Milo School News

And just like that, January has passed us by!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us out over the past few weeks. As always, our volunteer readers are hard at work helping students in all grades to refine their reading abilities. The one-on-one practice and attention makes such a difference and we are so grateful for all of them. If you would like to get involved, we are always happy to have extra help. Please connect with Ms. Kirk for details. Thank you as well to all parents and community members who joined us for skating. The process was so much smoother with your support in getting skates tied and students out on the ice. I also want to shout out to our amazing staff. The dedication and passion they bring to this building every day warms my heart and I consider myself, and our students, lucky to have each of them!

Over the next few weeks you should all receive a package in the mail from Alberta Education. This contains information about the yearly survey they conduct. Along with the information will be a digital access code. Please take the time to fill out the survey, your input is important for helping us identify goals, areas of improvement, and successes for celebration. If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact me. Students in grades 4-9 will also complete a version of the survey so that their perspectives can also be heard.

The annual ski trip is upcoming, currently scheduled for March 7th. Consistent with last year, this trip will be for students in grades 4-9. Any families who want to excuse their grade 1-3 student for the day to go to the hill are of course welcome to, but please know that no forms, payment, supervision, or transportation will be handled by the school for those students. Further information will be sent home soon.

The Palliser School Division calendar for the 2024/2025 school year was recently approved by the board. A copy will be shared with families in the coming weeks as I begin to create our Milo-specific school calendar. This year we will be collecting feedback on our 4 day week, and holding a vote to ensure our calendar and schedule still meet the needs of our families. Please keep your eyes open for updates from me, as well as our school council, as we work to get this process started.

Remember that there is no school on February 19th to 23rd. On February 22nd and 23rd teachers will be engaged in two days of professional development in either Calgary or Lethbridge and we are excited to bring new ideas and learning back to our classrooms!

The Alberta Education Assurance Survey opens January 22nd, parents and guardians will receive a code through Canada Post that will be used to access the online survey. Please see the document above for important information regarding the survey.

The Spring Flower Fundraiser order forms are due February 14th. Please click on the link in the title for an online version of the form or pick up a paper copy from the school or area businesses. We are happy to offer e-transfer payments this year as well as cash or cheques. Please use this email for all e-transfer payments: milo_officestaff@pallisersd.ab.ca

The Castle Mountain Resort Ski Trip will take place on Thursday, March 7th. Please watch for registration forms coming home soon. All forms and payment will be due February 12th. We will be looking for chaperones to assist us with supervision both on and off of the ski hill. Please reach out to the school if you are able to help.

Our first annual Winter Feast was a big success! We were so happy to see so many family members join us and help out with serving the food. The students did a great job preparing the meal and setting up the gym. Mr. Mattson can now add mass turkey roasting so his long list of skills. There was even leftover turkey that is now in the freezer waiting to be turned into soup. Something to look forward to in the upcoming frigid weather. Thank you to Grant Turner for donating all of the turkeys for our feast.

The Evergreen Theatre Residency from Dec. 11th - 14th was a highlight for students and staff. We are always amazed at our students' capacity to learn the skits in such a short period of time. Thank you to the Milo School Foundation and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for funding the residency.

Please check your email & spam folder for the invitation to join Edsby.

Edsby is the platform we use for report cards, attendance, instant messaging, booking Learning Conferences and calendar updates. You can click on the link below to log in or download the free app.

https://pallisersd.edsby.com/

Miss Schneider has reported that she was able to buy $3225.25 worth of new books from the book fair and that all teachers got their class wish lists. We are so thankful to everyone that supported the book fair. Miss Schneider is working hard to get all of the books catalogued and ready to be taken out.

Parents, students, community members can purchase t-shirts, hats, jackets, hoodies, bags etc. with the Milo School logo with the link below. For every dollar spent the school gets 10% towards student clothing.

Ms. Stephanie Weasel Child will be the new Siksika Liaison Worker for the Milo and Arrowwood Schools. We look forward to working with Stephanie.

• Community volunteers that prepare and maintain the ice in the arena and curling rink

Jan. 25 - Family party for Literacy Day

Jan. 26 - Skating Games & Lunch 10:30 am at Milo Arena

Jan. 31 - Hot Lunch - turkey soup

Feb. 1 - Grade 5/6 Floor Hockey Tournament

Feb. 12 - Ski Trip Forms Due

Feb. 14 - Flower Order Forms Due

Feb. 19 - 22 - No School

Feb. 27 - Parent Council Meeting 4:30

Feb. 28 - Hitman Hockey Game