Dear Banff Trail School Families,
Whether your child is beginning their schooling in Kindergarten, or are quickly approaching middle school, quality time spent together as a family remains a core pillar in your child’s formation. Research has shown that time spent together:
· Allows children to form secure attachment, which is linked to children feeling a sense of confidence in exploring the world, reduced anxiety, and developing stronger relationships later in life.
· Supports cognitive, social and language development (such as in building communication, empathy, and critical thinking skills, while learning about social norms).
· Improves emotional regulation (such as fewer instances of risky behaviour and higher self-esteem, and learning to express feelings appropriately).
· Improves academic success, with children showing stronger work habits.
Prioritizing your child during time together (such as by removing distractions and being fully present) and creating regular ‘space’ for this time will play key roles in your child’s long-term development. ‘How’ you choose to spend this time can vary, such as by having nightly walks together after dinner, having a ‘snack’ together as a picnic on weekends, reading a book together and discussing the book just before bed, or throwing a ball back and forth together on warm evenings. The earlier you establish these family routines, the more impactful they will be, but it is also never too late to start a new tradition or routine together.
For your consideration:
Registration for School Busing: Yellow School Bus Registration Deadline is June 14.
Families are now able to apply for yellow school bus service for the 2026-27 school year. Registration must be received by the deadline to ensure students are added to routes for the first day of classes next year. Learn more about service levels and proposed fees in the link above.
School Hours: We do not anticipate any changes to our school start or end times for next year, thus remaining at 7:58am to 2:30pm. Additionally, I anticipate that Kindergarten program start/end times will also remain similar (ie within a couple minutes) for next year.
Residencies: We just completed our Lacrosse residency; I have heard many positives about the experience from students of a range of grade levels! If ever you have any feedback about our residencies, please feel free to share your thoughts via our school email at banfftrail@cbe.ab.ca. We are also hosting a soccer skills residency in June.
Spirit/Theme Day: A reminder that our next Theme/Spirit Day will take place on Thursday, May 28th. This month’s theme will be, “Class Colours”. For this day, classes have chosen a particular colour as the theme...some classes will also include a SHAPE as a theme—triangles, rectangular prisms, etc.—to use in addition to the colour. Connect with your child’s teacher if you are unsure about the chosen colour!
Volunteer Tea: A reminder that we will be hosting a Volunteer Tea at 1:00pm on June 3rd; we are all so appreciative of the many people who have offered their time to support the range of activities we host at Banff Trail School. This is one way for many volunteers to gather together and chat more casually with each other and our staff over some coffee or tea.
Upcoming Dates:
May 27: Final day for book exchange for 2025-26 for students
May 28: Theme/Spirit Day: Class Colours
June 1: Anita Crowshoe, Knowledge Keeper, on site, working with select classes
June 3: Volunteer Tea 1:00pm
June 5: Grade 5 school tour-Branton School
June 10: School Council, 6:30pm
June 10: Jump Rope for Heart Day
June 23: Sports Day (Tentative)
June 24: Grade 5 Farewell
June 25: Sports Day/Grade 5 Farewell alternate day (if needed due to weather)
June 25: Last day of classes for Kindergarten students
June 25: Report Cards visible in MyCBE Account
June 26: Last day of classes for Grade 1-5 students
June 29: Appeals Day until 12:00pm
June 30: Organizational Day
Have a wonderful weekend,
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School