Happy Friday!

As mentioned in the previous Weekly Update, this week marked Mental Health Awareness week, during which we organized our first school-wide "Wellness Day." Several weeks ago, I informed families about our comprehensive plan aimed at supporting student well-being. While some activities might seem isolated or less relevant, each event is integral to our strategic plan supporting student well-being. Events like "Wellness Day" encourage students to explore new experiences, take calculated risks, and do so in a familiar and safe environment, such as school. By doing this, we aim to show students their capacity to overcome challenges that may initially leave them feeling anxious. Stepping outside our comfort zones, even slightly, fosters learning and personal growth, while also demonstrating our ability to tackle situations that are new to us and that may come with some feelings of uncertainty. Our “Wellness Day” was also designed to provide students with agency over their own time, which is something they do not often get to experience at school. I want to thank the teachers that worked hard to organize this day, and I’d like to also thank the community volunteers who gave their time for our students to benefit from their expertise and passion. The feedback surrounding this day was overwhelmingly positive. Students shared that they really enjoyed the opportunity to design their own schedule around those activities that piqued their interest. I also want to thank those of you that took the time to drop me a line and share with me what you heard from your children and their friends around the success of the day. While the weather decided not to cooperate with us, and last-minute changes were necessary, overall the day went very smoothly and we are already looking at how to make next year’s “Wellness Day” an even greater success. We are also very grateful to those of you that made donations in support of this day, and for the businesses in our community who got behind this day and supported us!

Following "Wellness Day," our co-curricular attention shifts to our school-wide mainstage production of Mean Girls JR. Today, both cast and crew, along with their teacher sponsors, worked diligently to set the stage for dress rehearsals taking place this weekend. We extend a warm invitation to parents, guardians, and family members to purchase tickets for this long-awaited event (further details provided in the announcements below). The play, which students and staff have been meticulously planning for months, promises to be very entertaining. Evening shows take place May 7, 8, and 9 at 7PM.

Today, our grade 9 students dedicated time to familiarize themselves with the new provincial platform for PATs (Provincial Achievement Tests), which have now shifted entirely online. The first PAT, the Grade 9 English Language Arts Part A exam, is scheduled for May 13th, with the rest to follow in June. It's worth noting that the Math and English Language Arts and Literature PATs for Grade 6 have been canceled by the Government. These exams were set to be the first to assess student learning under the new curriculum introduced last year.

Finally, yesterday I did reconcile our budget for 2024-2025. There continue to be many moving parts to the next year planning process. I will provide a detailed report on how we have allocated our resources for the upcoming school year at our scheduled School Council meeting later this month. Those of you that know me will know that I do tend to staff conservatively and then adjust in August if enrollment has changed significantly over the summer break. For next year we are planning for 6 Grade 6 Homerooms, 7 Grade 7 Homerooms, 8 Grade 8 Homerooms, and 7 Grade 9 Homerooms. I do hope to see you at our next School Council meeting which is May 21 @ 6:30PM at the school.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and please reach out if you need anything at all.

Dr. Nancy Lisi, Principal

nmlisi@cbe.ab.ca

​​​​​​​Announcements & Reminders:

Wellness Day Sponsors and Guest Speakers - THANK YOU!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following businesses, families, and individuals for sponsoring our Wellness Day through their support and generous donations.  Thank you for helping to make this day a success.

• Amaranth Foods
• YYC Foodtrucks
• Butterbalm YYC
• YYC Waxnwix
• Santana Hernandez
• MacDonald Family
• Rudnicki Enns Family
• Christie Family
• Tina Chow
• Santana Hernandez

We would also like to thank the following guest speakers. Without your support, this day could not happen. Thank you!

• Michal Grigg
• Roughnecks Drill Crew
• Jessica Stawinski
• Joni Taylor with Alberta University of the Arts
• Renate W. with Bow Valley Calligraphy Guild
• Cathy Zhou
• Jenni Harluk
• Katie for Tao of Peace

Mean Girls JR: Performance Dates and Ticket Sales

Arbour Lake School 

Presents
MEAN GIRLS JR.

Performances Begin May 7th, 2024

At Arbour Lake School

Arbour Lake Middle School presents the ferociously hilarious musical Mean Girls JR. on May 7th, 8th, and 9th at 7pm. Tickets are $10 (With a $2.59 service charge online) each. For more information and ticket sales: please visit https://arbourlakeschoolpresentsmeangirlsjr.brownpapertickets.com

Tickets will be available for purchase at the main office in advance of the show dates. These tickets can be purchased with cash only in exact change. There will also be a limited number of tickets available at the door. Cash only at the door. Please contact Danica Caron (dacaron@cbe.ab.ca) or Andrew Crabbe (ancrabbe@cbe.ab.ca) with any questions about tickets. 

Arbour Lake School invites you to back-to-school when students present the smart and ferociously funny musical Mean Girls JR. beginning May 7th, 2024, at Arbour Lake School. Adapted from the hit movie written by Tina Fey and starring Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls JR. tells the story of student Cady Heron who must learn to navigate the treacherous social hierarchy of high school when her family moves to suburban Illinois from Kenya

Lost and Found Items

Please have your student check our Lost & Found if they have lost an article of clothing. In the interest of maintaining a healthy environment, any food containers will be disposed of at the end of the week.

Parent Presentation – Responding to Substance Use

It is common for youth to have many new experiences as they age, including trying out substances such as alcohol or cannabis. With their minds and bodies still developing, substance use may lead to or affect physical or mental health. It is important to talk openly about substance use with your child. This session, hosted at Robert Thirsk High School, on May 14th at 7pm will provide you with tools and resources to have meaningful conversations with the youth in your life. Members of Community Health Promotion Services with Alberta Health Services are providing this session as a first step in developing a community response to substance use. To help us prepare the space for everyone interested, please RSVP. 

Arbour Lake School Annual Spring Dance | May 23^rd

The ALS ImPACt Team is proud to announce the theme of the 2024 Annual Spring Dance: Hollywood! The dance will take place on Thursday, May 23^rd from 6:30 to 8:30 and all students are welcome to attend. Doors to the event will open at 6:20 and close at 6:45. Tickets are $5, and students will get a snack and drink with entry. Additional food will also be available at the dance. Also, prizes will be awarded during the dance. For the next four weeks, tickets will be on sale during the first half of lunch in the gathering space. Students who wish to purchase tickets before the event will gain express entry on the night of the event. However, tickets are also available on the night of the dance. Students are encouraged to dress for the red carpet, but we also know that Adam Sandler is a Hollywood favourite, and he gets along just fine in t-shirts and baggy shorts. We look forward to a fun-filled night in May!

Student Enrollment Intentions for 2024-2025

If your child is currently scheduled to return to Arbour Lake School next year, but you know that they will not be returning, please use this link to share your intentions:  https://forms.gle/XvbybR3qvQci3R21A

Messages from School Council

Teen Triple P Seminars

Arbour Lake School Council is happy to share a learning opportunity presented for parents and caregivers of Arbour Lake School students. In collaboration with the Trellis Family Resource Network, we have the opportunity to host three seminars aimed at supporting skill development in parenting our teenagers. The teenage years are a time of tremendous change and development for our children and can sometimes be difficult to navigate as we're helping our teens move through puberty, friendships, other relationships, academics, and all the things in between.

We're excited to share these learning opportunities to support and engage our school parent/caregiver community and hope you're able to join us. The attached poster has additional information on each seminar. Please save the date for May 14th, 28th, and June 18th. Teams Virtual event invitations to follow.   

Arbour Lake School Council AGM | May 21

The Arbour Lake School Council and Fundraising Society are actively recruiting members to join the elected executive for the 2024-25 school year!  Elections for the 2024-25 year will be held at the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 6:30-8pm.  This is an in-person meeting at the school.  All parents or guardians of a student registered to attend Arbour Lake School for the 2024-25 school year are welcome to attend.  

Please reach out to alscouncil.chair@gmail.com for further information.  We hope to see you then! 

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

May 6                   The Class – ROARR

May 7, 8, & 9      Mean Girls Jr.

May 13                Grade 9 English Language Arts Part A PAT

                             The class – ROARR

May 14                Grade 5 Feeder Tours – Hawkwood School

                             Gr. 8 Camping Trip Parent Meeting 6:00-6:45PM

                             Gr. 9 Camping Trip Parent Meeting 7:00-7:45PM

May 15                Gr. 8 Glenbow Museum Trip

May 16                Gr. 8 Glenbow Museum Trip

                             Grade 5 Feeder Tours – Citadel School

May 17               Professional Learning Day – No Classes

May 20               Victoria Day – School Closed

May 21               School Council 6:30PM In-person

May 22               Spring Festival of Learning 6:30-8PM

May 23               School Dance 6:30-8:30PM

May 27               Gr. 7 Heritage Park Field Trip

                            The Class – ROARR

May 28               Gr. 7 Heritage Park Field Trip

                             School Tours – Booked Through Main Office 5:30-6:30PM

May 30                Band Concert 6:30-8:30PM

May 31                Bike to School Day

Healthy Hunger Dates

Organized by our School Council, Arbour Lake School does offer “Fun Lunches” through Healthy Hunger. Parents can order lunch for their child in advance. It is delivered to the school on the noted date and distributed to students. If you’re interested in taking advantage of getting a break from making lunches occasionally this is a nice treat for parents and students. The link to sign up is below.  Please scroll down and select “Arbour Lake Middle School” – there are two schools with similar names, this is the one that takes you to our staff selection. ALL Homerooms have now been included!!  https://healthyhunger.ca/parent-help

May 8    Kernels

May 9    Subway

May 16  Mary Brown’s

May 22  Tim Horton’s

May 23  McDonalds

May 30  Tim Horton’s

June 6    Subway

June 12  Kernels

June 13  Pizza 73

June 20  Mary Brown’s

June 26  Tim Horton’s

June 27  McDonalds

Parent Volunteer Sign-Up for Fun Lunch - Thursdays

For parents who wish to volunteer, our Fun Lunch days need some support. If you have completed your police check and requirements for volunteering within CBE and are a quick learner in understanding systems of organization, we would love to have you come join us on Thursdays at lunch to support Fun Lunch distribution. Please use the Sign-up Genius link below to do so:

Sign Up Here:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4CAEA628A3FDC34-46860288-funlunch/24158094#/ 

THE COYOTES CANTEEN

The Coyotes Canteen is open. All sales are CASH ONLY.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE - UPDATED

Arbour Lake School Social Media Accounts

Twitter:               @ArbourLake_CBE           

Instagram:          arbourlake_cbe