Halloween Day

On Thursday, October 31 students and staff are invited to dress in costume. There will be a parade of costumes in the afternoon for the entire school and for AM Kindergarten in the morning.

• Please do not send your child with treats to giving to others as we have many allergies and food sensitivities. 
• We highly encourage that costumes are kept to a minimum. Masks cannot be worn during school and we ask that accessories (swords, light sabers, brooms, wands, etc), if possible, are kept at home. These accessories often distract from learning and if lost, damaged, or forgotten can take away from trick or treating fun that night.
• Please be sensitive of all of the different families, cultures, beliefs, and values represented at University School when selecting a costume with your child. If your child's costume is deemed to be offensive or inappropriate in any way, they will be asked to take it off. 
• Even though this day will be exciting and full of fun, it is still a day of learning and we ask that you please speak to your children about this.
• In the school days after Halloween, please limit the number of treats that are sent to school. As you can likely imagine, increased sugar intake does not often lead to optimal learning for students.

Veterans’ Food Bank 2024 Food Drive

University School would like to invite all families to participate in the Annual University School Veterans’ Food Bank Food Drive taking place from October 21 to November 7.  For a number of years, we have supported our Calgary Veterans by hosting this Food Bank Drive.

If you, your relatives, or your neighbours would like to donate food items, please send the food items to school with your children to drop off in our food donation boxes. 

Some examples of much needed items would be:

There are many other examples, and any non-perishable food items are gratefully accepted and appreciated! You can find more examples here https://veteransfoodbankalberta.ca/needed-items-list

UES Pond School - Fall Session

In conjunction with Take Me Outside Week University School took student learning outside this past week to create an intentional connection between curriculum and place. Going to the pond every day creates rigour in our learning on the land. What a lovely way to engage with our students on the land through social, emotional and academic experiences. Building an understanding of community, to understand and acknowledge the land that we live and play on in hopes that students will in turn protect it.  

Each day we had a different focus for the walk to the pond and activities at or on the way to the pond.

Stay tuned for our winter & spring pond schools.

States of Matter - Grade 3 Field Trip

The grade 3 classes at University School enjoyed a full day of activities at the Telus Spark Science centre this week. All three classes participated in a "Lab Matters" workshop focusing on the 3 states of matter (solid, liquid, gas). Students worked with dry ice, sublimation materials and gases under pressure.  The grade 3 classes also had the opportunity to watch Infinity Dome Theatre shows like Hazelnuts, Jane Goodall and Fungi, a web of life. Students had fun with the Virtual Reality games, creative kids museum, watched space shows in the Digital Immersion gallery and much more. Many thanks to those parents and caregivers that joined us as volunteers for the field trip!

Appropriate Clothing for Cooler Weather

Please make sure to send your child(ren) to school with apropriate clothing as the weather gets cooler that they stay warm when they go oustide. This may include boots, jacket, snow pants, toque, and mitts.

If you require any help in acquiring warm clothing for your child please let your child’s teacher know as the school would be happy to help. 

University School is following CBE recommendations for cold weather and we monitor the conditions to ensure students are safe. However, we will continue to go outside whenever possible as we value unstructured play time for students as it supports their well being and learning. Generally speaking, we will go outside as long as the temperature, with windchill, stays below -21. Please click on the image below to access more information about how to properly dress for the weather.

Fall Ball Family Dance

A huge thank you to University School’s School Council and Parent Association who put on the Fall Ball Family Dance. The music was pumping and students and families, including UES Alumni, were dancing up a storm. It was great seeing so many people come together and having some fun. Thank you to everyone who volunteered as events like this are not possible without your help!

Fun Lunch - A&W

The first fun lunch of the school year is A&W and they are offering choices such as cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, Beyond Meat burgers, and french fries.  

The last day to order the A&W fun lunch is today, Saturday, October 25. Please go to Healthy Hunger to place your order. 

The fun lunch will be distributed on Thursday, October 31. 

Morning Kindergarten students can wait until 11:10 am to receive their fun lunch if ordered. If they attend Summit they will have their food brought to them there.  

Also, a huge thank you to everyone that supported the Buy for a Friend popcorn option. This allowed all students at University to have a fun snack and come together as a community. We appreciate your support.

This Week 

Tuesday, October 29

• Grade 6 School Nurse Presentation

Thursday, October 31

• Halloween
• Diwali
• Fun Lunch - A&W

Friday, November 1

• Flex Fridays - Buddies 

Month Ahead 

Nov 6 - School Council and Parent Association Meeting (6:30pm)

Nov 7 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov 8 - No School - System Indigenous Education Professional Learning

Nov 11 - 13 - No School - Fall Break

Nov 14 - Classes Resume

Nov 15 - Flex Fridays - Mixed Groups

Nov 18 - Gymnastics begins

Nov 19 - Grade 2 Field Trip - Room 3

Nov 20 - Grade 2 Field Trip - Rooms 4 & 5

Nov 28 - Kindergarten - No School - Conferences

Nov 28 - Student Learning Conferences

Nov 29 - Student Learning Conferences

Dates of Significance

Oct - German Heritage Month

Oct - Canadian Islamic History Month

Oct-  Women’s History Month

Oct - Down’s Syndrome Awareness Month

Nov - Hindu Heritage Month

Nov 5 - 11 - Veterans Week

Nov 7 - Uniuit Day

Nov 8 - Indigenous Veterans Day

Nov 10 - 16 - Rock Your Mocs Week

Nov 11 - Remembrance Day

Nov 12 - 18 - Metis Awareness Week

Nov 16 - Louis Riel Day

Nov 18 - National Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week

Nov 20 - National Child Day

Nov 20 - Transgender Day of Remembrance

No 20 - 26 - Canadian History Week