September 11, 2026
Dear Banff Trail School Families,
I hope that school start-up has been successful for your child; it has been great to see Banff Trail School students return to the building, as well as the congregation of families in the back field before and after school. It truly is a unique learning community in our city—I have taught and led in many schools across Calgary, and this is a true gem.
In helping to care for everyone as best as we can in the school, I ask for your help with a few small things that have a large, positive impact. Firstly, a big thank you to the vast majority of families who ensure that their child arrives to school on time and ready to learn. Teachers purposely plan for a start to each day that is warm, inviting, and designed to prepare students for an effective day of learning, and we don’t want any children to miss this focused time. Second, if your child is sick, please keep them at home. Not only do we want students to be at their best and excited to be here each day, but we also want to limit the spread of any illness to others in the classroom. If your child is struggling through the day due to the onset or worsening of illness, we will call home to let you know; we appreciate that it can be challenging to households when a child is sick, so we encourage you to proactively arrange for backup caregivers if needed. Finally, a few reminders about the ‘outdoor’ time at school, such as during recess, lunch break, any outdoor learning time, etc. Being the fall, the wasps are out, so please remind your child to not swat at these insects…which can at least ‘help’ prevent stings. Also, please have a sense of the weather before sending your child to school. If it is raining, they will most often go outside, unless it is raining very hard. In the winter, students go outside unless the temperature, including windchill, is -20 C or colder (based on the weather widget at the bottom of our webpage). Finally, if your child has any severe allergies related to the outdoors, please ensure that your child’s teacher is aware of this, so we can be prepared to help with any reactions.
Thank you for your help in keeping all our students, safe, healthy, and excited to be at school every day!
For your consideration:
Theme/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!
Caution-It’s Wasp Season: Fall often marks a significant increase in the number of wasp stings. Yearly, we find wasp nests on our school grounds, which we mark off with caution tape and pylons until they can be addressed by pest control. If ever you notice what seems to be a nesting area for wasps, please let a staff member know, so that we can indicate this for others, and address the issue. They often seem to set up around crevices found in some of the small boulders scattered around our grounds.
Conferences: Learning Conferences will take place on the evening of Thursday, September 24th, and the morning of Friday, September 25th. These will be in-person conferences; the purpose is for you to engage in a one-on-one conversation about your child, offering any insights that you may have that could help set both the teacher and your child up for success in working together in the 2026-27 school year. Details about conference registration, which will open on Friday, September 18th, will be shared soon.
Virtue Leaves: We are excited to begin handing out Virtue Leaves once again! Students receive Virtue Leaves for demonstrating positive character around our school, and can be given to students by any staff member. Thank you to all students for their numerous positive impacts around the school thus far, and over the past couple years. This month, we are also handing out ‘les feuilles de Francophonie’, which acknowledge students when they make extra efforts to use their French language skills in the school.
Calling the Office: Thank you to all families who have been diligent in calling the office to inform us about absences and/or changes in routine pickup arrangements. This has greatly assisted us in minimizing phone calls home. A reminder that you can let us know about any upcoming absences 24 hours per day, at 403-777-6120 ext. 1.
Clubs: We are excited to announce that our Teachers will again be offering clubs to our grade 3-5 students in October, and grade 1-2 students in May. Information about offerings and signup will be sent home in the next couple weeks. Note that club signup is first come, first served, and many fill up very quickly.
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, September 16: School Council 6:30pm
Tuesday, September 22: Terry Fox Run (tentative & weather dependent)
Thurs, Fri September 24, 25: Learning Conferences
Tuesday, September 29: Spirit Day: Orange Shirt Day
Wednesday, September 30: School Closed in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation Day
October 5-30: Grade 3-5 clubs
Monday October 12: School Closed for Thanksgiving Day
Have a wonderful weekend with the family,
Ryan Turner
Principal, Banff Trail School