CAS Weekly Message - January 19
Weekly Message: January 19, 2025
Important Dates:
· January 20 Healthy Hunger - Last date to order was 15 January
· January 23 TLC Open House 6:00 – 7:00 PM
· January 24 CAS Spirit Day – Wear your CAS Spirit Wear (or a brightly coloured T-shirt) and uniform pants.
· January 27 Report Cards are available for parents to view online
· January 30 School Council 6:00 to 7:00 pm
Meeting ID: 232 087 764 530
Passcode: iv2hi3hP
· January 31 PD Day No school for students.
· February 11 Noon – Cut off for Expression of Interest to the TLC in the Lottery
· February 12 Lottery Day
· February 12 Wear red, pink, white. Celebrate kindness, friendship, love.
· February 13-14 Teacher’s Convention – No school for students
Registration for school Year 2025-2026 begins on 13th January 2025.
https://chrisakkerman.cbe.ab.ca/register
https://www.cbe.ab.ca/registration/registration/Pages/new-students.aspx
https://www.cbe.ab.ca/support/Pages/SchoolEngage.aspx
All families with Kindergarten aged students and students in grades 1 - 5 are encouraged to fill out an expression of interest for the TLC program. Current CAS families, with children attending CAS need to fill in an application for younger siblings they hope to attend the school in Kindergarten. They will also need to be included in the lottery process.
Student Safety
Families, the weather is cold. Students do remain outside in the morning until the bell and also spend time outside at lunch recess and snack recess. When they are dressed appropriately they can enjoy this time out in the fresh air. Please ensure your child has a warm coat, snow pants and boots. Mitts for their hands and a touque. (please avoid sending your child with a scarf as these present a safety issue on the playground)
Students remain inside if the weather and wind chill go below –20C.
Did you know, the phrase that is used most often in the early morning and during the cold weather is “two hands” or “take your hands out of your pockets”. When it is cold and icy, if you fall, you often fall forward. When your hands are in your pockets you have very little time to get your hands out in front of you to help brace the fall. This leads to cut chins requiring stitches, missing teeth requiring a trip to the dentist, and badly banged heads which often result in a concussion. Please remind your child, your parents and anyone else moving about in the cold icy weather to keep both hands out. The best way to ensure this is to wear mitts so your hands are nice and warm, not needing the warmth of pockets!
Report Cards
Report cards will be available on Monday January 27th. It is our understanding that these report cards will be available for viewing for about 2 weeks. Please ensure you print a copy when it is available, so you are able to refer to it over the next few months. It is equally as important to check your child’s Power School account as all teachers put comments and indictors for specific assignments and learning opportunities in this program on an on-going basis throughout the year. This is the most up to date location to reflect on what your child is doing in class every day.
When the Report Card Comes Home (January 27th)
School is really hard work! Report cards are an important resource to reflect on achievement, progress and areas to improve upon. It’s important to make use of this important document before it gets filed away for the year.
The mid-year report card is especially helpful as there is still plenty of time to make positive changes before June.
Have an Initial Read:
· Review the report card in full prior to sitting down with your child.
· Read the comments and identify successes, celebrations and opportunities for improvement and next steps.
· See the big picture – remember every year is different and some will be more challenging than others.
Review with Your Child:
· Your child will have a lot of insight into what is in their report card. Ask them what they think about it. If you are able to have discussions about school as part of your regular family routine during the year, it will help avoid any surprises during report card time.
· Celebrate their accomplishments and stay positive. If your child’s report card has lower marks, find areas of success and ensure they are recognized and celebrated.
· Avoid comparisons with any friends or family – it’s important to stay focused on what is realistic for your child.
Make a Plan Together:
· After reviewing the report card, write down the areas of strength and one or two areas that have a next step that can be explored at home.
· Prepare a follow-up plan with your son or daughter and think about what activities and goals you can set for the rest of the school year. For example, a realistic goal for home would be to increase the amount of time reading at home, playing a math game before dinner, or writing a response journal entry to a family member once or twice each week.
· Make realistic goals (even if small) and think about strategies to help improve any organizational skills that might need attention.
· Parents are partners in their child’s education. Any consistent support you offer your child will be reflected in their academic achievement.
Should you have any questions please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher.
This CBE Document will also assist in understanding the indicators used on the report cards.
How-is-My-Child-Doing-in-School.pdf
Extended Absences
If your family intends to be away from school for more than a week, please schedule an appointment to see Ms. Bauman to sign you off on an extended absence. We need to work together to ensure that students are supported academically while they are missing class. The Calgary Board of Education has set the goal to improve student attendance this year, because attendance is the biggest determiner of academic success. Please bring your travel itinerary, including your child’s flight information (departure and return airline tickets) are now required to document your intended date of return.
Also, if you are absent for reasons other than a family vacation and plan to be away in June or any part of September, we will need specific documentation of this. For example, if you are returning to your home country for a religious reason, if a family member is ill and you need to care for them, your child is seeking medical attention (in another country) etc. We are now required to document this information if you wish your child to continue to be registered at CAS. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Ms Bauman takes appointments for extended absences at the beginning and end of the school day.
Outstanding Fees:
Gentle Reminder if there is an outstanding balance on your account kindly make payment as soon as possible. We appreciate your prompt attention to this.
Fees include fieldtrips, lunch supervision (every student in the school has this on their account) and transportation (if you are a bus rider)
We know that fee payments can be a financial hardship for some of our families. No child is ever denied access to an education in the CBE because of an inability to pay. Visit our website to learn more about the CBE waiver program.
If you have difficulties creating / navigating your account, please visit our Technical Support page for additional help.
Healthy Hunger:
The date to register for lunch this month has passed, However, keep this handy so you can register for next month.
