Thank you! 

This week we welcomed everyone back officially with a “backyard picnic” and our Meet the Teacher Open House. It was a beautiful afternoon and it was so wonderful to see all the families come out for some fun and community building. The school halls were buzzing with excitement as students showed their classrooms to their parents. I loved seeing the students run over to the bulletin board in the school foyer to show off their classroom photos and have a good laugh when they saw Mrs. Wright who was standing upside down in a handstand with Mr. Vooys and Mr. Choate! What a hoot! One of the greatest strengths of our school is the way we come together as a community and that was on full display last night. It was a special opportunity to share in the excitement of a new year of learning with each other.   

I want to extend a heartfelt thanks for your support of the school fundraisers already this year. School Council and the Parents Association support the students and staff at our school in many different ways and we appreciate them all very much. We are busy putting together our requests in support of Student Learning for this school year and every purchase you make helps those experiences and items get into the hands of students. Thank you! Our teachers were also treated to a Subway dinner last night courtesy of School Council. Huge thanks to the volunteers who handed out all the sandwiches and for treating the students with some fruit snacks. We are grateful for your generosity. 

 School Council Meeting 

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 6:30PM online for our first council meeting of the year. We have moved to an online only format this fall in the hopes that more parents will be able to join these important conversations. The Grade 2s will be sharing some slides about what learning in their classrooms looks like this year, Admin will be updating council on our current enrolment numbers, sharing our new and returning staff members and talking about our plans for requests from Council for Wish List purchases. We hope you will join us! Link for the meeting is here. 

Child & Youth Well-Being Family & Caregiver Series 

Well-being is a precondition for student achievement. Students need to be well to succeed. Currently, students face a wide range of mental health challenges, including stress, anxiety, and depression. This trend is alarming and requires our attention. 

The Calgary Board of Education invites all parents and guardians to join us for a live online series focused on supporting child and youth well-being. Hosted by the Recovery Alberta Community Education Service (CES) Program in collaboration with experts from the Calgary community, this year's sessions will explore a wide range of timely topics, including: 

Digital Dilemma: Screens, Social Media and Gaming 

Is Your Child Struggling at School? It May Be Time for a Psychoeducational Assessment 

Level Up: Exploring the Impact of Gaming and Tech on Adolescent Learning and Cognition 

Mental Health and Youth 

Cyber Safety 

ADHD is Awesome 

Executive Functioning Essentials for Parents 

Vaping: What's Really Going On 
Stressed but Strong, Anxious but Awesome: Understanding your child's worries through a strength-based lens  

Navigating the Pressure to Perform: Benefits of Well-Being Centered Identity Development for Children and Teens   
These sessions are designed to equip families with knowledge, tools, and strategies to navigate the challenges and opportunities of raising children and teens today. 
 

These sessions will be free and provide information, resources, helplines, and services to support healthy child and youth development.  See this link for more information https://cbe.ab.ca/about-us/school-culture-and-environment/health-and-wellness-in-school/Pages/child-and-youth-well-being-family-and-caregiver-series.aspx 

Music Notes 

Hello West Springs Families, 

My name is Mr. Peter Vooys, and I'm your child's music teacher. It was lovely to chat with many of you during Meet the Teacher night last night. This is my eighth year at West Springs School, and it has been great to get started with another year of music at WSS. I will periodically send a blurb as part of the Week at a Glance to share a bit of what we're learning in music class. I hope that the year is off to a smooth start for you all. Here are a few recent learning highlights from each grade: 

Kindergarten: Learning music room procedures and expectations, and exploring the difference between speaking and singing voices. 

Grade 1: Learning that people have a heartbeat, and that music also has a heartbeat, which we call "the beat" or "the pulse". Learning "Johnny Works With One Hammer", a chanting song where the students play a steady beat with their hands, feet, etc. 

Grade 2: Learning that people have a heartbeat, and that music also has a heartbeat, which we call "the beat" or "the pulse". Feeling and moving to a beat in 2/4 and 3/4 time. Learning "Dum, Dum Ditty", a silly song where they do a variety of actions/body percussion while singing.  

Grade 3: Learning that people have a heartbeat, and that music also has a heartbeat, which we call "the beat" or "the pulse". Digging more into what a time signature is in music, and learning the concept of "meter" (a pattern of louder and softer beats). Playing "Stella, Ella, Olla", a singing game where students pass a steady beat around a circle. 

Grade 4: Learning that people have a heartbeat, and that music also has a heartbeat, which we call "the beat" or "the pulse". Digging more into what a time signature is in music, and learning the concept of "meter" (a pattern of louder and softer beats). Playing a few games of "Find the Beat" where the students listen to a variety of songs chosen by me or requested by the students to listen for whether the song is "in 3" (3/4 Time) or "in 4" (4/4 Time). 

 PS: As a quick addendum, most Grade 2 and 3 classes have been singing a silly song this week called "Dum, Dum Ditty". It is a very old song that I generally teach every year, but is the first year I've taught it where a few kids mentioned "Diddy", the name of a controversial and highly unpleasant entertainer who has been in the news this year. I assume that the kids who  mentioned this probably learned from older siblings. I may change the words to some other nonsense words, but for now I've explained to the kids in the one or two classes where it came up that a "ditty" is another word for a little song, and this song has nothing to do with "Diddy". 

Thanks, and have a great weekend, 

Mr. Peter Vooys 

 On the Horizon 

• September 22 - Treaty 7 Day, Fall Equinox 
• September 22 – 24 – Rosh Hashanah 
• September 25 – Terry Fox Run 10:15 am
• September 25 – School Council Meeting online 6:30 PM LINK 
• September 26 – WSS Recognizing Orange Shirt Day 
• September 29 – Professional Learning Day – No School for Students  
• September 30 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – All Schools Closed