Black History Month

​During the month of February, Calgary Board of Education students and staff will celebrate and explore the many contributions of Black Canadians, peoples, and communities worldwide. Black History Month is an opportunity for schools to amplify and spotlight the innovative, courageous, and inspiring voices, stories, and contributions of Black Canadians and communities.

Important Information

BE BRAVE Calgary Hitmen Game

On February 28, all students in Grade 3-6 will be attending the BE BRAVE Calgary Hitmen Game for Anti-bullying. We met with all students on Friday and shared our plans for a safe, respectful and very fun field trip.

Parents are asked to discuss the following with your students:

Please do not bring any money! The Saddledome is cash free and we ARE NOT going to be accessing ANY of the stores or concessions.

• PLEASE Bring a back pack, a healthy lunch, water bottle and a treat.  We have encouraged students to bring a favorite snack like popcorn or chips, etc., from home. 
• Stay with their volunteer.  There will be many students from all over the city and most in Pink shirts.  It is important to stay with our groupings.
• We are in section 210.  Students have been told that we are sitting in section 210. In the event that they are separated from the group, they can ask security for help to get back to our seats.

We are confident with all of the safety measures in place, that we are well prepared for an amazing trip and a cool experience.

Pink Shirt Day

All students and staff are asked to wear a Pink Shirt on Wednesday to show our stance against bullying. Students attending the Hitmen Game will be given a pink shirt on Wednesday when they arrive at school. 

Asking for Help vs. Tattling

We are hearing that some students are not bringing concerns forward when they need help solving situations with peers. They tell us that they do not want to “tattle” on their friends. Although we appreciate the sentiment behind this thinking, it is VERY important that students feel they can ask for help in dealing with tricky situations. Asking for help takes courage and it is not seen as tattling. We encourage everyone to ask for help or support when they need it.

Parent Session Offer from AHS

Vaping Awareness and Prevention | Family and Caregiver Session

Join the Alberta Health Services Healthy Schools and Population Health Promotion team on Wednesday, March 6 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. for a virtual parent learning session on the youth vaping epidemic. 

In this session, parents will learn about what vaping is, current vaping trends among youth and the harms and risks associated with it. We'll explore what legislation is in place at the local and provincial level to combat youth vaping use and what you and your child's school can do about it. Ideas on how to talk to kids and help them quit, as well as where to go for more information will also be covered. 

Link: Register here

Spirit Day

Our next Spirit Day is March 14.  It will be Crazy Hair Day. Students are invited to wear their hair in a fun and interesting way! It is a great way for personal expression of themselves.

Moving Forward, the Spirit Days for the rest of the year are:

• April – Stuffie & a Flashlight Day
• May – Favorite Colour Day
• June – Backward/Opposite Day

We will continue with the ranked favorites list as we begin again in September before setting our new list for that school year.

From the Office

Fees Update

Collections | 2022/2023 Central Fees has informed us that ALL outstanding 2022-23 transportation and lunch supervision fees will be sent to collections this month. The CBE uses a collection agency called “Groupe Solution Collect”, and if parents receive phone calls, these are not scam.  Please be aware of the impact of this for yourselves.

We would like to remind all parents to check their myCBE Account for fees relating to 2022/2023 fees which are still outstanding, and any 2023-2024 fees added for the current year for field trips, clubs, etc. There is now a link on our new website for the myCBE account sign-in.

Current Outstanding Fees

We have many families who have not yet paid all outstanding fees. Please check you myCBE accounts to see what is owing and bring your accounts up to date.

Parking

The school continues to receive calls from the community about the parking and the general pick up and drop off by parents. This includes, but not limited to:

• Parking too close to corners – creating blind spots
• Obstructing garages – even if it is only for a few minutes
• Not providing enough room for the two buses and the day care vehicles
• Concerns over students not crossing at the crosswalk - crossing in between vehicles, getting out onto the road instead of the sidewalk side of the vehicle.

All parking infractions are being directed to the City of Calgary Bylaw department and may result in parking fines. Please do your part to keep students safe.

From School Council

All communication with our School Council can be done via their email at: chaparralschoolcouncil@gmail.com

Next School Council Meeting

The next meeting is on March 14, 2024, at 6:30pm in Room 24.This will be the meeting where we review our budget and School Development Plan information.

Popcorn & Fun Lunch Days

Please visit www.healthyhunger.ca to make your selections and place your orders. Kindergarten students are invited to participate in popcorn days only as they are not at school for the lunch hour. 

• Our next Fun Lunch Day is March 14. It will be from Subway. 
• The next Popcorn Day is April 11.

Volunteers are a MUST for these days to be viable. It may be necessary to discontinue having these fun days if we do not have the volunteers to sort and deliver these to students. Thank you to those who have already done so. Please sign up at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E49ACA722A4FE3-funlunch#/

You must have a valid police clearance to be able to participate.

Week at a Glance

Weekly Mantra

I am fierce. (SEL Competency: Self-Awareness, Self-Management)

When you are fierce, you work to conquer your fears and make your voice heard. It means respectfully standing up for what you believe in, standing up for people in need, and leading the way. Be fierce! Be unstoppable! As obstacles come, make it a point to not let them stop you.