I hope this week has found all of your children settling in to their new environments and excited about the year ahead! Today we completed the first evacuation drill of the year, and I can report to you that students did an exceptional job of exiting the building quickly in a safe and silent fashion. In addition to today’s exercise, we will complete 4 additional evacuation and 2 lock down drills over the remainder of the year.

I have quite a few items to share with you this week (my apologies in advance for the length!):

 

Meet the Teacher

We will be hosting a Meet the Teacher event on September 21^st from 6-7:30. The evening will start in the gym with a presentation from myself and Ms. Austin, followed by an opportunity to see your child(ren)s classroom(s), receive information and meet the teacher. We will lap tops in the gym for parents wishing to complete any of the following:

• Sign up for a MyCBE Account
• Complete your required online forms mentioned below (Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization forms)
• Register as a volunteer

Parent Council will be selling Pizza as well to accommodate families. Please complete the survey linked here if you are interested in purchasing pizza on the Meet the Teacher night. This information will help Parent Council determine how much pizza they need to order for the evening.

 

Fun Lunch Message from Parent Council

Welcome back to school and welcome to fun lunch! If you are new to Beddington Heights Elementary School you might be wondering “What is Fun Lunch?” Well, Fun Lunch is a fundraising opportunity for the Parents Council to raise money to put towards dances, school supplies, books and so much more! When you purchase a Fun Lunch you give your child a special lunch and support their school.

How:

Go to www.healthyhunger.ca to register your child or sign in and place your order. Payments preferably made online but in special circumstances, cash can be paid to the school office.

Our first Fun Lunch on Sept.28 is going to be a nice hot meal from MacDonalds! Order before Sept.23. (Unfortunately, we cannot accept or modify orders past the cut-off date.)

We hope your child enjoys the MacDonalds fun lunch!

 

Annual Terry Fox Run at Beddington Heights  

Beddington Heights School is once again taking part in the annual Terry Fox Run. It will occur on Friday, September 15, 2023 during school hours.  Please support our school's fundraising efforts to raise much-needed funds for cancer research.  You can donate though the Beddington Heights fundraising link: 

 

https://schools.terryfox.ca/BeddingtonHeights  

  

While we strongly encourage online donations, we will except any cash donations.  Our goal this year is to raise $2000.00!   

 

Please help us to reach our goal!  

 

Annual Forms to be Completed

1. Online forms:

As communicated through a system wide School Messenger earlier this week, many forms will now be completed online through your MyCBE Account including the Demographic Verification form and the Annual Authorization. To locate these forms, please log in to your MyCBE account and select Online Forms and School registration on the left-hand side.

1. Hard Copy Forms:

Your child will come home with 2 forms either earlier this week or next week.

• Admirable Use Policy form – Students need to have a signed copy of this form returned to their homeroom teacher in order to access the school’s technology (Chromebooks, iPads etc.)
• Brown Baggers Program form – Allows you to identify which foods should/should not be given to your child in the event they have forgotten their lunch on a given day.

1. Printable Forms (attached):

The following forms are either informational or are available to be printed off and returned to the school. Should you require a hard copy of the form, please contact the office, and we will ensure one is sent home with your child.

• Student Health Plan
  • This form is not required for all students.
  • It is only required if:
    • a physical or medical condition may affect your childs attendance at school
    • medication is to be taken at school by your child
    • It is reviewed and updated annually or sooner if there is a change in the student’s health concern or school registration.

• Walking Field Trip 2023.pdf – Teachers organize short walking field trips during the course of the year. The attached letter outlines the rationale and process for these trips. Please contact the school if you have any questions about this process.
• Annual Volunteer Registration Form – Needs to be completed every year in order to volunteer within the school or on field trips. Also requires a current (within the last 5 years) police check on file with the school. Contact the office if you have any questions.

 

Class Sizes and Support:

Planning for any school year begins in the previous spring. Last spring, we had a projection of 426 students, and we staffed our building based on a lower project of 402 based on some inconsistencies we were noticing with early registration numbers. As of today, we sit right at 426 students. We expect our numbers to fluctuate as we continue to get settled into the school year, but I wanted to let you know where we sit as of today. As we get closer to September 28 (official count date for schools that impacts funding) we may have some adjustments to staffing based on updated numbers.

Currently our class sizes are as follows:

• Kindergarten- Two classes (25 students each) 
• Grade 1 – 3 classes (23, 22 and 22 students)
• Grade 2 – 3 classes (18, 18 and 16 students)
• Grade 3/4 combined – 5 classes (24, 25, 26, 26 and 27 students)
• Grade 5/6 combined – 5 classes (23, 24, 25, 25 and 26 students)
• The Class (System Program) – 1 class (10 students)

Current Staff List for 23-24: You can find photos of our grade teams and administration on the school’s Instagram page. 

Assistant Principal	Nzingha Austin
Kindergarten	Pauline Wu-Wright
Grade 1	Melissa MacPhee (Learning Leader), Richelle Watson and Heather Young
Grade 2	Laurie Anderson, Aleasha Diduch and Saralyn Winston
Grade 3/4	Rebecca Hansen (Learning Leader), James Beechey, Mandi Pulvermacher, Lisa Craig, Brittany Connell, Wilma Van Es
Grade 5/6	Jimmy Quigley (Learning Leader), Josh Berry (Learning Leader), Sarah Sterne, Max Lancée, Alison Baker, Jacqueline Verwaayen, Kim Lasher
Music	Wilma Van Es
Physical Education	Sarah Sterne
Admin Assistant	Corey Cumming
Library Assistant	Monique Mills
Education Assistants	Wendy Chow, Jacky Ibrahim, Rose Mazereeuw, Olga Ruiz
Lead Lunchroom/ C-Secretary	Wanda Potter
Lunchroom Staff	April Boutin, Tracee Fraser, Ping Wu
Behaviour Support Worker	Eun Jeoung Kim

 

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and if you have any questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our office at 403-777-6610.

 

Take care, 

Steve Ross

Principal, Beddington Heights School

Key Dates:

September 15                    Terry Fox Assembly and Run (10:30am – Updated time)

September 21                    Meet the Teacher (6-7:30pm)

September 22                    Non-Instructional Day (No School for Students)

September 28                    Orange Shirt Day

September 28                    McDonalds Fun Lunch | Order by Sept. 23

September 29                    National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Sept. 30 Day in Lieu | School Closed)

October 3                          School Council Meeting | Microsoft Teams Link (6:30pm)

October 9                          Thanksgiving (School Closed)

October 20                        Non-Instructional Day (No School for Students)

 

Recurring Messages

Beddington Heights Social Media Account

Beddington Heights School is on Instagram! We will be posting information related to school events along with showcasing some of the learning taking place throughout our building!

Please follow us:

@beddingtonheightsschoolcbe

The Sneetches – Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

 

Beddington Heights Parent Council is sponsoring tickets for 30 students to attend Dr. Seuss and the Sneetches at Jack Singer Concert Hall. This musical concert performed by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra will take place on Sunday, October 1^st at 3:00pm. Follow the link to gather more information about the event. https://calgaryphil.com/events/the-sneetches-by-dr-seuss-2023-10-01-300-pm

 

Tickets and transportation (chartered bus) are free. Pick up and drop off will be at Beddington Heights School. Ms. Austin and a few parent volunteers will provide supervision. Those students who are interested in participating can pick up a permission form from the office, starting on Tuesday after the long weekend. Forms will be available until Tuesday, September 13^th.  If more than thirty students are interested, we will do a draw to determine which students will attend. All successful applicants will be informed by Friday, September 15^th.