Dear McKenzie Lake Families,

This week, we held our first lockdown practice of the school year. We were joined by three Calgary Police Service officers who observed our procedures and provided valuable feedback. I’m pleased to report that their assessment indicated this was our best lockdown practice yet! We will have our second and final lockdown practice in the Winter/Spring, alongside four additional fire drills.

During today’s PD Day, teachers collaborated in grade teams to design engaging literacy tasks for students to work on while they are leading guided reading lessons. The focus was on creating differentiated tasks that cater to each student’s next steps in reading and writing. We look forward to sharing examples of this work in action at upcoming School Council meetings.  To kick off the day, we started with a fun competition of Hunger Hippo to energize our staff before settling into a day of collaborative work.

Looking ahead, we have many exciting events planned for students, including Halloween celebrations and field trips. On Thursday, students are welcome to wear their Halloween costumes to school. However, please ensure that costumes allow for safe participation in all regular activities, including physical education, music, and recess. We ask that students do not bring masks or costume accessories like knives, swords, or any weapons.  Please do not send edible treats for your child to hand out to classmates, as we are unable to distribute them.  To stay in alignment with being an allergy aware school, students are only able to eat the food that they bring to school from home.

For those who prefer not to wear a costume, wearing orange and black is also a great way to participate!

School Council Fundraiser

Our School Council is currently running a Purdy’s Chocolate fundraiser.  This is a great opportunity for parents to order chocolates to enjoy over the Winter Break, or find stocking stuffers to those that are not on Santa’s naughty list.  The deadline to place orders is December 1, and they will be delivered to the school before Winter Break and available for pick up. https://fundraising.purdys.com/join.aspx/1364677-121468

Sincerely,

Dayna McComish