Dear Parents & Guardians,

thank you to all of you who came and attended the Remembrance Day ceremony with us. Thank you to Frau Dressler and Ms. Tetz and the Grade 6 classes for organizing it. Thank you to all the parents who shared family photos of family members who served or are serving.

Math: While I have been handing out math multiplication sheets or addition/subtraction practice sheets for Grade 1/2 students, none of our students have come to see me to show off their new skills and to pick up the next sheet. Please, if your child is in Grade 3, they have to know up to 10x10 by heart by the end of Grade 3. This is one of the major changes in the math curriculum. If your child is in Grade 3, 4, 5 or 6 and you know they don't know their multiplication facts, please email me, ask for the first sheet and start practicing with them at home. This is one of the foundational pieces to help ensure their success in mathematics in the future as almost all math topics depend on them.

Parent-Teacher Conferences: Thursday from 4:15 to 8:00pm and Friday from 8:00am to 1:00 pm. If you have not booked your interview, please do so asap or call the office if you need help. Ms. Corey will be happy to book it for you. This also means that Friday is NO SCHOOL for students. Mr. Benty and Frau Hauck are doing interviews together, so you only need to book one of them.

Having five probationary teachers means that Ms. Gartshore and myself are very busy spending time in classes for informal and formal observations. Probationary teachers receive two evaluations in their first year: Part A is due in February and Part B is due in May. While we visit all classes informally almost every day, formal observations require a number of things: a pre-meeting during which the teacher shares their lesson plans with us, the learning outcomes of the lesson, the differentiation taking place, the assessment (how do they know the kids learned what they wanted them to learn?), during a formal observation, we take copious notes, this is followed by a debrief, during which we ask reflective questions and share feedback. Personally, I have always enjoyed coaching/mentoring of young colleagues - as a teacher, learning leader, assistant principal and now as principal.

If you have a daughter in Grade 4-6 who is 10 years old or older, Ms. Tetz is doing a coding session with them on December 7 in the morning and over lunch. Please watch out for the permission slip to come home. You need to sign it and return it.

St. Nikolaus is a German tradition on December 6 when children put out a freshly cleaned shoe onto their windowsill and, miraculously, found some treats in it the next morning. We would like to provide a 'surprise treat' to all our Bowcroft students on December 6. In order to do so, we are asking for:

• 370 mandarins/oranges
• 370 fun pencils

Please let Ms. Gartshore and myself know if you can contribute to this special event.

Free YMCA pass for Grade 6 students https://www.ymcacalgary.org/calgary-flames-grade-6-ymca-membership

Important Dates

November 23: Parent-Teacher Conferences #2, 4:15 to 8:00 pm 
November 24: No school, Parent-Teacher Conferences 8:00 – 1:00pm 
November 27: Ballroom Dance Residency starts
December 8: Non-Instruction Day, NO SCHOOL
December 20: German Program: Winter Celebration 6pm
December 21: Community Program Winter Celebration 6pm;
December 22: ROARS Assembly & Last Day of School
December 25 - January 5: Winter Break
January 8: Classes Resume, BPAC Meeting at 6:30 pm
January 15: No School, Non-Instruction Day
January 25: Open House
January 26: ROARS Assembly
January 29-February 8: Alien Inline Skating 
February 5: BPAC Meeting at 6:30pm
February 15 and 16: No School, Teacher Convention
February 19: No School, Family Day
February 23: ROARS Assembly
February 29: 6:30 pm Literacy Night
March 4: BPAC Meeting at 6:30pm
March 21: Last Day of Classes Before Spring Break; Parent-Teacher Conferences 4:15 to 8:00pm
March 22: Parent-Teacher Conferences 8:00am to 1:00pm
March 25-April 1: Spring Break
April 2: Classes Resume
April 8: School Council, 6:30 pm
April 19: No School, Non-Instruction Day