Sometimes time moves slowly and yet, in hindsight, it seems to have passed all too quickly. This felt like one of those weeks. When I look at the school calendar it appears conspicuously empty but the school was alive with learning, field experiences, learning on the land, athletic tryouts, music, vaccinations and it was also our first full week of school. I find myself wondering where the time went and how it’s possible that we’re at the end of the week already. But yet here we are. This weekend promises to be a gift of beautiful weather and an excellent opportunity to get outside and enjoy the onset of a change in the seasons as we approach the fall equinox. I hope you will take the time to unpack the events of the week at school with your student and enjoy that time together. See you again next week!

Save the Date | September 21 will be our annual Meet the Teacher Night from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.

We are looking forward to welcoming our community to our annual “Meet the Teacher” night on the evening of Thursday, September 21st. 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. K-6 Homeroom teachers will run through multiple presentations to accommodate families with siblings at Louis Riel and our 7-9 teachers will host families in their teaching spaces following a mini timetable (period 1-2-3-4-5-6 rotation)

“New to Louis” 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 this week.

Louis Riel School Council

On September 27 at 6:30 pm everyone is welcomed to attend the first meeting of the 2023-2024 school year to hear from school administration the exciting plans for the school year. Important budget discussions and votes will be held so your participation is important. Any feedback or questions for council can be sent to info@wearelouis.ca. The zoom link for this online only meeting is here:
796 747 8647 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7967478647?pwd=R1BRZkg5WHFmL0xYQURZdjNTUEhqZz09

Parking and Drop-off

Thank you so much for looking out for other students and their families on the roads and in the crosswalks around the school in the morning and at the end of the day. Traffic is moving freely and safely through the playground zones and our neighbours haven’t reported any concerns about their driveways being blocked.

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

Basketball: Teams selections were completed and posted this week. Thank you for supporting Bison athletics and best of luck this season!

Cross Country: Practices continue to run Mondays and Thursdays, 3:00 - 3:45

Upcoming Survey Notice: OurSCHOOL Student Survey

Louis Riel will be participating in an online school perception survey for students called the OurSCHOOL Student Survey. This anonymous survey is completely voluntary for all CBE students.  Please find the details of the survey in the letter under Resources.

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.

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. 

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

9/19/2023 Grade 3, 4, 5, 6 Seed Science on-site experience
9/20/2023 Outdoor Ed Grade 8 & 9 camping trip parent meeting
9/21/2023 Meet the Teacher Night
9/22/2023 No School – Non-Instructional Day
9/25/2023 Grade 4: Teacher’s Pet Plant Growth and Changes
9/26-28, 2023 Grade 8 Elbow River Field Trip
9/27/2023 School Fall Photos
9/29/2023 No School: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day-in-Lieu
10/02-03/2023 Outdoor Ed Grade 8 & 9 Camping Trip