Dear Families:
Children are one third of our population and all of our future.
Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981
Welcome back to a new school year and all the adventures that September brings. It was lovely to see so many families out on the first day to celebrate and connect as we transition to new classrooms, new grades and new teachers. We have appreciated your support as children return and learn/remember school routines.
Our closing discussions in June had our staff reflecting on our guiding question for this year and we agreed that we can work more deeply with our question: How are we connected? The question initially arose from our image of our students as learners, from the current events that have impacted us locally such as the Fort McMurray forest fires and welcoming of Fort Mac people into our communities in Calgary, the global impact of the situations in countries like Syria and Europe and the implications for us in Canada, as well as how we, as educators, might expand our understanding of the Truth and Reconciliation Report: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future. We also talked about the importance to extending our work around connection and belonging within our school community and of our work in helping students to reflect deeply on how we “live” our Three Pillars of Care: Care for Ourselves, Care for Others and Care for this Place. Our grade teams are working with our question and the program of studies to build meaningful and engaging curriculum connections. (For more information about the Alberta Program of Studies at each grade level please look at this website: http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mychildslearning/)
We would invite you to talk with your children about their thoughts on the question: How are we connected? They will have examples of connections from their classroom discussions and should be able to talk about how this question has been taken up in these first weeks of school.
We have some celebrations, some changes and some new staff to welcome this school year. We are celebrating that over the summer, Mrs. Bourgeois and Ms. Kim each gave birth to their daughters who are both healthy and gorgeous! Mom’s and daughters will be taking this school year off to spend important time together.
With the opening of 16 new schools this fall there were many opportunities for teachers to move schools this year and these moves extended late into June. As a result, some of our staff who had been at Edgemont for a number of years, were able to explore new possibilities for change and for leadership:
We would like to welcome our new staff to Edgemont school this year. They have done a wonderful job of learning about our work as a school and of building relationships with students, families and staff from the very first days:
We are excited about the possibilities for this new school year as we work with your children to inspire thinking, encourage creativity and take up a growth mindset for learning based on curiosity, perseverance and collaborative relationships.
Sincerely,
Sharon, Bill and the Edgemont Staff
Children are one third of our population and all of our future.
Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981
Welcome back to a new school year and all the adventures that September brings. It was lovely to see so many families out on the first day to celebrate and connect as we transition to new classrooms, new grades and new teachers. We have appreciated your support as children return and learn/remember school routines.
Our closing discussions in June had our staff reflecting on our guiding question for this year and we agreed that we can work more deeply with our question: How are we connected? The question initially arose from our image of our students as learners, from the current events that have impacted us locally such as the Fort McMurray forest fires and welcoming of Fort Mac people into our communities in Calgary, the global impact of the situations in countries like Syria and Europe and the implications for us in Canada, as well as how we, as educators, might expand our understanding of the Truth and Reconciliation Report: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling the Future. We also talked about the importance to extending our work around connection and belonging within our school community and of our work in helping students to reflect deeply on how we “live” our Three Pillars of Care: Care for Ourselves, Care for Others and Care for this Place. Our grade teams are working with our question and the program of studies to build meaningful and engaging curriculum connections. (For more information about the Alberta Program of Studies at each grade level please look at this website: http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mychildslearning/)
We would invite you to talk with your children about their thoughts on the question: How are we connected? They will have examples of connections from their classroom discussions and should be able to talk about how this question has been taken up in these first weeks of school.
We have some celebrations, some changes and some new staff to welcome this school year. We are celebrating that over the summer, Mrs. Bourgeois and Ms. Kim each gave birth to their daughters who are both healthy and gorgeous! Mom’s and daughters will be taking this school year off to spend important time together.
With the opening of 16 new schools this fall there were many opportunities for teachers to move schools this year and these moves extended late into June. As a result, some of our staff who had been at Edgemont for a number of years, were able to explore new possibilities for change and for leadership:
- Ms. E. Eshom (Learning Leader at West Dalhousie)
- Ms. J. Giammattai (Literacy Learning Leader at LeRoi Daniels)
- Ms. L. Sloane (Grade 2 at Coventry Hills)
- Ms. J. Hallam (Grade 5 at Valley View School).
We would like to welcome our new staff to Edgemont school this year. They have done a wonderful job of learning about our work as a school and of building relationships with students, families and staff from the very first days:
- Yaming Chen (Building Operations/Custodian)
- Ms. K. Gibb (Grade 2)
- Ms. S. Gulas (Grade 1)
- Ms. S. Hassam (Grade 2)
- Ms. A. Katzko (Grade 5)
- Ms. T. Robinson (Grade 4)
- Ms. H. Thompson (Grade 3).
We are excited about the possibilities for this new school year as we work with your children to inspire thinking, encourage creativity and take up a growth mindset for learning based on curiosity, perseverance and collaborative relationships.
Sincerely,
Sharon, Bill and the Edgemont Staff