Wildwood Weekly News
October 3rd, 2025
Principal Message
Our week started with our recognition of Orange Shirt Day. In addition to in class activities and learnings all students joined together in the gym to discuss truth and reconciliation. We concluded by colouring feather's that included how students should feel when they come to school, terms like happy, loved, included were common. The feathers were then arranged into the eagle above.
Monday also seen the grade 4 class with a surprise instructor as I filled in for Miss Weninger for the day. Tuesday, was a day off for the National day of Truth and Reconciliation. Wednesday many of our classes wrote the last of their assessments, we are now all done! YAY! Thursday and Friday were a bit more calm days with lots of classroom learning.
The tone to end our week is a little different. Without knowing the next time we will all see each other. That said when the strike is over we will be waiting here with excited to see kids again. I have included Superintendent Scobie's letter that was sent out through messenger and through Facebook lower down in this newsletter. If your student is currently receiving FSLC support please reach out to them directly for resources, guidance and support. For the duration of the Job Action teachers and myself will not be checking emails or other school communications.
Sincerely,
Alan Stoyles
Principal
Kernels Fundraiser
There have been many questions regarding the Kernels Fundraiser and how job action might impact it. Kernels runs year round and we are able to pick are own start and end dates. The fundraiser will be extended until after any strike and time given to get orders in and if needed modify existing orders.
School Council
Wildwood School Council Meeting Dates all @ 3:45 All parents and guardians welcome
October 14th
November 18th
December 9th
January 20th
February 10th
March 10th
April 14th
May 12th
June 9th
Attendance
Wildwood School uses an automated safe arrival system. If your student is going to be away the most efficient way is to communicate is by emailing wwabsence@gypsd.ca.
Important Dates
October 10th - Staff PD day (no School for students)
October 13th - Thanksgiving (School Closed)
October 14th - FOPLS Meeting @ Wildwood School. 6:30pm (Friends of Pembina Learning Society)
October 15th - Picture Day
Spotlight on School Success: HLAT
Many of you have heard of HLATs before. These are the twice a year stories that students write as part of our evaluation of student progress. Student's are given a prompt they have not previously seen and asked to plan and write a story. After they are completed teachers evaluate them against a set of exemplars that allow them to identify areas of strengthen and areas that need more focus with students. They are another piece of the picture that helps us to support students in their learning.
Orange Shirt Day
5/6
Kindergartens on Buddy Bus, with Grade Reading Buddies and Patterns
2/3
4 STEM Towers
JK
Our only day this week, Thursday, we read the book "Franklin Goes To School", we dotted our names with bingo dabbers, learned about the letter B and the number 2!
We crafted some turkeys for the upcoming Thanksgiving, which somehow turned into monster turkeys haha!
From Superintendent Scobie - Regarding Labour Action
Based on the information the ATA and TEBA shared this week, teachers will commence full labour action on Monday, October 6. This labour action will impact all Grande Yellowhead Public School Division students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Impact on School Operations
We ask that you do not send your child to school on October 6, 2025, or for the duration of the labour action.
While teachers are on strike all school-related activities will cease. This includes:
instruction/ grading/ assessments/ online instruction/ student work
field trips
extracurricular activities
athletics
school clubs
We have 5 schools where our Junior Kindergarten programs are run by non-ATA staff. These are only schools that Junior Kindergarten students can attend during the labour action.
These Junior Kindergarten Programs are located at:
Sheldon Coates
Jasper Elementary
Ecole Westhaven
Ecole Mountain View
Crescent Valley
Important Information
Valuables and Belongings: Please ask your children to bring home any and all valuables and personal belongings.
Buses: During the strike buses will not be running; please do not have your children wait for buses.
School Fees: We understand you may have questions about fees for services:
During a strike, if a service you’ve paid for, like a local field trip, is cancelled, the money will be credited to your account.
More information will be provided as soon as the full impact of the strike is known.
School Communication: During the strike, all school general phone lines and email inboxes will remain operational. If you need to reach out to your child’s school, please connect that way.
Please be aware that many staff members will not be in the buildings, and it may take some time for someone to get back to you.
Teachers and principals will not be available to communicate with families during the strike.
Government Supports
Yesterday, the provincial government announced a number of supports for families, including:
Financial Support for parents with children 12 years of age and younger.
Eligible parents or guardians would receive $30 per day, or $150 per week, per student, for the duration of the labour action. The first payment will be made on October 31.
Payments may be used to offset additional costs like child care, educational supports like tutoring, or other activities to keep students engaged.
More information about the application process will be available on the province’s website soon.
Learning supports for parents to assist with continued learning.
Alberta Education and Childcare have created a free toolkit for parents to support their child’s learning in the event that schools are closed.
The toolkit provides resources that follow the Grades K-12 curriculum. The resources are available in English, French and French immersion and focus on the core subjects of language arts, social studies, math and sciences.
The resources, which will be available on the province’s website, will be updated weekly
Stay Connected
If a tentative settlement is reached over the weekend, we will share information with parents, families and guardians through our website,and on Division facebook accounts.
Sincerely,
Kurt Scobie
Superintendent of Schools
Grande Yellowhead Public School Division
B.E.S.T.
Virtual Presentations for Caregivers
Elections
Would you like to volunteer at Wildwood School?
Below you can find the volunteer package for Wildwood School. You can also drop by the school for a paper package and we can help with any questions you might have.