Lifetouch School Photo Orders | by October 10

The school photo proof packages have been or are being distributed by your child’s classroom or homeroom teacher.  The order deadline for school photos is October 10.  Online is preferred: 

• www.mylifetouch.ca
• Enter Portrait ID (found in proof package)
• Enter Access Code (found in proof package)

OR

• Select the Student ID tab 

If unable or preferred to order photos online, you can return the order envelope found inside the photo proof package.  Ensure the order form, full payment is included in the order envelope & the information outside of the envelope is fully filled in. Order envelopes must be returned to the classroom / homeroom teacher by October 10. 

If absent on school photo day last week or if your child’s photo needs to be retaken, photo retakes are scheduled on October 30. 

Student Survey | OurSCHOOL Survey

Rideau Park School will be participating in an online school perception survey for students called the OurSCHOOL Student Survey. This anonymous survey is completely voluntary for all CBE students.  Please find the details of the survey implementation below.  

CBE’s Education Plan prioritizes student voice and well-being in our decision-making processes.  Responses from this survey are used at the system and school level to recognize and improve what is necessary for students to feel safe, welcome, and cared for when at school. 

Grades 4-9 students provide feedback on:

• sense of belonging
• positive relationships
• anxiety
• feeling safe at school
• life satisfaction
• general health
• orientation to well-being
• goal-oriented
• self-regulation
• cultural awareness of others 

Additionally, Grades 6-9 students provide feedback on:

• depression
• self-esteem
• cultural awareness of self 

Demographic questions are also asked on this survey for norming purposes. These are:

Grades 4-9 general

• age, gender, Indigenous status, immigrant status, home language.

Grades 6-9 specific

• grade repeater, reasons for changing schools, disability or medical conditions that limit participation in school activities or learning. 

If you have questions or would like to request more information about the OurSCHOOL Student Survey, please contact Ms Cochrane or Mr Robertson. 

Family Halloween Dance | Tuesday, October 29, 5:30pm-7:30 pm in the Gym

The Parents; Association is yet again hosting a Halloween Dance for Elementary School students and their families! Jr. High students will have the opportunity to volunteer for leadership hours during the dance.

• TICKETS - $5 at the door
• CANDY - We are collecting wrapped/nut free candy to give away at the dance. Deliver to the office or your child's class by Friday, October 25
• DONATIONS - If you have raffle items that you would like to donate for the dance (example:  tickets to events, gift cards, etc.)  please view the volunteer LINK and sign up
• VOLUNTEERS - If you can volunteer to help at the dance, please view volunteer link and pick a spot. We cannot have this dance without the support of our amazing parent volunteers! THANK YOU!
• PUMPKINS - The pumpkin carving contest returns this year! Details on the poster
• COSTUMES - Must be school appropriate - no masks, blow-ups or weapons 

VOLUNTEER/DONATE

POSTER

Family Halloween Dance | Student Volunteers

Several junior high student volunteers will be needed to help at the Family Halloween Dance on October 29.  If interested in volunteering and earning some leadership hours, sign up at Mr Oz’s room (or Room 13). 

Kindergarten | No School, October 11

Friday, October 11 is a no-school day for Kindergarten students only.  For students in Grades 1 – 9, October 11 is a regular school day. 

Rideau Park Parent Association Fundraiser | October 23 

Join the Rideau Park Parent Association at a fundraiser for the school on Wednesday, October 23 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm at CRMR Head Office, above First Street Market.  Get to know other parents at the school and help raise funds for our school and our children. Please see this link for further details and to purchase tickets to attend. We hope to see everyone there!  

Pumpkin Carving Contest | October 29

On October 29, students in all grades are invited to participate in the Pumpkin Carving Contest, hosted by the RPS Parents’ Association.  Students would carve their pumpkin at home, bring it to school the morning of October 29 for the contest.  Winners of the contest will be announced at the Family Halloween Dance on the evening of October 29. If the winner(s) are not in attendance at the dance, they can pick up their prize at the office the next day. 

The carved pumpkins will need to be picked up to take home.  Those left at school on October 29 will be displayed during the Family Halloween Dance.  Pumpkins not picked up by the end of day Thursday, October 31 will be discarded. 

Past Due | Annual School Forms 

The deadline to complete the Annual School forms has passed as of September 30.  If you have not yet completed the 2 forms below, please do so as soon as possible: 

• Demographic Verification Form
• Annual Authorization Form 

These forms should be completed and submitted online via MyCBE and selecting School Engage under the navigation menu.  The instructions linked HERE have helpful screenshots. 

School Calendar Subscriptions

Calendar subscriptions allow users to easily subscribe to a curated list of events on their devices. Parents and students can now subscribe to the school calendar with the option to choose all categories or a specific one, giving them access to events anytime. Using a calendar subscription offers several benefits for both parents and schools:

Convenience: A subscription keeps your calendar automatically updated for parents, eliminating the need for manual entries or updates.

Real-time Updates: Any changes or additions to events are instantly reflected in your calendar, ensuring your parents have the latest information.

Timesaving: Subscriptions save you and your parents time by streamlining the process of adding and managing events, reducing the manual effort involved.

Consistency: It helps maintain consistency across multiple devices, ensuring that your school calendar data is synchronized and accessible from various platforms.

Automatic Reminders: Many calendar subscriptions come with built-in reminder features, helping your parents stay organized and on top of your school schedule effortlessly. 

On the Calendar page, scroll down to the bottom right to find the link to subscribe to the school calendar on Mac, Android and desktop devices.    

Fun Lunch, Healthy Hunger | on behalf of RPS’ Parent Society

The Rideau Park Parent Association is once again coordinating bi-monthly ‘Fun Lunch’ with Healthy Hunger.  This is also a great fundraiser for the school with a portion of sales being returned to the school.  Participation is completely voluntary with a variety of healthy lunch vendors to choose from. 

Sign up for your account with this LINK. 

2024-25 Casino | on behalf of RPS’ Parent Society

Rideau Park School Parents Association needs your help! 

Our most important fundraising event is our casino which will be on November 18th and 19th, 2024 and will be held at Elbow River Casino. Please consider volunteering for our casino and make a big difference for our students. NO experience necessary. 

This casino is an integral part of our fundraising at Rideau Park School. It raises over $65,000.00 for our school which goes directly to providing our students- your children - with important learning tools and enrichment opportunities. This money pays for items like computers, special events, equipment, etc. 

Sign Up to volunteer 

New Process | Volunteer Clearance

Volunteer with us! Registration for volunteering has changed for 2024-25.  The Annual Volunteer Registration form is now submitted via MyCBE. Detailed information can be found on the main CBE website. 

All volunteers require a valid Police Information Clearance.  How to complete the PIC and information about the voucher to cover the application fee can be found HERE. 

Parent Volunteer opportunity: for each fun lunch Thursday, parent volunteers are needed to help sort orders and deliver to classrooms.  Time commitment is about an hour, with start time at 11:00 am.  If available to help on one or some Thursdays, you must complete the annual volunteer registration, which includes a valid Police Information Clearance. 

Volunteers are needed for:

• October 10 – 1 volunteer needed
• November 7 – 1 volunteer needed
• December 5 – 1 volunteer needed 

Sign Up to volunteer for the above dates and/or future dates. 

Mission Bridge Rehabilitation Project

The City of Calgary is currently working on Mission Bridge to rehabilitate it and extend its service life by about 35 years. This means there may be some impacts for you this year when dropping off or picking up your child and your child's route to/from home if they are walking or wheeling to school. Please keep the following in mind: 

• Allow extra time if driving your child to school to account for lane reductions & detours
• Follow any posted detour signs for your safety & the safety of construction crews
• Dismount bikes & scooters when using the bridge sidewalk
• Mission Bridge will close to vehicle traffic for about 6 months later this fall 

If you'd like to stay informed on the project, you can visit the project page where construction updates, current detours, closures, lane reductions and other impacts are posted. 

School Drop-off & Pick-up | Important Safety Notice for Parents

Please be advised that 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 nor parking availability directly at our school entrance. 

Be aware that Rideau Road Back Alley access (off 30 Ave SW) is NOT permitted for student drop-off. Alley access is for residents and Rideau staff ONLY. Please respect our neighbours.

More information, including a map with the drop-off loop HERE. 

 Looking ahead – Calendar of events