Good afternoon Balmoral families,

Saturday September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the children who never returned home and the survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. At Balmoral School we wore orange on September 28 to remember the inter-generational impacts of residential schools and raise awareness towards every child matters.

Calgary Board of Education Schools will be closed on September 29 in lieu of September 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.  CBE students, staff and their families and friends are invited to join an event being hosted by the City of Calgary in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. The third annual ceremonial opening is taking place on Sept. 30 from 9-10:30 a.m. at Fort Calgary (750 9th Ave SE). This year's gathering will include a smudge tent, in-person Indigenous speakers and performers, an aerial salute ceremony, and other events. The events will also include an intertribal dance demonstration featuring Indigenous students from the CBE and CCSD. Participants are encouraged to wear orange.

Following the YYC, CBE & CCSD event, all are invited to join the Pokaiks – The Children Commemorative Annual Walk and Gathering 2023. The walk will begin at 11 a.m. at City Hall (15-minute walk from Fort Calgary or 2-minute drive) and continue to Shaw Millenium Park (30-minute walk). The walk will be followed by drumming/dancing, Indigenous community speakers, artisan booths, and food sales.

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#/

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!

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

Student Voice Council (SVC)

Thank you to all of our student candidates who have applied for an SVC leadership position this year. There will be a MANDATORY meeting Monday, October 2 at LUNCH in Room 16 to discuss campaign rules and elections. Please ensure you bring your lunch to school this day to attend the full meeting. Elections will be held the following week in homerooms.

We are proud of ALL of our students who are running for a position. Regardless of the result, all students will be invited to join a sub-committee under the Student Voice Council, to help plan events and raise school spirit.

Grade 9 Camp Evergreen – Parent Meeting

The Grade 9 team is planning an overnight camp for all grade 9 students from November 20-23 this year, at Camp Evergreen. This is an excellent facility where students will get to experience various activities such as horseback riding, ropes course, archery, and science at the lake. The cost for this trip will be approximately $300, including all food, accommodation and activities.

There will be a mandatory parent meeting for this trip on Wednesday, October 4 at 6:00pm. This will be an IN-PERSON meeting at Balmoral School, so that you can receive all of the relevant information for the trip and have a chance to ask questions. Please contact Ms. Ernst at uyernst@cbe.ab.ca if you have questions about the meeting.

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

Bus Character Circles

Today we held our first Bus Character Circles for the school year. Students are organized by buses for about 20 minutes to discuss bus rules and expectations, and there are 2 teachers assigned to each bus to lead the discussion. They discuss the bus rules and expectations (no food/drink, no standing and moving around the bus, noise concerns, etc.), and create a seating plan if required. This allows us to be proactive when dealing with any issues that come up, and support students with problem-solving on the bus. These Bus Character Circles will happen at least 3 times during the school year, and more often if needed. If you have any questions about these, please email Mr. Gordon at kwgordon@cbe.ab.ca

Quebec Trip

A reminder that parent interest forms for the Quebec Trip are due to Mme. Turner by October 5. This is an incredible opportunity for our students to expand the learning from school into the real world. Please email jlturner@cbe.ab.ca if you have any questions about the trip.

School Forms Now Online

We are pleased to inform all parents that SOME school forms have transitioned online to your MyCBE account
The following forms can be found in your MYCBE account – scroll to the tab that says “online forms and school registration” in the menu field

1. Student Demographic Forms
2. Authorization Forms – Consents for CBE and Media

Please access your MYCBE account to complete these important forms as soon as possible.
For help in accessing your MYCBE account see our support page.

For new families to the CBE:

New families to the CBE and Balmoral School will need to create a MyCBE account.

Follow the following instructions to retrieve your student CBE ID number in your SchoolEngage account.

You will need your email address on file at the school, as well as the student’s CBE ID. This can be found on the SchoolEngage student profile for families that registered their child using SchoolEngage.

For a visual guide on how to find the CBE ID within SchoolEngage, refer to SchoolEngage CBE Student ID

See our support page for instructions on signing up for a MyCBE account or accessing an existing account.

Your MyCBE account is used as long as your child remains at CBE from kindergarten to Grade 12, so please register with an email that will be active during this period.

If you require financial assistance, please apply online through Powerschool. Field trips or extracurricular athletic fees will be added to your account throughout the year.

Important Dates

• September 28 – Orange Shirt Day at school
• September 29 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no school)
• October 4 – Parent meeting for Grade 9 Camp Evergreen
• October 9 – Thanksgiving Day (no school)
• October 20 – Non-instructional Day (no school for students)

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