Hello Louis Riel families,  

We had another small but mighty week of learning at Louis Riel school ending with school conferences on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Our students enjoyed various field experiences and classroom visits, ranging from zoo trips to crime scene investigators and presentations featuring National Geographic photographers and adventurers. Tuesday was an especially busy day with the successful completion of our first lockdown practice drill in the morning and a special guest presentation in the afternoon. After lunch we welcomed Carnegie Mellon Professor of Mathematics, Po-Shen Loh, to speak with our students about ChatGPT and its applications and implications for their future. The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed his presentation, insights, and predictions for where this exciting technology is taking us.  

It was an exciting week for our Jr High Basketball teams as they all managed to advance to their divisional championships on Wednesday to compete with their rivals.  Our Junior Boys played a strong game but unfortunately lost their final by the slimmest of margins against their opponents. This team’s growth over the season has been incredible to watch and confirms they will continue to be a threat next year. Our Senior Boys also lost their final game despite demonstrating the skills that brought them to their championship final sitting in 1st place for the season. What an accomplishment! Our Junior Girls won their championship game convincingly and are already looking forward to next season. Our Senior Girls won their championship game by a single point thanks to the winning shot by Ann with 17 seconds left. These athletes will now move on to the first ever Tournament of Champions for Calgary. The senior teams that won their division will now play a tournament to identify, for the first time ever, a junior high school city champion. Dates and times for games will be shared with the athletes and their fans as soon as we have them.  

School conferences were held at the school in-person on Thursday evening and mostly online on Friday morning. Teachers shared how much they appreciate the collaborative and informative conversations these opportunities to meet with the families of their students provide. Keep in mind that our teachers are always accessible via email to schedule phone calls or meetings as needed throughout the year. If you were not able to connect with some teachers, please email them directly to connect.  

All the staff at Louis Riel would like to give our sincere thanks to those families who contributed to the fantastic staff potluck dinner we enjoyed on Thursday night. Everyone who walked through the staff room left feeling well fed and cared for.    

Next Louis Riel Parent and School Council(s) Meeting is November 29  

Each month we will have teachers from different divisions, departments, and programs present to council and community about the teaching and learning going on in their classrooms. This month’s teacher presenter will be Ms. Evans who will be sharing her experience as a GATE humanities teacher in junior high/division 3 classes. 

A reminder that all current minutes and agendas are available on the LRPAC website: https://www.wearelouis.ca/ under Agendas and Minutes 

Growing Smiles Pickup Day December 1 starting at 2:30 pm

Orders will be ready for pickup at Louis Riel starting at 2:30 pm and will be ongoing until 4:30 pm! 

Attendance 

Before school begins for the day, please call the school 403-777-7650 to let us know if your child will be absent or late. This will help us ensure that all Louis Riel students are safe and accounted for promptly. After reaching the school press 1 and leave your message on the Attendance Line. Please let us know your child’s first and last name (spelling the last name), teacher’s name, and the reason for, and duration of the absence, if known. 

Traffic Safety at Louis Riel 

Our crossing guards continue to see unsafe driving at drop-off and pickup times. It is up to those of you behind the wheel to be mindful of your speed and of our little pedestrians trying to get to school. Please slow down, be mindful of students crossing the road, and please respect the important work of our crossing guards.  

GPA Parent Association 

Did you know if you have a child in GATE as of September 2023 you are automatically a member of the GATE Parent Association? Sign up to receive the GPA newsletter on their website https://gatecalgary.ca/  and be a part of the GPA Community! 

Fun Lunches at Louis  

Fun lunches are a major source of fundraising for the Parent Council, give parents a day off from packing lunch, and are exciting for the kids to receive! Fun Lunches will continue throughout the year with our regular rotation for Elementary and Junior High students each month. All future junior high fun lunch dates will be on the 2nd Wednesday of each month and Elementary will be on the third Wednesday of the month.  

Sign up at www.HealthyHunger.ca. There is also a link on the Louis Riel School website. 

It is important to note that due to health and safety protocols on food storage, the school will not be able to accommodate storing left-over lunches to the next day if your child is absent. Left-over lunches will be donated. 

Lost and Found at Louis Riel 

Please remind your student(s) to walk by and locate any lost or misplaced clothing and lunch container items and take them home. If your student regularly loses items at school, please also consider sewing nametags on their clothing items.  

Volunteers Support Our Program 

Volunteers are often required to meet supervision ratio requirements for off-campus field experiences. Without parent volunteers to help meet the required supervision ratio, off-campus activities and field experiences cannot proceed. Please volunteer for some off campus activities and field experiences this year to support your student and their class.  

Interested in volunteering this year? Please fill out the following form: https://cbe.ab.ca/FormsManuals/Annual-Volunteer-Registration-Form.pdf 

Digital Citizenship at Louis Riel   

We are an Away for the Day school. Student brains need a break from mobile devices, and they all benefit from opportunities to engage in other ways of communicating, creating and exploring. Part of our work is to promote safety, lessen cyberbullying, and to foster and sustain focus on learning. How our Away for the Day policy supports this is simple: 

• Cell phones/personal electronic devices are powered off and go into lockers as you enter 
• cell phones/devices do not come out until you’re exiting after the final bell at 2:50 pm 
• cell phones may only be used for learning tasks during the school day with teacher permission 

Upcoming Events  

November 28 – Vaccination catch-up 
November 29 – LRPAC/School Council Meeting 
December 1 - Growing Smiles Pickup Day starting at 2:30pm
December 4 – 7.3& 7.4 Journey 2050 Trip 
December 4 – Alien Inline Skating Residency Begins 
December 5 – Kindergarten Teacher Pet Visit
December 5 – 7.1 & 7.2 Journey 2050 Trip 
December 5 – 5.2 & 5.3 Fort Calgary Trip 
December 7 – 5.1 & 5.4 Fort Calgary Trip 
December 8 – No School System PD