Chester Ronning School
November 2023 News
Principal's Messages
Greetings CRS School Community!
Amazingly, nearly three months of the school year are already in our rearview! Our staff and students have been hard at work on learning outcomes and it has been fun to see the quality learning experiences that have been going on in the classrooms.
With the Fall Break behind us and As November turns to December, we find ourselves at an important point in the elementary school year - a time when important work gets done ahead of the Christmas season. With roughly 17 school days remaining before the Christmas holiday (crazy, I know!), students and teachers will be buckling down to complete learning outcomes and wrap up learning to a point where it can be more easily resumed after a more lengthy break.
For many schools in Battle River School Division, the traditional date for first report cards is approaching. Chester Ronning School, however, is one of several schools in the second year of a Real-Time Reporting project and our students do not receive paper report cards with term comments. Instead, we are working to leverage the PowerSchool parent-login to provide more frequent comments about student learning and consistently update their electronic grade books with the intention promote ongoing communication and conversations about student learning. Besides not printing off physical report cards, a key difference with this approach is that teachers will attach specific comments directly to individual assignments and assessments whenever there is noteworthy information, rather than creating general synopses only a few times per year. If you have not done so already, accessing your PowerSchool account and the mobile app will be important to staying up to date on your student's learning. Please contact the office if you have questions or if you need additional support with this.
And, on the topic of the approaching holiday season, I am excited to share that our second annual CRS Christmas Activity Night is scheduled for Monday, December 18, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., weather permitting. Please visit the Principal's Blog on our school website for more details about this event and, if you haven't already, don't miss the chance to RSVP your family's attendance, using the form embedded further down in this newsletter.
There is just one more reminder that I like to make around this time of year... Late fall tends to also be a time when the weather shifts significantly and we can expect dropping temperatures and snow. Please ensure that students are coming to school prepared for outside recess breaks with weather-appropriate clothing. Inevitably, some students will have identical items and things do get dropped or forgotten in boot rooms and on the playground so it is also very helpful when items are labelled. This may or may not be possible for every item but the more we can keep out of our lost and found bin, the better!
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out when you have questions or if there is something that you would like to discuss!
Yours in Education,
Reid Lansing
Calendar of Important Dates 2023-2024
December 1 - Earth Ranger's Assembly
December 7 - Early Dismissal at 12:00 pm. Theme Day - Christmas wear
December 7 - Hot Lunch orders are due
December 7 - Family Connection Night
December 11 - Staff Collaboration Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
December 15 - Hot Lunch
December 18 - Christmas Activity Night 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
December 21 - January 3 - Christmas Break
January 4 - School resumes. Welcome back!
January 11 - Early Dismissal at 12:00 pm. Theme Day - TBD
January 31 - Staff Collaboration Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
February - 8 - Early Dismissal at 12:00 pm. Theme Day - TBD
February 15-16 - Teachers Convention - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
February 19 - Family Day - School is closed.
February 26 - Staff Professional Learning Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
School Attendance
We endeavor to have all students' attendance entered before 8:45 am. After 8:45 am, our Messenger system will start calling and emailing any student that has been marked absent, with no parent call. This helps to ensure our students are safe.
Our phone lines can be very busy, so please leave a message or try again if you don't reach anyone.
Students who arrive late, can come in through the front door and we will sign them in and send them off to their class.
School Bell Times
8:00 am - Outdoor supervision of students begins
8:15 am - Morning Call-in Bell; Please do your best to have students here on time.
8:19 am - Classes begin
10:05 am - Morning recess
11:20 am - 12:00 pm - Lunch Break
1:45 pm - Afternoon Recess
3:00 pm - Dismissal (Early Dismissal Days - 12:00 noon)
PowerSchool Parent Portal
Office Forms - These are now due to be completed for EVERY student!
To access and complete this form, you will need to:
1. Log into the parent portal via your web browser (Google Chrome for example).
2. Click on the SchoolEngage icon. You will be redirected to the SchoolEngage site where you can select your child's name.
3. Click on the 2023-2024 Student Re-Enrollment and Verification Form and then on the blue icon in the first column to review the information.
4. Once you have completed your verification, click on the green submit button.
This is incredibly important and we really appreciate your help in getting this completed quickly.
Health and Wellness
A trick to stay calm when your child acts out. https://cronning.brsd.ab.ca/download/428781
