Dear DGS Families, 

On Friday last week, 27 Grade 9’s returned from an amazing experience about the Pacific Grace with SALTS. Students learned so many valuable lessons about perseverance, hard work, teamwork, overcoming obstacles and being their independent best selves. From hauling lines to raise and lower sails, washing dishes, climbing rigging, rowing Dories, reading charts, and steering the ship to playing in tide pools, getting up at 5:00 AM, trying new foods, learning new songs and making new friends, they did it all with enthusiasm and skill. Our Grade 9’s will be talking to our current Grade 8’s later this month to share their experiences, as we look forward to planning what we hope is a new annual adventure for our school. 

Last night was our First Annual Tri-School Jazz Night, held in conjunction with staff and students from Samual W Shaw School and Dr. Martha Cohen School. We greatly enjoyed the musical stylings of all three groups, and we can’t wait for our own Band Concert at the end of May! 

This week, we will be doing some intentional work with students in classrooms related to our “Away for the Day” policy. Recently, our students have struggled a bit with keeping their phones in their lockers for the duration of the day while they are in class and at lunch. This is a school wide policy and applies to all students, unless the device is required to support a medical condition such as Type One Diabetes and certain cardiovascular conditions. Staff also make extensive efforts to ensure they are only using their mobile devices for Two-Factor Authentication, as required by the CBE to access most learning technology platforms. This is a long-standing policy at our school, and it is intended to create success for all, both academically and socially. As a reminder, students may have their phones until 8:30 AM, and again after 2:55 PM. If students are found with their device on their person, their device will be kept in the main office for the remainder of the day. Should a student continue to struggle, a parent may be called to collect the device from the school. Parents can help by calling the main office to speak to their child, re-enforce with your child the need for phones to stay in lockers, and supporting us if we have called you to collect a phone. 

On Monday next week, our Grade 9 students will write Part A of their English Language Arts Provincial Achievement Tests. We will make minor modifications to our daily schedule so that students have the time and peace they will need to write their exams. While these tests provide us with important information about student achievement that we use to make pedagogical improvements to our practice as teachers, we view them as a snapshot in time of how a student does given a particular topic to respond to on a particular day. It does not define our young people. It cannot capture the full scope of what a student has learned to date in their education. It is one piece of data in a much larger portrait of each student as a learner. We strive to support students in their success and help them to achieve to the very best of their ability. Should you have any questions about the Grade 9 P.A.T., please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher. 

DGS Fundraising Society Events 

• 50/50 Raffle on now through May 28, 2024. Please see the attachment for link and details. 50/50 Poster - May 2024 

• The Kona Ice Truck will visit the school at noon on June 14, 2024. To order your refreshing treat, please click HERE! Online ordering closes on June 13 at 5:00 PM, however, payment will also be accepted at the Kona Truck on that day if you miss the deadline. 

• Texas Donut Event update, unfortunately, we were unable to secure a date for this school year. Sorry for the disappointment!  

Literacy Afternoon 

What/When

Grade 6-9 Humanities teachers are looking to welcome students and parents/guardians on May 10 from 2 - 4 PM to view ongoing work exploring the conceptual question: “What influences change?” 

This question has been a collaborative effort of the Literacy Professional Learning Community this year and has been taken up in each grade level according to the specific Programs of Studies and individualized vocabulary targets determined by each grade level. 

Why

Every two weeks, the grade 6-9 teachers belonging to the Literacy cohort have met to build students’ capacity to understand and apply academic language as one of our ongoing goals to increase student comprehension in all core subject areas related to reading, writing, and speaking. Academic language is defined as “the specialized words and phrases that are commonly used within academic settings such as classrooms, higher level fiction, scholarly articles, and educational discussions. These terms are typically more formal, precise, and specific than everyday language and are essential for understanding and communicating effectively within instructional contexts.” 

Although each grade approached the same conceptual question each grade targeted 3 words from their programming to highlight as essential/key. 

The purpose of this event is NOT to serve as a formal interview, but rather to invite students to speak to the ongoing work that is occurring in the classroom, highlighting the (beautifully chaotic) process that has been taken to engage in the question and exploration of the academic vocabulary. Parents are welcome to view any/all of the work that grades have produced as a means to visualize how skill development occurs between each grade. 

Where

Grades 7, 8, and 9 will have tables/spaces upstairs out in the hallway with student work displayed. Grade 6’s will have tables and a space downstairs by the Learning Commons. 

We look forward to seeing you! 

Grade 6-9 Literacy Team 

Provincial Achievement Test Volunteers 

We are looking for volunteers to help with P.A.T.’s. If you are available and have a Valid Police Clearance, please click on this LINK to sign-up. 

Possible supports that we might need you for during the exam will be the following: 

1. Scribes and Readers  

2. Hallway Monitor  

Volunteers will most likely not be staying to the end of the designated time as many students will be finished at this point. 

Important Upcoming Dates 

Monday May 13, 2024  

• Grade 9 P.A.T. - ELA Part A 

Friday May 17, 2024  

• Non-Instructional Day (No School for Students)  

Monday May 20, 2024 

• Victoria Day (School Closed) 

Tuesday May 28, 2024 

• Band Concert 

Friday June 7, 2024 

• Grade 9 Farewell Ceremony 

Wednesday June 12, 2024 

• Grade 9 P.A.T. - ELA Part B 

Thursday June 13, 2024 

• Grade 9 P.A.T. - Math Part A 

Tuesday June 18, 2024 

• Grade 9 P.A.T. - Math Part B 

Wednesday June 19, 2024 

• Grade 6 P.A.T. - Social Studies 
• Grade 9 P.A.T. - Social Studies 

Thursday June 19, 2024 

• Grade 6 P.A.T. - Science 
• Grade 9 P.A.T. - Science 

Thursday June 27, 2024 

• Last day of school for students (early dismissal) 

Friday June 28, 2024 

• Non-Instructional Day (No School for Students) 

I am available to answer questions- csmalette@cbe.ab.ca  ​​​​​​​

Chantal Malette  

Principal, Dr. George Stanley School