Dear Glendale School Families
Welcome to March! How nice is it have some warmer weather? Our classes have been enjoying more time outside learning on, from and with the land in good ways. As our Calgary weather is always changing, please make sure your students are prepared for weather shifts by dressing in layers, having appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear, as well as a change of clothes.
There are some many exciting things happening as we enter into the two weeks before spring break and end March with a focus on math, literacy and Indigenous teachings.
Teaching and Learning Updates
We would like to welcome Mrs. Emily Erickson to our grade 5/6 team. Mrs. Erickson will be with us until May when Mr. El-Khechen will return. She has been an amazing addition to our school community and she is excited to meet the families of the amazing humans in her classroom.
For our School Development Plan, we collectively chose to focus on enhancing students' ability to conceptually understand key number concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and more. Our focus was not just on how to compute these operations, but understand how and why they work. Looking at a variety of research, we wanted our students to use visuals, models and manipulatives to develop conceptual understandings, allowing them to use multiple strategies, find connections and patterns, and apply their learning in multiple concepts. We want to develop thinking, active mathematicians who are efficient, flexible and accurate!!
We are excited to share with you the work that is being done. One such example is a school wide Math Mantra created by our grade 1 and 2 team:
Glendale School Math Mantra
My brain is flexible and grows when I practice!
Mistakes help me learn and do better next time!
I ask questions to help me understand!
Everything is hard before it is easy!
I can do hard thins – Iikakimat!
Love of Literacy
We are excited to share with you that we are spending some of March celebrating literacy and storytelling. We will have an in-house March Madness Book-Off starting next week with the finals occurring on March 20, which is World Storytelling Day. As well, heading into spring break, we will have a LOVE OF LITERACY SPIRIT week March 17-20.
Love of Literacy Spirit Week March 17-20
Mon, March 17: Reading knocks your socks off: wear crazy socks
Tues, March 18: Hats off to reading: wear a hat to school
Wed, March 19: Cozy up with a good book: PJ day
Thurs, March 20: Character parade: dress like a character from a story you love! (the story can be from a book, a movie, a TV show, a game…all of these are stories J)
Spring Equinox on March 20
Our school community will engage in meaningful learning of the upcoming Spring Equinox that indicates the beginning of a new season. In keeping with honouring and sharing Blackfoot and Treaty 7 teachings and stories, we would like to share with you the following:
Once again, Na'toosi (Grandfather Sun) and Kokomikisomm (Grandmother Moon) will share the sky equally, providing a balance of day and night. Motoyi (spring in Blackfoot) is a time of renewal and new beginnings. After a season of rest, the land comes to life with new growth, movement, and sounds - green grass appears, the rivers thaw, beavers emerge from their winter lodges, and buffalo calves are born.
“This is a time to acknowledge all the beautiful changes...Springtime is a time of celebration. It is also a time of reflection-- to look back and learn from the journey we have had throughout the year and how we can carry that forward.” - Elder Saa’kokoto
School Council and Student Conferences
Due to the strike action of CUPE 40, we have had to move School Council and Conferences online.
School Council Meeting on Wednesday, March 19
We encourage parents to take the time to join us for our meeting on Wednesday, March 19 at 6:15 p.m. on TEAMS. I link will be sent closer to the date of the meeting. During this meeting, we will share updates regarding our 2024-2025 School planning and engagement. We look forward to seeing you there.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on Thursday, March 20 and Friday March 21
In anticipation of CUPE 40 members continued strike action, all Conferences for the Calgary Board of Education are going online and will be occurring virtually to minimize the amount of public traffic within our schools. This information is a follow up to the CBE email that was sent to all parents on Monday, March 3 to confirm that on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21, Glendale School will be going online for conferences. We will set up our online registration system for booking a conference effective on Wednesday, March 12 at 6 p.m. Registration for conferences will close Wednesday, March 19 at 11:59 p.m. If you are having difficulty signing up for conferences, the office can assist you. We value this time to meet with parents to share student learning progress. Please know that we are grateful to you for taking the time to partner with us regarding your child’s learning.
CBE Dates of Significance of the month of March
March is:
Alberta Francophonie Month
Irish Heritage Month
March 8: International Women’s Day
March 10-14: Substitute Teachers’ Appreciation Week
March 14: Holi
March 14: Pi Day
March 20: Spring Equinox
March 20: Persian New Year (Nowruz)
March 20: French Language Day
March 20: World Storytelling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 21: World Down Syndrome Day
March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31: Eid al Fitr
Sincerely,
Ms. Peterson and Mr. Hassett