​Hello Louis Riel Families, ​​​

It is with a combination of excitement and perhaps even a small amount of shared relief that I write this final message for the 2022-2023 school year. Although it may be an obvious statement, this school year was defined by continuous learning shared among and across our entire community of learners. Often, we default to only considering how our student(s) experienced any given school year. I've had the privilege to meet so many valued members of our community of learners and stakeholders that my frame of reference for student learning has been broadened even more than I had imagined possible. As a new principal, I've met students, staff, parents, visitors, guests, colleagues, neighbors, tradespeople, and community members who have been in/around the school, and they all played a role in the learning that took place at Louis Riel School this year. Although there was more learning than I could possibly account for, our teaching staff learned from each other, from our students, from our families, from the CBE, from the community, from colleagues in other buildings, from visitors to the school, from field studies, and from nature, Our students also learned from each other, our teaching staff, our office team, visitors, all of their field studies, athletic competitions, math competitions, science fairs, our parents, and nature too. I would think it is safe to assume that when our students returned home each evening, they were able to share their learning or even teach members of their family about something new they had learned during their day.  

I want to thank every member of our community for their continued support as we all learn how to learn and grow together at Louis Riel School. This year included many learning opportunities, lessons, and growth, and we hope to continue to find new ways to strengthen and improve the business (and fun) of learning at Louis Riel School next year. 

For those families returning to our learning community for the 2023-24 school year, you can expect to see school start up information delivered via email and on our website in mid-August. School supply lists will be shared via email with all families in August and again at the beginning of September. If you have registered for yellow school bus transportation, the routes will be made available in late August. ​

The school will be closed at 1:00 PM on June 30, reopening at 1:00 PM on August 28. Please note that all school staff will be on holiday from July 1 to August 28.   
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In the meantime, have a safe and restful summer, and we will see you on the first student day, August 31 at 8 AM.   

Thank you for an ​exceptional year of learning and we look forward to many more, 

Mat Powter

Principal | Louis Riel School ​

Calgary Board of Education | www.cbe.ab.ca

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The first semester is behind us and report cards for the first half of the year have been published. This week included two major events that allowed us to showcase the amazing science fair projects that our young scientists created, and we also invited families to our annual Science Program open house for prospective students. The turnout at the open house exceeded our expectations and we found ourselves rushing to set up enough chairs in our South gym to accommodate the demand. Families and students took in a presentation about our Science program and were then invited to explore our instructional spaces. Families examined the many samples of student work on display in the hallways and science fair projects in the north gym; stopped by the art room and foods lab for examples and samples of more student work; and met our staff and students who were eager to talk about our community of learners at Louis Riel School. Feedback from the attendees and the staff was that Louis Riel looks and feels like a school where students are challenged and encouraged to do their best by teachers who care deeply about their work (and still know how to make learning fun).  

The annual Science Fair and the projects on display were shining examples of what our young scientists are capable of doing. The variety of projects and the depth and breadth of scientific inquiry and discovery was truly impressive. As a new member of the teaching team and a first time science fair attendee and judge I can honestly say that I was not only awestruck, but I learned a lot as well. Thank you to all of the participants and their supportive families who helped make these projects a reality! 

We hope our students enjoyed their first half of the 2022-23 school year and are looking forward to semester two as much as we are. Thank you for being part of the community of learners here at Louis Riel School. 

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Hello Louis Riel Families,

I want to thank all the students and families who came to the school and helped make our Meet the teacher night on Thursday such a success. It was fantastic to see how well attended the event was and to finally be able to put faces to names! Our families started the evening by gathering outside to socialize and enjoy the food trucks organized by our council.  Families then came inside the school for a welcome message and to learn how and where they could meet our teaching staff. Elementary students went to see their classrooms and gym and our junior high students took their families through a mini timetable to meet all their teachers and see their instructional spaces. Student work, hallway art, department bulletin boards, team and individual athletics notices, and library items were all showcased throughout the school. Our leadership and Phys Ed departments set up a Bison wear store for students and their families to pick up shirts, shorts, and sweatshirts. I know I may be biased but it felt, sounded, and looked like a huge success to the staff here. We hope you enjoyed visiting our school with your students as much as we enjoyed hosting you.

Following our Meet the Teacher night, staff gathered on Friday to learn together about how to support literacy development and to identify goals and strategies for our School Development Plan. Every opportunity for Ms. Echo and I to work alongside our teachers to support student success confirms our belief that Louis Riel School is an exceptional place to teach and learn. 

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​Hello Louis Riel Community,

This is the first of what will become regular messages from your new Principal, our teaching team, and the school. There is always room in a Principal's letter to express gratitude, share enthusiasm for learning, showcase a variety of student achievements, and generally be amazed by what students can do when they're learning to learn together. Becoming the new Principal at Louis Riel after all of the students and staff had left for a well-deserved summer break left me in a bit of a predicament when it came to writing a welcome back to school message. Next year I know I'll be able to write from experience about how amazing the year was and how we're looking forward to building on our successes in the upcoming year but in this first message I would rather focus on the opportunity this year presents for our collective growth.

The last few years' events did not allow us to maintain our sense of connection through collaboration, teamwork and sharing our learning space with our community. Even though some risks were mediated by a number of physical changes, the school environment looked and felt very different for everyone. The limitations on personal interaction and connection in every workplace presented significant barriers to doing “business as usual" but the impacts were all the more palpable in our schools. The latter part of the school year saw a gradual relaxation of restrictions and the return of many activities and opportunities we once took for granted. Today, we have the opportunity to look forward to a healthy year of learning and this includes working together closely to get learning at Louis Riel back to normal… and even co-create a new normal for our community of learners.

Since the end of June I've taken the opportunity to pore over feedback collected from student, parent, and staff surveys; had many conversations with Mr. Bulloch, Ms. Elies-Guss and our Area Director; and even had the good fortune to catch up with a few teaching staff over the summer to learn from them about their school. There are a number of themes that emerged from the survey data and my conversations in terms of what stakeholders are looking for from a new Principal and in this new school year. Our community wants to feel they have a part to play as we breathe new life into Louis Riel School. Our families want to re-connect with the school, their students' teachers, and learn how to best support the educational experience of their students. Our staff want to get back to the business of learning collaboratively and supporting their students to develop scientific literacy and embrace their giftedness. Sharing such a list always runs the risk of suggesting some voices went unheard but rest assured these are but a few of the priorities we'll focus on as we prepare to start the new school year.   

In closing, we are doing our best to take all that we know, all that we've heard, and all that we've learned, and make this school year exceptional for all of our students. I hope we can count on your support as we take up the important work of teaching and learning at Louis Riel School.

 

Looking forward to learning with the Louis Riel School community,

Mat Powter

Louis Riel's New Principal