Principal’s Message

Have you read the most recent Principal’s Message on our school website? The Principal’s Message serves as an additional communication tool, sharing updates, achievements, and helping to convey our school's vision. It fosters community connection and provides a platform for encouragement, reflection, and feedback, contributing to a positive and informed school environment. Click on the following link to access the message: Nurturing Wisdom, Love, and Respect: A Journey Through Fall at OHS

 

Active School Club Update

Huge gratitude to Tayna Carlson from Calgary Region Airshed Zone (CRAZ) for coming out this week to share with students her knowledge of air quality and strategies to manage air quality issues. School Council member Michelle Herbst joined Ms. Radomski and the 31 members of the Active School Club on Thursday to celebrate the hanging of our new “No Idling” signage, placed at the Kiss & Drop student pick-up / drop-off area. Ms. Carlson was so impressed with OHS & the Active Club efforts she will be gifting our school a 2nd sign soon.

 

Team Spirit Day Sharing

OHS school spirit was shining bright on Thursday for our “Team Spirit Day”, where students and staff were invited to celebrate team spirit and “rep” their squad. We saw a wide range of attire, including sports jerseys, club gear, and league uniforms to OHS school apparel and more. It was awesome to see so many students get in the fun. OHS spirit days are all about building community and culture within our school community and celebrating inclusion. Keep an eye out for information coming about our December festive spirit days!

 

Holiday Hampers – An OHS Tradition

As the holiday season approaches, we understand that this time can be especially challenging for some of our OHS families.  In response, we would like to continue our gifts of care this time of year and provide support to some of our families to ensure that they have a wonderful and happy holiday. Please look for an email message coming on Monday with more details and specific information for each grade level. Let's continue to embody the true spirit of the season by spreading love, kindness, and joy throughout our Olympic Heights community. Together, we can make this holiday season brighter for everyone.

 

Buddy Classes Back Together

It was great to see many of our “buddy” classes coming together today, gathering in our learning commons, and reading books purely for pleasure and enjoyment. Pairing older students with younger ones, especially in activities like reading, has many benefits. Older students become positive role models, inspiring and helping younger ones in a friendly learning environment. This helps improve communication skills for both groups and boosts social and emotional development. Older students also reinforce their own learning while providing personalized support to their younger buddies, creating a close-knit school community. The buddy system builds confidence for younger students in their studies and for older students in their mentoring abilities, making the school culture more positive. Thanks to our great teachers for making this happen!

 

December 8 Professional Learning Day

We always like to share what we are learning about on our non-instructional professional learning days, like the one coming up next Friday, December 8. We have a full day designed for staff, focusing on our School Development Plan, specifically learning intentions and success criteria. Staff will also be working with our robots – Ozobots and Dashes – to gain a better understanding of a concept called computational thinking, which includes breaking a task into smaller chunks or identifying patterns to solve problems. Computational thinking is a key aspect of the new Alberta Science curriculum and defined as “a problem-solving process that uses creativity”. Staff will also be spending time working collaboratively to advance their understanding of Collaborative Response and continuing their work related to task design and “ethical space”.

 

School Improvement Results Report & Development Plan

Alberta Education requires each school to create a plan to improve student learning. The School Development Plan aligns individual school goals with the identified goals in CBE Education Plan | 2021 - 2024. Each year, schools capture evidence of continuous improvement towards the goals set. In accordance with Alberta Education’s requirements, schools then provide assurance to school communities by communicating student growth and achievement in an annual report that demonstrates improvement results and next steps. These results support continuous improvement of the quality and effectiveness of education programs provided to students while also improving student learning and achievement (Funding Manual for School Authorities 2023-24 School Year, p.167). Please view Olympic Heights’ annual report and plan on our school’s About Us > Our School webpage.

 

Report to Parents on Fees

Schools are required to report to parents on any fees related to optional items, events and off-site activities/sales. This means all fees collected and the related expenses for each school year (September 1 – August 31). Our report on any fees from the 2022-23 school year is now posted on the school website, also on the About Us > Our School webpage.

 

Winter Concert – Save the Date

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Winter Concerts! All students in grades 4, 5 and 6 have been working hard in music classes to prepare performances for you to enjoy. (Div. 1 students will be performing a concert in the Spring.) The Winter Concert will be on Thursday Dec. 14th with an afternoon show at 2:00 pm and an evening show at 6:30 p.m. Please mark these dates on your calendar. If your child is in grades 4, 5 or 6, and will not be in attendance on December 14th, please let Mrs. Tran (lmtran@cbe.ab.ca) know as soon as possible. Thank you! We are so excited to share our music with you!

 

Upcoming Dates

Dec. 8              Non-Instructional Professional Development Day – no classes

Dec. 9              Booster Juice & Panago Pizza Fun Food orders due

Dec. 14            Booster Juice & Panago Pizza Fun Food

Dec. 14            Winter Concert 6:30pm – 8:00pm

Dec. 22            Last day of classes before winter break

Dec. 23-Jan. 7 Winter Break

Jan. 6               Pretzel Fun Snack orders are due

Jan. 8               First day of classes after winter break

Jan. 11             Pretzel Fun Snack

Jan. 15             Non-instructional day (Professional Learning)

Jan. 18             School Council & Parents Assoc. Meeting 6:30 – 8:30 PM