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 on the Google Translate tab at the top.

Dear Marion Carson School Families,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year at Marion Carson School! It is a very exciting time of year for all. At this point there is often a mixture of excitement and fear of the unknown for both children and their families. Know that we are prepared and excited to welcome them to the new school year and in collaboration with you, we will support and guide them towards success throughout their school year journey.

If you are new to Marion Carson School, and no matter which program you and your family are a part of, welcome to our wonderful community where we come together as Marion Carson School. Know that we have worked very hard to create a caring environment focussed on belonging that provides for rich learning opportunities. If your child has not yet visited the school grounds, I recommend you to do so with them in these final few days before entry, so that your child can see where they will be learning, play on the compound or on the play structure, etc.  Building some familiarity before entry can go a long way in building some level of comfort and excitement for your child.  If your child is entering Kindergarten, ensuring that they can put on/take off their shoes and coat will also set them up for early success. I believe that you will find our school community a caring, and loving place to learn where your child will feel safe to fully explore in their learning.

A reminder that if your child is sick, they should be staying home until feeling well. Please ensure that you have contingency plans in place for times when your child may become ill as we would like to continue to keep everyone as healthy as possible and ready for learning at our school.

I can appreciate that families are very eager to hear who their child’s teacher will be for the coming school year. Know that, as with every year, changes occur over the summer due to a wide range of factors, and some adjustments to class lists continue to occur at this point of the year. I can share the following information though, which you may find helpful:

• You can expect a message from your child’s teacher on the evening of Tuesday, August 27. This message will introduce you to their teacher, while also providing some information about routines, first day process, contact information, etc. If you do not receive a message that evening, please contact the school office the following morning. When you do receive the message, we ask that you please respond to the email to confirm with the teacher that you are aware of the class placement.
• For your information our staff list can be found on our website here.
• Our back to school hours and schedules (including staggered entry for Kindergarten students and new school hours for all students) can be found here.
• Our office is open to help as of Monday, August 26^th, during our regular school hours of 9:05am to 3:40pm (please note the school hours change from last year).
• If you have moved or will be moving out of our catchment and live out of area, please let us know ASAP, to help us with class lists, and get your child transferred to their designated school. You can do so by emailing the school (marioncarson@cbe.ab.ca) or by calling our school office at 403 777-6050.
• Community Program registration is ongoing, if you have family or friends in our catchment looking to enrol at Marion Carson School please have them call our school office. Mandarin Program entry after Grade 1 is dependent on a language and fluency assessment completed in Mandarin and based on program availability in each grade.
• Reminder that Kindergarten students attend select scheduled Fridays, but begin next Thursday and Friday with a staggered entry.

Some final items of note…

1.     School Hours Changed for 2024-25

Reminder that our school hours have changed slightly as compared to last year, and that we have soft entry where students can calmly come into the building from 9:00 – 9:05am, whereas instruction begins promptly at 9:05am. Please be sure to make plans for the start of the school year next year that support your child arriving during the soft entry time so that they are ready for instruction to begin right at 9:05am. Please note that there are not supervisors at the doors before 9am, therefore students should be with a guardian until that time if arriving early until the doors open to ensure their safety. Our school day will end at 3:40pm from Monday to Thursday, and at 1:15pm on Fridays next year, therefore we ask parents picking up their child to plan on being at the school 5 minutes before dismissal with a pre-arranged outdoor meeting space to ensure that children are with an adult as soon as the school day ends. Should you be running a few minutes late on any day due to an unforeseen circumstance, please be sure to contact the office to make arrangements to have your child come to the school office and await your arrival at 403 777-6050.

2.     Arriving Late for the 2024-25 School Year? 

Students’ first day back at school for the 2024-25 school year is August 29, 2024. If your child is coming late due to extenuating circumstances and will not be present on the first day of school, please email the school office at MarionCarson@cbe.ab.ca with your child’s full name, the reason for the absence, and the date of return, if you have not already done so.

Enjoy the final few days of summer break, and we look forward to seeing everyone next week to start the 2024-25 school year at Marion Carson School. We look forward to the energy and joy that comes with the first day of the school year, and the beginning of what we know will be a great year of learning.  If you have any other questions about school start-up, feel free to contact the school office, or your child’s teacher once they make their initial connection with you on Tuesday evening.

*You can also review all past Principal Messages through the school website here.

Sincerely,

Mr. Dustin Turner

Principal, Marion Carson School

Important Dates:

Aug. 29: First day of School for Grade 1-6 (back to school information)

Aug. 29/30: Staggered Entry for Kindergarten students (click here for schedule)

Sept. 2: No School – Labour Day

Sept. 17: Mid-Autumn Festival

Sept. 18: School Council and Parent Association Meeting (6:30pm)

Sept: 18: Class/Individual Photos (K-6)

Sept: 19: Class/Individual Photos (MB Kindergarten Tu/Th Group)

Sept. 20: Terry Fox Run

Sept. 26: Orange Shirt Day