G.W. Skene School
6226 Penbrooke Drive SE, Calgary, AB T2A 6M7 t | 403-777-8150 f | 403-777-8159 e | [email protected]
http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b351
G.W. Skene Newsletter | MARCH & APRIL 2017
Siakaluk’s Summary
Administration
Derek Siakaluk
Principal
Jill Scarrow
Assistant Principal
Nedra Niles Leahul
Office Administrator
Table of Contents
 Message from The
Principal
 School News
 CBE News
 Community News
 Calendar
Reminder
If your child is absent
or late, please call the
school by 8:45 AM at
403-777-8150 & Press
“1”
This line is open 24
hours a day – 7 days a
week.
Thank you.
Dear G.W. Skene Families,
It’s hard to believe that winter is almost over and we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of
spring. Students have enjoyed playing in the snow and ice and have experienced more
indoor recesses this year than in previous years put together. Thank you for your support in
ensuring they are dressed appropriately for the weather. March can continue to be a cold
month so please make sure students are arriving at school with hats, gloves and warm
coats. If you ever need assistance with any of these items, please come and see me in the
office. We do have ways to help with that.
G. W. Skene continues to be an excellent place of learning. As you have probably noticed,
we provide numerous opportunities for the students to enhance their learning, and this often
comes with a price. Thank you for your support of our field trips and programs. We always
receive positive feedback about the students’ behavior and attitude during these programs.
What a compliment! From Telus Spark to the Public Library, we take advantage of every
opportunity we have to leave the school and take our learning elsewhere.
The next two months offer a lot of exciting opportunities for our students. We are
participating in Alien In-line skating beginning on February 27. Don’t forget to come out to
our Family Skate Night on March 2 @ 5:30 pm for Grade 3 and 6:30 for Grade 4/5. This is a
free event and open to the whole family. We are also having our annual Skene Talent Show
on Friday, March 17. Auditions begin this week and this is a great way to showcase all the
talents in our school. Parents are invited to attend this show. One of the biggest events we
have coming up is our Grade 5 Outdoor School from March 20 – 22. Thank you to all of the
parents who attended the parent evening. If you have not yet received the presentation
please contact your child’s teacher. If you have any questions or concerns about Outdoor
School you can contact Mrs. Scarrow in the main office.
April will be a great month with two exciting things happening. Starting in April, we will have
a few ‘Fun Fridays’. This is an opportunity for students to participate in learning different
things based on teacher talents and interests. Look for more information about our first Fun
th
Friday on April 21. We are also excited to host our Spring Concert on Thursday, April 27 at
6:00 pm. Thank you to Mrs. Mosley who is busy working with the classes on their
presentations. We will have students stay with us after school that day and we will provide
pizza for them. Doors for the concert will open at 5:45 pm.
Thank you so much for all of your continued support. We love the fact that G. W. Skene is
such a community and we all work together to make it an excellent place. We look forward
to meeting with you on March 23 for conferences to discuss your child and their learning.
Kind Regards,
Derek Siakaluk
Principal
Newsletter
March 2017
Important Dates
March 1
March 2
March 16
March 17
March 20 – 22
March 22
March 23
March 24
March 25 – April 9
April 10
April 13
April 14
April 17
April 20
April 20
April 21
April 27
- Spell-A-Thon Begins
– Parent Skate Night – 5:30 for Grade 3 students; 6:30 for Grade 4/5 students
– School Council @ 3:45 @ Skene / Friends of Skene @ 4:30 PM
– Skene Talent Show @ 10:30
– Grade 5 Outdoor School
– Last Day of Classes
– Conferences – please register on MyCBEAccount
– PD Day – No School
– Spring Break
– Classes resume
– Crime Not To Read – Grade 3
– Good Friday – No School
– PD Day – No School
– Spring Photos
– School Council @ 3:45 @ Short
– Fun Friday
– Spring Concert @ 6:00
Breakfast For Learning
The students of G.W. Skene wish to thank the “Breakfast For Learning” program and the “President’s Choice
Children’s Charity (PCCC) for helping to support our Nutritional Programs.
Books For Kids – Celebrating Literacy
A big “Thank You” to our Sponsors: ConocoPhillips Canada, Weigl Educational Publishers Limited, Grand & Toy,
Morgex Insurance, Meg Energy, Calgary Hitmen, Southland Transportation, ULS-United Library Services &
Sunterra Market.
It’s A Crime Not To Read
Thank you to all of the Grade 3 students and families who came to the Forest Lawn Public Library on February 8.
The turnout was great and the students got to enjoy pizza and reading – a great combination! Thank you to all of
the staff from both the Library and It’s a Crime Not to Read for this fantastic opportunity.
Learning Commons
We want to thank the members of the Canadian Federation of University Women Calgary North for their generous
donation of $2000.00 to our Learning Commons. This money will be used to purchase new books and supplies to
enhance our ELL and dual-language book selection. Thank you very much for this support.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is dedicated to helping students deepen their understanding of their own mental processes. At Skene
we are using a curriculum that begins with an introduction to brain physiology. Once students become familiar with
the parts of the brain and with how the parts function and interact, they carry that knowledge forward into their
explorations as well as the rest of their classroom experience.
Please take the time to check out the mindfulness link on our website. There you will find the parent mindfulness
presentation given in January.
Page 2 | 6
Newsletter
March 2017
K-12 Math Strategy
The CBE isdeveloping a K-12 mathematics strategy that will help our students succeed in math. We want to hear
from you on what you think would benefit students in learning math and help you as a parent or guardian to
support your child.
Please complete our online survey anytime between Feb. 22 and Mar.15. Your input will be used to help us create
the best strategy for future math success.
For more information on our K-12 math strategy engagement and links to math education resources for parents
please visit our website.
Spell-A-Thon
G. W. Skene students will be participating in a Spellathon beginning this week. This is a great chance to raise
funds for our school and we want to thank our Friends of Skene members for this opportunity. We participated in
this same event last year and were able to raise thousands of dollars. Pledge and information forms will go home
on March 1. These forms will have all of the necessary information you need for this fundraiser to be successful.
Thank you for your support!
TIMELINE
March 1
March 2-March 15
March 15
March 16
March 17
Mar.23-Apr. 9
April 11
April 21
Pledge Sheets and Word Lists will go home
Children to collect pledges and practice spelling words
Children to return Pledge Forms to their teacher
Children to do spelling test at school
Children receive Pledge Forms back with test scores recorded
Children to collect pledge money and return it to the school
Last day to return pledge money to be included for prizes
Prizes awarded to children at school
*Please note: Pledge money can be returned to the school at any time. The money raised from our
Spell-A-Thon will go to the “Friends of Skene Society” to support the school.
PRIZES
The student returning the most pledge money will receive a $50.00 Cineplex Gift Card.
The classrooms with the highest participation in returning pledge money will receive a class
Pizza/Movie Lunch Party .
Page 3 | 6
Message from the Board of Trustees
As Trustees, we are passionate about public education,
student success and the lasting impact education has
in our community and on society.
We continue to welcome and support each and every
student because it is the right thing to do. Every child is
entitled to a great education and we know Albertans
agree with us. We also know that this is a tough time
for Alberta, and the economic struggles faced by our
province are challenging. We do believe, however, that
education is the best investment we can make in our
future, our province and our children.
Message from the Chief Superintendent
Many CBE schools and service units observed Pink
Shirt Day on Feb. 22, 2017. Pink Shirt Day is an
initiative started by two high school students in Nova
Scotia. It has grown to a national campaign that
encourages everyone to wear pink to raise awareness
of the damage that bullying can cause.
Our website turned pink for the day and students and
staff shared photos with us over twitter and email. I was
inspired to see so many students standing up to
bullying, sharing words of kindness and thinking about
ways to support each other.
Protecting education means more than providing
funding for student enrolment growth. Our system
continues to grow, and with our students’ learning
needs as our focus, our school board simply does not
have the capacity to absorb additional costs without
directly impacting learning.
My vision for the CBE is of a learning environment
where everyone belongs. Our school system is one
where students feel welcome, where diversity is
celebrated and where every student can find their
place. The work of building school environments where
everyone feels safe happens all year long.
If you are interested in sharing your perspectives with
your Trustee, please contact us at
[email protected]. To learn more about our
ongoing advocacy efforts, please visit our website.
For information about the CBE’s approach to bullying
and support resources, please visit cbe.ab.ca/bullying
Traffic Safety
Ensuring our students get to school safely is
everyone’s responsibility. Please be mindful of
crosswalks, parking rules and speed limits when you
are driving near our schools, especially during the
morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal times. Our
students’ safety is at stake!
CBE Website
Check cbe.ab.ca for updates and stories about the
great work being done every day by our students and
staff. We’re proud to share these stories with you!
March 2017
David Stevenson
Chief Superintendent of Schools
Chinook Learning Services
Did you know that the CBE offers classes for adults?
If you’re interested in improving your English,
discovering a new hobby or high school upgrading, visit
chinooklearningservices.com
G.W. Skene | March 2017
SUN
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
1
Alien In-Line Skating
(All this week)
Crime Not to Read @ 1:30 PM
Family Skate Night
Grade 3 / 5:30 – 6:15 PM PM
Grade 4 & 5 / 6:15 – 7:00 PM
Alien In-Line
Skating
(All this week)
SPELL-A-THON
STARTS
6
5
7
2
8
SAT
3
4
10
11
17
18
24
25
Early Dismissal
11:55 AM
9
Early Dismissal
11:55 AM
13
12
14
15
School Council Mtg
G.W. Skene @ 3:45 PM
Friends of Skene @ 4:30 PM
Irish Dance
Presentation @
2:15 PM
20
19
Grade 5 –
Outdoor School
21
Grade 5 –
Outdoor School
22
Grade 5 –
Outdoor School
Return in PMApprox. Time TBA
Full Day-Last Day of
classes before Spring
Break
27
26
No School
Spring Break
28
No School
Spring Break
16
23
No School
Parent/Teacher
Conferences
8:30 AM – 1:00 PM &
3:30 PM – 7:30 PM
29
No School
Spring Break
Talent Show @ 10:30
AM
Early Dismissal
11:55 AM
No School
Non-Instruction Day
30
No School
Spring Break
31
No School
Spring Break
G.W. Skene | April 2017
SUN
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SAT
1
3
2
No School
Spring Break
9
16
4
No School
Spring Break
No School
Spring Break
10
11
CLASSES RESUME Last day to bring in
Spell-A-Thon money
to school
17
5
18
6
No School
Spring Break
12
24
No School
Non-Instruction Day
30
15
21
22
28
Assembly @ 11:00 AM
Early Dismissal
11:55 AM
29
20
School Council Mtg
James Short @ 3:45 PM
Friends of Skene @ 4:30
PM
25
14
No School
Spring Break
Spring Photo Day
23
8
13
Crime Not to Read @ No School
1:30 PM
Good Friday
19
No School
Non-Instruction Day
7
26
27
Spring concert @
6:00 PM
Doors open @ 5:45
PM
Fun Friday from 10:30
AM to 11:30 AM
Early Dismissal
11:55 AM