Dear Banff Trail School Families,
I hope that you and your children are as excited as I am about starting the new school year this coming Monday, and that any initial nerves will become more tempered as teachers begin to establish rapport and routines. The process of setting up a foundation of effective relationships between the teachers and students, as well as the teachers and parents, takes time, but it is time very well spent. Rest assured, academic achievement continues while a safe, warm, welcoming environment is nurtured.
Related to the establishment of strong classroom relationships, this is a good time to remind families that if you ever have any questions, concerns or simply some information to share that may be helpful to the school, please share these details with your child’s teacher. The more information teachers have about your child, the better we can tailor their learning experience in a joyful, positive, productive way for them. We also schedule one-on-one conference opportunities with teachers in late September, to allow for information sharing and personalized collaboration about your child. Further conferences occur in November and March. Information about these conferences (signup date and time, etc.) will be forthcoming.
I wish all families a wonderful year of learning and wonder; we once again have an amazing group of teachers and support staff that are ready to do their best to continue your child’s learning journey in a positive, caring way over the course of the next year. I also encourage you to pay close attention to your child’s French ability between now and the end of the year, as this is a time of their life where growth can happen very quickly.
For your consideration:
Teacher Introductions: Yesterday, you should have received a message from your child’s new teacher(s), introducing themselves and offering some information about startup and the 2026-27 school year. If you have NOT heard from anyone yet, please connect with the office at banfftrail@cbe.ab.ca.
New To Our School: A big welcome to a few new staff joining us this year at Banff Trail School. Welcome to Mme. Rebecca Carscadden, who will be teaching grade 2. Welcome back to Mme. Tara Scaglione, who is slated to cover Mme. Vicky’s maternity leave for the year in grade 2, and to Mme. Faith O’Connor, who will cover Mme. Heather’s maternity leave in grade 3. Also, a welcome back to Krista DeCarle, who will cover Oksana Kaye’s secretarial position in the office during her maternity leave. More fine people joining our amazing Banff Trail Team!
Toys and Treasures: A reminder that toys, valuables and anything that your child treasures should remain at home, and not come to school. We want to be proactive in avoiding student disappointment; in past years, we have had too many treasures lost, broken or spoiled. Thank you!
AI in Schools: As AI becomes increasingly woven into the tools and technologies that support our work, know that staff at our school will, at times, leverage AI, such as to analyze data, find trends that could lead to optimizing educational experiences, and enhance the design and deployment of lessons and learning opportunities.
Assemblies: Assemblies serve as a great opportunity to come together as a learning community; at our first assembly, we review the virtues that we will explore for the year and as well as some norms and expectations for students (such as relating to safety and kindness). In the future, we will continue to invite parents to these short assemblies when their child’s grade-level is hosting the event. Details to come!
Crosswalks: We anticipate the grade 5 crossing guard training to begin in late September, and hope to have the Patrols program set up some time in October. In the meantime, we ask you to be mindful about modelling proper crosswalk usage with your child, including looking both ways, not jaywalking, etc. Of course, please also obey all traffic laws when driving, such as avoiding u-turns, etc. Thank you for looking out for everyone’s safety!
Parking, Pickup and Drop-off: Thank you to the vast majority of families who abide by the traffic signage and rules. A reminder that for the safety of all families and to maintain proper traffic flow, please avoid even momentarily stopping in the bus zone, do not park in or within 5 metres of our crosswalk, and do not leave your car unattended in the Passenger Loading Zone in front of the school (ie the Student Drop-Off stretch along Cochrane Road). Note that Passenger Loading Zones are different than Loading Zones; cars cannot be left unattended in Passenger Loading Zones, and are meant for a quick pickup or drop-off (with accompanying hugs, of course :) ).
Help from office: Our office is here to help you however they can, and is open from 7:45am to 3:00pm. We ask that when possible and except in emergency situations, please avoid contacting the office during our peak times, which are the 10 minutes before and after both school entry and exit, since those are exceptionally busy times around here; our focus during those time frames are getting students where they need to be, safely and quickly, and we want to be able to give your query the focus, time and attention it deserves! Thank you for this consideration.
Spirit Day: Each month, we aim to have a special school spirit day, where we encourage everyone to dress to a certain theme. On Tuesday, September 29th, we encourage everyone to wear orange, in honour of September 30th’s Orange Shirt Day (Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—note that the school is closed on September 30th). We look forward to another year with both past favourite spirit days and new themes!
Administrative Regulations: Administrative Regulations (ARs) are the set of rules, expectations, and guidelines identified by the chief superintendent that support and align the operation of the CBE. Schools are asked to share 3 ARs with families for the beginning of the year: AR 6031, which speaks to the roles and expectations in sustaining a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning and work environment for all; AR 6006, which addresses progressive student discipline, and AR 6005, which speaks to the roles and expectations related to student conduct.
Picture Day: Student Picture Day will take place on September 9 and 10 this year; details about ordering to come!
Upcoming School Dates:
Monday, August 31: First Day of School!
Monday, September 7: School Closed for Labour Day
Sep 9,10: Student Photo Days
Sep 16: School Council, 6:30pm
Sep 22: Tentative Terry Fox Day Run
Sep 24, 25: Learning Conferences (Sep 24: 3pm-7pm; Sep 25: 8am-12:30pm)
Sep 29: Theme Day--Orange Shirt Day
Sep 30: National Day of Truth & Reconciliation (School Closed)
Many other Dates of Significance for this month and beyond can be found here.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School