Learning Together, Friends Forever. 同窗四季，挚友一生
*If you would like to have a translated version of this message, please click the Google Translate tab at the top.
Hello / Nǐ hǎo Marion Carson School Families,
Thank you to all students, staff and families for their contributions to our various initiatives over this past week. I know students and staff had lots of fun joining in on the various spirit days and learning activities during Winter Festival Week, but the icing on the cookie was all of the donations that as a school we were able to provide to areas of need in our school community and throughout Calgary. We are so proud of how we were able to use our collective ability as a school for the greater good of our city. Thank you, families.
We would also like to thank the grade 4 students for their learning celebration this week as well as their English and Mandarin versions of our national anthem. It was beautiful to see your learning in action as you shared with our whole school.
We would also like to thank the University of Calgary students who donated their time and shared their musical talent with us this past Tuesday, as well as the teacher Winter Festival committee and Parent Association for their planning of this week’s events. We also appreciated the school connection with our grade 6 neighbours at FE Osborne School who were able to join us at our caroling event this past Thursday. It is wonderful to be able to come together as one shared learning community, and we look forward to the possibility of more opportunities coming to fruition in the future.
Finally, we would like to thank all parents for your support this past week and since the start of the school year, including thanks for the wonderful potluck lunch that you provided this past week. It was such a kind and generous gesture.
As 2025 comes to an end, I want to wish everyone a restful and safe holiday season and Happy New Year as you enjoy your Winter break from December 20th to January 4, 2026. We look forward to seeing all students back when school resumes on January 5, 2026. Looking forward, we are excited for our Lunar New Year Residency with Trickster coming up shortly after break, as we celebrate the Year of the Horse!
In this message…
- Lunar New Year Residency
- A Message from School Council and Parent Association
Some items of note…
- Lunar New Year Residency
As part of our school’s unique experience having both a community program and Mandarin Bilingual program, we are excited to share learning and culture in various aspects throughout the year. Our Lunar New Year celebration is one key piece to the learning and culture foundation of this alternative program. With 5 schools in the Calgary Board of Education that have a Chinese Mandarin Bilingual Program, we are always looking for ways to celebrate and experience the Chinese culture within our school community. This includes various field trips, on-site activities, and celebrations. As a group of Mandarin Bilingual Program schools, we have decided that moving forward we will be rotating the large performance-based celebrations (in our case Lunar New Year celebrations) from year to year with North Schools hosting 1 year, followed by South schools and continuing with this rotation over time. We have volunteered our school at Marion Carson to hold this performance this year, with next year being an off year. The hope is that this will reduce pressures on out of school performances for students enabling the continued focus on the Alberta curriculum, while also opening up space to celebrate and learn about the Chinese culture during instructional time, in different ways. We also understand the pressures that the cost of these performances can have on both the school, and families and believe that every second year will be of support.
This year, our Lunar New Year residency will be from January 19 to 23, 2026 with Trickster Theatre, with a final performance / Lunar New Year Celebration on January 23, 2026, with two morning performances, and two afternoon/evening performances. More details will be shared in January.
Additionally, we are excited to announce that we have been the successful recipient of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts grant which will cover a portion of the cost of the residency. We would also like to thank the School Council/Parent Association who is also contributing $5000 to reduce the cost to families. This reduces the per student cost to ~$18/student ($9 for kindergarten). A message will be sent by the school once this fee is uploaded to your MyCBE Account.
Finally, we are in need of many volunteers to help make this residency and performance a success. If you are able to volunteer with this residency, please sign-up using the attached sign-up sheet provided by Trickster Theatre - Marion Carson Sign Up Genius. Thank you in advance for your support.
2. A Message from School Council and Parent Association
Parent Association Bottle Drive – January 16, 2026
As you celebrate this holiday season, we’d love your help collecting cans and bottles from your parties and gatherings. Please set them aside for our upcoming Bottle Drive on January 16th, 2026.
Your contributions will go directly toward supporting our school community and upcoming projects. Every can and bottle makes a difference!
Upcoming Events
Dec. 20-Jan. 4: Winter Break – No School
Jan. 5: Classes Resume
Jan. 8: Fun Lunch (Subway) - Order at www.healthyhunger.ca
Jan. 8: Mandarin Bilingual Program Open House (for prospective families)
Jan. 15: School Snow Glow Dance (buy tickets here)
Jan. 16: Parent Association Bottle Drive (8:30am – 9:45am)
Jan. 19-23: Lunar New Year Residency (Trickster)
Jan. 23: Lunar New Year Final Performance (details TBC)
Sincerely,
Mr. Dustin Turner
Principal, Marion Carson School