This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and we want to take a moment to share just how grateful we are for the incredible teachers we have here at SAM. Every single day, our staff show up with care, patience, creativity, humour, and dedication to support the children in our school community. We are so lucky to have such an amazing team of educators in our SAMily.

Today, we had the opportunity to pop into classrooms with our “Teacher Treat Cart” to thank staff and offer a small treat as a gesture of appreciation for all they do. While the treats were fun, they truly deserve so much more for the impact they have on children each and every day.

We also challenged our students with the “SAM Kids Challenge” for the weekend: to thank a special adult in their lives who has supported, encouraged, helped, or cared for them in some way. Saying thank you to one another is one of the simplest and most powerful ways we can show appreciation — and the best part is that it is completely free.

Have a wonderful weekend -- it kinda actually looks like May out there!

We are beginning the process of determining student placements for next year’s classes. Our primary goal is to determine class placements that best support each student’s learning strengths and needs as members of a class learning community. Several (sometimes competing) factors are weighed in determining these placements, including:

Class Placement Factors for Consideration

Literacy learning strengths and supports
Numeracy learning strengths and supports
Social-emotional learning strengths and supports
Peer connections
Other learning supports

In order to inform our class placement decisions, we invite you to share your input about the factors included above. Feel free to respond to all or some of the questions below—whichever factors you feel would be important for us to know about. The input you share, complemented by what our team knows about how your child succeeds at school, will help inform our decisions. Due to the complexity of these factors and the ways they interact with each other, we cannot grant requests for specific classes or teachers, nor can we guarantee any particular placement.

If you have more than one child who attends SAM, please complete a separate form for each child. This form will be accepting responses until Thursday, May 14th. For the opportunity to share important information regarding your child's classroom placement for the 2026/27 school year, please click here: Classroom Configuration Parent Feedback Survey 2026/27

As part of our school and the division's planning and reporting processes, we conduct an annual parent satisfaction survey to find out how parents feel about their child's education. Parent, student and staff survey results help us reflect on our work. A sampling of survey results are included in our Annual Education Results Report which is updated and posted to our website annually in late fall.

Please take a few minutes to complete the parent satisfaction survey as honestly and accurately as you can. We ask that you complete one survey for each child you have enrolled in our division. The survey will close at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.

To complete the Parent Satisfaction Survey, please click here: Parent Satisfaction Survey.

Date: Thursday, May 28th
Time: 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Cost: FREE!!!

Where: Div 2 Ball Court/SAM Gym

We are excited to invite you to our special "Breakfast for Dinner" event at SAM! This fun evening is our way of showing deep appreciation to the incredible parents and guardians who support our SAM students every day. Come enjoy a free meal of pancakes and sausage! It’s a perfect opportunity for family bonding and a relaxed time with our school community. We will have some seating available, but please feel free bring along a picnic blanket or lawn chairs and join us in celebrating our wonderful SAM families!

Gluten & Pork free options will be available

On May 27th, we will celebrate our Teachers and SAM staff by hosting an appreciation lunch. Menu items and staff room will reflect a "Taste the Rainbow" theme and we are asking our families to donate to this event in appreciation for all they do for our kids! Please deliver items to school before 9am on May 27th. If you are wanting to donate but are not able to bring food, you can also help by dropping of cash to the office by May 20th, we will happily purchase what is needed.

Use this link to donate and/or volunteer: Teacher Appreciation Lunch

Lastly, cards and notes of appreciation for teachers and treasured SAM staff member are welcomed, please hand them in with your food or money donation.

Thank-you so much for your help and generosity!!

We want to make our School Council and SAM Fundraising Society meetings more accessible! We value your voice and want to ensure our meeting times and formats work for as many families as possible. Thank you for taking a moment to help us by sharing your preferences by filing out this short 2 minute survey.

School Council

All families are welcome to attend any School Council Meeting throughout the year. We encourage you to come to School Council to learn more about what is happening at SAM, and add your voice to our discussions. Click here for more information about SAM School Council.

SAM Fundraising Society

Our SAM Fundraising Society is a fantastic team of parent/guardian volunteers who work alongside our school community! They put together fundraising great opportunities everyone can enjoy to raise funds to support additional opportunities that enhance the student learning experience at SAM. Click here for more information about SAM Fundraising Society.

For the 2025-26 school year, Grade 6 students will write PATs in the following subjects: ELAL, Math, and Social Studies. This year, SAM School students will write all PATs using the new provincial digital assessment platform.

The Provincial Achievement Tests aim to: assess whether students are learning what they are expected to learn, report to Albertans on how well students have achieved provincial standards, and assist schools, authorities, and the province in monitoring and improving student learning.

Alberta’s provincial achievement tests are aligned with the provincial curriculum, or programs of study. No single test can assess everything. The clearest picture of students’ growth and development is gained when a wide variety of assessment information is considered. The provincial achievement tests provide part of the picture. In addition, classroom teachers use many different assessment strategies throughout the school year to gain information about what students are learning.

For detailed information, refer to the Grade 6 Parent Guide.

English Language Arts & Literature (ELAL)

Part A: Writing - Fri, May 22: Students complete two writing assignments (one fiction and one non-fiction). The official time is 2 hours (with up to 4 hours allowed, if needed).
Part B: Reading - Thurs, June 17: Students answer multiple-choice questions based on various texts. The official time is 60 minutes (with up to 120 minutes allowed, if needed).

Mathematics

Part A - Mon, June 15th: 15 numerical-response questions focusing on number concepts. Calculators are not permitted. The official time is 30 minutes (with up to 60 minutes allowed, if needed).
Part B - Thurs, June 18: 40 multiple-choice and numerical-response questions covering all curriculum areas. Calculators are not permitted. The official time is 75 minutes (with up to 150 minutes allowed, if needed).

Science - Mon, June 22

50 questions of various formats covering all curricular areas. The official time is 60 minutes (with up to 120 minutes allowed, if needed).

NOTE: In 2025-26, Grade 6 Social Studies PAT will not be administered at SAM.

Now that the snow has finally melted, our spring cleanup begins and we wanted to remind students and families to please use extra caution on the paved areas surrounding the school as there is still a fair amount of gravel present.

We have always asked students to dismount their bikes and walk them once they arrive on school property; however, this reminder is especially important right now until our Division cleanup crews are able to sweep the area. Our Facilities team has confirmed that they will be coming to all schools, including SAM, as part of the seasonal gravel cleanup.

A HUGE thank you to Mr. Wowk, who practically wore out his broom trying to sweep the Ballcourt areas so students can continue to play with a few less scrapes and spills! We appreciate everyone’s support in helping keep our students safe.

Please join us at the Winspear Centre on Tuesday, June 2 at 7 PM for Road to Joy, presented by EPCOR, an inspiring concert celebrating the power of music and the young people at the heart of the Youth Orchestra of Northern Alberta (YONA).

YONA is almost entirely funded by individuals in our community and would not exist without your generosity. Your presence can help fuel a program that empowers kids through music. Imagine the Winspear Centre filled with the energy and joy of YONA students performing alongside the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, all in support of a cause that transforms lives.

Tickets are free, but we invite you to make a meaningful gift at the end of the concert to help YONA continue its work in our community. Please note that this concert will feature general admission seating.

Click to order your complimentary tickets.
Consider donating online.