Happy Sunday, Grizzly families! 

These Sunday messages came about from a request from a parent on our School Council.  I have learned that parents and guardians look forward to the information shared each week.  I ask that you use this weekly message to talk to your child(ren) about the update and use it as a planning tool for the week.  Our students are learning important skills to manage their activities and follow school expectations; conversations with families supports the development of these skills.  It also helps us to ensure that the messages we share at school and at home are consistent. 

Our Terry Fox Run was a success!  After watching a video about Terry Fox and his run, all of our students participated in the run in PE, some running well over five km.  Donations for the Terry Fox Run are still being accepted; students can bring their Toonie for Terry to their PE teacher before the end of the week. 

This week we hosted two soccer games and our students showed a great deal of sportsmanship and athletic ability.  They also showed improvement throughout each game.  We’re excited to see how the season plays out for each of our soccer teams. 

Did you know? 

  • NEW:  This year we are asking students to keep spray perfumes, colognes, and body sprays at home for everyone’s safety. If these items are brought to school, we will ask your child to bring them home—we may keep it in the office for them until the end of the day. 
  • NEW:  All of our students use the change rooms daily, and with that many using them, sometimes students lose track of clothing items. Please label all Gale clothing (PE clothing, Grizzly Gear, or TLC uniform pieces) with student names.    
  • NEW:  Annie Gale has its own account on X (formerly known as Twitter).  Check us out on this form of social media! 
  • NEW:  Meet the Teacher Night is Thursday, September 26, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Our program will start in the gym at 6:00 p.m.  After a brief introduction, parents and guardians will rotate through a mini timetable for their child and spend approximately five minutes in each classroom for a Monday schedule.  This night is important as teachers will be giving an overview of what their course is all about; they will also share their contact information.  Please note that though this evening will give everyone a chance to meet the teachers, it is not designed for parents or guardians to have individual or private conversations with teachers.  Should you wish to follow up with a private conversation with the teacher, take their contact information and reach out by phone or email to set up an opportunity to speak privately about your child.  Please note that at the time of writing of this email, our elevator is not working.  We apologize for the inconvenience as the stairs will be the only option to go to the second floor. 
  • NEW: Last week we held our first School Council Meeting of the year.  It was a joy to see so many parents and guardians come to the school to meet the council and hear about our plans for the year.  If you wish to connect with the council, here’s their email:  anniegalepesa@gmail.com.  We will be posting the agenda and minutes of the meetings on our school website this year.  Perhaps the biggest update at our meeting was the announcement of our successful May fundraising casino.  The total raised was over $81,000! We are excited about how our students will benefit from these funds.  Our next casino will be in the first quarter of 2026—we hope to continue with these fundraising efforts.   
  • NEW: Many of our students take public transit to get to and from home.  This week I was reminded by a driver that students need to show their transit passes or pay for their fare.  Though students under 12 ride transit for free, other students need to demonstrate that they have paid their fare. 
  • NEW: Thanks to all our students who demonstrate Grizzly COURAGE when they are not in our building!  This includes students who are out in the community at lunch and after school and those who ride transit.  I am always proud of the good reports I hear from the public about our students doing the right thing.  Great job, Grizzlies! 
  • NEW: Many of our sports teams have already started to play at other schools.  I want to remind every family that student fans are NOT allowed to visit other schools unless they are attending with their parent or guardian.  Other schools have been asked not to allow these students in the buildings.  We will do the same—we allow our own students to be fans inside the school, so long as they have had perfect attendance for the day of the game, but we will not allow students from other schools unless they have their parent or guardian with them.  School rules must be followed during home games as well, especially related to behaviour, dress code, and personal mobile devices.  We encourage our students to attend games to show their school pride and to support our student athletes. 
  • REPEAT:  Each day our office fields dozens of calls about individual students and their whereabouts at the end of the day, usually because the student is participating in extra-curricular activities.  We ask that you use the calendar provided to you at the end of this weekly message to plan ahead with your children so that communication happens at home. 

WEEKLY EVENTS:  SEPTEMBER 23 TO SEPTEMBER 27 

Monday, September 23 

2:45 – 3:45 | Girls Soccer Practice 

3:45 – 4:45 | Junior Boys Basketball Practice  

4:00 – 6:00 | Cross Country Meet @ Confederation Park 

5:30 – 6:30 | Junior Girls Basketball Games @ Peter Loughheed School 

Tuesday, September 24 

2:45 – 3:45 | Boys Soccer Practice 

2:45 – 3:45 | Junior Girls Basketball Practice 

3:45 – 4:45 | Senior Girls Basketball Practice 

4:30 – 5:50 | Girls Soccer Game vs. Dr. Gordon Higgins School @ Annie Gale 

Wednesday, September 25 

2:45 – 3:45 | Girls Soccer Practice  

4:30 – 5:50 | Boys Soccer Game vs. Terry Fox @ Terry Fox School  

5:30 – 7:30 | Senior Girls Basketball Game vs. Terry Fox @ Terry Fox School

Thursday, September 26 

2:45 – 3:45 | Boys Soccer Practice 

2:45 – 3:45 | Cross Country Practice 

2:45 – 3:45 | Senior Girls Basketball Practice 

6:00 – 7:30 | Meet the Teacher Night  

Friday, September 27 – NON-INSTRUCTION DAY:  NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS 


Sincerely, 

Tammy Quiring 

(proud) Principal