Good Afternoon CMAC Families,

The beautiful weather just keeps on coming! It was another great week at CMAC. Be sure to ask your kids about clothespins and ice buckets. This week students participated in creating “positivity pins” in their homerooms. Next week, students can buy more pins to share with their peers. They will be on sale for 2 for $1 at lunch on Monday and Tuesday! Students who participate can vote to have a teacher “iced” at the end of the year. All money will go to a local mental health initiative. With the changing of the seasons, more classes will be engaging in learning outside.

Please send students prepared: supportive shoes for physical activity, water bottles, hats and sunscreen can all go a long way toward making time spent learning outside an enjoyable experience for all. Our celebration of learning is just two weeks away, and all CMAC families are welcome! Support staff, teachers and students are already working hard to prepare. Please save the date, and plan on coming out to see us the evening of Thursday May 15. As a part of the evening, we will begin planting in our courtyard. We engaged with knowledge keepers Amy Barton and Ted Bahr to design our reconciliation courtyard. May 15 we begin planting in the East, South and Tea Garden spaces. I sent the courtyard plans with the WAAG. If you have any of the plants listed and can bring in a splice, or if you are able to source any of the plants, please bring them in, roll up your sleeves and get dirty. Ted and Amy will be here too, to talk about the design and intention for this space.

Upcoming Calendar and Events

  • Monday May 5– Day 1 – TLC Formal
  • Tuesday May 6 – Day 2 – TLC Informal
  • Wednesday May 7 – Day 3 – TLC Informal – OR $1 to wear casual and fundraise for mental health!
  • Thursday May 8 – Day 4 – TLC Casual – Grade 5-6 Track and Field Afternoon!
  • Friday May 9 – Day 1 Odd – TLC Casual - Grade 7-9 Track and Field Morning!
  • Monday May 12 – Day 1 – TLC Formal
  • Tuesday May 13 – Day 2 – TLC Informal
  • Wednesday May 14 – Day 3 – TLC Informal
  • Thursday May 15 – Day 4 – TLC Informal – Celebration of Learning!!!
  • Friday May 16 – Non-Instructional Day – No School for Students

School Council

We are looking forward to another School Council meeting on Tuesday May 13, online on teams. Please know all are welcome, we really appreciate hearing from our parents, and for the support you provide our school. We do still have a few positions that need to be filled: -

  • Casino Coordinator – Urgent Need – without someone to fill this role we risk losing our ability to raise over $70000 every 1-2 years! Please help!!!
  • Social Media Coordinator – Filled! Thank you!!!
  • Co-chair
  • Help with Fun Lunches next year – starts September, but help learning and preparing is available now
  • NEW – We will need to form a “Park Committee” to plan a new play structure/area for our kids. This is a multi-year process, so we need a big team to carry the work forward.

You do not need any experience we have an awesome team that will help you learn. If you can help, please contact me at srbecker@cbe.ab.ca or join us at our next online meeting, the link is below. Our next online meeting in Tuesday May, login information will be provided closer to then.

Library Year End

Colonel Macleod School Library What’s happening this spring?

During the month of May, the library will operate normally. Books that students check out are due after two weeks, as usual.

In June, Mrs. Slater is conducting an inventory. This is a task that must be completed in all school libraries regularly, and all books need to be on the shelves in order for inventory counting to be accurate.

To allow Mrs. Slater the time and space needed to conduct an inventory, all books are due by Friday, June 6. Any books not returned to the library by Friday, June 13 will be considered lost, and they will be billed to students’ PowerSchool accounts.

Please make sure your student returns all library materials by June 6. Students should also be prepared to bring a book to school for silent reading in class, as books will not be loaned out of the Colonel Macleod library after June 5. This can be a book from home, or the Public Library Free and inexpensive books can be found at neighbourhood Little Free Libraries, thrift stores and second-hand bookstores such as Books Between Friends (NE Calgary) and Fair’s Fair (Inglewood).

Another great source for inexpensive books is Calgary's Big Book Sale, which takes place at the Calgary Curling Club from May 9-19. Thank you for your support with these end-of-year procedures and expectations. It helps us keep the library collection vibrant and relevant for our students.

Next Year

We are planning for the fall, and the coming school year. Please, if you know your child/children will not be attending CMAC next year, email Mrs. Karen in the office at kaondrus@cbe.ab.ca and tell her your child’s name, grade, and where they will be attending school next year. If you have already done this, thank you, no needto do it again. If you have not, we really appreciate the heads up as it helps us plan.

CMAC Bottle Fundraiser

Are you doing some spring cleaning?? Well, Colonel Macleod School is still collecting bottles at two bottle depot locations. - Sage Hill Bottle Depot, located at 70 Sage Hill Plaza NW, - Happy Can Bottle Depot, located at 700 33st NE, Unit 12 Both will be collecting bottles for Colonel Macleod School. The collected bottles will go towards building a new playground. If you would like to donate your bottles to Colonel Macleod School at either bottle depot, all you have to do is ask for the bottles to put on the Colonel Macleod School account when dropping off. They will give you a receipt showing how much you donated. Thank you for your support and please reach out if you have any questions.

Social Media and Technology Tips for Parents & Guardians

One of my incredible teachers bought me a book that explores the severe impacts of reliance on screens on our children: “The Axious Generation” by Jonathan Haight. The video below begins to explore some key themes, but if you want to learn more the book looks excellent and is worth reading. As I start reading, I will be happy to connect with any parents who want to discuss what they learned! Learn more!

Sports Teams

Please review expectations for spectators at all sporting events.

  • All students/youth in attendance at games must be accompanied by a supervising adult who can bring them home if they are unable to follow the rules. Children must not be left unsupervised while in the school.
  • If students do not have an adult to supervise them, they will be directed to leave.
  • Please do not take photos or videos of players if other youth may be in the frame. I understand the desire to capture and share your child’s experience, but it violates the privacy of the other players.
  • If you attend games at other schools, you may be directed to keep your phone in your bag at all times, and not to enter/exit the building once you have arrived. If needed, we will implement these rules here too.
  • All attendees should be positive and supportive: disrespectful behaviour to players, coaches, referees or other spectators will be addressed by admin.
  • Failure to follow rules and support a positive experience for may result in your being directed to leave, and possibly being barred from attending future events

We have an incredible community of students and parents, and I don’t expect any of this to be an issue. Clear expectations help set us all up for success, and keep our focus where it belongs: on our incredible student atheletes. Thank you in advance for another incredible year of CMAC athletics!

In Further Athletics News

Please have a look in your My CBE account and pay any unpaid fees. If students want to try out for a team, they MUST first return their Annual Authorization for Atheltic Tryout form Included in my email). 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 or find their way home 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.

Homework Hotel

Wednesdays at lunch, students in grades 7-9 can stay get extra help from teachers, or complete their homework in Room 4. Students in Grade 6 can attend Homework Hotel at lunch on Day 3 each week.

House Teams

Building from last year, homerooms have been split up into house teams. A huge thank you to Mrs. Fehr and Mrs. Dokimenko for the work they have put into this.

  • PURPLE- 5-1, 6-3, 7-6, 8-2, 8-4, 9-3
  • ORANGE- 5-3, 7-2, 7-3, 8-1, 8-6, 9-4
  • BLUE- 6-1, 7-4, 8-5, 9-1, 9-5,
  • LEAD GREEN- 5-2, 6-2, 7-1, 7-5, 8-3, 9-2

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. Learn more! There is a new voucher process in place to pay for police security checks for volunteers, please connect with Karen Ondrus in the office to learn more.

Fees

Please pay your fees! A little bit from each family really adds up, and we need that money to support your child’s education. Log in to MyCBE now and pay any outstanding fees. While you are there, please complete your student demographic form for the year. This is what allows us to quickly contact you in case of an emergency! 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-andwaivers/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.

Healthy Hunger Note

All orders, changes or cancellations must be completed no later than 5 days prior to the lunch date. Don’t miss those deadlines!

  • May 8 - Mary Browns (order deadline May 3)
  • May 22 - Subway (order deadline May 17)
  • June 5 - Panago (order deadline May 31)