Good Afternoon CMAC Families,
Wow, what a week at CMAC! Thank you to the parents who attended our School Council AGM, and evening with Dr. Donsky. I was so happy to see so many of our parents show up and engage, both in person and online. Another big thank you to Mrs. Fehr for organizing our first annual Cougar Cup today! Thanks also to her wonderful PE team, Mrs. Dok and the grade 8 and 9 leadership students, and everyone who showed up ready to have some fun today. While, sadly, we had to cancel our grade 5 and 6 swimming, we still have a lot of fun field trips happening. With the end of the year fast approaching, we really appreciate your support in helping our students, your children, stay on track and continue to play their role in making this a great place to learn. I know that I am a very lucky principal, and our staff students and families are the reason why.
As an aside, with so much going on, and temperatures rising, TLC students will be allowed to dress casual, out of uniform for the remainder of the year. Please send students to school with water, supportive footwear and clothing to match the weather forecast so they are prepared if their class goes outside.
2025 Grade 9 Sailing Trip!
Next year, grade 9 students will have the opportunity to go on the S.E.A.S Sailing Trip in British Columbia. We have done this trip for many years prior to COVID and we are excited to get the program up and running again. The S.E.A. Fieldtrip provides a safe ocean going five day expedition within the protected waters of the Salish Sea (Canadian Gulf Islands) aboard certified Transport Canada sailing vessels. With all required safety equipment, certified captains, qualified crew, and use of ocean going kayaks.
While we have not been given updated costs for the 2025 year, we know that the cost for last year was approximately $2500.00 per student. This cost includes return flights to Victoria B.C., entrance to all exhibits and activities, as well as all food and accommodations. As a group we will also be offering fundraising opportunities throughout the year to lower the cost of the trip.
For those who are interested, we will be hosting a parent information session on Tuesday, June 18 at 6:00 pm.
Upcoming Calendar and Events
Monday June 17 – Day 1
Tuesday June 18 – Day 2 – PAT Grade 9 – Math Part B; 2025 Grade 9 Sailing trip pre- meeting
Wednesday June 19 – Day 3 - PAT Grade 6 and 9 Social Studies
Thursday June 20 – Day 4 – PAT Grade 6 and 9 Science
Friday June 21 – Day 3 Even
Monday June 24 – Day 1
Tuesday June 25 – Day 2
Wednesday June 26 – Day 3
Thursday June 27 – Day 4 Odd – Friday Schedule – Last Day of School for Students!
Friday June 28 – Last day of school for staff, summer holidays begin!
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, dropoff spot is the rec centre parking lot across the field. Just enter on 13th 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, thank you for your support with this! If you need replacement uniform pieces, and cost is a barrier, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the main office.
- 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 7:45. 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.
Library Books
All library books must be returned to the school by Friday June 14. Any remaining books signed out will be charged to parent PowerSchool accounts. Please help your children search their rooms, bags, corners and closets to restore our library collection and give Mrs. Slater the time she needs to prepare it for the coming year.
Sports Teams
Please have a look in your MyCBE account and pay any unpaid fees. We have some teams who have been waiting for months to hold a wrap up pizza party, but have been unable to do so because fees have not yet been paid to cover the cost. Thank you for your help with this!
Track season has wrapped up and we are in the home stretch! Thank you too all of the students, coaches and parents who made this such a successful season! Special thanks to Mrs. Fehr, along with Mrs. Wong and Mr. Starnes for working with all of our coaches to get everything organized an in place. We are lucky to have such a passionate PE Team, and Coaching Team here at CMAC, and I am really excited to see our athletics programs continue to develop in the coming years.
Notes for next year:
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/fees-and- waivers/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.