The Falcon's View

2025-2026 Issue #3

Dec 3: SH Boys Exhibition Game vs. Sedgewick

Dec 5: P.D. Day - No School for Students

Dec 5-6: SH Boys Basketball Ice Breaker Tournament

Dec 8-12: Jingle All of Your Change

Dec 9: SH Basketball @ Bashaw

Dec 11: SH Boys Basketball vs. Holden

Dec 12-13: SH Basketball Tournament @ Stettler

Dec 15: Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

Dec 16: Christmas Character Day

Dec 17: Red and Green Day; Christmas Concert 7pm

Dec 18: Christmas Sock Day

Dec 19: PJ Day; School Council Breakfast for staff/students

Dec 22-Jan 5: Christmas Break - No School

December has arrived and that always brings with it a very busy season for everyone. The snow has fallen and the Christmas spirit is beginning to appear. Our schedule at school is also very busy, as teachers look to keep students connected, focussed and on task. The time over the next few weeks is important for those courses will conclude at the end of the semester, but also for everyone else, as there is still important learning to be done in other courses.

Our school pictures, as well as re-takes, have now concluded. Parents are encouraged to order pictures online and as soon as possible, as this is the fastest and most efficient way to get your pictures back in a timely manner. Parent/teacher interviews were held last week. If you were not able to attend and still have questions for your child’s teacher, please reach out to them directly. Volleyball seasons recently concluded and although teams were not able to hold everything the same way that they usually do, the majority of their seasons still happened in some way. We have now shifted to basketball season and our Sr. Girls’ team held their annual

Icebreaker tournament this past weekend. Our girls’ had a strong showing in their opening game of the season, defeating Daysland 48-33. They were up against some tough competition int heir other 2 games and came up a bit short. Stay turned for more updates as our season progresses. As well, our Sr. Boys’ basketball team will be co-hosting (along with Daysland) a tournament here in Forestburg this coming weekend. Come out and cheer on the boys as they begin their season! Our Jr. High teams are just getting organized and will begin practicing soon. Stay tuned for more basketball updates!

As we look ahead to December, we have a number of events happening in our school. Those parents who have submitted their paperwork to be approved drivers will have their information forwarded to our Division Office shortly. Parents can still submit paperwork at any time to obtain this approval. The tower on our school grounds is no longer in use and will soon be removed. This is scheduled to happen on a non-student day, so there will be no disruption to our regular operations. They will, however, return to take down the fence around the tower on a student day. Our staff are aware of this and will re-route students as needed during this time. Our annual Christmas concert will be held on Wed., Dec. 17 at 7:00 pm at the Community Hall. In addition to a variety of spirit days in the final week before our break, our School Council will also be hosting their annual pancake breakfast on Fri., Dec. 19 for our staff and students. Thank you in advance to our School Council.

With the cancellation of Provincial Achievement tests and Diploma exams in January 2026, we now have a better picture of what the end of our semester will look like. BRSD has revised their calendar to have semester 2 start on Mon., Feb. 2. In addition, schools with courses that end in semester 1 may hold unit exams on Jan. 28 or 29 (Jan. 30 is a non-student day). There will be no exam block scheduled, so regular classes will continue for all students right through to January 29. High school students who wish to change what they are currently enrolled in are encouraged to complete the paperwork in advance of semester 2, but will have up until Tuesday, Feb. 17 to make those changes.

At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful and prosperous New Year. We look forward to seeing everyone again in January 2026!

Mr. Anhorn

Principal, Forestburg School

In order to transport other students in your vehicle for school events, you must be an approved driver. Forms are available from the school office.

Those who were approved for the 2024-2025 school year are still approved to drive until the end of December 2025.

On our PowerSchool Parent Portal you will have access to real-time assessment regarding your child's learning. In the first link below you will find written instructions as well as video tutorials to guide you to creating an account, downloading the app for your phone, as well as navigating throughout the program so you can become familiar with the platform. Here are instructions for signing up:

PowerSchool Sign Up
1. Go to https://brsd.powerschool.com/public/home.html
2. Click on "Forgot Username or Password".
3. Your username will be Firstname.Lastname
4. An email will be sent to the email we have on file.
5. PowerSchool Mobile app is available for download (free), enter code: NTPH.

Please contact the school if you have any difficulties or click the link below:
https://forestburg.brsd.ab.ca/families/powerschool-parent-sign-in-instructions

All school and sports fees are posted and are now DUE! Payments can be made by cheque at the school or by using the online payment system at: https://www.brsd.ab.ca/families/online-payments-ordering

To make sure that you’re receiving alerts in the ways that work best for you, Battle River School Division has two methods to communicate with you: SMS Text or with the SchoolMessenger App. Click https://www.brsd.ab.ca/families/alerts for how to sign up.

The January Grade 9 PATs and diploma exams have been cancelled for students at all school authorities, including public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools.

With the January diploma exams cancelled, Grade 12 students will receive the school-awarded mark as their final mark. They will also receive a notation on their transcript to ensure there is no impact on their ability to graduate or transition into post-secondary.

Students will have the option to write their January diploma exams in April or June 2026.

The BRSD Board approved changes to the 2025-2026 calendar and Semester 2 will now start on February 2nd. There will be no exam week in January and semester 1 classes will run right up until January 29th.

Huge thank-you to Cathy Kells for sewing patches on our SH volleyball and basketball jerseys in memory of Mason Ethier who tragically passed away this past summer. Mason would have been in Grade 12 this year and we miss him greatly on our school sports teams and in our school community. The patches will keep his memory alive as we hit the court this season.

Cathy, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Thank you to Mrs. Hays who donated all the badges for basketball and to Mr. Martz who coordinated designing the badges with the family.

We marked Remembrance Day with a meaningful program at the school on November 7th. Thank you to our community for joining us, honouring our veterans, and taking the time to remember together.

Get ready for a great start to the day! Our school's Breakfast Program is relaunching, served by our wonderful volunteers Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. We are excited to offer more healthy and nutritious options to fuel our students. Grab and Go items will still be available in classrooms on Mondays and Fridays. A huge thank you to all the volunteers making this possible and a big shout out to the grade 9 leadership class who have been baking muffins. If you are interested in volunteering for the Breakfast Program please contact Deanna Bartlett at the school.

We’re collecting old, overripe bananas to use for baking muffins and loaves for breakfast. If you have any to donate, please drop them off at the school office. Thank you!

We're excited to announce our annual “Falcon Christmas Tree Ornament Fundraiser”! This year, students will again have the opportunity to purchase beautiful blue Falcon-themed Christmas ornaments that will help support our school's field trip program. The tree sits inside the front foyer and adds Christmas cheer and Falcon pride to the space! Students will have their name added to the decoration. All decorations will be sent home before the Christmas break so that they can be put on the family tree at home.

Elementary students will be given order forms to take home. The Jr. High and Sr. High can purchase ornaments on site at the sales table at lunch. Cost - $5 each. This fundraiser will run from Dec 2- 18th.

Spread some Falcon holiday cheer while supporting our school community!

The Forestburg School annual Christmas Concert is on Wednesday, December 17, at 7:00 pm at the Forestburg Community Hall. Silver Collection at the door to help cover the cost of the Hall rental. Come enjoy the sounds of Christmas, and celebrate the season with our staff and students. Everyone is welcome!

The Junior High girls wrapped up their volleyball season this month. Even though the season was broken up they had a great year!!! Making it through league in third place to qualify them to divisionals! Going to Divisionals and winning their pool which advanced them to Regionals!!! This was a great experience for all as it was the first time going as a coach! It was tough competition but the girls played well and had some really good rally's against these tough teams!! It was a fabulous season with an even better group of young ladies who poured their hearts and souls into this season! Proud of them!!! Thank you so much to my co-coach Rkaelyn Volk who was an amazing asset! And to Kalla Hays and Hanna Masch for helping to coach as well!

High School Plus https://sites.google.com/brsd.ab.ca/brsdcareer/home

A Message from the BRSD Mental Health Capacity Building Team

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12L-hTBfy8iCU6CAlbZyo4f9J9xbhPvtS/view

At our school, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is always a top priority. Because we have people with nut allergies in our school community, we are a nut-aware school. This means we ask everyone to be mindful when packing snacks and lunches. Each classroom may also have its own special rules depending on the allergies of the students in that room—your child’s teacher will share those details if needed. Thank you for helping us keep our school a safe and welcoming place for everyone!

Our elementary classrooms are looking for caring volunteers to come in and spend time reading with students and practicing math facts. This is a wonderful way to support learning and connect with our school community!

To volunteer, you will need a current Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector and a brief meeting with school administration.

If you are interested, please contact your child's teacher for more information—we would love to have you join us!

Click the picture to see what our school clothing shop has to offer!

Email: forestburgschool@brsd.ab.ca

Website: https://forestburg.brsd.ab.ca/
Location: Forestburg School, 4914 46 Ave, Forestburg, Alberta, Canada
Phone: 780-582-3792

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566622536217