Dear Parents,
The Calgary Board of Education and all of us at West Springs School recognize and deeply value the strong, positive correlation between attendance and a student’s success in school. Regular attendance and punctuality sets students on the path to reaching their full potential. The impact of punctual and regular attendance at school can be seen on both social and academic development, especially in elementary school. These are the years that students’ habits and attitudes towards school are formed.
Starting the school day on time ensures that students are present for critical activities, including morning routines and instructions that set the tone for the rest of the day. It is also important that students stay at school for the entire day; every minute of instruction counts!
We encourage you to work with your child to establish consistent morning routines that prioritize arriving at school on time. Here are a few tips to help:
- Prepare backpacks, lunches and clothes the night before
- Set an earlier bedtime to ensure a good night’s sleep
- Create a morning schedule with enough time for breakfast and getting ready
Thank you for your continued partnership in helping your child succeed. Together, we can ensure they start each day with confidence and readiness to learn.
School doors open at 8:53am and instruction begins at 9:00am. On blue days (minus 20 degrees with the wind chill), doors open at 8:50am.
Music Notes
Hello West Springs parents,
I hope that you had a wonderful holiday! It has been a busy first few weeks back with the kids. Here are a few learning highlights from each grade:
Kindergarten: Learning and playing several singing games, including "Farmer in the Dell" and "Doggie, Doggie".
Grade 1: Learning that composers are people who make songs, and starting to learn about Johann Sebastian Bach, and visually following the pitch of the song "Cello Suite 1" as the notes go up and down. Working on developing proper singing technique (stand tall, shoulders down, arms at sides, knees slightly bent, feet slightly apart, "breathe into your tummy" (to engage diaphragm muscles).
Grade 2: Learning "Dum Dum, Diddy", a silly song with complex actions, and adding harmony by using boomwhackers, and learning that harmony is when there are two or more different notes that sound good together.
Grade 3: Learning the English and French versions of "Frere Jacques", and starting to sing it as a "round", a special song designed to sound good when multiple groups of singers sing the same song but start at different times, creating harmony.
Grade 4: Adding chords on the boomwhackers to accompany silly song "Dum Dum, Diddy", reviewing the definition of harmony, and learning that a chord is a group of 3 or more notes that sound good together.
Have a great weekend,
Mr. Peter Vooys
On the Horizon
Jan 23 School Council Meeting 6:30pm (in person and via TEAMS)
Jan 27 Report Cards Live for viewing in your MyCBE Account
Jan 27 Grade 3 Field trip-Arts Commons
Jan 27 Grade 2 Field trip-Telus Spark
Jan 29 Lunar New Year
Jan 30 Grade 2 Field trip-Telus Spark
Jan 31 Professional Learning Day (no school for students)