Good afternoon Balmoral families,

Thank you for your feedback about our school cafeteria! We are working hard to prepare for a successful and sustainable re-opening of the Pickle Jar. We will keep you posted as decisions are made and when we have a set date for re-opening. Although the survey is now closed, if you have any suggestions or questions, please contact the school office.

IMPORTANT: Spectators for athletics games and tournaments

A reminder that students are welcome to watch home and away games for volleyball IF they have an adult supervisor with them. Students who come to any school to watch a game without a supervisor will be turned away. Please note that the supervision must be arranged in advance and cannot be the coach of the playing teams. Coaches are busy with their coaching duties and cannot supervise spectators at the same time. If you have any questions about supervision during games, please contact Mr. Guenther at teguenther@cbe.ab.ca

Volunteers needed for Grade 8 camp

The grade 8 team is looking for volunteers to accompany us on an overnight trip to Pioneer Camp on May 27-29. Pioneer Camp is a facility located near Rocky Mountain House that provides adventure-based outdoor education experiences such as horseback riding and archery. Volunteers will be staying in cabins and will be provided with meals and transportation for the trip. A valid police clearance is required and there is still time to complete this process!

Any interested adult (parents of students in other grades, siblings, relatives, friends, etc.) can contact Ms. Wright at jmwright@cbe.ab.ca.

TLC Lottery is OPEN!

The school office is accepting Expressions of Interest for 2024-25 until February 13 at noon. The lottery process is for NEW students to the TLC program in all grades. Please note that all families must reside in our catchment area, otherwise we will not be able to accept them. Please let any families who you know are interested in applying to Balmoral TLC that they must complete the Expression of Interest form ONLINE through a myCBE account.

If you have any questions about the lottery or registration, please call the school office.

Child and Youth Well-being Family and Caregiver Series

Well-being is a precondition for student achievement. Students need to be well to succeed. Currently, students face a wide range of mental health challenges, including stress, anxiety, and depression. This trend is alarming and requires our attention.

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.

The next webinars are:

• Mental Health and Anxiety for Grades K-6 (February 8)
• Mental Health and Anxiety for Grades 7-12 (March 14)
• Healthy Sexual Development (April 11)

The links for each webinar can be found on the page below:

Child and Youth Well-being Series links

Next School Council meeting

Our next school council and parent society meeting is on Thursday, February 1 at 6:30pm. This meeting is scheduled to be IN-PERSON at Balmoral School. Agendas and minutes of the previous meetings will be sent out shortly.

Off-campus reminders for Grades 8 and 9 students

As a reminder, students who go off-campus at lunch are expected to return on time and be ready for their afternoon classes by 12:35pm. Late students are asked to sign in at the office and get a late slip before going to class.

Starting this week, students will be given ONE warning if they are late returning from off-campus lunch. If a student is late a second time, they will lost their off-campus privileges for one week, and then longer if the issue persists. An administrator will contact parents if off-campus privileges are taken away, and the student will need to bring their own lunch to school.

Going off-campus at lunch time is an important opportunity for our students to learn responsible citizenship, organization, and time management skills. Please have a conversation with your Grade 8/9 child about this responsibility and privilege.

If you have any questions regarding the off-campus lunch policy, please contact kwgordon@cbe.ab.ca

SoundKreations dance residency

From January 22 to February 1, all Balmoral students will be participating in a SoundKreations dance residency. Expert instructors will be teaching students various dance steps for one week, followed by one week of students working on their own choreography.

Student extra-curricular commitments

Students who sign up to participate in extra-curricular activities are expected to attend all practices and rehearsals. This includes athletic teams, school musical, jazz band, student council, art club, etc. Please ensure that your children have a pre-arranged ride home if they are participating in extra-curriculars after school.

Intent to Return to Balmoral School

We are now planning for next year and determining how many spaces we have available for the lottery. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey below regarding whether your child will be returning to Balmoral School for the 2024-25 school year.

https://forms.office.com/r/U6S8LjwkMp

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunches

Most of our fun lunch dates are available for ordering on the Healthy Hunger website:

https://healthyhunger.ca/index.php

Please note that you must register your child each year on the website (ensure you know your child’s homeroom and teacher), and then you can place orders. The ordering deadline is always 5 days before the fun lunch date, so order early and don’t miss out!

Volunteers needed for fun lunches

We need 3 parent volunteers on each fun lunch day to sort the lunches by homeroom and help deliver them to the students at the beginning of the lunch break. If you are able to help out, please use the links below to sign up:

Feb 21 - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0449A8AA2CA5FE3-46966332-funlunch/61472078#/

Feb 22 - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0449A8AA2CA5FE3-46966377-funlunch/61472078#/

School bus notifications

Please ensure you are signed up for the My Bus Monitor notification emails for the most up to date information. The link is below. You must enter your email address and select your child’s bus route (AM and PM) to receive email notifications about bus delays, etc.

https://www.myschoolbusmonitor.ca/ParentLoginNew.aspx

Important dates:

• January 22 to Feb 1 – SoundKreations Dance Residency
• January 30 – Report cards available for viewing through PowerSchool
• February 13 @ 12pm – Deadline for Lottery
• February 15 and 16 – Teachers Convention (no school for students)
• February 19 – Family Day (no school)

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the school office.

Regards,

Balmoral Administration