Dear Lynx families/Chères familles Lynx, 

Welcome one and all to the end of semester 1; Semester 2 will begin on Wednesday, January 31.   Students can view their semester 2 schedules on MyCBE, and we will be sharing updated schedules with students via paper copies.  Students will be permitted to switch option courses the second week of February.  We are asking all students to attend 1 week of their new options before making any requests for change.  Option change forms will be available in the office, and families will be notified when this occurs. 

Secondly, report cards will be available for parents to view online, using MyCBE, on Tuesday, January 30.  If you do not have access to MyCBE please contact our main office for support. We will not be printing report cards unless requested by a family. If you need a report card printed, please contact the main office or your child(ren)’s home teacher. 

We have also been busy taking our grade 9 students to the various high schools that they have been designated to and facilitating visits from those school’s guidance teams to help students enroll in courses. In the past week we have either visited or been visited by: William Aberhart, Cresent Heights, James Fowler, North Trail and Diefenbaker. We have also connected with Western Canada for students interested in French IB and we will be taking students who are interested to Jack James later next month. Parents/guardians, please watch for emails from Mr. Cheng regarding important high school announcements. 

I spoke with the teachers who took the students on these trips, and all commented on the behaviour and manners of our students. In a building full of grade 9 students from other schools, our students should be very proud of how well they represented themselves and Vanier. More than one administrator from the high schools also commented to me about how well our students do in their new homes.  

I would also like to remind parents to monitor their child’s phone use at home. We have had to deal with a few issues this week that stem from online activity that is happening after school and on weekends. This includes posts being made on sites like SnapChat, TikTok and Discord; comments made in group text chats; and posts made to Instagram. I believe we do need to work collaboratively if we are going to succeed in making the students at GP Vanier better digital citizens.   If you are interested, some resources to get you started are: https://protectkidsonline.ca/app/en/  and https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/social-media-smarts.html

Finally, I wanted to let all Lynx families know that on Monday I will be away for about 6 weeks as I have been scheduled for surgery to replace my hip. Mme. Laurelle will be the acting Principal in my absence and Ms. Janice Richardson, a retired Principal, will be at Vanier to support. My apologies to families for the disruption, but I have eminent trust in both Mme. Laurelle and the wonderful staff at Vanier to continue running the finest school in Calgary. I look forward to seeing your children when I return. 

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 

GPV Late Immersion Open House February 1  

We are looking forward to welcoming our prospective families for an information meeting about our Late French Immersion program on February 1st from 6:30 – 7:30. Please see the attached invitation to pass along to families. Mme Laurelle has been making visits to our feeder schools to let grade 6 students know about our alternative program for grade 7 entry in the 2024-2025 school year. 

Link: Open House

Lost and Found 

We have collected many items in our lost and found over the past few weeks. These items have now been put into bags to be donated NEXT WEEK. Please remind your child check regularly if they notice they ae missing an item. 

LAST CHANCE! - French For Parents – Level 1 

Chinook Learning Services is offering a French Course for CBE Parents and Caregivers. You can build your French language skills in this introductory course. Learn or refresh vocabulary and grammar while increasing your confidence speaking French. Become more comfortable helping your children with their homework and conversing with the school staff. See Course Outline. 

One of our GPV French Immersion teachers will be the Instructor, Sophia Aristou. 

Textbooks & Materials: Textbooks are included in our course fees and distributed at the first class. 

Please see this link for more details: https://www.chinooklearningservices.com/ContEd/AdultCourses/French-For-Parents-Level-1.html# 

Grade 6 Fall Report Card 

What to Expect in Your Child’s Report Card Fall 2023 start:  

• Mathematics (6)  
• English Language Arts and Literature (6) 
• French Language Arts and Literature (6) 

In the new curriculum, some things students learn may be new or may have previously been taught in higher grades. Students could be missing foundational pieces from previous grades, and their report card indicators might not be as high as before. This is expected when there is a new curriculum. It might take more than one school year to build these foundational skills. Even though each grade has its own curriculum, many ideas come up again each year, helping students to build on what they already know and do well. Teachers continue to make learning interesting and inspiring and are adapting to students' needs during this transition. As always, if you have questions about your child's learning, please reach out to their teacher. 

Upcoming Sports Dates 

• Monday, January 29 – Boys Volleyball SJAM at GPV 
• Tuesday, January 30 – Wrestling Divisionals, Girls Volleyball SJAM at GPV 
• Wednesday, January 31 – no games or meets scheduled 
• Thursday, February 1 – Girls Volleyball GPV at CI 
• Friday, February 2 – no sports scheduled 

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

Upcoming Dates 

Jan. 30: Wrestling Divisionals 
Jan. 30: Band Parent Association & School Council Meeting 6:30 pm 
Jan. 30: Report Cards Available on MyCBE 
Jan. 31: First Day Semester 2 
Jan. 31: Vaccinations for Grade 9 students 
Feb. 1: Late French Immersion Open House 6:30pm 
Feb. 15 & 16: Teacher’s Convention (no school for students) 
Feb. 16: Last day to order Healthy Hunger Mucho Burrito 
Feb. 19: Family Day (no school) 
Feb. 23: Healthy Hunger Mucho Burrito delivered
Feb. 28: Pink Shirt Day