Hello Louis Families,  

This past week was an enthusiastic welcome back to a new calendar year of learning and growing together at Louis Riel School. We saw the return of interschool athletics for our grade 6 to 9 students with the opening of the volleyball tryouts this week. There was a fantastic turnout of aspiring volleybisons for all our tryouts and we look forward to seeing how they come together as a team in the upcoming games. Go Bisons! 

After a long winter break, January is a month for students to jump back into their learning, to work on all the projects they put on hold over winter break, and for our Div 2 and 3 students to finalize Science Fair projects. This is also the final month for teachers to collect final assignments and additional evidence of student understanding in preparation for report card writing. In addition to this learning and preparation to display student achievement, we look forward to hosting the Owl’s Nest Book Fair and our annual open house at the end of the month. Needless to say, January is going to be a busy month! 

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. 

Open House Thursday January 30

We look forward to opening our doors to current and prospective families between 6:00 and 8:00 pm at our annual open house. We will have classrooms and learning spaces open, leadership students available to shepherd families, student learning on display, student demonstrations, music being played, art to appreciate, teachers available to chat, and even a few samples of student baking to try for our current and future families. Families will have the opportunity to tour the wildly popular Owl's Nest Book Fair in our learning commons and place book orders. This was a huge success last year and we're thrilled to have the Owl's Nest back again for the open house. 

A detailed agenda will be shared closer to the date but expect the opportunity to tour the entire school, meet with staff, and take in some larger group presentations about the school, our programs, and a Q&A with admin in the Main gym.  

Science Fair Judges Wanted! 

Calling all parents and guardians! Are you interested in supporting students involved in our Louis Riel Science Fair? Please check out the link below to see how you can support students as a judge at this year's event, which will take place on Friday, January 31.  

https://forms.office.com/r/DBhahyF3UA 

Thank you for your support,  

Louis Science Fair Committee 

Accessing Academic and Assessment Information Online 

Even though conferences only take place a few times a year, families can always access achievement information through Powerschool and are also encouraged to reach out to our teaching team to discuss how we can work together to support our students. With report cards fast approaching now is an excellent time to log in to Powerschool with your student to see if they need to complete any overdue or missing assignments.    

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

Louis Riel Parent and School Council(s)   

The January Louis Riel Parent Society and School Council meetings will be held back-to-back on Wednesday, January 29 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is virtual and anyone is welcome to attend, we hope to see you there as we discuss various topics of interest to students and parents alike.  

Being an engaged part of your student's community helps to ensure we are all informed. The agenda will be posted the week prior on the Louis Riel website and on the day of, you can access the meeting via this link. 

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7967478647  

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

Calling all GATE Parents! Request for Casino Volunteers 

The GPA Casino Fundraising Event is taking place on Thursday March 6 and Friday March 7 at Pure Casino (1420 Meridian Rd NE). This is our most important fundraising event, which allows us to support the four GATE schools.  

Please help us support the GATE classes by volunteering for a shift. Use the following link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A084CA5AB29A4FA7-54176840-gpacasino#/. If you have any questions, please contact us at: gatecalgary@gmail.ca. 

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. 

January and February dates: 

Grades 1 - 5: January 22 - Boston Pizza & February 19 - Edo Japan 
Grades 6 - 9: January 29 - Boston Pizza & February 12 - Edo Japan 

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

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.     

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. Although you and your family may see your dog as a part of your family, please be considerate of those who may not experience your four-legged family member the same way. We need to ask that dog owners explore other means to manage their pet that will allow all our families to feel comfortable while waiting for their children. 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 please 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 forms to be returned and fees to be submitted as well as by following up with a 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 

  • January 14 – Kindergarten Telus Spark trip 
  • January 20 and 21 – Grade 1 Wet Felting experience 
  • January 22 – Elementary Fun Lunch 
  • January 23 – Grade 9 Vaccinations 
  • January 27 – 30 – Owls Nest Book fair 
  • January 29 – Grade 1 Confluence trip 
  • January 29 – Junior High Fun Lunch 
  • January 30 – Open House