Hello Louis Riel Families  

“No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips its turn. April is a promise that May is bound to keep, and we know it.” - Hal Borland

After a gentle introduction to spring in April it feels like we’re starting to gather momentum as we head into the final two months of the school year. April wasn’t entirely without drama; we did have a full blown production of “The Wizard of Oz” take place over two nights (more on that below). If the excitement and energy that a drama production brought to the building was the promise of April then May should prove to be lively to say the least. The month of May is always a busy one as we take on the process of planning for end of the year transitions, confirming accurate assessment of student learning, and setting up students and classes for next year, while we’re still actively teaching and learning together. Earlier this month we passed a major step in planning with the approval of our school staffing strategy to remain similar for next year. Our target enrolment numbers are set and we’re still actively drawing from our waitlists in order to ensure healthy class sizes. This month is also a month where teaching staff from across the CBE look at possible postings in other buildings to take a new step in their teaching careers. We look forward to the energy of May and all of the changes it may bring.  

We now have less than two 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 the month, Provincial Achievement Tests, preparing for transitions for next year, and drafting report cards, 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 is a Wrap

This was the first year (of hopefully many to follow) when our students took to the stage in a production of “The Wizard of Oz”. They performed two sneak preview shows for our students as dress rehearsals and then welcomed the community into the main gym for two well-attended evening performances. We want to thank our families for their support of our young actors and our technical theatre team. Hotzel and Ms. Beare couldn’t have done it without the dedication of their students and the encouragement of their families. Congratulations to our theatre production; take a bow!

Open House/Family Night May 29

Our annual spring event is nearly here! This year we’ll have food trucks onsite, open classrooms and instructional spaces, student work on display, and presentations for new kindergarten families and new Science/GATE families. Teachers will be in their classrooms from 5:30 to 6:30 for parents and students to meet and explore in both the Science program and GATE program. Please check out our amazing CTF space, our Foods room, our Art room, and make sure to speak to our gym and music specialists.

  • Kindergarten will be hosting a “Things to Know Before the First Day of School” presentation at 5:45pm for our New Families in the North Gym.
  • New Family Welcome in the South Gym at 6:15pm. Information will be shared about bussing, options for grades 7-9, and a day in the life of a Louis Riel student. You will also be introduced to our teaching teams and School Council
  • Q & A session at 6:45

Long Jump Pit Safety – IT’S NOT A SANDBOX

We hope the title to this heading is clear to our community members who have been making use of our long jump pit to engage in archeological digs. Almost every day our Phys Ed team and students spend far too much time filling in holes excavated in our long jump pit. These holes present a significant risk to our students and having to regularly fill them delays the start of athletics. Please don’t dig in the long jump pit.  

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)

Book Drive to 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 29. 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) 

Parent Society and School Council Meeting AGM was held on May 7 via zoom. Council managed to successfully vote in new members and confirm returning members to the executive during the AGM. In addition to appointing our executive, the council also approved new funding for school technology, professional learning opportunities for staff, funding for the grade 9 Farewell, and a significant upgrade to the hardscaping in front of the school and the naturalization area. Many thanks to our council for supporting these exciting capital projects and acquisitions.

New Fundraiser: Cobs Bread Collaboration LRPSC is happy to announce our recent collaboration with Cobs Bread in Shawnessy (70 Shawville Blvd SE). With every purchase made at this location with the code #6169, 10% of that purchase will be donated back to Louis Riel Parent Society and School Council for the benefit of our kids. 

Council Agenda & Minutes from previous meetings/AGM: https://www.wearelouis.ca/agendas-and-minutes-and-budgets

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 Healthy Hunger 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 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 Powerschool 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

  • 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
  • May 19 – Victoria Day – NO SCHOOL
  • May 20 – Grade 9 BGI Trip
  • May 21 – Grade 8 Vertigo Theatre Trip
  • May 21&22 – Grade 7 Frank Slide Trip
  • May 22 – Grade 6 Bow Habitat Station Trip
  • May 26 – Grade 9 Virtual Reality Visit
  • May 27 – Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Kayaking Trip
  • May 28 – Grade 6 Provincial Achievement Test ELA
  • May 29 – Grade 9 Provincial Achievement Test ELA