Dear Banff Trail School Families,
In the seeming blink of an eye, we now come to the precipice of closing out the 2023-24 school year. Perennially, this serves as a time to reflect upon our year—where we have succeeded, where we could be better, and what exciting new ideas we may have for the next year!
One of the foci of this past year that deserves a spotlight today is our work towards our Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, with today being National Indigenous Peoples Day, and celebrations taking place across the country. Today, our staff will be spending the afternoon learning more about Indigenous ways of knowing and being at Heritage Park, as there are many special festivities and learning opportunities happening there in recognition of this day. Over the year, we have worked with Knowledge Keeper Anita Crowshoe, who has had such a positive impact on students, families and staff at our school—her smile and laugh are contagious, and her stories offer wisdom from which to learn and grow.
All schools in the CBE have an annual Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation that they share; in 2023-24, Banff Trail School’s commitment was:
Banff Trail School will focus attention on the two solstices and two equinoxes, bringing attention to the stories and changes in nature that accompany these key moments of the year.
There are many ways that teachers and students have addressed the above commitment, and I look forward to continuing this work, while also delving into our 2024-25 Commitment, which will be:
Banff Trail School will work closely with Anita Crowshoe, Piikani Knowledge Keeper, to further student, staff and family learning about local Indigenous traditions, teachings and practices, both contemporary and historical.
You can also find this commitment posted to our school website, here.
I encourage you and your child(ren) to reflect upon the many learnings and overall growth they have experienced over the year (above and beyond the likely need for new clothing that many have now grown out of!). What are you much better at? Have you gained some new friendships either at school or outside of school, or deepened some existing friendships? Are you starting to see some passions develop in certain subject areas? What are some next steps in your learning that have been noted by teachers/parents/yourself? I encourage everyone to carve out a few minutes of the coming extended pause in learning to learn more about oneself, and set some initial goals for next year. I hope you can look back fondly upon your 2023-24 time at Banff Trail School!
As for the 2024-25 school year, if you are returning to Banff Trail School (or starting your time at Banff Trail School), you can expect a detailed ‘Welcome to the 2024-25 school year’ email from your child’s teacher on either Tuesday, August 27th or Wednesday, August 28th. If you have not heard from anyone by noon on Wednesday, August 28th, please contact the office for support. School resumes for ALL students on Thursday, August 29th. To those students and families moving on to other schools, we wish you all the best in your new location; thank you for your part in making Banff Trail School a caring place to grow.
For your consideration:
2024-25 School Year: A reminder that we do not check email or phone messages over the summer break; our office opens again on Monday, August 26th, 2024 to help with any inquiries. School resumes for all students on Thursday, August 29th, 2024.
Home-Literacy Program—Missing Books: Thank you for your enthusiasm and support for our Home-Literacy Program. Each week, students in Grades 3 and 4 had the opportunity to bring home books to read. Please note that we are still missing several books in each class. These books are labeled Banff Trail Home Reading Program and were sent home in Ziploc bags each Wednesday. If you have any of these around your home, please return these books as soon as possible, to allow our volunteers to organize them for next year. Thank you!
School Phone Lines: Over the past couple months, Telus and our CBE Technicians have been investigating and repairing some issues our school has been having with our school’s phone lines. If ever you are unable to connect with us via phone, please send us an email at banfftrail@cbe.ab.ca. We hope that we can soon find a resolution to these ongoing, intermittent disruptions!
Book Fair: A big thank you to our Grade 5 Students and Teachers for coordinating our recent Used Book Sale, and to the many families who donated their lightly-used books. We were overjoyed to offer some excellent books to new homes, for some summer reading. Grade 5 Students collected over $800, much of which will be donated to two charities chosen by the classes: Alberta Childrens’ Hospital and The Summit Centre for Youth Resilience.
New Learning Circle: This summer, you may notice some construction happening on our school grounds, near the baseball diamond on the East side of the building. We are very pleased that construction of a Learning Circle is beginning, and phase 1 is set to be complete by the end of August. This phase will include some boulder-type seating, and some leveling/crushed gravel as a base. Future phases will include the addition of trees, shrubs, etc. Thank you to our School Council and our Schoolyard Development committees for your work in developing these plans and working towards accessing future funding via grants!
Upcoming Dates:
- Tuesday, June 25: Grade 5 Farewell
- Wednesday, June 26: Last Day of School for Kindergarten
- Wednesday, June 26: Report Cards Visible in your MyCBE Account until July 26
- Wednesday, June 26: Sports Day (weather permitting)
- Thursday, June 27: EARLY DISMISSAL DAY; LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR GRADE 1-5 STUDENTS, 12PM.
- Friday, June 28: Appeals Day (am)—No school for students
- Monday, August 27: School office re-opens
- Thursday, August 29: School resumes for all students K-5
I look forward to serving our community again for the 2024-25 school year; have an amazing summer, full of wonder and love.
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School