Dear Parents & Guardians:

In this post you will find information for the following:

·         Important Dates

·         Principal’s Message

·         Auditions – Centennial Operetta

·         CBE Child Care Tax Receipts – Lunch Supervision

·         Action - Alberta Education Parent Survey (to date, 14 have completed this) – deadline extended to March 13

·         Birthday Book Fundraiser

·         Anti-Racism Unit

·         Download/Print Your Online Report Cards – Feb. 24

·         Fun Lunches (details on our Lunchtime webpage)

Important Dates –

·         Mar 12 – School Council & EPPS Society Meeting (1:30 – 3:00 p.m.)

·         Mar 17 – Irish Dancers Assembly – Parents Welcome (9:00-10:00 a.m.)

·         Mar 18 – Fun Lunch: Edo of Japan

·         Mar 23-29 – Spring Break – No School

·         Mar 30 – Classes Resume

·         Mar 30-Apr 2 – Flag Football PE Residency

·         Subscribe to our updated Web Calendar (link on bottom left)

Principal’s Message

Our dance residency with Decidedly Jazz this week was a wonderful experience for our students. Miss Kayla from the studio was amazing with her ability to generate energy and focus the students on learning some complicated dance steps. This was a great way for students to start thinking about some pop culture and historical facts about our society over many decades.

In science this coming week, our Grade 2-3s are hosting a biologist in the classroom and our Grade 4-5s are touring the landfill!

Our staff meeting this afternoon was dedicated to some long-range planning about related Centennial projects. These include our upcoming auditions for the operetta in June, a yearbook celebrating the occasion and a design project to mark a time capsule for our September ceremony.

We have also volunteered to be a part of a research project led by psychologist, Dr. Caroline Buzanko, supporting student emotional regulation and resilience. There are in-person focus group discussions for both teachers and parents along with a survey. More information about this opportunity will be shared at our School Council meeting next Thursday (1:30-3:00).

Auditions – Centennial Operetta

Any student interested in a larger role in our Centennial Opera will need to audition on Monday, March 16 or Tuesday, March 17 (afternoon during the school day). Students should come prepared to sing a song (up to one minute) that is familiar to them. They will sing a cappella (no background music). They will also be provided with some simple text to read aloud.  

Child Care Tax Receipts – Lunch Supervision

  • Child Care Tax Receipts for CBE Noon Supervision from January 2025 to December 2025 are now available through MyCBE/PowerSchool for download. MyCBE > Fees, Waivers & Service Registrations > Menu (three lines) > Tax Receipts
  • Families must download and print the online receipt to include in their 2025 tax return. 

Action - Alberta Education Parent Survey – Deadline Extended to March 13

Every school year, Alberta Education and Childcare surveys students, parents, and teachers to gather feedback on school experiences. This input helps identify what is working well and highlights areas where improvement is needed.

To date, we have had ten (14) parents access this survey. As a small school, the Alberta Education and Childcare Assurance Survey (AECAS) invites students at Elbow Park in grades 4-6, along with their parents, to share their perspectives, experiences, and feelings about school. This is an important opportunity to have your voice heard! Last year we only had 16 parents complete the survey.

Usually, Alberta Education uses Canada Post to send out random access codes to access the survey. We are excited to announce that this year, CBE School Improvement will email parents and guardians a unique, single-use access code to enter the survey.

  • Families with more than one eligible student will receive a separate single-use access code for each child
  • Paper copies and translated versions are available upon request through your child’s school principal
  • Participation is voluntary and questions may be skipped/survey can be exited at any time. As noted in the instructions for the survey, if a question is not applicable or if the respondent does not feel comfortable answering, they should leave the response blank, or answer “N/A”. A blank response does not count towards the total number of responses

Once you receive your access code, visit the AECAS webpage to complete the confidential online survey. Students are surveyed during the same period as their parents or guardians, Jan. 26 – Mar. 6, however students typically complete the survey at school. Further details are available in the Parent Notification Letter.

If you have any questions or would like a paper copy of the survey, please contact the principal of your child’s school after Jan. 26.

By participating in the AECAS, you are helping to shape the future of education in Alberta

Birthday Book Library Donations

We just recently handed out our first round of birthday books to students. They were very excited to be the first to sign out their book and select a special bookmark to go with it.

The Birthday Book campaign is an annual campaign that helps keep our Learning Commons up-to-date and expands the literacy materials available to our students.  EPS families can choose to participate in the campaign by donating $25 per student.  These funds are used to purchase brand new books.  Participating students get to select which book they would like to designate as donated by them and they are the first to bring their donated book home to read, then the book enters the EPS library circulation for other students to enjoy for years to come.  

Please visit our Elbow Park Fundraisers & Donations page for more information.

Anti-Racism Unit

This past month, students learned about Black History Month, Chinese Lunar New Year, Pink Shirt Day and we have begun a unit in our Wellness classes that address racism. Over the course of this school year, our Grade 1–6 students will explore the topic of racism through age-appropriate lessons that build on one another across the grades. These lessons are designed to help students understand key ideas such as fairness, kindness, bias, microaggressions, and what it means to stand up for others. Through homeroom conversations and story-based learning, students will be encouraged to think critically, ask questions, and develop empathy as they learn how to be upstanders—not bystanders—in their communities. 

Children naturally notice differences, including race, and it's important they have a safe space to talk about what they see and feel. Our goal is to nurture open-mindedness, curiosity, and kindness in a way that celebrates diversity and helps every student feel seen, respected, and valued. We invite you, as parents and guardians, to continue these conversations at home. Below are some of the high-quality resources we’re drawing from in classrooms—many of which are available online through the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, various children’s books that explore related topics, and Sesame Street’s workshop about race, ethnicity and culture: 

Picture Books (available as YouTube read-alouds): 

  • Introduce the idea of racism: making assumptions, being hateful, or treating someone differently than others based on their race because you believe your race is better: 
  • I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët. This book helps introduce the idea that treating others unfairly based on differences, including race, is never okay. While it’s often read as a story about bullying, it can open the door to important conversations about inclusion. 
  • Say Something!, by Peter H. Reynolds. This story introduces the concept of activism and encourages students to use their voices for good. An activist is someone who takes action when they see social injustice, in this case, racism. 

Our staff meeting this afternoon was spent planning the production components of our upcoming Centennial Opera. We had three parent volunteers join us with Calgary Opera to help understand the scope of this event. Please watch your emails for further information about auditions and volunteer committee work to assist with set and costume design.

Download/Print Report Cards

Please view/print report cards in your MyCBE account. You must use a computer to login to view the PDF version of this report card – you are not able to view it in the App.

Report Cards are only available to parents for download during the current school year (until July 2026).

Fun Lunches

Did you know that our Fun Lunch program is a school fundraiser?

Did you know that you can sign up for all future Fun Lunches in one sitting and not miss any?

Please sign up now and end the invasion of Uber Eats in our office 😊

Sign up on our Lunchtime webpage.

Our fun lunch dates are:

·         Mar. 18 - Edo 

·         Apr. 15 - Opa

·         May 20 - McDonald’s