Bruderheim School Parent Newsletter

Hello Families,

It's hard to believe October is already here. One of the most important things we focus on in the fall is establishing routines. Routines help students feel comfortable, confident, and ready to learn. Getting up at a regular time, arriving at school prepared and on time, knowing what to expect during the school day, and developing consistent homework and bedtime habits all help students be successful. While routines can take some time to establish, the effort is well worth it. Consistency provides students with the structure they need to focus their energy on learning and building relationships.

Along with routines comes the importance of regular attendance. Every day at school is an opportunity to learn something new, connect with classmates, participate in activities, and be part of our school community. When students attend regularly, they are better able to maintain their learning and stay connected with what is happening in their classrooms. We appreciate the partnership of our families in helping students make school attendance a priority whenever possible.

September also gave us a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community for our annual Terry Fox Run. It was inspiring to see our students and staff participate with such enthusiasm and determination. Whether students were running, walking, encouraging their classmates, or simply continuing forward when things became challenging, everyone demonstrated what it means to show grit.

Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope reminds us that meaningful goals require perseverance. Our students showed that same spirit during our run. They kept going, supported one another, and demonstrated that grit isn't about never finding something difficult, it is about continuing to move forward when things get tough.

We are incredibly proud of everyone who participated. More importantly, we are proud of the way our students supported one another and represented the values of our school community.

As we move into October, we encourage our students to continue building strong routines, attending regularly, giving their best effort, and showing grit when challenges arise. These everyday habits may seem small, but over time they make a tremendous difference.

Thank you to our students, staff, and families for helping us make September such a positive start to the school year.

Melanie Buckley

Principal

Professional Learning Day-No School for Students

World Teacher's Day

Read In Week Activities

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Grade 1-3 Swim

Thanksgiving Day-School Closed

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Picture Day

Grade 1-3 Swim

Scholastic Book Fair in the Bru School Library

School Bus Safety Week

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Parent Teacher Interviews (3:30-6 pm)

Parent Teacher Interviews (3:30-6 pm)

Grade 1-3 Swim

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Halloween Activities

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Remembrance Day Ceremony

November Break-No School

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Early Out-Students dismissed at 1:59 pm

Did you know you can sync the school calendar to your own calendar? Simply, visit Bruderheim Calendar” and follow the instructions. Within seconds, your calendar will contain all Bruderheim’s important dates including holidays, school-closures days, planned activities and events, and it will remain synced with all the latest updates throughout the school year.

In the 2026-27 school year, Bruderheim School will focus on improving student engagement through reading by utilizing success criteria, retrieval practice, and multimodal instruction as instructional strategies. By improving their reading skills, students will be able to positively engage in school.

Read In Week 2026 is taking place October 5-9.

Read In Week is an initiative celebrated throughout the Division annually to encourage a lifelong love of reading and to enhance literacy awareness among students, staff, families and community members. This year’s theme: “Let Stories Soar.” Some of our activities planned for Read In Week include guest readers, buddy reading, and DEAR time.

Bruderheim School invites all families to participate in Read In Week by reading yourself, with your child or with someone in the community. For more information, visit the Read In Week website.

Schools throughout Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) are celebrating School Bus Safety Week from October 19-23. The theme: ‘Be Bright, Stand in Sight,’ which helps remind students to be visible and make smart choices while waiting for the school bus. Throughout the week, various activities are planned, including information sessions, bus-safety lesson plans and bus-evacuation drills.

For more information, visit EIPS Student Transportation or contact 780-417-8151.

Planning to use Student Transportation in the 2026-27 school year? If so, make sure your child is registered so Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) can plan routes and send your child a bus pass before the first day of school.

For those students who did not indicate needing transportation services during the registration process and want to now register, complete a Busing Setup form through the Transportation Service Desk.

NOTE: Families can pay fees online using the PowerSchool Parent Portal for current students or Student Quick Pay for new students . To pay in-person, visit the EIPS Student Transportation building during its office hours—Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school closure days.

Download these bus apps for a successful ride!
Is your child riding the bus this year? If yes, download the My Ride, Bus Status and SchoolMessenger apps to stay in the know about your child’s bus stop location, route, pickup time and whether their bus is running on schedule.

In 2026-27, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is piloting a new reporting scale for communicating elementary student achievement. Most recently, kindergarten to Grade 6 student achievement has been reported using a five-point scale. This year, the Division is piloting a new three-point scale for kindergarten to Grade 2 and a four-point scale for grades 3 to 6. The goals of the pilot are to provide useful, clear communication to parents and caregivers about their child’s progress, and provide a clear, consistent framework for teachers to use for assessment of student learning.

The draft achievement scales were developed based on teacher and administrator input, assessment research and reviews of best practices across Alberta, Canada and the world. However, it’s critical parents and caregivers feel confident about the reporting structure. Throughout the fall and winter, Division and school staff will share more information to introduce the new grade scales, collect initial feedback and answer questions through school council meetings, school interviews and school newsletters. The feedback collected will help EIPS revise the grading scales as needed, and opportunities for further feedback will be available later in the school year.

In 2026-27, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is piloting a new mechanism for families to have live, direct access to student assessment information for grades 1 to 6. Through the PowerTeacher Pro dashboard in the PowerSchool Parent Portal, parents and caregivers will be able to log in to see assessment information as it’s entered, rather than waiting for a report card. With this change, elementary schools will also shift to two formal report cards for grades 1 to 6 for the school year, rather than three.

Throughout the fall, parents and caregivers are encouraged to log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal, to ensure the login process works smoothly and to get familiar with the platform if you haven’t used it in the past. If you have any issues logging into your account, reach out to the school office at

The Bruderheim School Office now has Rycor Pay. Rycor pay is just like a credit/debit machine. Simply tap or insert your card. Mrs. Carlson can bring up your fees and there's no need to even log into the portal. Easy-peasy!

Pay school fees online!
NOTE: Additional fees may be added throughout the year—for example, at the beginning of each semester, as your child takes part in various activities, or they may be adjusted by changes in selected optional courses in junior and senior high school. If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived. The application deadline is Dec. 15, 2026.

School Fees are now posted—pay with Electronic Funds Transfer!

School fees for 2026-27 are now posted to the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. To help make fee payment as convenient as possible, EIPS offers several payment options, including a brand-new option this year—Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments, also known as E-Cheque. EFT payments allow you to pay directly from your bank account with no added fees, giving you added flexibility beyond credit or debit card payments.

When you log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal, click the “Student Fees” icon and proceed to checkout. You’ll now see EFT (E-Cheque) listed as a payment option. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete your payment.

To make checkout even faster, you can save EFT to your account for future use.

1.Log in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal account

2.Click on the “Student Fees” icon

3.Open the menu in the top-right corner.

4.Select Manage Payment Methods

5.Add and save your EFT (E-Cheque) details

Once saved, you can select EFT at checkout without re-entering your information each time.

School and Division Communication
Your child’s school and the Division use SchoolMessenger for communicating with families—through phone, email and text. You can directly manage your notification preferences through your SchoolMessenger account.
Learn more about SchoolMessenger, manage your preferences and download the app.

PowerSchool Parent Portal
The PowerSchool Parent Portal is an interactive web-based platform where parents and guardians can access attendance, grades and fee information for all students registered in the Division, as well as provide updates to family contact information as needed. One account provides access to the information about all students in your family.
Learn more about PowerSchool and how to set up your Parent Portal account if you’re new to EIPS.

School and Division Forms
EIPS uses the online Permission Click platform for many school and Division forms. The system makes the form submission process for families simple and straightforward, and forms are easily fillable from your mobile device.
Learn more about Permission Click and who these forms are sent to.

Personal Mobile Devices at School

As a reminder, EIPS has outlined rules about the use of personal mobile devices for each grade level in Administrative Procedure (AP) 145: Use of Personal Mobile Devices. Processes outlined within this AP are based on direction provided by the provincial government through Ministerial Order 014/2024: Standards for the Use of Personal Mobile Devices and Social Media in Schools. This includes the use of various electronic devices, including smartwatches and Meta glasses. Bruderheim School also has a Personal Mobile Device Plan that provides additional details for our school.

Families were provided with an opportunity to review these documents at the start of the school year. We encourage you to review them again with your child to ensure students understand where and when students can and cannot access their personal mobile devices at school.

Looking to buy school spirit wear? Our Entripy Spiritshop is now live, please visit the Entripy website to order. Your clothing will get delivered to your home!

Shop Name: Bruderheim School http://bruderheimschool.entripyshops.com/

Alberta Health Services hosts a variety of virtual caregiver information sessions throughout the year focused on ways to support students’ mental health. The sessions are free and geared toward parents, caregivers, teachers and community members who want to learn more about challenges impacting children and adolescents. Session topics include anxiety, ADHD, depression, self-harm, technology, teens and teaching leadership skills, communication, resiliency and more. Visit Caregiver Education to see the monthly caregiver sessions.

To access the AHS Virtual Caregiver Series click here.