Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope this message finds you well! First, I want to extend a huge thank you to our Grade 9 Leadership class and Ms. Caron for their outstanding work on the Haunted House event. It was a wonderful way to connect with our community and bring out some school spirit! Congratulations to all homerooms for their participation in the door decorating contest! The creativity was impressive, making it a challenge to choose the top three. Be sure to check our Instagram page to see some of the fantastic decorations!
I also want to send congratulations to our Boys Soccer team. They had an incredible season and found themselves on the winning end of a very intense and exciting semi-final game this past Wednesday that ended in a penalty-shoot out. On Monday at 4pm here at home, they will be facing Branton in the finals. Best of luck to these hardworking athletes! Go Coyotes!
As we move into the busy months ahead, I’d like to remind everyone about pedestrian safety. Please talk to your child about the importance of following traffic rules and avoiding jaywalking. Keeping our students safe is a top priority. It’s also essential that we encourage our children to be positive community citizens. We have noticed an increase in complaints regarding littering, particularly in the neighborhood around the condos and public pathways. Poor choices by a few can negatively impact public perception of all our students. We want our community to see our students as respectful and mindful individuals. If you could reinforce this message with your own child that would go a long way in supporting our work with them at school.
In the coming weeks, we will initiate targeted efforts to promote inclusion and belonging within our school community. Three years ago, we launched the ALS Cares Initiative to support our commitment to anti-racism and combating discrimination in all forms. While our community encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and values, we must collectively agree on the importance of respectful language and behavior.
The goal of ALS Cares is to identify and address harmful or discriminatory language and actions through an educational lens. By helping students understand the impact of their actions on others, we empower them to make more thoughtful choices. Once students are informed about language and behaviors that can be hurtful, any continued engagement in those actions becomes an intentional choice to harm others. When students choose to act in ways that intentionally hurt one another, they are disregarding our expectation of mutual respect and kindness. Such intentional harm often results in disciplinary measures, which serve not only to support the individual but also to reinforce that these behaviors are unacceptable in our school, helping to maintain a safe and inclusive environment for all.
As a public school, we celebrate a rich tapestry of cultures, religions, beliefs, and values. Our role as educators is not to dictate what others should believe, but to uphold the principle that harmful behaviors—whether or not we personally find them offensive—will not be tolerated at Arbour Lake School. It is not our place to dictate how others should feel or react to specific language or actions, but it is our responsibility to foster an environment of respect for all, and we remain committed to doing so.
It's important to remember that while we may not always agree, mutual respect is essential in our learning community. Our aim is to ensure that every student is able to access their right to education without fear of exclusion or discrimination. This work is ongoing, but it will be more focused and targeted in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reach me at nmlisi@cbe.ab.ca. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to create a positive and respectful environment for our students.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Warm regards,
Dr. Nancy Lisi
Principal