Dear Banff Trail School Families,
With a couple interruptions in learning having now passed, we are all looking forward to the upcoming 5-week stretch of learning, before we pause for winter break. Teachers will be doing their utmost to focus deeply on the curricular content, to work towards catching up on missed learning and gathering evidence of learning for the subsequent report cards. As we craft learning experiences that aim to ensure that content is meaningful to students, enabling them to be successful in their own way in life, we will always look towards teaching skills in a way that is transferable to other situations. In doing so, we ask: What is the most important ‘concept’ to understand in the curricular learning outcomes? This can be as simple as knowing that the use of capitalization always occurs to begin a sentence (ie—not just in this sentence for this assignment…but in all your writing), or how multiplication represents numerous sets of the same amount regardless of what you are calculating, or how the scientific method will help ensure that all experimentation is properly controlled and deployed. In French, where every noun is either masculine or feminine, learning the concept that nouns that end with an ’e’ are most often feminine allows students to properly use ‘une’ or ‘la’ in a range of situations (learning about ‘exceptions’ comes gradually over time as well). In other words, how else could concepts that we explore be applied in our learning or lives? I encourage you to consider this way of thinking when discussing concepts with your child, to help them gain both a deeper and broader understanding of the world they live in.
In thinking of the above, over the break I was reading Warren Buffett’s final letter as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. There is much to learn from his wisdom and experiences…learnings that extend far beyond the ‘concept’ of the money and riches associated with his $150 billion dollar estate and trillion-dollar company. He discusses the importance of relationships, family, friendship, giving, positivity, joy, humility, care and kindness towards one another. I am reminded that we can learn a lot from each other (as Teachers also learn from their students), but the wisdom of the years always seem to come back to kindness, which we will continue to nurture and develop at Banff Trail School, weaved amongst all the conceptual learning that we will promote. As Mr. Buffet says in his letter:
Greatness does not come about through accumulating great amounts of money, great amounts of publicity or great power in government. When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world. Kindness is costless but also priceless.
We all look forward to helping your children along their learning journey during their time at our wonderful school.
For your consideration:
Welcomes: We have a few new additions to our staff at Banff Trail School. Welcome to Mme. Tara Scaglione, who is slated to cover Mme. Vicky’s maternity leave for the remainder of the year. Welcome as well to Abdulsalam Mohamed, who will be covering for our Facility Operator Gerardo David for a few months for his medical leave. Finally, we are pleased to announce that our amazing School Secretary, Oksana Kaye, will also be taking on a vacant Lunch Supervisor position at our school. Thank you to all of you for your help in making Banff Trail School a great place for students to learn.
School Conferences: We have received confirmation that the school conferences scheduled for November 27th and 28th will proceed as planned. More information about registering for the conferences with your child’s Teacher will be forthcoming. Note, however, that during November Parent-Teacher Conferences, Mme Sophie will have a French Display set up in the foyer. We encourage you to stop by to meet her and learn more about our Intensive French Program. She will also have a variety of resources available to help you support your children in French Immersion. In addition, ceintures fléchées (Arrowhead Sashes) will be available for purchase in preparation for our Carnaval, which will take place in February. The cost is $25 (cash payment is requested). Merci beaucoup!
Lost & Found: While attending the Learning Conferences, please have a look at the Lost & Found items, which will be on display. Any remaining items will be donated to the Women in Need Society (WINS) on Thursday, December 11th, 2025.
Theme/Spirit Day: Our next school spirit day will take place on Wednesday, November 26th, and will focus upon a favourite of both staff and students: Sports Team/Club Day! Students are encouraged to proudly display their support of any team or teams, whether they be teams on which they participate personally, or teams that they support (such as Calgary Flames, Calgary Roughnecks, Calgary Wild, etc.). Looking forward to it!
Use of Crosswalks: A thank you to the vast majority of families who continue to model excellent use of crosswalks. As we work towards developing independence in our students and children, we want to empower them to be safe on our city streets, and to know how to safely cross roads at marked crosswalks.
Digital Citizenship Plan: Each year, CBE schools create a Digital Citizenship Plan that speaks to student use of technology. With our early learners, we focus on equitable access to technology, and some initial introductions to digital tool usage. We welcome you to learn more about digital citizenship at Banff Trail School here.
Upcoming Dates:
November 19: School Council, 6:30pm
November 26: Theme Day: Sports Team/Club Day
November 27: No classes for Kindergarten Students, regular day for grades 1-5
November 27, 28: Learning Conferences (no classes on Nov 28)
December 10: Photo Retakes Day
December 11: All Lost & Found Items donated to WINS
December 19: Last day of classes
December 20-January 4: Winter Break
January 5: School Resumes
January 7: School Council, 6:30pm
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School