Tues, Sept 3 - Day 1

• Staggered Entry

Wed, Sept 4, Day 2

• Staggered Entry

Thurs, Sept 5, Day 3

• Welcome back bbq - 5:30 - 7:30

Fri, Sept 6, Day 4

Aug 27:Teaching staff returns

Sept 3: Staggered Entry Day 1

Sept 4: Staggered Entry Day 2

Sept 5: First full day for gr 1-6 students

Sept 5: Opening BBQ - 5:30-7:30, All families welcome

Sept 12: School Council 6:30 PM at St. Cecilia

Sept 13: St. Cecilia Opening Mass for gr 1-6 - Volunteers needed. Please speak to classroom teacher.

Sept 24: Picture Day - Volunteers needed. TBA

Sept 25: Evening PT Interviews

Sept 26: Orange Shirt Day - All students encouraged to wear orange

Sept 26: Parent Trustee Forum - Details TBA

Sept 27: Pt Interviews, No classes

Sept 30 Truth and Reconcilliation Day - No Classes

Oct 11: PG Day, no classes

Oct 14: Thanksgiving Day - No classes

Oct 17: School Council

Nov 1: District Faith Day

Nov 11: Remembrance Day - No classes

Nov 28: Evening PT Conferences

Nov 29: PT Conferences - No classes

Dec 19: Last day of classes before Christmas break

Dec 20: PG day - No classes

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new school year!! We are looking forward to a wonderful school year in 2024-2025.

Teaching staff returned to work on Tuesday, Aug 27 and have been hard at work preparing classrooms and reviewing student information in preparation for the first few days of the school year. I would like to take a moment to welcome all returning students as well as kindergarten students and families who are new to the community. We hope to see everyone at our opening bbq on Thursday, Sept 5, 2024 from 5:30-7:30 PM.

We are looking for some volunteers to help out with the barbecue on Sept 5. If you have some time to spare you are most welcome to sign up at the link below.

Please click on the link below to explore the back to school issue of Calgary's Child Magazine.

Please see the attachment below for the Trellis Society.

What does the first day of school look like and what can we expect?

The first day of school is always an exciting and busy time and can cause a lot of jitters for students, parents, teachers, support staff and administration. Everyone wants the day to be perfect. We encourage families to create memories by taking photos and celebrating the return to school. Each teacher will plan a variety of activities for their students on the first days. Many teachers like to use this time to do ice breakers and group activities to welcome students, help them get reacquainted with their classmates, classrooms and to get to know any new students. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you have any questions. We will plan an opening assembly on Thursday, Sept 5 at around 9:00 AM when all students have arrived and have had a bit of time to to get settled back into their classrooms with their teachers.

Tuesday, Sept 2 and Wednesday, Sept 3 are designated staggered entry days. This means that we will welcome about half of students on each day. The purpose of this is to allow students and teachers to ease into the school year in a smaller group environment.

Teachers are responsible for letting families know who is suppposed to attend on which day. If you have not yet received a phone call or an email please email your child's teacher or you may email me directly at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca.

When students arrive, they should proceed to the tarmac area and find their teacher. Teachers and administration will be on hand at the tarmac to greet students when they arrive and to proivide assistance for those who need it.

Can my child take the bus home at the end of the first day?

Yes, busses will be running their regular routes starting on Tuesday, Sept 3. If you are planning on using transportation the first day, it is preferable that students take the bus to school in the morning. This way they are familiar with their stops and procedures for the bus. Dropping students off in the morning with instructions to take the bus after school can cause anxiety and worry as the child may not know his or her stop and will leave office and school staff scrambling to ensure student safety. Parents are responsible for assisting their child with the bus as teaching staff do not know about each child’s transportation routines. Admin staff have a limited amount of time during the day to help prepare for afternoon dismissal.

Some helpful tips for students new to riding the bus include the following:

• Students should know their route and stop number.
• The school discipline plan is in effect on the ride to and from school. Exemplary behavior is expected at all times.
• Older siblings should help their younger brothers and sisters become familiar with the bus.
• A bus buddy may be assigned to help your child become familiar with transportation routines. A bus buddy is an older student who assists in guiding younger students to the bus and looks out for them along the way.
• School staff supervise the loading and unloading of the bus and we will respond to any behavior or bussing concerns. Please contact us by phone or email.
• A tag will be fixed to your child’s backpack indicating the stop and route. Parents should fill in the rest of the information on the tag.

May I accompany my child inside the school on the first day?

We ask that parents say their goodbyes outside on the tarmac. We also ask that you not linger as students are lining up because some students become emotional. In our experience it is best for parents to make a hasty exit. Please know and understand that your child is safe and that even if your child is feeling apprehensive, once they see their friends and classroom, they usually settle quickly.

The school day begins at 8:44 Am. Students line up at their designated entrance and wait until their teacher comes to collect them at the door.

Recess is from 10:00-10:15 AM. Students are expected to go outdoors. Expectations for behaviour and procedures for will be shared by teachers on the first days and will also be discussed at the opening assembly on Thursday, Sept 5.

Lunch is eaten in the gym. Div 1 (gr 1, 2, 3) students will eat lunch in the gym from 11:45 - 12:05. During this time, Div 2 (gr 4, 5, 6) students are outdoors. Then, the groups will switch and Div 2 students will eat lunch from 12:05-12:25.

Afternoon classes will resume at 12:25 PM.

There is an afternoon recess from 1:45-2:00.

Students are dismissed for the day at 3:21 PM.

Danielle Easton - K AM and PM

Alyssa Johnson - Gr 1 A

Christalyn Anderson - Gr 1 B

Josie Kirkpatrick - Gr 2 (Replacing Sandra Mancuso)

Cara Vanstone - Gr 2

Sarah Hounjet - Gr 3, (Replacing Ines Zambou)

Jean Baptiste Kitoko - Gr 3

Christelle Kenne - Gr 4

Julie Doucet - Gr 4

Matthias Chokwa - Gr 5

Victoria Orchard Benoit - Gr 5-6

Michelle Weston - Gr 6

Dina Vella - School Wellness Worker

Diane Litman - Diverse Learning Teacher

Iriel Jaroslvsky Rindlisbacher - Assistant Principal

Denis Fortier - Principal

August 28, 2024

To view the Calgary Catholic Board Meeting Highlights for the Special Meeting of August 28, 2024, as well as previous Highlights please access the following link: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/highlights-minutes

Please note the attachment below which gives information on the School Resource Officer program through Calgary Police Services.

This information is important for all families who use yellow bus transportation.

Parent Portal

This is new for this year but access for parents is very simple. Please communicate with your families that are signed up for registration with the following.

• Please create your account by selecting the following link https://ccsd.mybusplanner.ca/Default
• Select Log In (far right side) and select Parent Portal
• Bottom left select create account
• Make sure to use the email address that you gave for your contact info that is associated to your student
• If it gives you an error, or creates an account and no student info shows, please contact the school to update the PowerSchool contact info section for your student with your email. It will take 24 hours to update and then try again
• Once an account is created and you log in, your student’s info and bussing info will show on the main screen. If it says no info or no bussing assigned, it could be because your email isn’t associated to the student, the students address in power school has errors, or bussing hasn’t been assigned yet as you may have registered post June 26th or had errors with your info, and it removed the student and needs to be corrected by the school first.

KINDERGARTEN BUSSING

• Because kindergarten students did not exist in PowerSchool over the summer until it rolled over, they were not assigned to buses as they didn’t exist for us to do so. Now that they do our team is busy assigning them to routes etc. Please be patient and keep checking BusPlanner Web.
• Because a lot of students didn’t register by the end of June, we are seeing a large amount right now and this is impacting our bus loads across the entire city. Our team will continue to work through this and work with our carriers if we need more buses, but this takes time and likely won’t be added until October based on bus and driver availability
• Noon Kindergarten routes don’t start until Wednesday Sept 11th. These are only created if we have enough students to qualify and are very limited. Once these are confirmed you will be advised.

Please note the St. Cecilia bus routes in the attachment below.

School Bus GPS APP Info

Please see attached the various instruction documents and codes for parents, students, and schools to use to access their GPS APPs to track bus locations and delay status updates. St. Cecilia Routes 201 - 205 are serviced by Southland Transportation.

Route 206 is serviced by STOCK, which is a new carrier in Calgary. Please view the documents below according to your route.

The Education Act requires the Calgary Catholic School District to prioritize resources and facilities for resident (Catholic) students. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the advancement of a non-resident (non-Catholic) student from one grade to the next in the same school or from elementary to junior and senior high school.

We do not reassess the enrollment priority of a non-resident student during a school year, but we may do this for a future school year. This may result in us informing you to seek enrollment at a different school in the Calgary Catholic School District or another school division for a future school year.

Please contact me at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca or by phone at 403 500 2063, if you have any questions about your child’s enrollment priority.

Formed, AKA Netflix for Catholics

All About Shrove Tuesday

My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource

Canadian Parents for French - CPF is an advocacy group whose aim is to promote French bilingual education.

St. Cecilia Student Handbook

Indigenous Education Links

21 Things You May Not Have Known About the Indian Act

Indigenous Veteran's Day - Nov 8.

The Seven Sacred Laws Animated Web Series

RupertsLand Institute

Indigenous Elder Definition

Action for Happiness Action for Happiness is a great resource to bring more positivity in our lives.

The Summit - The Summit program is an Alberta Health Services program that supports children and families experiencing mental health concerns that need to be addressed. They provide long term counselling as well as walk in’s.

CanLearn Society - A great resource for parents on how to manage mental health issues or concerns in the home.

Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention.

Brief review about outdoor play

The importance of regaining outdoor PA

Aug 26-Sept 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/8n1cr