Dear Woodman Families:

We had a positive week of learning, working and playing together.  There were many highlights, including field trips, athletic games and new clubs. Our students, and their positive attitudes and eagerness to engage, makes our school culture a very special one!

Take note of a few important messages for the week of Oct. 9-13.  Note that Monday, Oct. 9 is Thanksgiving Day and schools are closed.  For those families who celebrate Thanksgiving, we wish you moments of celebration and reflection.

Southland Bus Evacuation Practice – Tues. Oct. 10 AM

As a regular practice, Southland Transportation will conduct a bus evacuation procedure upon arrival at school on Tuesday morning.  Assistant Principal MacCarl and Principal Krickhan will support the process and assist with supervising students.  86th Avenue will be congested from 8:45-9:15 am.  Please avoid dropping off students on 86th Avenue on Tuesday morning.

Wellness Day – “A Celebration of All That We Are”

As was communicated earlier this week, part of our plan on for the Wellness Day on Fri. Oct. 27 is to compile a presentation that highlights the immense variety of cultures, histories and languages represented within the school. Please send any photos, samples of written language forms, traditions and stories to Mr. Homewood by Mon. Oct. 23 (smhomewood@cbe.ab.ca). This presentation will be shared with all students, to inspire them in creating a collective cultural tapestry on the door of their homeroom class. Our goal with this focus is to build citizenship, empathy and inter-cultural understanding within our students.

CBE OurSchool Survey

Each year, the CBE seeks to solicit student voice on their school experiences with the intent to improve and incorporate their experiences into our School Development Plan.  The survey will be administered in the near future.  Please see the following letter for more information under Resources.

AHS – Grade 6 School Immunization

On Wed. Oct. 12, Alberta Health Services Immunization Program will be at the school to immunize Grade 6 students. Children who are eligible to receive immunizations at school will have received an immunization consent package. Please review the information, fill out the consent forms, and return to the school as soon as possible. If you received a Request for Vaccination Records, please fill out the form and follow the included instructions for providing immunization records to AHS. The School Immunization Program follows the Alberta Immunization Schedule. If you would like more information about the immunizations that your child has been offered, please visit the website www.ahs.ca/immunize. If you have questions about immunization day or require interpretative services, please contact the lead nurse for that day by e-mail at sherri.ingle@ahs.ca or phone at 403-944-7178.  

Grade 8/9 Overnight School Trips

Thank you to the many families who attended the Grade 8 Sailing Trip and Grade 9 Quebec trip meetings. Please be reminded of the deadlines for confirming interest in the trip.  Non-refundable deposit cheques ($500) and the Financial Commitment Form must be submitted to the main office, indicating the trip name, student first and last name, grade, and homeroom.

• Sailing Trip (Grade 8), Due: Wed. Oct. 11th
• Quebec Trip (Grade 9), Due: Thurs. Oct. 12th

Lunchtime Clubs

Wednesday Sewing Club Student Interest Meeting
Come learn to sew by hand and machine! We have many functional sewing machines at Woodman School. Students (all grades) are invited to visit with Ms. Shaw over the lunch hour in Room 5 to inspect the sewing machines and learn more about the club. It will run after school on Thursdays (3:45-4:30).  Students are invited to bring their own fabric and thread. Students will complete a lap quilt through this club.

Thursday Student Newspaper Club
Last year, students (all grades) launched a successful monthly student newspaper, entitled, The Woodman Howl. Topics include feature stories about Woodman staff, highlights of fictional writing, current topics of interest for youth, and school library book reviews.  We are particularly interested in showcasing students’ home languages and cultures through the newspaper. The club, led by students and facilitated by Mme. Krickhan, runs in the Learning Commons during lunch hour every Thursday.

Knitting/Crocheting Club Update
Woodman’s knitting and crocheting club is looking for donations! Students have chosen as their semester one project to knit either a winter toque or winter scarf. We are looking for the following items as donations, which can be dropped off in Room 3:

• bulky or super bulky yarn (look for symbols or on the yarn packaging)
• US 10.5 (6.5mm) knitting needles - straight or circular needles
• US 11 (8.0mm) knitting needles - 16 inches circular needles
• US 13 (9.0mm) knitting needles - 16 inches circular needles
• Tapestry needles

CBE Child and Youth Well-Being Webinar Series

The Calgary Board of Education invites all parents and guardians to join us in an online series focusing on child and youth well-being. These sessions will be hosted in partnership with experts from Alberta Health Services and will explore topics such as vaping, brain development, mental health, and sexual health. 

Click here to learn more:  

Child and Youth Well-Being:  
A Webinar Series for Parents and Guardians 

CBE educators believe that parents and guardians can inspire their kids to make healthy lifestyle choices and increase protective factors – in order to do so, they need the right tools and information. Well-being is a precondition for learning. As our understanding of student well-being continues to evolve, it is important for those that support children and youth to stay up to date on the same information so everyone can support student success.  The intention of the series is to advance student well-being by raising family and caregiver’s understanding of a variety of health-related topics.

Athletics Updates

Please be reminded of the CBE-wide expectations for spectators at games, as communicated last week.  Student spectators who enter other schools without a parent or adult supervisor will be asked to leave.

Tues. Oct. 10
Sr. Boys Basketball PM
Jr Boys Basketball AM
Girls Soccer PM
Boys Soccer Game at Wilma Hansen School
Jr Girls Basketball Game at Louis Riel School

Wed. Oct. 11
Jr Girls Basketball AM
Sr Girls Basketball PM
Boys Soccer AM
Girls Soccer Playoffs (Woodman vs. David Thompson)
Sr Boys Basketball Game at Lake Shore School

Thurs. Oct. 12
Jr Boys Basketball PM
Sr Boys Basketball AM
Girls Soccer PM
Sr Girls Basketball Game at Mackenzie Highlands School

Important Dates

Mon. Oct. 9                             Thanksgiving – No School
Tues. Oct. 10                          Healthy Hunger – A&W
                                               Grade 5 Fish Creek Park Field Trip
                                               Grade 7 ENVOE Canoe Field Trip
Thurs. Oct. 12                         Grade 6 AHS Immunizations
                                                Grade 8 Wordfest Field Trip (Calgary Public Library)
                                                            -select students; more info to follow shortly
Fri. Oct. 13                              A Day Options
                                                 Grade 7 Wordfest Field Trip (Calgary Public Library)
                                                            -select students; more info to follow shortly
                                                IPPs Circulated
                                                A Day Option Classes
Wed. Oct. 18                           Photography Class Guest Speaker
Fri. Oct. 20                              CBE Professional Learning Day – No School
Mon. Oct. 23                           Lifetouch Picture Re-Take Day
Oct. 23-26                               Overnight Fall Mountain Journey (postponed)
Tues. Oct. 24                          Woodman Virtual School Council Meeting, 7:00 pm
Wed. Oct. 27                           Breakfast With the Wolves (select students)
                                                Wellness Day
Mon. Oct. 30                           Grade 7 Guest Speaker, Valour Canada
Wed. Nov. 1                            Grade 6 Field Trip to Calgary Police Interpretive Centre (YouthLink)