Bonjour BP families:

Bravo and felicitations to the soccer teams in an excellent showing this year. Both teams finished in 2nd! Well done. 

It was a delightful end to last Friday, as yearbooks were distributed and we were able to see students reminisce and giggle about last year. For our students who have moved on to High School and still have a sibling at BP, the yearbook was given to the sibling to take home.  Please connect with the office if you have any questions.  

Halloween 

Halloween is nearly here, and a great number of our students are planning to dress up in costume on the 31st.  If you are in the process of finalizing costume selection with your student in advance of the day, please consider these questions together: 

·   Is your child's costume consistent with school norms around reasonable attire (i.e.: is there a risk of over-sharing? Will they be able to participate in all of their learning while in costume)? 

· Does your child's costume involve a weapon? 

· Does your child's costume represent a negative stereotype? 

· Does your child’s costume involve a mask that hides their identity entirely? (we do need to be able to recognize if the student in costume is a BP student.) 

· Does your child’s costume allude to committing acts of violence against others? 

· Does your child’s costume involve excessively gory elements? 

· Does it involve changing the colour of their skin? (Shrek green is ok, however emulating another nationality/race is unacceptable). 

· Does it allude to a culture that is not the child's own, such as a kimono, a turban or a feather headdress, etc.? 

· Does it mock religious beliefs (nun or priest or cleric or imam or rabbi, etc.)? 

· Does it mock the 2SLGBTQI+ community? 

· Is it based on tragic or violent historical moments, such as slavery, the Holocaust, residential schools or cultural role play? 

If the response to any of these questions is yes, we would ask you and your child to reconsider the costume that they will be wearing to school. We may ask them to change into attire that meets our standard of dress. 

It is our hope that the whole BP community will be able to enjoy the Halloween activities without feeling insulted or otherwise upset or uncomfortable. 

Math and Science Support Sessions 

Math and Science teachers are hosting support sessions for all students with Science and Math in Room 22 Tuesdays at lunch. 

A Message from Western Canada High School for our grade 9's 

Hello to Grade 9 Families, 

Western Canada High School will be offering Open House opportunities for the 2024/25 school year on the following dates.  Should you be interested in information about our Regular Program, French Immersion, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme in English or French, please consider attending the applicable evening(s).  A reminder that parking is extremely limited, so please plan accordingly.     

• IB Open House – Monday, November 27th (6:30-8:00 pm) – please see the attached notice  for more information 
• Regular Program and French Immersion Open House – Tuesday, January 30th (6:00-8:00 pm) – more information to come closer to this date 

Grade 9 Tours, for students from our direct feeder schools, will take place on Tuesday, January 30th during the regular school day.  More information on this to come later, as well. 

  

Thank you. 

Darrin Whitbread, Principal 

Western Canada High School 

Terry Fox Run 

We surpassed our goal of $1500! The grand total is $1675. We would like to extend a special thank you to all who contributed, and to also note that Bishop Pinkham School was one of 37 schools chosen across Calgary that will receive a matching donation from the Calgary Flames Foundation. In total, we have raised $3350 this year for cancer research.  

Alberta Education Update 

On Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, Alberta Education will host a focus group with the intention of seeking feedback from parents. The focus group will meet from 7 - 8:30 p.m. via Zoom. 

Purpose: To collect insight from a parent perspective to update the old “My Child's Learning: A Parent Resource" website into a brand new space that will be hosted on new.LearnAlberta.ca .  

10 – 12 parents will be identified from metro, urban and rural school divisions, representing children of varying grade ranges (K-12) to participate in this focus group.  

It will remain open until Monday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m.  

Alberta Education Focus Group - Expression of Interest to Participate 

Important Dates  

October 19- Healthy Hunger www.healthyhunger.ca  

October 20- Non instructional day. No school for students. 

October 23-November 3- Think Fast Improv Artist in Residence for all students 

October 26- BPPC/BPPA meetings 6:30-8:00 Click here to join the meeting 

November 8- Remembrance Day Ceremony- more details will follow 

November 9- Non Instructional Day. No school for students 

November 10-14- Fall Break. No school for students 

November 15- Classes resume 

November 23- Parent teacher interviews 3:30-8:00. Sign up details will follow 

November 24- Parent teacher interviews 8:00-12:00. Sign up details will follow 

Have a wonderful week, 

Rishma Hajee 

Principal | Bishop Pinkham School