Dear Andrew Sibbald Families,
We hope your families have had a good start to the 2023-2024 school year and your children have enjoyed the first few days reconnecting with friends, getting to know their teachers and learning new classroom routines and expectations. As a staff, we have selected the anchor text, “The Power of One: Every Act of Kindness Counts” by Trudy Ludwig. Teachers will be taking up the learning around this text with students over the coming weeks as we start the school year together as a school community.
Our staff have already begun planning for excellent learning experiences for students within the new Grades 4-6 ELA-L (English Language Arts and Literature) and Mathematics Curriculum, K-3 Science Curriculum as well as a second year of implementation around the new Curriculum in Division One. Teachers have also begun planning off-site learning opportunities and planning residencies. We look forward to another year ahead!
A Warm Welcome to New Sibbald Staff
We welcome our new Learning Leader, Mrs. Alison Gardner, who is team teaching with Mrs. Kosior in Grade One. Mrs. Braelan Veltkamp has been hired in a temporary teaching position for the 2023-2024 school year to teach French as a Second Language in Grades 4 – 6. As a school, we were able to secure funding for this position through a government grant and we are excited by the passion that Madame Veltkamp brings around both French language and French culture. Madame Veltkamp will also be supporting Div Two students in other capacities. Lastly, we would like to welcome Mrs. Tania Khurram who is supporting our youngest learners in Kindergarten as our Early Childhood Practitioner.
Please see our website for a full list of our Sibbald Staff.
A Note from Madame Veltkamp
Bienvenue and Welcome to French! I am Madame Veltkamp, and I am excited to be the new French Second Language teacher at Andrew Sibbald School. I will be joining the Grades 4-6 classes and working with teachers to explore topics such as family, community, and important vocabulary for everyday French conversation. I am excited to not only explore French, but also its importance to our families, our province, and the greater world around us. This year we will explore French language in new ways, including artistic projects and activities, and connecting with those in our school. I look forward to making student learning visible through my classroom blog and encourage you to reach out around any questions or concerns through email.
Meet the Teacher Conferences – September 21st and 22nd
We look forward to welcoming you to our Meet the Teacher Conferences on September 21st from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. and Friday, September 22nd from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. To accommodate conferences, there is no school for kindergarten students on Thursday, September 21st and no school for K-6 students on Friday, September 22nd. Information will be communicated soon around booking your individual 15-minute conference through your MyCBE PowerSchool account.
Meet the Teacher Conferences allow an opportunity for parents and guardians to connect with their child’s teacher in the first few weeks of school and share parent perspective around their children’s academic and social development as well as share hopes and goals for the school year.
Volunteering at Andrew Sibbald
The CBE is revising documentation and processes related to volunteering and we will keep all parents and guardians informed as new information becomes available. Thank you for your patience. We appreciate our volunteers and look forward to welcoming parents back into the building to volunteer throughout the new school year.
Back-to-School Online Forms
Back-to-school forms, including Demographic Verification Forms for 2023-2024 are now available for completion in your MyCBE PowerSchool Account in the “School Engage” section.
Reporting Lates and Absences
Please email our school office at AndrewSibbald@cbe.ab.ca or call our school office at 403-777-6830 to leave a message if your child is ill, late or absent. Thank you in advance.
School Council Meeting – Wednesday, September 13th - All Parents Welcome
Parents & guardians, please join us for our school’s first Council Meeting (Annual General Meeting) on Wednesday, September 13th. All parents and guardians are members of the School Council and this is a great opportunity to become involved in our school community. The Parent Association is another group that parents may choose to participate in. The Parent Association’s membership supports the fundraising initiatives of our school.
School Council meetings are held in person in our school’s Learning Commons at 7:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Parent Association meetings are held directly after the School Council meetings. Agendas are emailed to all parents and guardians before the meetings.
SCHOOL MERCH FUNDRAISER!
Profits from the sale of these items will benefit the Andrew Sibbald Parent Association and will be used for items like bussing for field trips, school supplies, residencies, technology, and much more...
Place your pre-orders by Sept 30th, orders will be ready for pick up from the school in mid-October.
Orders for orange shirts placed by Sept 15th will be available for pick-up the week of Sept 25th so they can be worn for Orange Shirt Day.
~ Andrew Sibbald Parent Association
Lastly - Thank you!
Parents, thank you for your support and communication in our start up. Also, thank you for the lovely staff appreciation ‘candy bar’ that Parent Association set up for staff on August 30th.
Have a great week ahead!
Sibbald this Week
Monday
No school for staff or students – Labor Day holiday
Tuesday
Tues/Thurs Kinder attends
Wednesday
Mon/Wed Kinder attends
Thursday
Tues/Thurs Kinder attends
Friday
Mon/Wed Kinder attends
Coming Up at Sibbald
September 13th School Council Meeting (AGM 7:00 p.m. Learning Commons)
September 18th Grade 6 vaccinations (a.m.)
September 21st Meet the Teacher Conferences 3:30 – 7:00 p.m.
No school for Kindergarten – Conferences 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
September 22nd Meet the Teacher Conferences 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
No school for students due to Conferences
September 29th No school for staff or students (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)
October 2nd K-6 photo day
October 3rd K-6 photo day
October 4th Parent Association Casino Fundraiser
October 5th Parent Association Casino Fundraiser