Good afternoon Balmoral families,

It is hard to believe that it is almost mid-October! There are so many activities up and running at the school, and we hope our students have found extra-curriculars they are interested in. Currently we are running soccer, basketball, recreational intramurals, speech and debate club, yearbook club, student voice council, and math club/contests.

School musical acting and singing auditions are happening this week, and art club for grades 7-9 is starting next week! If you have any questions about school activities, please contact the school office and we can direct you to the teacher in charge.

IMPORTANT: Balmoral School Casino on November 21-22

Balmoral School is volunteering at Pure Casino Calgary (1420 Meridian Drive NE) on Tuesday, November 21 and Wednesday, November 22. To make this casino possible, we need many volunteers from our school! You do not need to have a police clearance to volunteer at the casino.

There are many shifts available for sign-up on the sign-up genius link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0449A8AA2CA5FE3-44695040-balmoral/61472078#/

At this time, the following shifts are still available:

Tue, Nov 21 (11:00am – 7:30pm) – 1 Banker, 2 Cashiers
Tue, Nov 21 (7:00pm – 3:00am) – 1 General Manager, 1 Banker, 1 Cashier, 3 Chip Runners
Tue, Nov 21 (11:15pm – 3:30am) – FULL

Wed, Nov 22 (11:00am – 7:30pm) – 1 General Manager, 1 Chip Runner
Wed, Nov 22(7:00pm – 3:30am) – 1 General Manager, 1 Banker, 1 Cashier, 4 Chip Runners
Wed, Nov 22 (11:15pm – 3:30am) - FULL

If you would like more information about the volunteer roles at the casino, please see the document below. There are experienced casino advisors at each shift to help volunteers learn the roles. We hope that 2 volunteers from each class to help out for this event – please enter your child’s homeroom in the comments when you sign up.

See attachment under Resources for volunteer roles.

You do not need volunteer clearance and training is provided at the beginning of your shift. No experience necessary! That means all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc are eligible to volunteer. This is the school's biggest fundraiser, and your help will make it a success!

** Please note that students are NOT permitted to sign up for the casino. Last week someone filled all the remaining slots with a fake name, thereby stopping anyone else from signing up. We have deleted the fake names and are determining who the account belongs to. PLEASE do not share the casino sign up link with your children, and monitor their use of technology at home.

If you have any questions about the casino, please email balmoral@cbe.ab.ca

Spring 2024 Quebec Trip

As you may know, we are hoping to offer a week-long trip to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City in the Spring 2024. So far, we have only received 12 Expressions of Interest from Grade 9 families for the trip. We need a minimum of 30 students to be able to offer the trip.

Therefore, we are opening up spots on the trip to GRADE 8 students, and extending the deadline for interest forms. If we do not receive at least 30 interest forms, unfortunately we will not be able to offer the trip this year. The extended deadline for interest forms is October 31.

Grade 8 parents (and any Grade 9 parents who missed the initial meeting) are invited to attend another information session about the trip. This meeting will be on Tuesday, October 17 ONLINE using Microsoft Teams, starting at 7pm. Mme. Turner will go over the itinerary, costs, and student expectations for the trip, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions as well. Please use the link below to join the meeting.

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
The expression of interest form is attached under Resources.

It is strongly recommended that you attend the online meeting before submitting the form, as valuable information will be shared to help you make an informed decision about the trip.

If you have any questions about the trip, please email Mme. Turner at jlturner@cbe.ab.ca.

School Conferences

Our first parent-teacher conferences will take place on November 23 and 24, at the following times:

Thursday, November 23 (4:00pm – 8:00pm) – IN PERSON
Friday, November 24 (8:00am – 2:00pm) – ONLINE

You will be able to book a 10-minute time slot with each teacher. More information and the booking link will be shared in the coming weeks.

Parent Focus Group Invitation from Alberta Education

On Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, Alberta Education will host a focus group with the intention of seeking feedback from parents. The focus group will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Purpose: To collect insight from a parent perspective to update the old “My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource" website into a brand new space that will be hosted on new.LearnAlberta.ca. 

10 – 12 parents will be identified from metro, urban and rural school divisions, representing children of varying grade ranges (K-12) to participate in this focus group. 

It will remain open until Monday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m. 
Alberta Education Focus Group - Expression of Interest to Participate

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

• October 17 – Online Parent Meeting for Quebec Trip (Grades 8 and 9 only)
• October 20 – Non-instructional Day (no school for students)
• November 6 to 8 – Grade 7 Band Camp
• November 9 to 14 – Fall Break (no school for students)
• November 20-23 – Grade 9 Camp Evergreen
• November 23 – Parent-Teacher Conferences (4pm-8pm, in-person)
• November 24 – Parent-Teacher Conferences (8am-2pm, online)

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

Regards,
Balmoral Administration