Upcoming Dates: 

Monday, Oct. 30, 2023- Alberta Education Focus Group- see below 

Tuesday October 31- This is a regular day of learning. See information below. 

Thursday, November 9, 2023 - System Indigenous Educational Professional Learning Day for Staff - No School for Students 

Friday, November 10 - Tuesday November 14 - Fall Break - Schools are Closed 

Wednesday, November 15 - School Resumes 

Thursday, November 16 - Retakes and Class Photos | School Council and SES Meeting 

Thursday, November 23 - Evening Learning Conferences 

Friday, November 24 - Learning Conferences- No School for Students 

 

Take Me Outside Day 

We were thrilled to see the Instagram posts from classes celebrating Take Me Outside Day on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  

Take me Outside Day is supported by 70+ outdoor learning partners, who work to develop resources for schools and families under three central themes -  Indigenous Perspectives & Knowledge, Health & Wellbeing, and Climate Change & Environmental Education.  

Take Me Outside Day helps to raise awareness about outdoor learning by encouraging educators to take their learners outside. The entire week is full of activities, speakers, and prizes to encourage folks to head beyond the four walls of a classroom.  

This year, classes around the globe were challenged to learn about the artist, Andy Goldsworthy and then make their own version of nature art with found and foraged materials. Many of our student’s creations were shared on our Instagram posts and some may end up on the “Take Me Outside” giant collaborative mosaic out of the entries.  

To read more about the benefits of outdoors learning see the Take Me Outside Day website!  

Halloween – Tuesday October 31 

Halloween will continue to be a day of learning at the school.  Students are welcome to wear their costumes for the full day or even part of the day if they choose.  We encourage students to wear their costume over their regular clothes or bring a change of clothes in the event that they become uncomfortable or find that it interferes with their activities like gym or outdoor play.  The guidelines for costumes are: 

No weapons 

No masks 

No blood or gore 

The reason behind these guidelines is that we want school to continue to be a safe, caring and welcoming place. With a space that has learners from kindergarten to grade 5 all interacting, we want to make sure that no one is scared or fearful in coming to school.  We thank all families for helping us continue to make our space a safe one. 

Our Lost and Found is Still Overflowing! 

We had 5 items claimed through our last communication last Sunday. While teachers are taking classes to visit the lost and found, items are still piling up.  

Parents are welcome to come in after school to claim missing items. The admin team will work late on Monday Oct. 30, 2023 if parents need to visit after hours to see the lost and found.  Please send an email to nlgillott@cbe.ab.ca or reply to the school messenger email if you wish to drop by Monday after hours.  

All unclaimed items will go to charity on the morning of November 1, 2023. 

School Council and School Enrichment Society Updates 

The school council meeting and the AGM for the School Enrichment Society was held last Thursday. Minutes of the meetings will be available on the website in the next week. 

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch 

Thank you to the parents who responded to the survey and shared their perspectives. 

• The response rate on Healthy Hunger Lunches showed a most of the families that responded to the survey wanted to participate in Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch.  
• A parent committee will organize these lunches starting in November.  
• Parents who are helping out in the school with the Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch are required to have their Volunteer Security Clearance and will be asked to fill out an annual Volunteer form and hand it in to the office.  

Yearbook The response rate on yearbook was 60 families were interested.  

• If you have indicated your child’s photo cannot be used in media, they will not be in the yearbook.  
• We will send a second reminder in December (after the photo retake day and before the parent committee starts building the yearbook).  Fees for the yearbook will be paid directly to Lifetouch in the Spring and pick-up will be next September.  

The AGM for the Parent Society, called the Dr. Freda Miller School Enrichment Society, was held electing the following parents into these executive positions. 

• President: Shannon Munro
• Vice Chair: Liz Ledrew 
• Secretary: Jamie Ross 
• Treasurer: Brooke Orser 
• Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch Director- Jen Guthrie 
• Yearbook Director – Amanda Hordyk 

  Thank you to the parents who are volunteering in executive positions! 

• We will be keeping the same fundraisers as last year, with the exception of a Casino which is scheduled for 2026. Information about the fundraisers will be sent out by early November. 
• Our next School Council and SES meeting will be November 16, 2023. We will be sharing our School Annual Results Report and the School Development Goals for the upcoming year.

• Meeting dates have been set as follows: Nov. 16, Dec. 14, Jan. 18, Feb. 22, No meeting in March, April 11, May 9 and June 6 

Curriculum Parent Focus Group Opportunity:  

On Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, Alberta Education will host a focus group with the intention of seeking feedback from parents. The focus group will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. via Zoom. 

Purpose: To collect insight from a parent perspective to update the old “My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource" website into a brand new space that will be hosted on new.LearnAlberta.ca .  

Please click below if interested in providing feedback: 

Alberta Education Focus Group - Expression of Interest to Participate