Dear Alexander Ferguson (AFS) families,
As you sit back and relax (maybe) on this rainy long weekend please take a moment to read about AFS activities over the coming month.
Wonderful First Week
We had a wonderful first week back at school filled with happy students and excited families. Thank you for your kind well wishes and for helping your child(ren) feel confident and positive about returning to school.
Classroom Complexity Team
This fall, the CBE has hired hundreds of teachers, education assistants and other school staff to support student learning. These positions have been funded by the Government of Alberta with the intention of addressing classroom complexity and class sizes. We are thrilled to share that our school community has maintained the same number of staff, though we are a smaller learning community this year, around 180 children call AFS their school. Ms. Hurst is our CCT (classroom complexity team) teacher, working with students and teachers throughout the school to support tier 1 and 2 initiatives which benefit all learners. Ms. Underwood is our half time resource teacher, working with students and teachers throughout the school to coordinate school based resources as well as potential access CBE strategists and additional resources.
Weekly Updates
To help families stay informed, you will be receiving weekly updates from your child’s classroom teacher via school messenger (to your registered email) or google updates (to your registered email). We also post regular school-wide updates on our website, including upcoming events, important dates, and school news.
There is information on our website about SchoolMessenger to learn how to make sure you receive our messages.
Assemblies
Any assemblies listed are open for all families to join. We welcome you into the gym about 10 minutes prior to the listed start time, police record checks are not required to attend assemblies. Any gatherings listed are in school student based activities, we encourage you to ask your child about these events at the end of the day.
Lunch Cutlery
A reminder that we do not provide utensils over the lunch hour. If your child requires cutlery (spoon, fork, knife) to each their food please send it with them. We encourage you to send reusable items that can be sent home and cleaned each day.
Welcome Back Evening
This Thursday, September 10 is our welcome back evening. We invite all families to join us in the gym at 5:15pm for a short gathering where you can put faces to the names of all our teaching staff and hear a little bit about AFS as a place to learn. Teachers will then be in their homeroom classrooms from 5:30 – 6:30pm. They will review short powerpoint presentations at 5:30 and 6:00, sharing classroom specific information related to this school year, and be available to answer classroom questions. Questions related to your specific child can be asked via email, at pick up and drop off, in prearranged individual meetings, or at student learning conferences (Nov 26/27). We encourage communication and hope that you reach out should you have any questions specific to your child and their learning.
Community Connections Event
Next Wednesday, September 16, is our annual whole school Community Connections event. We NEED volunteers! If you have a current police clearance with the CBE, and are able to help for the whole day, morning, or afternoon, please reach out to Ms. Sharpe (hcsharpe@cbe.ab.ca) for more information of how you can help. All AFS students will have the opportunity to learn from Doug Driediger, our mural artist, about the original project (28 years ago!), and the restoration that occurred this summer. We are also welcoming back David, last year’s scavenger hunt coordinator, he will be navigating one event for each class. Please take note to ask your child about their day!
If you would like to volunteer with the Calgary Board of Education this year we need you to sign up through your mycbe account. Look for the annual volunteer registration form, complete it and wait for next steps to be communicated via email. If you are planning to volunteer on Sept 16 please reach out to Ms. Aab (paaab@cbe.ab.ca) once you have completed the form so she can ensure your clearance is updated prior to our Community Connections Day. New this year, if other family members (adults who are not legal guardians) are interested in volunteering they need to set up an appointment with Ms. Aab to initiate the process. Thank you to everyone who allocates time in their school year to volunteer at AFS. Our grandparent reading program will get up and running again in October, watch for more info!
Casino Fundraiser
If you are not able to volunteer during the school year, another way to support our school is by volunteering at the Parent Society AGLC Casino event in February, see below for sign up information. This two day event (various shifts are available) provides funding for SOOOO many events at AFS over the year. This year we are welcoming Alien Inline skating, Bhangra Dancing, and Elder Shirley Hill. These are experiences that ALL students at AFS participate in, at no cost to parents, thanks to funding allocated from the AGLC funds generated at the bi-annual casinos. These opportunities could not happen without this funding. Please consider allocating time to support this vital fundraiser.
Thank you for your partnership and support as we begin what promises to be an exciting and successful school year. We are grateful to be part of such a caring and connected school community.
Warm regards,
Helen Sharpe
Proud Principal of AFS
Staffing Updates
Welcome to Emma McKay, our new Grade 2 teacher in Room 5, Carrie Fraser, our new BSW (behaviour support worker), and Minsung Pyo, our new lunch supervisor.
AFS School Council and Parent Society
Whether you're returning for another year or joining our school community for the first time, welcome! We hope it's been a smooth start to September and that everyone is settling into the new routine. As we kick off the year, we want to introduce (or reintroduce) you to the School Council and AFESS (Alexander Ferguson Elementary School Society) Parent Society and invite you to be part of both or either groups.
What our Parent Council does:
The School Council is a group of parents who work alongside the school to support our kids’ school experience, both in and out of the classroom.
Over the past years, that's meant things like organizing feature events such as dances and movie night experiences. The council is also the direct channel for parent voices to reach the school administration on the issues that matter to our children, and performs the role of advocacy at the administrative level and at the level of the CBE and School Trustee.
None of this happens without parents volunteering and stepping up.
What our Fundraising Society does:
The Alexander Ferguson Elementary School Society (Parent Society or PS) is a registered non-profit organization also run by parent volunteers to raise money for our school. The society handles financial fundraising through grants, OSC (out of school care), and AGLC casino licenses. Every dollar raised goes directly toward enhancing our children's education. Though Council and the Society are two different groups they work hand in hand and host their meetings together to reduce the time commitment for members and those interested in knowing what is going on.
If you're new, or returning, to the school, attending our upcoming Council / Society meetings on Thursday September 24 is a genuinely easy way to meet other parents and get a feel for how things work here. As parents of young ones, we all know that any spare time is a rarity, and we appreciate the already large demands on our daily time, but this is a one to one and an hour and a half per month where we parents can help to direct our kids’ experience at school.
You don't need any experience, and coming along doesn't commit you to anything. We'd love to simply meet you and hear your thoughts and ideas!
We need volunteers!
The Council and Society can only do as much as it has people to do it. After a slower start to last year by way of an interrupted fall schedule, we're looking for parents to help in a range of ways, some small, some bigger:
- Joining the council or society itself (an elected role) as well as general membership
- Helping with specific events throughout the year (a few hours here and there)
- Lending a particular skill, such as photography, communications, fundraising ideas, translation, or organizational/administrative support
- Simply showing up to meetings and sharing your perspective
- Casino volunteers. We have received our next dates: Thursday February 18 and Friday February 19, 2027, and need to fill ALL the volunteer spots. Sign up here now!
Whatever time or skills you have to offer, there's a place for it. Every bit of involvement helps make our school a better place for all our children.
If you have questions before the meeting, or want to find out more about getting involved, feel free to reach out to Christine at: alexfergusonschoolcouncil@gmail.com or Natasha at: afes.society.pres@gmail.com
We hope to see you on September 24, in person or online!
Calendar Updates are always available on our school website
Sept 10: Welcome Back/ Meet the Teacher Evening 5:15 – 6:30pm
Sept 16: Community Connections Day – volunteers needed
Sept 21: Terry Fox Assembly and Run – 1:30pm
Sept 23: Fun Lunch, sign up through healthyhunger.ca
Sept 24: School Council and Society meetings online or in person 7pm, Teacher presentation by Mr. Rehak, grades 5 and 6 teacher
Sept 25: No School: Non-Instructional Day
Sept 28: Picture day
Sept 29: AFS Land Acknowledgement Assembly – 10:30am
Sep 30: No School: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation