Good Afternoon CMAC Families,

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and spring break is one week closer! We are looking forward to connecting with parents and families at school conferences next week. Thank you for all that you do to support your children in their education.

Upcoming Calendar and Events

Monday, March 18 – Day 3 – TLC Formal

Tuesday, March 19 – Day 4 – TLC Informal – Nowruz - Persian New Year, cultural dress for students who celebrate

Wednesday, March 20 – Day 1 – TLC Informal

Thursday, March 21 – Day 2 – TLC Informal – School Conferences 4:00pm-7:30pm

Friday, March 22 – PD Day – School Conferences 8:00am-12:00pm - No school for students

March 23 – April 1 – Happy Spring Break!

Tuesday, April 2 – Students return to school

Housekeeping

  • Morning Drop Offs – If you drive your child to school, please drop them off on the far (west) side of the street. Do not drive into the staff parking lot, as this creates a hazard for kids getting off the bus. Also do not park on the East (school) side of the street as that interferes with bus drop off. An excellent alternate, low traffic, drop-off spot is the recreation centre parking lot across the field. Just enter on 13 avenue and drive to our field and you can avoid the busyness at the front of the school.
  • TLC Uniforms – If your child is in the TLC program, please remind them of the uniform requirements, including wearing black shoes. We are working to ensure all TLC students are following uniform standards each and every day. Please support us in this. If you need replacement uniform pieces, and cost is a barrier, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
  • Cold Weather – As we sometimes don’t know when the temperature will drop, please help your children dress for the weather. This includes a warm jacket, warm hat, and gloves. Our relaxed entry begins at 7:45am. Class activities, and lunch time, often find our students outside, and it is important that they are able to stay warm. Fresh air is good for us all, we just need to dress for it.
  • Lunch – Please, if you send your child with a meal that requires cutlery (fork, spoon), also send them with the required cutlery. We don’t not have cutlery to provide them with.
  • Messy, sticky drinks – we don’t allow messy sticky drinks in the school (think slurpees, milkshakes/ice-cream, open pop, ice caps, etc), or energy drinks. Please support students in bringing healthier, less messy drink choices to school.

Casino – Volunteers Needed!

I recently send a school messenger about our upcoming school casino fundraiser. I can’t say enough how important it is that we fill all volunteer spots. The signup hyperlink is below, and I have included a copy of the casino letter in the WAAG email. A big thank you to all who are able to support the school in this way. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050A4DAFAE2DABFA7-colonel1

School Conferences

Our second round of school conferences approaches. If you see a need to connect with teachers, please register. Conferences will be in-person by default, if you need an online conference on Microsoft Teams, please connect with teachers to arrange this. Also, please bring your kids! Conferences are so much more meaningful when students are a part of the conversation. The conference booking system for parents opened Thursday, March 14 at 7:00am and ends Wednesday, March 20 at 11:59pm. Please use MyCBE to register.

Cougar Café Grand Reopening!

For those who don’t know her, Christine Goett has been here at CMAC, striving to bring excellent lunch experiences to our kids for a very long time. She and her amazing team organize snack bins for everyone and free lunches for those who need it. They work to keep kids’ lunch experiences exciting, and fill the bellies of our kids. Christine ran a hot food cafeteria for years until it was cut. This year we were thrilled to be offered an opportunity to bring hot lunches back into our cafeteria. While free snacks and bag lunches will still be available, The Cougar Café is once again offering affordable nutritious meals to kid. This is a big moment for our lunch room team, and I just want to express my deepest appreciation for all of their hard work!

Sports Teams

Volleyball season wrapping up. The girls’ team is in the finals tonight Friday afternoon at Crescent Heights. The boys did an incredible job this year, and put up a great fight but will not be moving on to the finals. Please give them a pat on the back for an excellent season. Our students and coaches always make me so proud, they show up and play their best, and do a great job of keeping it classy and demonstrating excellent sportsmanship. Go Cougars!

If students wish to attend sporting events as a spectator, they need to come with a parent. This helps our coaches to keep their focus on the athletes who are competing. If your child is playing on a sports team, or volunteering, please pick them up right at the end of their games and practices. Our teachers generously volunteer their time, and like the kids, are tired by the end of the day. If students cannot be picked up on time, they will not be allowed to participate.

To participate in games and practices, students must be present for the duration of the school day, as per Calgary Middle Level Schools Amateur Athletics rules. They must also represent themselves as positive members of the school community, as per the standards set by our school for students in leadership roles.

Volunteers

We need your help! Our teachers are doing a great job organizing exciting field trip opportunities for your kids. With the new volunteer clearance process, we are running short on volunteers. Please, if you are able to volunteer, complete the new volunteer process (link below) so we can keep offering these experiences for our students. https://www.cbe.ab.ca/get-involved/volunteer/Pages/volunteer.aspx

Fees

For families with low incomes, the CBE provides a fee waiver program. Please see the following link for details: https://cbe.ab.ca/registration/feesandwaivers/Pages/Waivers.aspx

If there is a field trip or other learning opportunity with a fee, and this fee will prevent your child from participating, please connect with the principal. No child should miss a learning opportunity offered to their class due to financial reasons.