Weekly Update: August 31 to September 4

Greetings, Grizzly Families! 

Welcome once again to the 2026-2027 school year at Annie Gale!  If you are new to Annie Gale School, we welcome you to the Grizzly family.  We are excited to get the school year started and want to share information to ensure that start up is smooth. Each week the school will send a weekly email with important information for parents and guardians—usually on Sundays.  Please ensure that you read it as it will help you navigate the school year.  Should you miss the email, it is posted to our website the following Monday.  All of our weekly updates are on our website for your reference. 

This Friday, homeroom teachers sent welcome messages to their students in preparation for next week.  As of tomorrow, students will have access to their PowerSchool schedules. 

Each fall we must revisit class lists, and we may have to balance them once we have an idea of which students have left the school and how many new students we have.  Many factors are considered when creating a class or making changes to that class, including but not limited to, learning and social-emotional needs.  Class requests for specific teachers are not considered. Should your child be changing schools, please contact us as soon as possible.

As a parent or guardian of a student at Annie Gale School, you are automatically a member of our school council.  Council meets monthly, for approximately 90 minutes, and they focus on fundraising as well as learning about the school while sharing their voice with school administrators.  Our first school council meeting is Wednesday, September 9, 2026, starting at 6:15 p.m. This meeting will be a blended format--in person (room TBD) and virtually.  Links for the virtual meetings will be sent the afternoon of the meeting. 

CONNECTING HOME AND SCHOOL: 

The first week of school is an exciting time, but it can also feel a little overwhelming for students, especially those new to the school. A few simple preparations at home can help your child begin the year feeling confident, organized, and ready to learn. 

Here are a few ways you can help: 

  • Talk about the transition. Ask your child how they are feeling about starting a new school year and remind them that it’s normal to feel both excited and nervous. 
  • Practice the morning routine. If you haven’t already, work on getting back into regular sleep and wake-up times. 
  • Get organized. Help your child gather school supplies, organize their backpack, and prepare anything they will need for the first day. 
  • Review the basics. Make sure your child knows how they will get to and from school, where to go when they arrive, and what time they need to be there. 
  • Encourage independence. Junior high is a great time for students to begin taking more responsibility for their belongings, schedules, and assignments. Let them do as much as they can for themselves, while offering support when needed. 
  • Keep communication open. Remind your child that it is always okay to ask a teacher or another trusted adult for help. 

Most importantly, reassure your child that they don’t have to have everything figured out on the first day. The first week is about learning routines, meeting people, and getting comfortable in a new environment. 

Adapted from an article retrieved on August 30, 2026, from:  https://chatgpt.com/c/6a94aeaa-b20c-83e8-8622-c9458ea116fd 

NEW: 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.  Beyond those hired with funding from the government, we have hired many other teachers this year.  Some of the names on the list are not new to us, as we were able to secure several teachers who have already been working with us.  Ms. Saini will also be providing in-class numeracy support to math classes. 
 
We are pleased to welcome additional new staff to our school for the 2026-27 school year: 

Ms. Armstrong (embedded supply teacher); Ms. Belanger (math/science); Mrs. Dhaliwal (humanities/literacy support—currently filling in for Ms. Drefko); Mr. Erickson (humanities); Ms. Fang (math/science); Ms. Lafont (humanities); Mr. Lopez (humanities); Ms. Mackie (French as a Second Language/PE--filling in for Mrs. Elnazali); Mr. Rao (math/science); Ms. Salazar (humanities); and, Ms. Wang (math/science). 

We are very pleased to welcome these new staff members to our school community! This additional staff supporting literacy (Mrs. Dhaliwal) and numeracy (Ms. Saini) will help ensure students benefit from: 

  • Increased teacher attention 
  • Improved classroom learning environments 
  • Greater support for diverse learning needs 

NEW:  Athletics will be up and running this week and next.  Not all tryouts/practice times are recorded below.  Students will need to listen to morning announcements to ensure they are aware of dates and times. 

REPEAT:  Grade 6 and Grade 7 students’ first day of school is Monday, August 30, 2026.  NO OTHER GRADES ATTEND SCHOOL THAT DAY.  Grade 6 and 7 students will be provided with a free BBQ lunch.  Students can choose from a beef (non-halal) burger or a veggie burger.  ALL students must report to the front doors of Annie Gale School.  Doors open at 7:45 a.m. and school starts at 8:00 a.m.  

REPEAT:  Grade 8 and Grade 9 students’ first day of school is Tuesday, September 1, 2026.  ALL GRADES ATTEND SCHOOL THAT DAY.  Doors open at 7:45 a.m. and school starts at 8:00 a.m. 

MODERNIZATION UPDATE: If you are not already aware, Annie Gale School is undergoing a modernization, so our school looks much different than it did in June.  Two hallways are blocked off, and we have four temporary classroom spaces in the school.  Our Grade 6 and 7 TLC students will take most of their classes at Colonel J. Fred Scott School, but on the first day, must report to Annie Gale School.  We will be providing safety information and updates regarding our late/attendance policies to students on the first few days of school.  Most importantly, students must never enter or disturb an area of the school that is under construction or blocked by barriers and they must not interact with construction workers or their materials, whether inside or outside the building.  Progressive discipline will be utilized should students ignore safety information regarding the modernization of the building.  

REPEAT:  ALL Grade 6 and 7 students will not have access to a hallway locker, so they will be utilizing backpacks as they move from room to room.  

UPDATE:  Grade 8 students will share lockers.  Grade 9 students will have their own lockers.   

UPDATE:  We are asking families to consider the safety of sending their child to school with a phone, given that most students will not have access to a private locker.  Our current policy states that students should not carry a phone on their person, even if it is turned off.  Should parents or guardians have a concern with this, please contact school administration.  

UPDATE:  A reminder to all TLC students that their first day of school is a formal day and they should be wearing their formal uniform on that day.  If you have not already purchased uniform pieces, please do so as soon as possible through McCarthy’s Uniforms.  This means that Grade 6 and 7 TLC students should be in formal uniforms on Monday, August 31.  Grade 8 and 9 TLC students should be in formal uniforms on Tuesday, September 1. 

REPEAT:  Please click here and scroll to the bottom of the webpage to see a list of school supplies for your child. 

UPDATE:  Our office will be using regular hours this week.  See below for times. 

  • Regular office hours (effective Monday, August 31): 
    • Monday to Thursday: 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. 
    • Friday: 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.  

CALENDAR OF EVENTS (incomplete at time of publishing): 

Monday, August 31 (First Day of School for Grade 6 and 7 only) 

  • 8:00 | Grade 6 and 7 students report to gym at Annie Gale for 8:00 start 
  • 12:00 – 12:41 | BBQ lunch served 

Tuesday, September 1 (First Day of School for Grade 8 and 9) 

  • 8:00 | Grade 8 and 9 students report to gym 
  • 8:00 | Grade 6 and 7 students report to their homerooms 

Thursday, September 3 

  • 2:45 – 4:00 | Girls Soccer Tryouts 

Friday, September 4 – EVEN DAY 

  • 8:00 – 12:00 | Regular school hours  

As always, should you have questions or concerns, please call the office.  We look forward to working with you this year! 

Sincerely, 

Tammy Quiring 

(Proud) Principal