Short weeks don’t feel that short during the first month of the school year, do they?. This week was all about continuing to get back up to speed after a very abbreviated week last week, but it wasn’t without a few bumps in the road. Starting off the week with hazy skies wasn’t what any of us hoped to encounter but our community managed just fine after cancelling and rescheduling some planned outdoor activities and athletics. Our new staff experienced a few issues with connecting to Schoolmessenger so they could send email communication but they’re almost all set. The end of the week wrapped up with a continued network outage that prevented any internet or email access unless teachers were able to set up a hotspot connection. Staff demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity and some impressive problem-solving skills to keep their students engaged in the important work of learning despite their technology challenges.  

This may have been a short week but the staff and students at Louis Riel continued to get to know each other while learning how to work together as a team with a common goal in mind: student engagement leading to success in learning. I was proud to see our staff collaborating and planning, students participating and learning, and to confirm that we’re already off to a great start for the 2023-24 school year.    

Save the Date | September 21 will be our annual Meet the Teacher Night.  

We are looking forward to welcoming our community to our annual “Meet the Teacher” night on the evening of Thursday, September 21. Our families are welcome to come meet our staff, tour the school and instructional spaces, and get to learn more about student life at Louis Riel.  

Families will be invited to attend a brief welcome, presentation and Q&A with the school administration team before they venture into the hallways and homerooms of Louis Riel. More detailed details about the event will be sent to families in the coming weeks.  

Parking and Drop-off 

Getting back into the usual morning routine can be challenging for anyone who has a student who enjoyed a long summer of sleeping in. Occasionally you may run a little late and try to save time on the commute to do a school drop-off and then hurry off to work. Please continue to be mindful when dropping off or picking up your student. Our crossing guards will be starting soon so keep an eye out for their bright vests and stop signs while students cross at our southwest intersection.  

Scooters and Bikes at Louis Riel 

We welcome our students’ use of bikes and scooters to get to and from school each day. We need to ask those students for a bit of help to ensure safety for everyone. 

• Please do not ride or scooter down busy and crowded sidewalks or on school property at the start of end of the day. Once you’re off school property you’re free to roll, ok? 
• Please bring a lock for your scooter or bike to school and use one of our many racks outside to secure it safely for the day. Scooters are too large to store in hallways and classrooms as they present a significant tripping hazard.  

Athletics Start-Up  

Unexpected smoky conditions threw a bit of a wrench in the works for the first day of the week but some of our cross-country runners did manage to get together for a quick run (walk/run/jog). Please come to any future practices as everyone is welcome!  

Basketball: Senior Boys and Girls Monday and Tuesday after school/ Juniors Wednesday and Thursday 

Field Experience Fees and Forms at Louis Riel  

Louis Riel Science students get to enjoy a number of field experiences throughout the year. In the past, a $200/student fee was charged to cover the cost of multiple experiences rather than making frequent charges to student accounts. This year, the field experience fee of $200/student will not be charged as a student fee. Any activities or field experiences with an accompanying fee will be charged to student accounts on a case-by-case basis. Fees must be paid one (1) week prior to the experience unless alternative arrangements have been made.  

Field experiences often include a series of forms to inform families about educational outcomes, logistics, itineraries, potential risks, and measures taken to mitigate them. These forms also include forms to allow families to acknowledge any risks, provide emergency contact information, and share important medical details about their student. Due to the challenges of form collection and the frequent need to confirm participants with transportation or service providers, all forms for a field experience must be submitted to the teacher in charge one (1) week prior to departure unless alternative arrangements have been made.  

Walking Distance Field Trips Notice 

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.   

NEW! 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 

*the only time phones are permitted is if a medical monitoring device (such as a Continuous Blood Glucose Monitor, Blood Pressure or Heart Monitor) is in use  

Having your phone with you when you should not during the school day will be addressed by following progressive student discipline principles. Depending on the circumstances, the following may apply:  

• The “I forgot it was in my pocket” scenario: phone immediately returned to locker 
• The second infraction: phone returned by teacher or office staff at day’s end  
• Repeated infractions: incident logged on our phone tracking sheet, phone held in the office safe and returned by admin at day’s end. School will notify family of cell phone concern as required. 
• Still not getting it? Admin connects with family to seek support and phone returned only to parent 

Upcoming Events  

9/14/2023 Grade 6 Vaccinations 
9/20/2023 OE Grade 8 & 9 camping trip parent meeting 
9/21/2023 Meet the Teacher Night 
9/22/2023 No School 
9/26-28, 2023 Grade 8 Elbow River Field Trip 
9/27/2023 LifeTouch School Fall Photos  
9/29/2023 No School: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day-in-Lieu