This week began with the kick off of our sports programs for the year, as our senior girls team went to their first tournament. They played very well and gained good experience, having only practiced twice and achieved 6th place. Way to go, ladies! Our other teams have begun to do their practices and I encourage you to watch for the announcement of upcoming games and tournaments from Mr D.
Our cross country is also kicking off next week. We are hoping for our students to be able to participate in at least one and possibly two meets later in September. Watch for that announcement to come out soon.
Students also had a chance to participate in Student Vote on Thursday. Representatives from the grade 9 classes presented each of the platforms from the federal parties to the rest of the student body. There was an opportunity for question and answer time, which helped illuminate how the individual federal parties would respond to various challenges in Canada. Afterwards, the students were able to vote for the party which impressed them the most.
We also ended the week with a fantastic community day at the Calgary Farmyard (formerly known as the Corn Maze). Students had a great time exploring the many attractions together. I was very proud of their behavior and how the staff at the Farmyard were impressed with all of their interactions with our students.
I know there is a great deal of concern with the new state of emergency declared by our provincial government this past week. As I have looked into this and consulted with our division, it appears we will be able to continue to operate as we have done. Our elementary classes are already in cohorts, we are already masking in common areas and there is no new impact on our phys ed or extra curricular programs. The only other significant difference is that parents will not be able at this time to watch sports teams compete. As always, please keep your child home if they are feeling unwell, which is a good practice regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, and please ensure they have at least one mask at school. Students still need to wear masks on the bus and it is not the responsibility of our drivers to remind them to do so. I will continue to work with our amazing drivers to help students to keep making good choices about how they spend their time on buses.
The school division is also recognizing Reconciliation Day on September 30th, which means there is no school that day. We will spend some time prior to that day talking about what that day means, and learning about the pain caused by residential schools. We are looking forward to having a special speaker come talk to our students about Indigenous culture. Watch for information to come out about that soon. Also just a reminder that next Friday is a non-school day. God bless you this weekend.
