Dear Woodman Families,
The winter weather this week provided for both excitement (soccer in the snow!) and challenges (delayed busses and indoor lunch supervision). Thank you to the efforts of the community in keeping our students safe and happy.
Gratitude is extended to the significant volunteerism of our teacher-coaches, parents and friends – who led an intensive and successful basketball season. The grit and never-give-up attitude of our players was evident on and off the court. Go, Wolves!
Take note of a few upcoming events and announcements for the week of Dec. 2-6.
Parent-Teacher Conferences and Beyond
Thank you to the efforts of parents and students to participate in vital conversations during yesterday and today’s Learning Conferences. They provided an important moment to celebrate student growth and clarify understanding of what students should be focussed on between now and the Semester 1 report card at the end of January. If you were unable to meet, missed your appointment, or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to email your child’s teacher. Woodman staff email addresses are posted to the website on the Our Staff page. Increasingly, throughout the middle years, we also want to promote student self-advocacy in directing questions and requests to their teachers, who care for them and want to help them strengthen their voice in learning.
December Celebrations and Days of Significance
Woodman School is committed to building a culture of appreciation and inclusion, where students and staff can see themselves valued, respected and celebrated. The CBE invites communities to view the following calendar which identifies some of the significant days of recognition and celebration within the wider community. Learn more on the CBE website.
This season, we highlight that some of our families will be celebrating:
- Salgirah Khushiali (Dec.13)
- Winter Solstice (Dec. 21)
- Christmas (Dec. 25)
- Hanukkah (Dec. 25-Jan. 2)
- Kwanzaa (Dec. 26)
Woodman Key Documents
During the last two School Council Meetings, key information was shared with families:
- Fee Report to Parents 23-24 - Reflects the many events we have planned for our students and charged parents fees for
- School Annual Results 23-24 - Summarizes the work of our School Development Plan last year, and includes supporting data from report cards, PATs, and perception surveys
- School Development Plan 24-25 – A description of the learning focus for the upcoming school year, centered on language learning, vocabulary development and utilizing culturally responsive texts and pedagogies
These reports may be viewed in full on our website: Our School
High School Transition Next Steps
Thank you for the high parent participation levels (over 40 families) at the last School Council meeting, and to M. MacCarl and Ms. Stenhouse for sharing the beginnings of the process we will embark upon with our Grade 9 students over the next few months. The presentation from the council meeting will be posted to the High School Transition D2L shell. Grade 9 parents are requested to regularly log on to D2L together with their child to view important dates regarding CBE High School Open House nights.
International Cake Day – A Sweet Success
Leadership 9 students underestimated the extent to which students would wait in line for a slice of cake. A second consecutive day of cake selling was needed. Students sold 333 slices! Proceeds will be directed to upcoming school events. Thank you for the support.
Warm Hearts, Fill Socks!
This a friendly reminder of the partnership Woodman is undertaking with the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The Fill-A-Sock campaign invites students to collect essential donations for the winter months. A simple sock filled with care can make a big difference!
We kindly ask families to consider donating new items such as: $5 Tim Horton’s gift cards, gloves, mitts, hats, toques, socks, underwear, travel mugs, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, throat lozenges, hand warmers, lip balms, razors, Calgary Transit tickets, chocolates, candies, gum, or monetary donations to help us purchase additional items.
Winter Band Concert – Thurs. Dec. 5, 6:30 PM
We look forward to celebrating the impressive musical progress that our senior and jazz bands (Gr. 8-9) have made this semester. All families of participating students are welcome to attend the concert in the main gym. Doors to the performance area will be open for first come, first served seating, commencing at 6:00 PM. The concert will be begin promptly at 6:30 PM.
Families of Grade 5-7 Music and Band students are warmly encouraged to attend the event, to learn more about what their own future music development will look like. More information about a celebration of musical learning for Grade 5-7 students will be communicated in the near future.
The Woodman Music Parents’ Association is not selling tickets for this event. Donations will be gratefully received at the start and end of the concert, at the main entrance doors. Additionally, each family is encouraged to bring as many bags of refundables as they can, and drop them off at the collection trailer on the east side of the school parking lot. Thank you for supporting rich music programming for our students.
Healthy Hunger Offerings
With the colder weather approaching, students may appreciate the opportunity to have lunch delivered straight to the school. If you have not yet registered your child for this paid lunch service, you may do so through the following link: https://healthyhunger.ca/parent-help. This fundraiser is led by the Grade 9 Leadership class, proceeds of which are all re-directed back into student identified areas of priority to enhance school life.
Note the Friday midnight deadline to order lunches for your child. The restaurants are as follows:
Tues. Dec. 3 Subway
Thurs. Dec. 5 Edo
Fri. Dec. 6 Booster Juice
Tues. Dec. 10 Boston Pizza
Thurs.Dec. 12 Opa
Fri. Dec. 13 Cobs Bread
Tues. Dec. 17 A & W
Thurs. Dec. 19 Subway
Fri. Dec. 20 Jelly Modern Doughnuts
School Council and Educational Society Minutes
See the draft minutes from the Nov. 26 meetings on the School Council page. The next meeting will be held on Tues. Jan. 14, 7:00 pm.
Woodman Music Parents’ Association Updates
The minutes from the Nov. 25 WMPA meeting minutes may be viewed on the Parent Society page The next WMPA meeting will be January 13, 6:30pm. Keep posted for information about the Coco Brooks fundraiser, which will be launching soon!
Important Dates
Dec. 2-17 Eco Cooks – Elements Society (Foods classes)
Mon. Dec. 2 Guest Speaker: Canadian Mental Health Association
Tues. Dec. 3 Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth at Woodman
Skills Exploration Day
Wed. Dec. 4 Wrestling Quad #1, 6:30 pm
Thurs. Dec. 5 Haysboro Seniors’ Luncheon – Leadership 9 Volunteers
Gr. 8-9 Senior Band Winter Concert, 6:30 pm
Dec. 5-7 WMPA Bottle Drive
Tues. Dec. 10 Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth at Woodman
Thurs. Dec. 12 Sailing Trip Student Lunch Meeting (Room 28)
Fri. Dec. 13 Wellness Day
Dec. 16-19 Student Holiday Market (Lunch Hours, Learning Commons)
Tues. Dec. 17 Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth at Woodman
Wrestling Quad #2, 5:00-7:00 pm
Fri. Dec. 20 Last Day of Classes
Senior/Jazz Band performance for Woodman students
Dec. 23-Jan. 3 Winter Break
Mon. Jan. 6 Classes Resume
Mon. Jan. 13 WMPA Virtual Meeting, 6:30 pm
Tues. Jan. 14 Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth at Woodman
Wresting Quad #3, 5:00 pm
School Council Meeting, 7:00 pm
Thurs. Jan. 23 Dr. EP Scarlett High School Open House
Mon. Jan. 27 CBE Semester 1 Report Cards
Gr. 9 Immunizations
Western Canada Open House, 4:00 pm
Tues. Jan. 28 Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth at Woodman
First day of semester 2 option classes
CBE Well-Being Symposium, Mount Royal University
Wrestling Divisionals, Genesis Centre
Fri. Jan. 31 CBE Non-Instructional Day