Jan 24 Newsletter

It is hard to believe that we are at about the halfway point in the school year! If, like us, you are starting to think about the next school year and have any questions, please contact the school. We have a kindergarten drop-in open house scheduled for January 31 from noon to 1:00, with kindergarten registration opening on February 3. If you know someone who is considering sending their child to kindergarten at Ralph McCall starting in September 2025, please share with them that registration starts soon. Families who are attending Ralph McCall as an Out of Area family may also have questions around that process, given the changes happening in Airdrie for next year. We are happy to chat with you and try to answer your questions. 

In February we are focusing on kindness. It is part of our PBIS matrix, and it also ties into our elementary school approach to Valentine’s Day, Pink Shirt Day, and our school food drive which benefits families in Airdrie. At Ralph McCall, we spend a great deal of time focused on academic instruction, but we also work daily to support students in learning other skills that will prepare them for the rest of their lives – things like being kind, helpful, respectful of others, and polite, learning how to be a good friend, apologizing when you make a mistake or hurt someone, and so on. Together, we can help students learn and apply these skills, but it takes time and practice – lots and lots of practice! Sometimes students (and adults) forget and aren’t as kind or gracious as we could be. It’s good to take time to intentionally remind ourselves of the importance of these things! 

 “If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we might just set the world in the right direction.” Martin Kornfeld, author 

 Upcoming Dates (Please see the Calendar on the Website for more information) 

• January 29 – Grade 3 Concert (details below)
• January 30 – Grade 4 Concert (details below)
• January 30 – Immunization clinic (morning for students with signed consent only)
• January 31 – Drop in kindergarten Open House (noon to 1:00)
• February – Food Drive for Airdrie Food Bank. Details to come.
• February 11 – School Council and Friends of Ralph McCall 6:30pm
• February 14 – School Spirit Day – Dress Your Best!
• February 17 – 21 – NO school (Family Day, Teacher’s Convention, and February break) 

Grade 3 and 4 Concerts - Tickets required! 

The grade 3 concert is scheduled for Wednesday, January 29, and the grade 4 concert is scheduled for Thursday, January 30. Both concerts will start at 6 PM. The grade 3/4 combined class will perform with the grade 4 on Thursday, January 30. The concert will last approximately 30 minutes. Students are asked to arrive at 5:45. Doors will unlock automatically at that time. Students should go to their classroom. Parents are asked to go directly to the gym.  

Given we must not exceed our posted gym capacity, we can only accommodate immediate family (parents, siblings) of the students who are performing. To ensure we do not exceed our limit, we will be using a ticket process. Tickets to the performances will be required for the audience but are free. There was some confusion on whether to include your Grade 3 or 4 student in your ticket request. Performers (Gr 3 &4 students) do NOT need a ticket. If you end up having tickets you no longer require, please return those to the school so that they can be redistributed to families who need additional tickets. Thank you! 

There will be dress rehearsals each day in the afternoon starting at 1 PM. Grade 3 families may come to watch the dress rehearsal on Wednesday, January 29 and Grade 4 families on January 30. These will be public performances, so photos and video will be permitted. No tickets are required for the afternoon dress rehearsal performances, and they are open to extended family and friends. If you choose to come in the afternoon, please simply sign in on the paper sheets as you enter the school. 

Kindergarten 2025-26 – Registration and Open House 

If you, a friend, or a neighbour has a child who will be entering kindergarten in September 2025, kindergarten registration opens on February 3. To help new families see our school before they register, we are opening our doors for a drop in visit from 12:00 – 1:00 on January 31. This is an opportunity to see our kindergarten classrooms, talk to the kindergarten teachers, meet school administrators, the child development advisor, and the learning support teacher, and ask questions about kindergarten at Ralph McCall. Prospective kindergarten students are welcome to come with their parents for this visit. Current families – help us get the word out in the community! 

From Airdrie Municipal Enforcement Officers 

City of Airdrie Municipal Enforcement officers want to remind parents and students: 

1. The speed limit in school zones is 30km/h (the same as the posted speed limit in our residential areas). 

1. Crosswalks, school bus zones, and areas that block driveways are NOT to be used as parking spaces (even for the quickest drop off or pick up). 

1. Park before allowing students to jump out of your vehicle. 

1. Jaywalking might be quicker, but crosswalks are safer. 

Thank you for being a good neighbour and helping to keep our school zones safe! 

PBIS 

We have now wrapped up our PBIS theme of Safety at School!  We learned about commuting with caution throughout our school and outdoor play areas, following directions and being body aware. Now that our Safety focus has concluded, teachers are working with students on expectations for riding the bus. Some students don’t ride a bus on a daily basis; however, all students ride a bus for field trips and therefore need to understand expectations on the bus. The bus is an extension of the school and expectations need to be explicitly taught for greater success for both students and bus drivers. 

Looking forward to February, the PBIS committee is preparing review activities for the PBIS expectations we worked on last year when we focused on the areas of Respect & Kindness.  Completing these review activities will support new students and staff in understanding the big picture of our PBIS matrix and will review and reinforce schoolwide expectations in these areas.   

Our work with the PBIS framework guides us as staff in our commitment to respond to student behaviour responsively, through prevention, teaching and responding to student need.  Updates will be shared with you as we work together to strengthen our school community with our shared understandings of expectations at Ralph McCall!  

From Parent Council and Friends of Ralph McCall 

Healthy Hunger: Healthy Hunger is available to order for each Friday school is in session. If you're interested in ordering, go to www.healthyhunger.ca and follow the prompts.  Orders must be placed by the Sunday prior to be included. 

February Meeting: Our February Meeting is on Feb 11 at 6:30 in the Learning Commons, or on Zoom (code to come in next newsletter). All are welcome to attend.  As usual, we have one of our trustees joining us and it's an excellent way to learn about what's going on in our division.  

Read-A-Thon: Our annual Read-a-thon Fundraiser is coming up from April 14th - 28th.  Help your child get excited about reading!  More details to come as we get closer to the date. 

Playground:  Planning continues for acquiring funds for the new playground.  If you or anyone you know is interested in helping out, please reach out to Friends... You can find our email address on the school website.