Hello Louis Riel Families  

April is nearly gone and I hope it is safe to say that spring has sprung at Louis Riel School. Aside from a familiarity with specific dates on our calendar marking the official start of spring back in March, we can also see the changes in how our students make their way through their day. Most notably, we see significant changes to how they walk in the door in the morning, how they interact with each other while outside, and how they leave in the afternoon. It’s amazing how much of an impact the extra hours of sunlight and warmer temperatures have on our students. There are considerably more smiles on faces in the morning as students are delivered to their doors by busses, parents, or even under their own power. Our naturalization area is springing to life with new buds appearing on the trees and shrubs, and our well-used fields are doing their best to green up despite the amount of foot traffic they see. The number of older students heading out to the community to get food or just a less busy field to throw a ball around has also increased significantly. In all of these cases, we see kids getting outside and enjoying the almost forgotten feeling of being there without the necessary boots, mitts, something on their head, and a heavy coat. When they leave the school at the end of the day, we also see clear evidence of a spring mood and a spring in their step as they are greeted by the sunlight for their trip home.

We have a couple of months left to go in the year and a lot of teaching and learning to get through before the summer break begins. Between finishing curriculum, completing projects, hosting our Open House at the end of May, Provincial Achievement Tests, and preparing for transitions for next year, we can assure you that we’ll all be very busy until the end of June.    

Thanks for taking the time to read the entire Bison Bulletin, or simply the bolded points in the bulletin that apply to you and your student.

The Wizard of Oz

This coming week will be our chance to see all of the hard work and dedication our drama students have put into rehearsals, set design, costuming and makeup to bring the Wizard of Oz to our stage! We will have sneak preview/dress rehearsal performances for our students during the day and full performances for students and families on Wednesday and Thursday night this week.

On Tuesday April 29, elementary students will have their sneak preview in the afternoon. On Wednesday April 30 our middle school students will have their opportunity to see what their peers have been working on.  

Tickets are still available! (Major emphasis on the second night!)

Families - purchase through MyCBE. 

  • When you enter MyCBE, click on the “Fees, Waivers and Service Registration” button.  
  • Then click on your child’s name (next to “summary” at the top of the page).
  • Click on “School Based Optional Fees”.  This is where you will find the tickets to purchase. 
  • To purchase multiple tickets, add them to your cart individually and then check out. 

Tickets will also be available at the door - unless we sell out!!

Pie Junkie Fundraiser

The LRPSC is coordinating a Pie Fundraiser through a local Calgary vendor, The Pie Junkie. They have a delicious variety of sweet and savoury dessert or dinner options available (sweet pies, savory pies, single serving pies, family pies, cookies, tv dinners, and even soups). A slice of the proceeds will go towards new library books for Louis Riel. Orders can be made between now and May 19. Pick up will be at the School Open House on May 29. For more information and to place your orders, click through to our Council Website fundraiser page here  (https://www.wearelouis.ca/piejunkie)

Support the Louis Riel Learning Commons and Library!

The Louis Riel School Council and Parent Society is hosting a book drive and sale to enhance the school’s book collection and raise funds to purchase new books for all grades, K-9. From Monday, March 10, 2025, to Friday, May 16, 2025, we will accept gently used and school age appropriate book donations at the Louis Riel School front office

All donated books will be sold at a Loonie/Toonie Book Sale from 5:00–7:00 PM during our school’s open house on May 29th. The Parent Society will match the proceeds from the sale, which will be used to restock books in our newly renovated library.

Louis Riel Parent and School Council(s) 

The upcoming AGM Meeting date for Louis Riel Parent Society and School Council is currently scheduled for April 30 and in direct conflict with the opening night of the school play of the Wizard of Oz. We are moving our meeting date to Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 PM.

We are still looking for volunteers and/or nominations for several positions on the Parent council and society for next year. Every school benefits tremendously from an active and engaged parent community and council. With members leaving council as their children move on, we would love to see some new parents join the executive committee.  Please see more details here: https://www.wearelouis.ca/nominations

Elections will be held at the AGM on May 7.

Agenda & Minutes: https://www.wearelouis.ca/agendas-and-minutes-and-budgets

Learn and Share | School Planning Update at AGM

We know we can make better decisions to support student learning when we build understanding and work together. If you did not attend our March council meeting you can watch this short video to learn about the planning work schools do to improve and support student learning. The value we place on collaboration is why we shared information about school planning at our Council meeting on March 16 and invited you to complete an online survey. We will be sharing the results of this survey at our AGM on May 7.

GATE Parent Association

The GATE Parent Association is comprised of parents whose children attend the Calgary Board of Education’s GATE Program. The GATE Parent Association is unique in that it represents parents and supports the GATE Program in all GATE schools, but it is independent of the Calgary Board of Education and other parent organizations within those schools. If you have a student registered in GATE for this current school year, you are a member of the GPA.

Goals of the GATE Parent Association:

  • To undertake FUNDRAISING to enhance the educational pursuits of the GATE Program.
  • To ADVOCATE for the GATE Program and the students and parents of the Program.
  • To encourage and sponsor EDUCATION for parents and professional staff.
  • To promote COMMUNICATION with the Calgary Board of Education, Alberta Learning and among parents and other stakeholders.

GATE Parent Association: gatecalgary.ca

Email us: info@gatecalgary.ca

Connect with us: www.gatecalgary.ca    Facebook    Instagram

Fun Lunches

With another calendar year come more Fun Lunches to save you and your student from un-fun ones! You can log into www.HealthyHunger.ca at any time to see the upcoming schedule and order ahead and there is always a link on the Louis Riel School website. Remember, orders always need to be placed by the Wednesday prior.

May Dates: Grades 6 – 9: May 7 Grades 1 – 5: May 21

June Dates: Grades 6 – 9: June 11 Grades 1 – 5: June 18

Due to health and safety protocols on food storage, the school cannot accommodate storing left-over lunches if your child is absent. Left-over lunches will be donated.

Accessing Academic and Assessment Information Online

Even though report cards are only published twice a year, families can always access achievement information through MyCBE and are also encouraged to reach out to our teaching team to discuss how we can work together to support our students. If you are looking for current information about how or what your student is doing in class, log in to MyCBE with your student to ask them to help you understand what they’ve been working on or if they need any help to complete overdue or missing assignments.   

Helpful links to current assignments, assessments, and attendance information:

​​​​​​​Lost and Found

Our lost and found collection continues to grow, and grow, and grow. If your student is one of those kiddos who happens to leave their possessions on the playground with regularity, please consider adding tags, labels, or some other visible means of identification in or on their clothing or personal items. After a few months of collecting lost items, our Lost and Found reaches maximum capacity and we have to assume the unclaimed items are abandoned and they are donated to organizations who get them to others in need.

Dogs on School Property

There have been some concerns shared with the school about the number of dogs outside the school at pickup and drop off times.  If you cannot leave your pet at home during pickup and drop off times, please provide adequate space for those who may benefit from the added sense of personal comfort.

Field Trips, Forms, Payments and Deadlines

This is a reminder to pay close attention to the forms that come home with your student for any upcoming field trips, field studies, or special events. We often have hard deadlines for confirming student numbers with service providers and venues that do not allow us to be flexible by accommodating last minute changes or adjustments. Teachers will always communicate the deadlines for returning forms and submitting fees as well as a follow up reminder. If you cannot meet a deadline, we may not be able to accommodate a last-minute request to attend. When paperwork comes home, we request your prompt attention to avoid disappointment for your student.  

Louis Riel is a busy and dynamic K-9 school, and it can be challenging to keep up with everything that happens here daily. Providing families with multiple information streams and sources including our website, teacher/classroom emails, paperwork for field trips, and the Bison bulletin should cover everything that families need to know. The challenge for some families may be that the information, timelines, and deadlines for activities can be hard to track. Our school and staff do our best to notify and remind families of upcoming dates and deadlines through the SchoolMessenger app and email. Thanks for reading the bulletin.

Upcoming Dates of Importance

  • April 28 – Grade 9  Etherington Creek Parent Meeting
  • April 30 – Grade 6 Vaccinations
  • April 30 – The Wizard of Oz production opening night.
  • April 30 – Grade 6 (6.3&6.4) Teacher’s Pet visit
  • May 1 – Grade 6 (6.1&6.2) Teacher’s Pet visit
  • May 1 – The wizard of Oz production final show
  • May 1 – Grade 8 Outdoor Ed Fish Creek-Bebo Grove Trip
  • May 5 – Grade 9 Outdoor Ed Fish Creek-Bebo Grove Trip
  • May 6 – Grade 5 (5.1&5.2) Cardboard Boat Race
  • May 7 – AGM for Louis Riel Parent Society and School Council
  • May 13-14 – Grade 4 Overnight Drumheller Trip
  • May 15 – Grade 2 Teacher’s Pet Visit
  • May 15 – Grade 9 Outdoor Ed Calgary Climbing Centre Trip
  • May 16 – Non-Instructional day – NO SCHOOL