Hello Rideau Sept. 27 | Honouring Truth & Reconciliation, Fundraiser, Music, Volunteers Needed, Walk to School Week

Hello, Rideau!

As September 30 draws nearer on Saturday, our school joins each Calgary Board of Education school in honouring Truth and Reconciliation. Students are invited to wear orange on Thursday, September 28 with September 29 being a non-operational day (no school). Our school, alongside our system, “continues to learn, grow, understand, and honour Indigenous ways of being, belonging, doing and knowing.”

Enormous thanks to students and families able to join last week’s meet-the-teacher informal evening. Big thanks, also, to school staff and to student volunteers for each layer of preparations. We learn in community, and it continues to be heartwarming to see opportunities for learning community members and partners to get to know one another within our school’s learning spaces.

We can also celebrate an incredible turn out at our first School Council meeting of the year. Thank you to all that attended, and continued thanks for each question, idea, and contribution. Following School Council, Parent Society meets. It’s the incredible generousity and enthusiasm of these two groups that ensure resources and events extend beyond what would otherwise be possible. Through Parent Society: September’s SOGO Adventure Running came at no-fee for students across each grade. Classroom and school resources are also possible as well as investments in caring for indoor and outdoor learning spaces in incredibly ambitious ways. Again, enormous gratitude for each layer of support for our school’s young people.

It is with great pride that we share that $1247 has been raised by our Rams community in support of the Terry Fox Foundation following our most recent Terry Fox Day afternoon run and walk. $637 was raised through our Toonies for Terry Campaign with an additional $610 raised virtually, so far.

Mr. T. Robertson

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 | Attendance

Parents are requested to inform their child's Homeroom teacher as a primary contact about attendance decisions (i.e., reporting absences) in kindergarten and Grades 1 to 5, and the Learning Leader as primary contact in grades 5-9. Learning Leaders are teaching staff with administrative designations.

The more specific you are as parents/guardians with teachers/learning leaders, the more specific the attendance code applied will be.

Kindergarten to Grade 5

Teachers' contact information is also available, here.

Please also include as a carbon copy (CC) within attendance e-mails learning leaders (listed below) for each grade-divisional-level division, too:

Grades 6-9 (primary contacts, below)

Our student information system, MyCBE provides parents, guardians and students with access to detailed attendance information. For help creating an account or signing in, please visit Technical Support for Students & Parents.

Reminder | Volunteer Clearance

Don’t miss out on an amazing field trip because you haven’t updated your Police Clearance.

Please make sure that your Volunteer Clearance is up to date: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/get-involved/volunteer/Pages/volunteer.aspx

If you have any questions, you can contact the office at RideauPark@cbe.ab.ca

Clarification | School Grounds within Instructional Days

Our supervising staff ask that during lunchtime (and outdoor recess and physical education activities), with large numbers of our own students outdoors to tend to, that:

  • Deliveries (forgotten lunches and homework/school items, etc.) occur through the front office.
  • Pets are not to be brought onto school grounds.
  • Visitors (adults, siblings, etc.) refrain from entering/using school grounds (sport court, playground, field, etc.) alongside staff-supervised students.

Classroom teachers and school administration remain available as questions arise.

Offer | on Behalf of Community Health Nurse (Alberta Health Services)

Below are the links for the September parent newsletters:

On behalf of Parent Society | Upcoming Fundraiser

Rideau Park School’s Parent Society has presented a save-the-date for an upcoming Parent Social and Fundraiser on the evening of Wednesday, October 11.

More information is available on our website’s Fundraisers and Donations page including a save-the-date event poster and ticket information.

Upcoming | Instrumental Music (Band) Save-the-Dates

Please save the date as we will be hosting a virtual informational meeting for band parents on Wednesday, September 27th at 5PM. The meeting will take place on Microsoft Teams. Mr. Osborne will be providing a meeting link to all parents/guardians of students in Instrumental Music (Band). For band students in grades 7-9, our overnight Band Camp is being planned at Camp Chestermere for Tuesday, October 17 to Thursday, October 19, 2023 (two nights). More exciting details are to come.

For Wednesday’s parent/guardian meeting and discussion:

  • Firstly, we will be discussing instrumental rentals, band fees and concert plans (Grades 6 though 9). Following this initial discussion, parents/guardians with students in grade 6, are free to leave our virtual discussion.
  • Parents/guardians in grades 7-9 will remain in our virtual discussion for important details relating to our upcoming overnight band camp trip to Camp Chestermere, including: further details, logistics & fees. Opportunities for questions and answers will be provided within our virtual discussion.

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. Time commitment would be 30 – 45 minutes starting at 11:05 AM. We ask for assistance in sorting the individual orders and ensuring they get to the students. Please note that all lunches are marked with the child’s name and classroom, and all classes are grouped together when they are delivered to the school front doors by the restaurant at 11:20 AM on the date of the order.
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.

Oct 2-6 | International Walk to School Week

Since the first International Walk to School Week in 2000, today students from all thirteen provinces across Canada and from countries around the world (Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany & more) participate by walking to school.

Rideau Park School students are encouraged to join in by walking to school each day from October 2 to 6.
International Walk to School Week

Looking Ahead

Dates of Significance

Sept 25

Mon

Apprenticeship Day

Sept 25-29

Mon-Thurs

Truth and Reconciliation Week
This week will honour:
Every Child Matters & Reconciliation through Education

Sept 28-30

Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok)

Sept 29

Fri

Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie, Mooncake Festival or Moon Festival)

Sept 29-30

Sukkot

Sept. 30

Sat

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Oct 9

Mon

Thanksgiving Day

Looking Ahead – Upcoming Calendar of Events

Sept 25-29

Mon-Thurs

This week will honour:
Every Child Matters & Reconciliation through Educations

Sept 27

Wed

Fall Quebec Trip: Parent Meeting, 6:30 – 7:30 pm (in-person)

Sept 27

Wed

Band Parent/Guardian meeting, 5:00 pm (virtual)
(postponed from Sept 20)

Sept 28

Thurs

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Cedar’s Deli

Sept 28

Thurs

Orange Shirt Day (observed at RPS)

Sept 29

Fri

No School
(day-in-lieu for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, Sat., Sept 30)

Sept 30

Sat

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Sept 30

Sat

Terry Fox Run – fundraising ends
Link for online donations: https://schools.terryfox.ca/29643

Oct 2 - 6

International Walk to School Week

Oct 2 - 6

Quebec Trip (FSL 9)

Oct 2 - 6

Campus Calgary Open Minds: Science School at Telus Spark: HR 5-1

Oct 5

Thurs

Science School at Telus Spark: HR 5-2

Oct 9

Mon

Thanksgiving (no school)

Oct 12

Thurs

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Coco Brooks

Oct 13

Fri

Weaselhead Off-Campus Trip: Grade 6

Oct 17 - 19

Band Camp: Grades 7, 8 & 9 Band students

Oct 20

Fri

Non-instructional Day (no school for students)

Oct 26

Thurs

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch – Coco Brooks – Edo Japan

Oct 26

Thurs

Family Halloween Dance – evening

Nov 2

Thurs

Photo Retakes