Announcement | Principal Leave Extended

Just to update the Rideau Park School community, Mr. Robertson’s leave has recently been extended and his revised return date is now expected to be January 19, 2024.

Mr. Haensel will continue as Acting Principal until Mr. Robertson’s return.

You can contact Mr. Haensel by email at rehaensel@cbe.ab.ca

Celebrate the Holidays | Holiday Cheer Days

Students and staff are invited to participate in one, some or all the Holiday Cheer Days leading up to the Winter Break. Participation is voluntary but we encourage students to participate in the festive fun.

Friday, December 15: Mad for Plaid - wear your best Plaid for the day
Monday, December 18: Top Up like Frosty - wear a Holiday Hat or Holiday Hair
Wednesday, December 20: Sweater Weather - Wear your Best or Ugliest Christmas Sweater
Friday, December 22: Cozy up for the Holidays - Wear your comfy clothes or PJ's

Learning Commons | Library Books

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Winter Break is approaching
Student library books are now due:
Friday Dec 15, 2023

Open House | High School Open House & Information Evenings

• Wednesday, December 13 - Central Memorial High School, 5:30 – 8:30 pm
• Performing and Visual Arts (PVA) Program
• PVA Application Submission deadline: January 12, 2024

• Tuesday, January 30 – Western Canada High School
• Information Evening for Regular Program, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Student Club | Rideau Park Science Fair Club

Rideau Park Science Fair Club starts next week!

Science Fair is open to students in Grades 5 through 9 who want to work independently, or with a partner, to research or experiment on a topic of their choice. Interested students are invited to meet on Tuesdays at lunch in Room 11 starting Tuesday, December 12.

The City Science Fair takes place April 11-13, 2024, at the Olympic Oval and students who are successful in completing a project prior to March 9th will compete for one of the 14 spots available to represent Rideau at CYSF 2024. Students who are interested in exploring an idea or testable question using the scientific method are encouraged to check out the Calgary Youth Science Fair website for more information (cysf.org).

Parents with questions are invited to email Ms. Watson at kaawatson@cbe.ab.ca

Upcoming | Term 1 Reporting

Now is a very good time to check the PowerTeacher Grade book via MyCBE to check in on your child’s progress. Missing assignments or resubmitting some assignments is best done now in December. Once we return from the Winter Break on January 8, teachers will begin writing report cards for the first term.

Term 1 Report Cards will be viewable by logging into your parent MyCBE on January 30.

January 31 is the first day of Semester 2. For our junior high students, this means Term 2 complementary courses will begin. (note: French and Band are full year courses and will continue through until June)

2024-25 | Registration Begins January 15, 2024

Registration for the 2024 – 25 school year opens on January 15, 2024. This will include Kindergarten registrations and any student who will be new to CBE for the next school year. This is also an important date for students in Grades 1 – 8 who will be transferring to Rideau Park from a CBE school.

Rideau Park will have capacity limits for 2024-25. All new registrations will be included in the lottery draw for placement in our school for next year. To ensure that your registration or transfer is included in the lottery draw, it must be received via School Engage (new to CBE) or at our school office (Transfer Requests) by February 14, 2024.

All registrations received after Feb. 14, 2024, will be added to the callback list (based on the appropriate priority level) in the order they are received.

High School Registration

For our Grade 9 students moving on to high school, registration information will be shared with students towards the end of January. For high school students thinking about transferring to a non-designated high school program, the high school transfer deadline will be set for mid-March.

Parent Volunteer Opportunity | Fun Lunch Thursdays

Fun Lunch – we require some assistance with sorting the Fun Lunch orders from the Healthy Hunger vendors every second Thursday, starting 11:05 am for approximately 45 minutes. We ask for assistance in sorting the individual orders and ensuring they get to the students.

For next week on December 21, one additional volunteer is needed.

Additionally, for upcoming dates, volunteers are needed for:

• February 8
• February 22
• March 7
• March 21
• And more dates in the spring months.

If you can help with one or some of these Thursdays, please use this link, on behalf of Parent Society, for sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0E49AFA72DA7F49-funlunch

Thank you for your support.

Safety Protocol | Guests to our School

Rideau Park School, like each Calgary Board of Education school, is closed campus. All guests must sign in immediately upon entry into the school building.

In the mornings, or throughout the day, students are dropped off outside of the main entrance.

Reminder | Important Safety Notice for Parents/Guardians (pick-up and drop-off)

With the colder weather, we have increased congestion with cars trying to drop off closer to the school. Even with the colder weather, we ask your cooperation for the same procedures with pick up and drop off.

Due to increasing safety concerns of neighborhood residents and our student community, policing of city bylaws relating to parking and traffic restrictions will be more strictly enforced in the coming months. Unfortunately, there is no car-accessible front door drop-off or parking availability directly at our school entrance nor from the t- intersection at the front of the school. Continue Reading

Looking Ahead – Upcoming Calendar of Events

Dec 13	Wed	Information Evening for Performing & Visual Arts Program at Central Memorial High School – 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Dec 14	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Dec 14	Thurs	Grade 9: Biodiversity at the Calgary Zoo
Dec 14	Thurs	Grades 1 & 2: Storybook Theatre
Dec 15	Fri	Holiday Cheer Day #3: Mad for Plaid – Wear your Best Plaid for the day Library books to be returned
Dec 18	Mon	Holiday Cheer Day #4: Top Up like Frosty – Wear a Holiday Hat or Holiday Hair
Dec 19	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Dec 20	Wed	Holiday Cheer Day #5: Sweater Weather: Wear your Best or Ugliest Christmas Sweater
Dec 20	Wed	Grade 6 & Class 5-2 – Telus Spark
Dec 21	Thurs	Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – McDonald’s
Dec 21	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Dec 22	Fri	Holiday Cheer Day #6: Cozy Up for the Holidays: Wear your Pajamas
Dec 22	Fri	Last day of classes prior to Winter Break
Dec 22 to Jan 7		Winter Break
Jan 8	Mon	Classes Resume
Jan 9	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Jan 11	Thurs	Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Subway
Jan 11	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Jan 15	Mon	Non-Instructional Day (no school for students)
Jan 15	Mon	2024 - 25 Registration Opens
Jan 16	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Jan 18	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Jan 22 - Jan 26		Grade 5 – Campus Calgary Open Minds: YMCA
Jan 23	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Jan 25	Thurs	Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Cedar’s Deli
Jan 25	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Jan 29 – Feb 2		All Grades: Danc3play – school residency
Jan 30	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Jan 30	Tues	Grade 9: High School Tour at Western Canada High School
Jan 30	Tues	Last Day of Semester 1
Jan 30	Tues	Report Cards are viewable in PowerSchool
Jan 31	Wed	Semester 2 Begins
Jan 31	Wed	School Council, virtual meeting, 1:45 pm
Feb 1	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Feb 6	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Feb 8	Thurs	Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Coco Brooks
Feb 8	Thurs	Homework Hotel, Grade 7: 3:45 – 4:15 pm
Feb 13	Tues	Grades 5 – 9: Science Fair Club, Lunch, Rm 11
Feb 14	Wed	Lottery Registration Deadline
Feb 15 - 16		Teachers’ Convention – no school for students
Feb 19	Mon	Family Day