Dear Lynx families/Chères familles de Lynx, 

I hope this message finds you all well as we enter our final school week of the 2023 calendar. 

I want to thank all the students and their families for coming out to our Winter Concert on Wednesday evening. I spoke with our grade 7 band students after their afternoon performance, and they were so pleased with the response from their peers. It was wonderful to see how much the applause meant to them and more than one student mentioned how they wished they could have played longer. Well done to Ms. Ramos for continuing to build a strong program here. 

On Thursday afternoon a representative from Radio Canada came to speak with our grade 9 French students about where a second language might take you. Thank you to Mme. Aristou for organizing this opportunity and for our grade 9 team with the logistics of the afternoon. 

Wrestling continued with our second meet of the season at Sir Wilfred Laurier, and a few of our student-athletes are competing in this weekend’s Alberta Winter Games trials. Best of luck to the Lynx participating and thanks to our wrestling coaches. 

Finally, parents/guardians, we have been talking to students about the use of body spray in the locker room and hallways. A few students and staff have brought forward the fact that they have sensitivities/allergies to the odour in the body spray students are bringing to school. We understand that students in middle school become increasingly aware and concerned about personal hygiene, but we have asked them to move towards bringing scent free body spray or to limit/reduce the use of the scented sprays. 

Bonne fin de semaine, 

Chad Edmonds – Principal GP Vanier. 

Our Georges P. Vanier School website has information as well: https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/gpvanier/Pages/default.aspx 

GP Vanier – Volleyball Season 

We are busy preparing for the upcoming Volleyball season in January. While we do not have the full game schedule at this point, we wanted to give you as much information in advance as possible.  We are anticipating the full cost of the volleyball season to be $45 per player and will send out the FULL SEASON to families of students who make the team once it is confirmed. 

We have attached the TRYOUT schedule and below is information for each team. If you have any questions regarding volleyball tryouts, or would be willing to volunteer your time to help coach, please contact Ms. Johnson at: jdjohnson@cbe.ab.ca 

Our SENIOR BOYS team is being coached by Mr. Eitzen and Mr. Seguin, they will have games on Monday and Wednesday evenings and they will practice on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afterschool.  

Our JUNIOR BOYS team is being coached by Mme. Finley, they will have games on Monday and Wednesday evenings and they will practice on Thursday mornings and Tuesday afterschool. 

Our SENIOR GIRLS team is being coached by Ms. Johnson and Mme. Anna, they will have games on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and they will practice on Monday mornings and Wednesdays afterschool.  

Our JUNIOR GIRLS team is being coached by Mrs. Craig, they will have games on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and they will practice on Wednesday mornings and Mondays afterschool. 

GP Vanier Swag 

Hello GPV Families, 

Looking for holiday gift ideas?  Look no further. 

We are offering a water bottle and sock promotion. 

Get a pair of GPV Socks and Water bottle for $15.00. This offer will be available until 12:00pm on Thursday, December 21, 2023. 

Money raised from the sale of these items goes directly to support students at the school.   

Please email sanickle@cbe.ab.ca to order your Sock & Water bottle combo today. 

Holiday Hampers 

We want to thank our school community for coming together to support families in our neighbourhood with our Holiday Hamper program. We were overwhelmed by how generous you all were this year. Thank you all so much!! 

We raised enough money and items that we have also been able to support not just our community but also those of neighbouring schools in the Calgary Board of Education. 

Lost and Found – LAST WEEK! 

We have a number of sweatshirts, t-shirts, jackets and other school materials such as lunch kits and water bottles. All unclaimed items will be bagged and donated to charity the first week of January. If your child has any missing items, please remind them to have a lock at school. 

MyCBE Unavailable  

PowerSchool will be unavailable from January 2 – January 4 for the required annual PowerSchool upgrade. During this time students and legal guardians will be unable to access their MyCBE account. Thank you for your understanding while we work to keep the Student Information System (PowerSchool) up to date. 

50 Years of Immersion 

The CBE is collecting names of staff who were present at the beginning of the FI program 50 years ago.  Perhaps some of you were students in the Immersion program and became teachers in the CBE or you were in the program and are now parents / grandparents of a student who is currently learning French at Vanier.  The CBE would love to get in touch and invite you to the 50th anniversary celebration later this year.  If you are interested in this opportunity (or know someone who is and wants to connect) please let me know. 

Our Georges P. Vanier School website has information as well: https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/gpvanier/teaching-learning/program-approach/french/pages/default.aspx

Library Reminders 

Please remind your child to return or renew their library books. Ask your child if they keep their book at home or at school. Thank you! 

Spirit Week 

Monday, December 18 – Flannel and Festive Sock Day 
Tuesday, December 19 – Holiday Character day – dress up as your favourite holiday character 
Wednesday, December 20  – Ugly Winter Sweater Day 
Thursday, December 21  - Polar Express Day – Winter PJ day 
Friday, December 22 – Winter Vacation day – Dress up in your beach vacation wear 

Upcoming Sports Dates 

Monday, December 18 – No sports scheduled 
Tuesday, December 19 – No sports scheduled 
Wednesday, December 20  – No sports scheduled 
Thursday, December 21  - Wrestling at Sir Wilfred Laurier 
Friday, December 22 – No sports scheduled 

Students, please continue to check the schedule outside of the gym for updates. 

Upcoming Dates 

Dec. 22: Last Day of classes before Winter Break 
Jan. 8: Classes Resume – Welcome Back! 
Jan. 8: Volleyball season begins 
Jan. 15: Non-instruction Day (no school for students) 
Jan. 16: GPV hosts wrestling 
Jan. 19: Last day to order Healthy Hunger – Jugo Juice 
Jan. 26: Healthy Hunger – Jugo Juice delivered