Good afternoon Abbeydale School Families,

Thank you to all who were able to make it out to our Winter Celebration. Our gym was packed with over 600 family members! Our students performed so well and learned about the Winter Solstice throughout preparing for this event. One of the reminders that came through in the performance is that the Winter Solstice is a time of rest and time for togetherness. A special thanks to Ms. Evans, Ms. Rajan, Ms. Giard & Ms. Liddell for helping organize this event! We hope that as we get closer towards Winter Solstice on the 21st and our Winter Break from Dec. 23-Jan7, that the break offers rest and time together for you, your child/ren and your loved ones.

Please see updates from the week ahead below:

Spirit Week (Dec. 18-22)

All students and staff are encouraged to participate in Spirit Week next week. See below for details:

• Mon. Dec. 18 - Red and Green Day
• Tues. Dec. 19 - Winter Wonderland Day- winter accessories or blue and white?
• Wed. Dec. 20 - Crazy Hair Day
• Thurs. Dec. 21 - PJ day
• Fri. Dec. 22 - Holiday Sweaters or Accessories Day

Winter Break (Dec. 23 – Jan. 7)

Just a reminder that there will be NO school during these two weeks. We hope you have a restful break filled with time together as families. See you back on Monday, Jan. 8th!

Use of Abbeydale Field & Playground During School Time

We are happy to share our Abbeydale community playground and field with the surrounding community before and after school hours. However, during school time please note that we ask families NOT to use the playground or hang around the field. If we happen to notice families out there we will politely ask you to wait and make use of it when it isn’t being used for student activities. Thanks for your understanding!

Winter Weather

Just a reminder that Winter is here! Checking the weather daily is a great habit to work on at home to help your child prepare for the day and to ensure they have proper footwear and outerwear to brave the elements. As a reminder, based on CBE policy we will be going outside for recess until the temperature reaches –20 or colder. Make sure to check the Weather Network and bundle up!

Pick-Up/Drop-Off

Our school day begins at 8:00am each morning, with staff supervising outside beginning at 7:50am. Our school day ends at 2:40pm. Please ensure that you arrive on time to be able to pick up your child at this time. If an emergency arises and you are going to be a few minutes late, please contact the office. We want to remind families that our office closes shortly after the school day. We ask that late pick-up is minimal to ensure that staff are able to tend to their other responsibilities after the bell.

Adjustments to Grade Configurations at Abbeydale (2024-25)

As was announced earlier, Abbeydale School along with Dr. Gladys McKelvie Egbert will be going through grade configurations for the next school year. Beginning in September of 2024, Abbeydale School will become become Kindergarten – Grade 6 and Dr. Gladys McKelvie Egbert will become a Grade 7 – Grade 9 school. For more information, please refer to the communication sent on Thursday, Dec. 7.

Have a great weekend,

Megan Liddell (mrliddell@cbe.ab.ca) & Jaydon Derdall (jwderdall@cbe.ab.ca)