Back to all posts

Posted on September 5 2023

September 5 BUZZ

Happy Tuesday!

I hope all families had a wonderful long weekend. Once again, thank you for the great days last week. It was wonderful to see so many families at Meet-the-Teacher and to welcome both new and familiar faces to Glen Allan on Thursday and Friday.

This week is a short four-day week, with Wednesday being Early Dismissal. Students will be dismissed at 2:08 pm.

Please read through the following blog post articles for important Glen Allan information.

It's a great week for a great week!

Week-at-a-Glance

Action 

Start of Year Forms
Nut-Aware School and Lunch

Opportunity

Glen Allan School Council (GASC)
Glen Allan Spirit Wear
Save-the-Date - Parent Information Evening Cyberworld Presentation
Bus Apps
AHS September Caregiver Series

Information

Counsellor Corner
Air Quality Precautions
School Fees
Bus Video Monitoring
Back to School Health and Wellness
Alberta Health Services Addiction and Mental Health Newsletter

Photo Galleries

First Week Classroom and Recess Fun
First Day for Staggered Entry Kindergarten Students

WEEK AT A GLANCE - September 4 - September 8

Monday	Labour Day - No School
Tuesday	Welcome Back! Looking forward to a wonderful week of learning!
Wednesday	Early Dismissal - students dismissed at 2:08 pm First Day for Select Kindergarten A Students
Thursday	Students and staff engaged in learning and active citizenship.
Friday	All Kindergarten A students at Glen Allan today! Deadline to complete the 2 Start of Year forms

ACTION

Start of Year Forms - To be completed for all students

The following forms were emailed to families via two Permission Click emails last week with one exception being the Technology User Agreement for Kindergarten. There was a glitch with the Permission Click program. Once corrected the email will be sent but until then, Kindergarten families can still complete the form with the link below.

Each form needs to be completed for each student. You can also access each form from the links below. Please review the information in each form with you children and complete them by Friday, September 8th.

EIPS Code of Conduct Acknowledgement - https://permission.click/bLYwa/ca

EIPS Student's Responsible Technology Use Agreement - https://permission.click/5OxYw/ca

Nut Aware School & Lunch Information

Glen Allan is a nut aware school; please assist in making our school a safe place by refraining from sending food that contains known nuts. There are some specific classes with students who have severe allergies to nuts or anaphylaxis reactions.

We encourage students to bring a well-balanced, healthy lunch to school in addition to a snack for the morning. As you make decisions about what to pack for lunches, please be aware that we are unable to heat up lunches for students.

All students should also bring a water bottle at school to stay hydrated throughout the day.

Glen Allan is using a GARBAGE-LESS lunch program; this means that your child will bring home any garbage or recyclable materials to be disposed of at home. Garbage-less lunch also gives you the opportunity to see exactly what your child is eating during the day. Please try to send your child with reusable containers.

Also, in the past we have provided students with plastic forks and spoons should they not have one in their lunch kids. Due to the reduction in single-use plastics, we will be phasing out the practice of providing students with utensils at school. Once our supply is used up, we will be unable to give out forks and spoons. If families can support us by sending utensils to school with students that would be helpful.

OPPORTUNITY

Glen Allan School Council

The Glen Allan School Council(GASC) is made up of volunteer parents/guardians of children who attend the school. The council is run by elected council members and counts on the support of other parent volunteers to help carry out council programing and fundraising initiatives such as:

2025-26 playground replacement
Family dance
Hot lunch program
Staff appreciation
Yearbook

ALL FUNDS RAISED BY GASC GO DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOL TO HELP FUND FIELD TRIPS, CLUBS AND OTHER EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES FOR THE STUDENTS.

The 2023-24 GASC executive is:

Erin Hamilton, Chair
Erin Barrett, Budget Vice-chair
Kris Kosawski, Secretary
Rosa Bull, Treasurer
Jennifer Campbell, Chair, Fund Development Committee

We're looking for a few more...might that be you?

Programs Vice Chair (executive)
Family dance coordinator

Meetings are held in the school library on the third Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. All parents are welcome!

Glen Allan Spirit Wear

Are you looking for a nice way to kick off the school year? Glen Allan Spirit Wear might be just the thing! You can order sweatshirts, t-shirts, hoodies and more in any color you choose! You get to choose your logo and the placement of the logo. There are amazing features such as customizable naming, so we know who the item belongs to when it is in the lost and found bin! Sizing charts are also available online.

Visit our Glen Allan Entripy shop today: https://glenallanelementary.entripyshops.com/

Save-The-Date: Parent Information Evening - Cyberworld Presentation

On Thursday, September 28, Glen Allan is hosting a presentation for parents and caregivers on practicing Internet safety with children and youth and on responding to technology-facilitated sexual violence.

This two-hour presentation from Saffron begins at 5:30 p.m.. We will be exploring strategies to promote safe Internet usage by children and youth. Covering a variety of topics from social media to gaming and chatrooms to live streaming, we will discuss ways to promote boundary-setting and options to protect privacy online. The presentation includes a discussion on pornography and the sexually explicit content that youths may be exposed to, focusing primarily on the effects this has on their developing brains and relationships, as well as on strategies for navigating these difficult conversations. We will also discuss sexting and review the Criminal Code. The presentation includes content on relevant trends in technology-facilitated sexual violence – such as sextortion, grooming, luring, and child sexual abuse material. The goal is to encourage parents and caregivers to feel equipped to both prevent and respond to these issues by identifying the warning signs, creating a dialogue with youths, and recognizing the resources available to support them.

Please RSVP by clicking on the link below

https://forms.gle/vUFbgY8SMrBacj26A

Download these bus apps for a successful ride!

Have a child taking the bus this school year? Download the following apps to stay up to date with all the busing information you’ll need throughout the year.

Bus Status

A new version of the Bus Status app is available: Bus Status 4. The app provides the same features and functionality as before, but faster and more reliable for users. Families who previously used the Bus Status 3 app will need to download the new version from the App Store or Google Play. You won’t be able to update directly from one version to the next. New users can download Bus Status 4 directly now.

Through the Bus Status app, families can access information about buses that are running late or cancelled throughout the year. Simply save your child’s bus routes as favourites and turn on push notifications to stay up to date.

Refer to the Bus Status: Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the update, and plan to download the new version now.

Ride 360

The Traversa Ride 360 website and app enable parents and students to access their own secure data for bus stop location, route and pickup time. With Division buses equipped with GPS hardware, Ride 360 uses GPS geolocation to let users know when to expect their bus each day. Parents and students log in with their own information to access their specific routing information and details.

Ride 360 will be updated in the coming year. Families are encouraged to download the current Ride 360 app from the App Store or Google Play for the start of the school year and set up their account. When the update takes place, login information will seamlessly roll over to the updated app.

Refer to additional instructions and the tutorial video on the Division website for more details about setting up your Ride 360 profile.

For more information about transportation services, refer to the Student Transportation section of the EIPS website.

Caregiver Series: September sessions

Alberta Health Services offers free online programming for parents and caregivers of children and youth. Sessions are offered through Zoom. Upcoming topics include understanding anxiety and parenting teens in the 21st century. The list of September 2023 sessions is now available.

INFORMATION

Counsellor Corner

My name is Tammy Marks and I am thrilled to introduce myself as your school counsellor! Before transitioning to the counsellor role, I was privileged to teach for over 25 years. I've been blessed to teach students in all grades between kindergarten and grade nine.

Please note I will be at Glen Allan every Monday and Thursday as well as alternating Wednesdays. Some of the ways I support students include:

Identifying barriers to students' learning and finding strategies to increase student success
Assisting with resolving conflicts between friends or peers
Providing a safe space to discuss big feelings
Connecting families with outside services

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s education here at Glen Allan, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Air Quality Precautions

The Division uses the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) as a guideline for decision making as there is no legislated limit that prohibits outdoor activities. As a general rule, any staff or student with respiratory or heart conditions should reduce or avoid outdoor activities when the AQHI reaches 7 or more. When the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) value reaches 7 or more, Glen Allan will follow the AQHI messages as a guideline for decision making regarding outdoor activities.

When the air quality index is between 7-10 (High Risk) schools are advised to consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities.
When the air quality index is above 10 (Very High Risk) schools will cancel, reschedule or reduce strenuous or long duration outdoor activities (e.g. track meets, overnight camping) , especially if experiencing symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.

Pay school fees online!

School fee information for the 2023-24 school year will be posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal in late September. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view your fees and pay online using a credit card.

Don’t forget to log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal regularly throughout the year. Fees are often added to your child’s account to cover the cost of certain school activities such as field trips, class projects, athletic-team fees and more. Additionally, junior high and senior high fees can change as courses are added and deleted.

If you’re unable to pay your school fees, you can apply to have certain fees waived by submitting an Application for a Waiver of Fees. The application deadline is Dec. 15, 2023.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines visit eips.ca. Alternatively, contact Shauna Delainey at Glen Allan Elementary at 780-467-5519.

Video surveillance on buses

Did you know each EIPS bus is equipped with video surveillance?

Video surveillance and equipment help:

ensure the safety of all students, drivers and property; and
discourage destructive acts.

On a regular basis, EIPS Student Transportation reviews the video recordings, in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. The recordings assist the department with monitoring student and driver conduct and may be used as evidence in a disciplinary matter.

EIPS buses are also equipped with Tyler Drive tablets. The goal: To enhance safety, improve communication, increase efficiency and provide oversight. These tablets allow bus drivers to stay on time with turn-by-turn route directions and show student pictures and information when bus drivers get to stop locations. To ensure students get where they need to go, there are now two distinct audible tones when students scan their bus pass boarding or leaving the bus. One tone indicates they’re getting on the correct bus or at the correct stop, and the other tone indicates they’re on the incorrect bus or leaving at the incorrect stop. By using live information, Tyler Drive tablets provide more accuracy than paper schedules.

For more information about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, contact the EIPS FOIP Co-ordinator at 780-464-3477.

Back to School Health and Wellness

Back to school can be a stressful time of the year for students, parents and educators. Alberta Health Services has many different resources to help with this challenging time including “Healthier Together.” You can learn about the many ways to benefit your physical and mental health this new school year by visiting this page.