Mark Your Calendars:
· Feb. 5, 2025: School Spirit Day – Favorite Jersey or T-Shirt Day
· Feb. 5, 2025: Fun Lunch: Subway
· Feb. 7, 2025: Wonder Hour 9:40-10:40
· Feb. 10, 2025: School Council Meeting at 6:30pm
· Feb. 13 & 14, 2025: No School for Students - Teachers' Convention
· Feb. 17, 2025: No School for Students – Family Day
· Feb. 18 – 27, 2025: Alien In-Line Skating
· Feb. 19, 2025: Fun Snack
· Feb. 26, 2025: Pink Shirt Day
· Feb. 28, 2025: No School for Students – Non-Instructional Day
· Mar. 6, 2025: Royal Oak School - Library Night at Crowfoot Library
Dressing for the Weather: As we are still in the heart of winter and the weather is expected to be much colder this coming week, please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately and prepared to go outside for recess and lunch break. They should be wearing boots, a winter jacket, snowpants, a toque/ hat, gloves, and scarf or neck warmer. In cases of extreme weather, when the temperature including windchill is –20 degrees Celsius or below, staff will plan to bring students inside the school before the bell between 8:19 - 8:37, plan for an indoor recess and /or lunch break.
Wonder Hour #2: On Friday, February 7 we will hold our second of six Wonder Hours at Royal Oak School from 9:40-10:40am. On this day, our teachers get to share some of their interests and passions, allowing our students to explore some of their own. Through these opportunities, we hope that our students will create new connections and friendships in the context of learning. There will be 15 different clubs offered where students will be learning, creating, and exploring with students from Kindergarten to Grade 4. Students will be placed in a group from one of their top choices of activities. Students have the opportunity to explore a different activity for each of the coming Wonder Hours this year.
Valentine’s Day: We have reached the middle point of the school year and with that, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. We would like to keep a low-key approach to this day and keep things focused on friendship, belonging, and kindness. On this day, our teachers will find a way to make connections to curriculum and learning as it relates to each grade grouping. If students choose to bring in Valentines for others, we ask that they do so for all classmates, so as not to leave anyone out. We also ask that you do not send in any candy, food treats or gifts.
Upcoming School Council Meeting: Our next Royal Oak School Council and Parent Society meetings are on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 6:30 pm at Royal Oak School. I look forward to meeting our School Council Team and other parents at this time! School Councils are integral to the workings of a school and provide support in so many ways to the learning and programming we are able to provide for students. As a note, all parents of Royal Oak are part of the School Council, and I hope to see you at our meeting on February 10.
Staffing Update: Through new Early Learning Support funding, our school has been allocated some additional funds. With this and other school funds, we are able to hire a part-time intervention teacher from February – June 2025. We are excited to welcome Ms. Claire Spalding into this position in the mornings, as she is one of our kindergarten teachers in the afternoons. She will work with small groups of children from grades 1-3 and provide focused, explicit instruction to build literacy and numeracy skills. These students will have been identified as requiring additional support through Alberta Education assessments completed in September and January, as well as classroom-based assessments. Parents will be receiving a message of notification within the next two weeks through SchoolMessenger.
Student Assessment and Reporting: Report cards were made viewable online for Royal Oak School students beginning Monday, January 27, 2025. Should you have questions or comments about your child’s progress or information contained within their report card, please contact your child’s teacher. Please note that our next round of school conferences will occur on March 20 and 21, 2025. Families can view Term 1 report cards online using your MyCBE parent account. Report cards can also be downloaded and printed by families at home. For best access to information, login to the MyCBE portal instead of using the PowerSchool app. Need help? Check out this video for more information on how to sign in, navigate the portal, toggle between more than one child’s report card, and more. MyCBE Student and Parent/Legal Guardian Account Sign-in - Kindergarten - Gr.9
Kindergarten Registration: Kindergarten Registration for the 2025-26 school year began on January 13, 2025, at 9:00am. For children to be eligible to register and attend kindergarten next school year, they must turn five years old on or before Dec. 31, 2025. Families with students designated to Royal Oak School but who attended elsewhere for kindergarten are also encouraged to enroll as soon as possible for grade 1. Should you have any questions about registering your child, please contact the school office at 403-777-6070 ext. 0. For more detailed information on how to register and what is required, please visit the CBE website: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/news-centre/Pages/Get-Ready-Get-Set-Kindergarten.aspx
Sincerely,
Michelle Ryskamp
Principal, Royal Oak School
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SCHOOL COUNCIL & FUNDRAISING SOCIETY NEWS – EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
· Please join the Royal Oak School Council & Fundraising Society by warmly welcoming our NEW PRINCIPAL ~ Michelle Ryskamp!
· We continue to be in search of parent volunteers to fill the following roles starting in the 2025/2026 school year. Be part of building the ROS community! Email for more information.
o Fundraising Society: Chairperson – ROSFundraisingSociety@gmail.com
o School Council: Volunteer Coordinator – ROSVolunteers@gmail.com
Mark Your Calendars!
1. **CRITICAL** February 5: Subway Fun Lunch (12-1.15pm)! NINE parent volunteers to sort and hand out sandwiches at lunch. Sign up here: ROS Volunteers: Winter 2025 Fun Lunch & Snack. Place your students order by January 31 at Healthy Hunger
2. February 10: Fundraising Society & School Council Meeting (6.30-8.30pm) in the staff room. Click over to this page School Council - Royal Oak School to check out the minutes and future agendas (when posted).
3. February 18 ~ Alien In-line is back!! We will need LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS (with CBE police clearances) to facilitate setting up equipment, tying laces, and joining the fun. Kids LOVE Alien Inline – help make this happen! Shifts will be approximately 1.5 hours and broken down by classroom. Get your volunteer clearance started NOW!
4. Coming Soon! March is Literacy Month at ROS – a month dedicated to getting our students to read! Our Book Drive starts March 3, so please donate any new or gently used children’s books and puzzles by bringing them to the office or sending them with your child.
5. Coming Soon! March 6: Royal Oak School Library Night at Crowfoot Library