The Week Ahead

Feb 19 Family Day (No School)

Feb 20 Cross Country Ski Club at lunch

Feb 21 Immunizations/Grade 1 and other grades

Feb 21 School Council Meeting 6:30PM in-person and online

Feb 23 AM Kindergarten Attends 

Upcoming Dates

Feb 26 – Mar 1 Animation Residency

Feb 28 Spring Concert- Kindergarten & Grade 2

Feb 29 Animation Residency

Feb 29 Fun Lunch- Boston Pizza & Booster Juice

Feb 29 Last Day to Donate Food to the Food Bank

Mar 1 Animation Residency

Mar 1 PM Kindergarten Attends

Mar 6 Elder Eaglespeaker Visit

Mar 14 CBE Child & Youth Well-Being Webinar/Mental Health & Anxiety(6:30pm-8:00pm)

Mar 15 PM Kindergarten Attends 

Get Involved to Support the School

We are seeking parent support in a number of ongoing ways to support the school 

School Council – There are currently two open positions on the school council executive:

• School Council Chair
• Key Communicator 

Descriptions of these two  positions are posted on the school website https://collingwood.cbe.ab.ca/school-council 

Please email the school council directly if you would like to help out. Collingwoodparentcouncil@gmail.com

Naturalization Committee

We are looking for parents with a passion for outdoor learning, outdoor green spaces and gardening to join the Naturalization Committee. If you are interested, please contact the school council at the email above. 

Parent Association – There is an open Casino Coordinator position on the Parent Association. This will be a very important position for next school year as the casino is the biggest fundraiser for the school. In addition, if someone was interested in either the Secretary of Treasurer position, one person is currently filling both of those roles. 

Please email the Parent Association directly if these positions are of interest to you. collingwoodpa@gmail.com. 

Collingwood School Council Facebook and Instagram Sites 

Collingwood parents Spencer and Catherine Wight do an excellent job keeping a School Council Facebook and Instagram site updated. Check out the pages below.

Website:  Our Facebook page
Follow Us: Our Instagram 

Spanish for Parents

Chinook Learning Services is offering Spanish For Parents (level 1) course at Dalhousie School.  Learning Spanish can be both easy and fun. This beginning level course will help parents of bilingual Spanish students learn or refresh their Spanish language skills. Parents will become more comfortable interacting with their children in Spanish, build their network of bilingual parents and become familiar with the school environment. Includes a textbook and CD. 

For more information and to register please use the link below.

​​​​​​​Spanish for Parents

Food Bank Drive

Families are invited to bring non-perishable items for the Food Bank  until Feb 29. Donations can be left in bins by the main office.

Cross Country Ski Club 

Weather permitting, Sr. Dornan will be leading a Cross Country Ski Club at 11:35 and 12:25 on Tuesdays for interested grade 1-5 students. We will be skiing around the fields surrounding the school. No cross-country ski experience is necessary, although students need to bring their own cross-country ski gear. We will meet by the playground.

School Council Meeting Feb 21 6:30 PM

Our next School Council Meeting will be held in person and online at 6:30 PM on Feb 21. A group of teachers will be sharing about our School Development Plan work related to Wellness.

 Click here to join the meeting.

Learning Disruption Support

Collingwood School has received additional Provincial funding for literacy support. Teacher, Rita Gray, will be joining the Collingwood staff for a part time 10-week position on February 20. She will be providing additional literacy support to small groups of students across the school.

Diversity Picnic Table

Senator Patrick Burns School construction students have built and donated a picnic table to Collingwood School. This table will be installed in front of the school near our pollinator garden. One of our grade 5 classes will be painting this table and we would like this table to be painted to send a message that Collingwood is a welcoming, supportive place for all. We have invited all students to submit their ideas for consideration. If families have ideas they would like to include in the design please reply to this email.

February is Black History Month

The CBE has shared the following links which may be helpful for families wishing to learn more about Black History Month. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month.html

Families may also be interested in attending programs offered by the YMCA related to Black History Month. Celebrating Black History Month | YMCA Calgary

The 7 Grandfather Teachings and Elder Visits

For February and March, the focus of the Grandfather Teachings is on Honesty. We had our first visit with Elder Eaglespeaker last month and he shared Blackfoot beliefs and stories about the importance of truth and respect in Blackfoot Culture. He will be speaking with different grade groups each visit. We are grateful to the Collingwood Parent Association for making these visits possible.

Animation Residency

Throughout February, animators from Quickdraw Animation will be working with our students. Students will be learning about the concept of animation and creating simple animations to highlight and illustrate the work they are doing with legends they are studying from different Hispanic countries. We are grateful to the Collingwood Parent Association for their financial support for this residency.

School Mural

You may have noticed that the murals on the North wall of the school have been removed. An artist is currently painting a new design.  We will inform the community when we will have an official unveiling of our new mural. We are grateful to the Collingwood Parent Association for their financial support for this initiative.  

Kindergarten and Grade 2 Concerts, Feb 28

Kindergarten and grade 2 classes will be sharing a “Leap Year Concert” in the school gym on Wednesday, February 28: 

8:30AM  AM Kindergarten (Lopez & Wilkinson), Chavez, Hamilton

1:15 PM  PM Kindergarten (Lopez & Wilkinson), Beltran, Bradley

Pink Shirt Day – Feb 29

Pink Shirt Day started in Nova Scotia in 2007 after a student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. It has since been recognized annually worldwide as a day to take a stand against bullying. All Albertans are encouraged to be inclusive, welcoming and supportive with colleagues, clients, friends and family. Building healthy relationships is one of the best ways to prevent bullying and create safe environments. While Pink Shirt Day across Canada is Feb 28, at Collingwood we will be celebrating it on Feb 29 due to our K and Grade 2 concerts on Feb. 28. Students are invited to wear pink to school. This day is intended to promote inclusiveness and therefore if your child doesn’t already own a pink shirt, families shouldn’t feel obligated to purchase a pink shirt just for that day. 

Semana Cultural

Every year the school focuses for one week on a different element of Hispanic culture and traditions. This year our Semana Cultural will be held the week of March 4 – 8. During this week the emphasis will be on a variety of different legends from across Latin America and Spain. Students will be learning different legends in Spanish and sharing them with one another in classroom visits.

CBE Dates of Significance Calendar

In the spirit of building a culture of appreciation and inclusion, where students and staff can see themselves valued, respected and celebrated, the CBE has compiled a Dates of Significance Calendar. As we work to make Collingwood School more welcoming and inclusive, it is our hope that this calendar will help build awareness in our school community. The idea of making this calendar more visible emerged at a recent meeting of the Collingwood Parent Diversity Subcommittee.

Links

• Fundraisers and Donations: this link will provide you with up to date information about any Collingwood School fundraisers or Parent Association Fundraisers.  It also explains the process the CBE uses for other donations.
• Lunchtime: View the staggered lunchroom schedules for classes and Fun Lunch Dates
• Subscribe to Stay Informed
• School Calendar (printable calendar and events and field trips)