Hello CMAC Families
Welcome and welcome back to another great year at Colonel Macleod School! I am reaching out to you today to provide some important back to school information. Regular communication will happen through our Week at a Glance (WAAG), typically sent out at the end of each week. If you would like to become more engaged in our school, communication will be sent out in the coming weeks about our parent-run School Council, and I encourage you to attend our meetings. In particular, we will need a Park Planning Committee to begin planning a new playground for our school this year. We also have a fundraising casino coming, and will need as much help as we can get filling all of the spots our school is required to fill.
Colonel Macleod is still home to a Regular and TLC program, as well as a Bridges program, and two LEAD classes. Our population continues to slowly climb, with current enrollment at ~690 students. The communities that attend our school for all programs have remained consistent year over year. One change this year is that TLC students in grades 7-9 will no longer be required to take Band. This means that in addition to French, they will have the choice between Band, or any of the other option courses we offer at CMAC. Students in our community program will now have access to Band. Students in TLC and Community Classes in grades 7-9 will be combined for Option and PE courses, but remain separate for core classes and French.
While much of our staff has stayed the same, we do have a few staffing updates for you this year. After a year away, Mrs. Vickey Wong will be rejoining our Math department. Mrs. Jodi Bhavnani will be joining us as our new Math Learning Leader. Jeremy Smith will be running a full time CTF Foods program for our students. Mrs. Sarah Riel will be supporting our Bridges program, and Mrs. Jennifer Sparksman will be joining Mrs. Ondrus in the front office.
Note: there is a lot of information here. Please read carefully to help provide a smooth transition back to school for everyone.
The First Day of School
We follow the CBE Instructional Calendar, so students return to school on Tuesday September 2nd at 7:55 am. If the return to school date changes due to a strike, CBE will communicate with families as soon as that information is available.
School bell times can be found on our website here. Homeroom teachers will reach out to parents this week with a welcome message, and information relevant to their grade team, including supply lists (if applicable). If students do not have all of their supplies for the first few days of school, that is ok. In grades 5 and 6 we provide many of the supplies students will need. Some good basic supplies for students in grades 7-9 to start the year include a binder, lined paper, dividers, pens, pencils, eraser, and a backpack.
All TLC students will wear TLC formal dress for the first day of school, and all subsequent Mondays. On Friday, they will be allowed to wear casual clothes. The remainder of the week, TLC students will wear their TLC informal uniform.
Grade 5 and 6 students will meet their teacher on the compound (basketball courts) at the south end of the building, beginning at 7:45. Also beginning at 7:45, students in grades 7-9 will enter through the front doors, teachers will be available to help them find their homerooms and answer any questions they may have.
We have 12 busses (maybe more this year) bringing students to and from school every day. Please, if you drive your children to or from school, do not enter the staff parking lot (safety hazard for students getting on and off busses), do not block the bus zones on the East side of the road (safety hazard for the bus drivers) or block our neighbours' driveways (makes them frustrated). The best kept drop off secret at Colonel Macleod School is the Renfrew Aquatic Centre parking lot across the field. It backs right onto our school field, and allows for a much easier/stress free morning drop-off experience.
If you are zoned for bussing, and completed paperwork in the spring, CBE Transportation should be reaching out to you with route information. If you did not complete paperwork in the spring, I would encourage you to do so using MyCBE as soon as possible, as it can take 4-6 weeks to process. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to speed up this process.
School Routines
Common expectations and predictable routines are an important part of a Welcoming, Caring, Respectful and Safe learning environment. We appreciate your support in helping your children contribute to a positive space for all children to learn. While we follow all CBE Administrative Regulations, and the Education Act, the following rules represent some key areas that, through clear communication and consistent administration, we feel help make Colonel Macleod an excellent place to learn. We will continue to learn and grow as a school community and communicate any changes in expectations clearly to family members.
Student Attendance
Regular attendance in an important factor in success in school. Frequent lateness and absence results in missed learning opportunities, and disrupts the rhythms of the classroom. If your child will be late or absent, please call the school attendance line at 403-777-7500, Option 1. Late students come to the office for a late slip, so we can keep accurate attendance. We know that a number of barriers can result in lateness (including bussing) and absence. If your child misses school often, we will reach out to see how we can support you and child to help them attend school more regularly.
Student Cell Phone Policy
Students are not allowed, at any point, to have a cell phone on their person during class time. This includes in pockets or bags. When students arrive at school, they bring their phones directly to their lockers and put them away. Cell phones, if brought to school, are to remain in student lockers during class time. Students may bring their phone outside for use during lunch time, but may not have it out and visible in school hallways. Students may have their phone after school if staying for after school activities. If grade 5/6 students have phones, we encourage you to keep them at home, along with other valuables, as grade 5/6 students have coat hooks in their homerooms instead of lockers.
If, at any point, CMAC staff become aware that a student is not following our cell phone policy, the student will be directed to bring their phone to the office for the remainder of the day. The first time this occurs, the student will be allowed to pick it up at the end of the day. If it happens again, we will keep the phone in the office until a parent or guardian is able to come pick it up. Please support your children in following this rule by not contacting them during class time. If you have an urgent need to contact your child during class time, please call the office and we can page them to take your call on the student phone in the office.
Student Dress Policy
Students in the Traditional Learning Centre program follow the CBE TLC Student Uniform Requirements. If you require additional uniform pieces, they can be purchased from McCarty’s here (please note the purchasing windows in the yellow bar). Mondays and some special occasions, TLC students wear their Formal uniform. Tuesdays through Thursdays, TLC students wear their Informal uniform. Fridays, TLC students are allowed to wear non-uniform casual clothes.
Regular program students, Bridges and LEAD students, and TLC students on casual days, will be expected to follow CBE Administrative Regulation 6010 - Standards of Dress and Grooming and to dress safely for activities they will be participating in (i.e. Physical Education and CTF shops) Conversations about appropriate dress for different environments, such as a school learning environment, should happen primarily between parents/guardians and their child.
Social Media Use and Impacts on the School Community
It is illegal for students under the age of 13 to use social media such at Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram or Dischord. Moreover, research is clear that the negative impacts of children under the age of 15 using social media are significant. Please keep your children off social media, and instead encourage them to make a phone call, or better yet, meet up with friends in person (the positive impacts of real-life play are as significant as the negative impacts of social media use). Even text messaging is significantly less likely to result in harmful outcomes than social media use.
If you choose to allow your child to access social media, please ensure they know that nothing said or written online is private, and can have very real consequences now and in the future. Please ensure they are not writing anything they would not want read by the whole school community, their teachers or their principal, let alone future potential employers or educational opportunities. You can help reinforce this message by monitoring their social media activity (yes, reading their chats and messages), telling them you are doing so, and having thoughtful conversations with them about what they or their friends and classmates are saying, and how they feel about it.
Sugary Drinks and Food
We do not allow open sugary drinks in the building, like slurpees, milkshakes or energy drinks or canned pops and iced teas. Only drinks in a sealable container, like a bottle with a screw top, can be kept in lockers. Please follow teacher direction regarding other expectations for food and drink during class time, as this can change from class to class.
New Curriculum – Grades 5 and 6
This year, across the province, students in grades 5 and 6 will continue learning newly developed curriculum in English Language Arts, Physical Education and Wellness, Mathematics and Science. In some cases, there will be overlap with material students have learned in Kindergarten-Grade 4. In other cases, they will be learning entirely new material. We know some will find this difficult and are ready to support your students in this transition here at school and appreciate you helping to support them at home during this time of transition. We will all be learning it together, and together we can help our students adapt and continue to learn and grow in their education.
Upcoming Events
With the return to school, and routines, September can be an exciting month. In the first days of school, we will bring all students together for a whole school pep rally. Our Second Annual Back to School BBQ is scheduled for the evening of Thursday September 18 (more info to come!). We will also recognize Terry Fox Day and Orange Shirt Day and will communicate in more detail as we get closer to both dates. If your family would like to share important days, celebrations, holidays or festivals with the school, please do so. We encourage students to connect with their teachers as the first line of communication, and we will work together as a school community to help our students feel that they, and their traditions, are seen, heard and valued.
We are all looking forward to the first day of school, and the opportunity to connect with and get to know each of our students, new and returning, and their families. Thank you all for being an important part of our school community, and I hope your children enjoy these last days of summer vacation.
Sincerely,
Stephen Becker
Principal, Colonel Macleod School
Calgary Board of Education [cbe.ab.ca]
t | (403) 777-7500