Mark Your Calendars:
· Apr. 7-11, 2025: Mission Impossible in PE this week
· Apr. 10, 2025: Gr. 3 Fieldtrip to Telus Spark (Daniels, Libbey, Ryou)
· Apr. 10, 2025: Rescheduled Lockdown Drill @ 9:30am
· Apr. 14, 2025: Subway Fun Lunch & 6:30pm School Council Meeting
· Apr. 15, 2025: Group Class Picture Day
· Apr. 16, 2025: PM Kindergarten Classes Celebration of Learning 2:15-3:15pm
· Apr. 17, 2025: AM Kindergarten Classes Celebration of Learning 10:15 – 11:30am
· Apr. 18, 2025: No School – Good Friday
· Apr. 21, 2025: No School for Students – System Professional Learning Day
· Apr. 24, 2025: International Design Day
· Apr. 24, 2025: School Council Family Dance 5:30-8:30
· May 1, 2025: Grade 4 tour to WD Pratt School and Open House
· May 1, 2025: School Council Family Dance 5:30-8:30
· May 5-9, 2025: Mental Health Week – more information to come
Dear Royal Oak School Families,
Thank you to our School Council for coordinating a delicious Staff Appreciation potluck lunch on Friday, April 4! Thanks to all those who sent in dishes to make this meal a delight!
Mission Impossible: During the next week, students will continue to develop their movement and gymnastics skills in relation to larger equipment. To ensure the safety of our students during this activity we ask that students to follow some simple rules:
· All students are required to remove jewelry, head bands and watches.
· Students are encouraged to wear clothing that will allow a free range of movement.
· Students are required to remove socks and shoes to avoid slipping on the mats and equipment. However, if your child must keep their feet covered (i.e. warts) please send them with ‘grippy’ socks, if possible, or they will be required to put a bandage on the affected area.
· Students with long hair need to pull it back into a ponytail or braid
Read-a-thon Update: We want to thank our amazing School Council Literacy Month team, our staff, and our ROS families for your support of Literacy Month and all the events that we held.
The team collected and inputted all the Read-a-Thon time logs. This year, we had 334 students participate in the Read-a-Thon, reading a total of 185,466 minutes (that's 3091 hours or almost 129 days of reading)! That works out to 54% participation rate, compared to approximately 20% last year. We also saw that 81% of students who set a goal reached their reading goal. We raised almost $2700!! Incredible! Student prizes will be distributed and sent home on Wednesday, April 9th.
International Design Day at Royal Oak School: On Thursday, April 24, 2025: Royal Oak School will participate in our first International Day of Design. You might ask, what is this all about? On this day, students are encouraged to make, build, and tinker. We will also focus on using the Design Thinking process in all classrooms in our school. The goal for the International Design Day is to inspire a transformation in schools around the world to incorporate design thinking into everyday practice with our students from all levels, ages, and subjects. We will spend the entire morning of Thursday, April 24th designing and building with buddy classes. In the afternoon, students will have an opportunity to visit other classrooms to see their creations. We are looking forward to an exciting, creative, and engaging day. Depending on the age group and project, teachers may be reaching out for parent volunteers to lend a helping hand on this day.
Extra Set of Clothing: With the weather warming up and the snow melting, we now have the problem with puddles and mud near our school playground. We would appreciate it if you put an extra set of clothing (pants, shirt, socks and underwear) in your child’s backpack in the event they slip and fall in the water or mud
Spring-Time Safety Reminders: With the nicer weather finally here, we would like to share a couple of reminders to our Royal Oak School families to ensure that we keep everyone safe and sound. We would like to remind our families that scooters, bikes and skateboards are not to be ridden on the school sidewalks that run around our school. We ask that students, parents and siblings dismount and walk all scooters and bikes through these areas.
Kindergarten Registration Updates: Kindergarten registration is on-going! If you know someone, a friend or neighbor, who has a child that is age-appropriate for kindergarten for next year, please send them our way! Families are encouraged to register as soon as possible. This helps significantly with school planning for next year including teacher hiring and determining the number of classes required. Call 403-777-6279 if you require assistance with the online registration process.
AHS Parenting Information Sessions:
Community Education Services & Recovery Alberta Live Presentations | Parent Guilt: This presentation will define the experience of parent guilt according to research. Understand the risk and protective factors that influence the experience of parent guilt according to research. Learn practical strategies to help address parent guilt. Presenter: Vanessa Siso MC, R. Psych, Primary Care Registered Psychologist, CWCPCN Date: Monday, April 7 Time: 6 - 8 p.m. Register here
Presentation | Headaches in Kids and Teens (Causes, Treatment, Approach and Relationship to Mental Health): Objectives of the session are to review types of headaches in youth and how common they are. Review how we approach treating headaches in youth and review the relationship between headaches in youth and mental health. Date: Thursday, April 10 Time: 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Register here
Wishing you a great week ahead!
Sincerely,
Michelle Ryskamp,
Principal, Royal Oak School
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SCHOOL COUNCIL & FUNDRAISING SOCIETY NEWS – EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
● Spring Plant Fundraiser – Spring 2025 Fundraising Form - Royal Oak School – ORDER NOW! Support our school and brighten up your garden with our Spring Plant Fundraiser! Orders are open until April 18, with beautiful plants supplied by Bluegrass Nursery in Calgary. Pick-up will be on May 22 at ROS. All proceeds go to the Royal Oak School Fundraising Society, helping to fund materials, resources, and programs for our students. Thank you for your support!
● Don’t miss out on this fabulous Pedalheads offer for ROS families – use code ROYOAK25 for $25 off Spring and Summer bike lessons AND Pedalheads will donate $25 back to ROS. Click here to sign up: Summer Camp Calgary, Edmonton, & Alberta | Pedalheads Bike Camp
● Save these TENTATIVE Spring Dance dates – April 24 and May 1! With the strike action ending, we are waiting on final gym/school booking approval to move forward with these new nights. We’re in a bit of a time crunch to make it happen but we know it will be SO MUCH FUN. Come join us for two nights of pizza & dancing fun with our ROS community!
● ROS Council is still accepting gently used books and puzzles for the Book Sale! This continues to be a great chance to clear out kid’s books while Spring cleaning. A rescheduled date and venue have not yet been determined.
Mark Your Calendars!
1. NEW! April 14: School Council & Fundraising Society Meeting @ 6.30pm. Click over to the School Council - Royal Oak School page to check out past minutes and future agendas (when posted).
2. NEW! April 14: Subway Fun Lunch (12-1.15pm)! Join the fun and come sort lunch orders into classroom bins, plus be part of the excitement handing them out to students. 5 more volunteer spots available. ROS Volunteers: Spring 2025 Fun Lunch & Snack
3. NEW! April 15: Class Photo Day! Throughout the school day, volunteers are needed to bring classrooms down to the gym and assist students with lining up according to height. Sign up here: ROS Volunteers: Class Photo Day 2025
4. 2025/2026: IMMEDIATE NEED
o Volunteer Coordinator: Alison leaves ROS at the end of the current school year and is looking to train someone new. The core responsibilities are to create Sign Ups, liaise with ROS for events (as well as School Council and Fundraising Society) to recruit volunteers, and enhance school community. This is a CRITICAL role – ongoing support will be provided. Email: ROSVolunteers@gmail.com
o Fundraising Society Chair: Miranda is needing to step back from the role as soon as possible. Work alongside a team to facilitate fundraisers that enhance our students learning experience, oversee use of the Casino funds, and make a difference for ROS families! Email: ROSFundraisingSociety@gmail.com