May 15 Newsletter

Mr. Hickey is retiring! He has been with Ralph McCall since March 2010. His last day with the school will be May 30. We wish him a wonderful retirement and thank him for his many years with Ralph McCall. If you happen to see him around the school in the next couple of weeks, be sure to wish him well! 

In the body of this newsletter, you will see information from Rocky View Schools about provincial assessments. Ralph McCall has highly been focused on targeting literacy and numeracy this year with support from internal and divisional staff. We know it is very important for students to gain foundational literacy and numeracy skills in early years, so we have been working relentlessly to support students in acquiring these skills. All our Grades 1 – 3 students will complete the provincial literacy and numeracy assessments again this month. Kindergarten students will complete the LeNS (Letter names and sounds assessment). Though results won’t be received until into the summer break, we look forward to having the most up-to-date data about students’ progress, which can then be shared with their teacher in September for the purpose of planning for instruction in the next school year. Thank you for reinforcing literacy and numeracy at home by showing an interest in what your child(ren) are learning at school. When children know that the work they do at school matters to their family, it does make a difference!  

‘At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.’ (Jane D. Hull, educator and former Governor of Arizona).  

Upcoming Dates (Please see the calendar on the website for more information) 

• May 16 – No School (Professional Learning Day) 

• May 19 – No School (Victoria Day) 

• May 22 – Spring Fling dance and outdoor activities 

• May 23 – School Spirit Day – Anything but a Backpack Day 

• May 29 – Kindergarten Orientation for 2025-26 students (6:30 pm) 

Staffing Updates 

As promised in the previous parent newsletter, here is the staff for next year (as of right now). Things are subject to change pending enrollments, teacher leaves/retirements/resignations, and more. There may be changes to class configurations (more sections, combined grades) to accommodate student numbers in August. Given the growth of our communities and the addition of Grade 5 to our school, we are welcoming several new staff members. 

Kindergarten – T. Nelson (AM/PM), S. Simmonds (AM), to be determined (AM) 

Grade 1 – T. Johnstone, S. Mahan, P. Mahey, K. New, M. Paley 

Grade 2 – S. Baird, N. Jerome Smith, H. Pearson, to be determined 

Grade 3 – D. Contenti, T. Harris, C. Peterson, N. Storrier/J. Smith, B. Waidson, to be determined 

Grade 4 – S. Enes, J. Mackenzie, B. Madden, A. Sutton, V. Zannis 

Grade 5 – K. Christal, C. Hembroff, M. Lowther, B. Schmaltz 

Music – K. Anderson 

PE – J. Smith 

Literacy – N. Storrier 

Numeracy – To be determined 

English as an Additional Language teacher – to be determined 

Learning Support – K. Parlow, to be determined 

School Administration – E. Korver, L. Guy 

CDA – T. Nisbet 

Office staff – G. Otero, T. Tanner, L. Colpitts 

Learning Assistants – S. Anwar, W. Hardie, J. Huskins, D. Inkpen, T. Jegede, C. Meagher, C. Noyes, C. Peterson, A. Sae, J. Sidhu 

 2025-26 Placement Requests 

Requests relating to class placements for 2025-26 must be made by emailing school administration (ekorver@rockyview.ab.ca and lguy@rockyview.ab.ca ) by June 15. Only requests accompanied by an educational reason for the request will be considered. Please note that it may not be possible to accommodate all requests. Teachers of each grade team work together, with support from School Administrators, Learning Support, and the CDA. The teams take great effort and care when creating classes to support the learning and progress of all the students. Requests for last moment changes to class placement in August/September are unlikely to be approved. 

AMA School Patrollers has started! 

Initial training with an AMA patroller lead took place on May 7. We are finding that students need a lot of additional practice prior to venturing out on the busy street. We are continuing to practice and train. When we feel students are confident and have the necessary skills, they will move to the crosswalk over 1st Ave. Please be on the lookout for our crossing patrollers. Having had a couple of groups move to the main crosswalk, we are in the process of evaluating the program at Ralph McCall to determine if it is helpful in supporting student safety particularly in the morning. If you have feedback 

PBIS 

Our last focus area of the year, our “Respect Campaign” is underway and teachers are engaging the students in lessons and activities that explicitly teach and reinforce the concepts of Respect. The students have been divided up into teams and classes will participate in a kahoot activity to help their team earn points. The teams have color names, and your child may talk about wearing their team color some days. Ask them how they enjoyed the Kahoot.  

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 Rocky View Schools: 

Assessment at RVS: Numeracy and Literacy Interventions  

Rocky View Schools is sharing a series of articles on the division website regarding assessments: the process of gathering data about student learning. This information is intended to help provide greater insight into why and when assessments are done and encourage ongoing communication between teachers and families to support student success.   

 Read the second article in our series this month, covering numeracy and literacy interventions at RVS. Our earlier article, Understanding Provincial and Divisional Assessments, is also available on our website.   

Literacy and Numeracy Reassessments for Grades 1-3 

Some students in Grades 1-3 who have been receiving intervention support in literacy and/or numeracy will be reassessed on one or more provincial assessments in late May to early June. 

Please note: 

• Not all students will be reassessed. 

• Kindergarten students are not required to be reassessed. 

• Final data will be returned to RVS in August; your child’s next-year teacher will have access to the information to make informed decisions about intervention supports needed.  

Thank you for your understanding and support in our ongoing commitment to support student learning. Read more about understanding provincial and divisional assessments on the RVS website.  

Register Now to Save on Transportation Fees 

Rocky View Schools (RVS) has opened transportation registration for the 2025/26 school year through SchoolEngage. Parents/guardians are encouraged to register by June 30 to receive a $40 discount or by Aug. 1 to ensure bus service for the first day of school. 

In response to rising costs, transportation fees have increased for the coming school year. A list of fees is available on the RVS website. Families are encouraged to take advantage of the early registration discount to offset some of the transportation cost. Eligible families may also apply to have their transportation fees waived by completing a Transportation Fee Waiver. 

The June 30 early registration discount of $40 is extended to each of the first two Kindergarten – Grade 12 students in a family, with additional students receiving $20 off if registering early. A minimum payment of 50 per cent is due at registration. Bus service may be cancelled up until Oct. 31 to receive a full refund for all fees paid. 

Families are urged to register as soon as possible for transportation to ensure a smooth start to the fall. To guarantee service for the first day of school, registration must be received before Aug. 1. Students registered after this deadline may experience delays of two to three weeks before they can ride the bus.  

A step-by-step guide to registration, fee information and more is available on the Transportation section of the RVS website. 

From Parent Council and Friends of Ralph McCall 

Healthy Hunger: There's still time to sign up for the last few Fun Lunch Fridays for the year!  If you have suggestions of restaurants, you'd like to see us add for next year, please contact Friends. 

Healthy Hunger Volunteers: We're always looking for volunteers to hand out fun lunches on Friday as well.  All you need is a completed criminal record check, and a free hour!  Simply show up on Fridays at 10:15, food is delivered at 10:30, we confirm the list matches what is delivered and then get to pop by the classrooms to drop it off.  The kids get a kick out of seeing the parents, especially on school spirit days where we get to participate! 

Read-a-Thon: Draws were be done and the parents of winning students will be notified by email. Prizes will be handed out on May 22. 

Apple Creek Arcade:  We will be partnering with Apple Creek Arcade in the next few weeks for our first big playground fundraiser!  Purchase a $30.00 - All You Can Play for 2 Hours pass, and the playground will receive 75% of the funds.  It also allows us to support a popular local business.  They have food and drinks on site including a bar for the grown-ups.  It's a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, or even a sunny one! 

Playground: This is still a major topic for us at Friends and on the Council.  Thank you to all those who signed-up for more information at Student-Led conferences, more info should be following soon. 

Casino 2025:  Our 2025 Casino date has been set for October 20th and 21st, 2025.  This is a huge influx of funds that we desperately need.  Sign-up sheets will go out at the beginning of the new school year.  We have 34 shifts that will need to be filled in the cash cage and count room.  Stay tuned for details of the roles and requirements for the volunteers.