The Falcon's View

2025-2026 Issue #4

Important dates to remember:

Jan 5: School Resumes; Rescheduled Christmas Concert 7pm

Jan 7: Art Club; JH Basketball @ Holden

Jan 9-10: SH Girls Basketball @ Daysland Tournament

Jan 13: SH Girls Basketball @ Viking

Jan 14: Art Club; JH Boys Basketball vs. Viking

Jan 15: SH Boys Basketball @ Cornerstone

Jan 16-17: SH Boys Basketball @ Bashaw Tournament

Jan 17: JH Basketball Home Tournament

Jan 20: SH Basketball vs. Daysland

Jan 21: Art Club; JH Girls Basketball @ Ryley; Mini Dunkers @ Viking

Jan 23-24: SH Boys Basketball Home Tournament; JH Basketball @ Killam Tournament

Jan 26: JH Basketball vs. Sedgewick; School Council Meeting 7pm

Jan 28: Art Club; JH Basketball @ Killam

Jan 29: Last Day of Semester 1

Jan 30: PD Day - No School for Students

Principal's Message

Welcome back after what we hope was a great Christmas break for everyone! We are well into January and are preparing for the end of our first semester. At the same time, we are also preparing for the start of a new semester, which will bring new schedules and some slight changes in our school. Our year is progressing and it is hard to believe we are almost half way through the school year.

You should have received a letter recently explaining some semester 2 changes happening in our school. This involves Mrs. Bauer moving to teach English Language Arts 3 one period/week. This will also mean some changes to our jr. high options to accommodate the change in gr. 3 ELA. We are in the process of sorting through these changes. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our school office. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter and hope it will work well for all students at Forestburg School.

We would also like to remind all parents that there will be no final exams at the end of January. Any end of unit assessments will be held on either Jan. 28 or 29. Students will not miss any school due to exams and semester 2 courses will begin on Mon., Feb. 2, 2026.

Our school has been busy with lots of basketball. We have several teams operating, from Mini-Dunkers to Jr. and Sr. High Girls’ and Boys’ teams. This involves a large number of students. It’s great to see so many students get involved. Our Mini-Dunkers are just up and running and are just getting started, while our other teams have been playing basketball for several weeks already. We are currently working on the details for our skating program (K-12). Stay tuned for more information on this in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s progress, please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher. Thank you, as parents, for all you do to support your child’s learning.

Mr. Anhorn

Principal, Forestburg School

Private Vehicle Transportation for School Events

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.

PowerSchool Parent Portal

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

2025-2026 School Fees

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

School Messenger Alerts

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.

January PATs and Diplomas Update

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.

RCMP Christmas Card Contest

Congratulations to Jules Forster and Alissa Holt Snell for winning the RCMP Christmas Card contest before Christmas!

🍎 Volunteer-Powered Breakfast Program is Back! ☀️

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.

Sr High Social Studies

On December 4, the Grade 11 and 12 classes participated in a Zoom call testimony with the Montreal Holocaust Museum. Students were able to hear the story of child survivor Judith Nemes Black and ask questions afterwards. She reminded students of how lucky they are to live in Canada and to not take their freedoms for granted. A great message for us all. - Mr. Rathwell

We're a Nut-Aware School

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!

Classroom Volunteers Needed

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!