Dear Parents & Guardians:
In this post you will find information for the following:
· Important Dates
· Principal’s Message
· Centennial Time Capsule Ceremony
· School Council – Minutes Posted
· Terry Fox Fundraiser
· CBE Student Surveys – Permission Forms
Important Dates –
· Sept 29 – Orange Shirt Day
· Sept 30 – Truth & Reconciliation Day (No School)
· Oct 2 – Time Capsule Ceremony & Open House (9:30-10:30)
· Oct 12 – Thanksgiving (No School)
· Oct 13-16 – Flag Football PE Residency
· Oct 19 – Professional Development Day (No School)
· Oct 21 – Fun Lunch Taco Time (12:30)
· Oct 22 – School Council (1:30-3:00)
· Oct 29 – Picture Retakes (a.m.)
· Oct 29 – Halloween Dance & Haunted House (volunteers needed)
· Subscribe to our Web Calendar (link on bottom left)
Principal’s Message
This week on Wednesday is Truth & Reconciliation Day in Canada. As such, our students will be learning about residential schools using age-appropriate resources. Our “Orange Shirt Day” will be on Tuesday next week and students will be participating in a school-wide acknowledgment of this day with a common activity. We will be tying orange flagging on our chain link fence, refreshing the heart shape from last year that faces Sifton Boulevard. Students are welcome to wear an orange shirt symbolizing, “every child matters”. Every June, we renew our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. This year, we will actively create opportunities for students, staff, and families to learn about and engage in Indigenous land-based and place-based learning. In making our commitment, Calls to Action #62.2 offered inspiration.
As well, you may have noticed at drop-off or pick-up, that we have a rotation of Grade 6 students who raise and lower our Canadian flag every day. Students learned about flag protocol including etiquette, how to raise, lower and fold the flag. Grade 6 students will be taking turns throughout the school year.
In response to parent inquiries regarding home support at our School Council meeting, we are sharing some optional resources that parents may choose to use at home to reinforce their child's learning in mathematics and literacy. These will be highlighted by our teachers in their Friday Grade-Team emails. Please note that these resources are entirely voluntary; teachers will not be assigning, collecting, or assessing this work:
- iXL – this is an online subscription to access curricular linked math and English language arts outcomes for grades 2-6 paid for by EPPS (Parent Society). Students will be receiving their login credentials from their teachers.
- Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 receiving phonics instruction as part of the English Language Arts and Literacy curriculum. Teachers use the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) manual as their primary resource. UFLI has a home support section where parents and children may engage in targeted learning activities related to reading and writing words and sentences highlighting the specific phonemes studied in class. There is an overview home practice guide describing how to use the resource and a webpage of lesson resources to access “Home Practice Activities” for parents. Please reference the Friday email from your teachers to know what lesson to access.
- Parents of students in Grades 3-6 may choose to purchase Castle Rock's Mathematics support manual, The Key. This book covers concepts from the Alberta Mathematics curriculum and offers guided review and practice tests. Parents may order through this link (search for Elbow Park School) to access a discounted price of $30 (regularly $35), and books will be shipped directly to the school. This purchasing opportunity ends on October 9, 2026. These books (The Key) can also be purchased at Indigo.ca
Centennial Time Capsule Ceremony
Staff and students are getting excited about our upcoming Centennial celebration next Friday, October 2. We are thrilled to welcome visiting dignitaries, CBE partners, local community members, parents and alumni. Our front doors open at 9:00 a.m. for rush seating and our formal ceremony will begin promptly at 9:30. Following the ceremony at 10:30, guests are welcome to tour the school and peek into classrooms until 11:30 a.m. We will have some artifacts on display in our Learning Commons. Please download a copy of the invitation on our School Spirit webpage to help spread the word.
School Council
Please visit our School Council webpage for the posted minutes from our September 17th meeting.
Terry Fox Fundraiser
We continue to take donations for the Terry Fox Foundation, either in cash or online: https://schools.terryfox.ca/136648 . Our goal is to beat the $1300 raised last year, to date we have $1400 already collected!
CBE Student Surveys – Permission Forms
Each year, Calgary Board of Education (CBE) students are invited to participate in surveys that gather feedback about their learning experiences, well-being, engagement, and school environment. Survey results help schools and the CBE evaluate programs, inform planning, and identify opportunities to better support student success and well-being.
The CBE Student Survey is an anonymous, voluntary online perception survey administered twice during the school year. A shorter set of questions is administered in the fall, while the spring survey contains the full complement of questions.
Fall Administration: CBE Well-Being Student Survey | Grades 4-6
Topics may include:
- School connectedness and belonging
- Positive relationships
- Feeling safe at school
- Well-being and self-regulation
- Awareness of self and others
Participation in these surveys helps the CBE better understand student experiences and identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
Important Information About the Survey:
- Participation is voluntary.
- Individual student responses are anonymous.
- Students may skip any question they do not wish to answer.
- Students may stop participating at any time without consequence.
- Survey results are used for school and system planning, reporting, program evaluation, and continuous improvement.
- Survey results are not used to make decisions about individual students.
- School staff supervise survey administration to support student privacy and well-being.
To review sample survey questions, please visit:
https://www.cbe.ab.ca/provincial-tests-and-reports
Consent for Student Participation
Consent for student participation in CBE surveys was collected through the Annual Authorization Forms in SchoolEngage.
- If you selected Yes, your child may participate in applicable surveys.
- If you selected No, your child will not participate in applicable surveys.
If you have already completed the Annual Authorization Forms, no further action is required.
This letter is being provided to all families as notification that the survey at Elbow Park will be administered between October 20-29.
If You Have Not Completed the Annual Authorization Forms
If you have not yet completed the Annual Authorization Forms, please submit your consent preference through SchoolEngage by September 30.
If you are unable to access SchoolEngage, please contact the school before this date for assistance.
If no response is received by the response deadline, parental consent will be assumed and your child may participate in the survey. Regardless of parental consent status, student participation remains voluntary.
Accessing SchoolEngage
SchoolEngage is available through your MyCBE account and is the same platform used to pay fees, view academic information, book conferences, register to volunteer, and complete annual authorization forms.
To complete the Annual Authorization Forms:
- Sign in to your MyCBE account.
- Select the SchoolEngage icon.
- Open the Annual Authorization Forms.
- Review and complete the required information.
- Click Submit.
- Repeat for any remaining forms.
If you do not have a MyCBE account, please create one through the MyCBE website or contact the school for assistance.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership.
Have a great weekend,
Jason Fech
Principal