every time, using a reasonable amount of paper, and putting it in the trash. Walking back to class without needing a cheering squad is also part of the deal. A bathroom visit should never require friends for “moral support” or socialization. If help is needed, the rule is simple: ask someone in the bathroom to get an adult—just like you would ask a parent at home. 

Moving forward, if we identify students participating in these shenanigans, we may ask parents for permission to have their child help clean the bathrooms (with gloves, of course). It seems like a fitting consequence for those who treat the bathroom like a playground. 

Parents, please partner with us. Remind your child that they represent your family when they are at Chris Akkerman School. Share your expectations clearly. If you need to practice, take a trip to the mall washrooms and observe—coach, discuss, and reinforce independence. Please don’t do things for your child; every student here is expected to manage the bathroom on their own. 

Thank you for helping us flush away these issues (pun intended). Together, we can end the bathroom shenanigans! 

Ministerial Order Compliance 

Chris Akkerman School is fully compliant with Alberta Education’s Ministerial Order on School Library Materials (effective October 1, 2025, with full implementation by January 1, 2026). This order requires that school and classroom libraries do not contain any materials with explicit visual depictions of sexual acts, including graphic novels and illustrated content. 

Our compliance process included: 

• School Library Review: Our Library Assistant, Miss Kelly, thoroughly examined all materials in the school library. We are pleased to report that no non-compliant books were found. 
• Classroom Library Review: All teachers reviewed their classroom collections. Again, no non-compliant materials were identified. 
• Purchasing Practices: Miss Kelly and our Learning Leaders continue to support our team in selecting new materials that meet the expectations outlined by Alberta Education. 

We want to emphasize that Chris Akkerman School was already aligned with these standards before this review took place. The process confirmed our ongoing commitment to compliance. 

If you have any questions about the Ministerial Order or our compliance, please contact Dr. Bettesworth directly.