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March 2015 - Volume 18, Issue 7
The Phoenix Messenger
FFCA High School 2116 MacKay RD NW Calgary, AB T3B 1C7 P: 403-243-3316 F: 403-287-7367
Matter of Principal
In this Issue
Parental Engagement at the High School
Last month we wrote about the most essential element of parental
engagement at the high school. We indicated that the most important
thing you can do is to be engaged with your kids about what has gone on
at school. You might not be able to discuss grade 11 chemistry – but
what if you asked them from time to time what the strangest thing is
that happened this week?!?
There are, of course, other forms of engagement, and we will briefly refer
to a couple of them below:
Fund-raising and Supporting the High School
Over the past several years over 150,000 dollars have been raised on
behalf of the high school program. Among the many ways that this
funding has been used, are the following:
600 new padded folding chairs for both the north and the south gym
New bleachers for the north gym
New crash mats for the Physical Education program
A tackling apparatus for our Rugby program
A trailer for our Outdoor Education program
75 Ipads for student and carts for transportation of pods of 15 Ipads each
3 AED machines or defibrillators
New equipment for our fitness centre
For all of this we are very grateful.
involved in these efforts!!
Thanks to all who have been
Parental Consultation on the High School Rebuild
All FFCA parents are invited to an Open House at the High School on
Monday evening, the 4th of May, for coffee, tea and dessert, and to hear a
presentation by the architects for our High School Rebuild project. All
are welcome, and there will be opportunity for questions.
FFCA Board Meeting………………….. .. .2
High School Open House...............................2
FFCA Blogs.......................................................3
Moving?..............................................................4
2015-2016 School Calendar……………….4
Math Corner………………………………5
First Day Back From March Break..……..5
From the FFCA School Counsellor,
Shelley Geran………………………….6 & 7
Drama Corner ................................................... ..8
Google Apps for Education .......................... ..9
2014-2015 School Council…………….….10
Exam Schedule—May 2015……….……..11
Exam Schedule—June 2015……….……..12
Uniform Information 2014/2015………...13
Logging Volunteer Hours, Street
Safety…………….....……...…….….….14
Bus Delay System, Bus Information &
Updating Your Information…….…….…..15
Alberta Health Services..…....…………….16
Bits & Pieces from the Front Office……....17
We are now on Twitter!.................................17
Dates to Remember
2014-15 School Year—Important Dates:
Apr 6
First day back from March break
Apr 9
Learning Conferences
- Early Dismissal
May 1
Report Cards
May 15
School Holiday-No classes
May 18
Victoria Day-No classes
June 15-26
Exam Weeks (All Grades)
June 26
Last Day of School
June 29
Organizational Day
- Graduation Day
Thanks for partnering with us on behalf of kids and the future!
John Picard, Principal Educator
Joshua Symonds, Associate Principal
Bharati Singh, Associate Principal
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
2014/2015 FFCA Board Meetings
All meetings are held in the Central Office Boardroom on Wednesday evenings beginning at 6:00 p.m.
unless otherwise specified(*). Upcoming meetings:
April 22, 2015
May 20, 2015
June 10, 2015
FFCA Central Office is located at: #240, 688 Heritage Dr. SE, Calgary (go to www.ffca-calgary.com, then
Contacts/Central Office to access map) .
High School Open House, AGM and
Parental Consultation on the High School Rebuild!
All FFCA parents are invited to an Open House at the High School on Monday evening, the 4th of May, for
coffee, tea and dessert, and to hear a presentation by the architects for our High School Rebuild project. All
are welcome, and there will be opportunity for questions. We will follow with our annual High School AGM.
Coffee, Tea and Dessert 6:30 PM – North Foyer
High School Rebuild Presentation 7:00 PM – North Gym
All are Welcome!!
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
FFCA BLOGS! by Salima Hudani
Introducing...OUR very own… FFCA blog!!!
http://corner2capstone.ffca-calgary.com/
The FFCA blog is a place where anyone in our FFCA community can share, reflect, discuss,
ponder, celebrate and engage in meaningful conversations about our campuses, classrooms
and our professional practices.
This blog is YOUR blog, OUR blog, a COMMUNITY blog! All articles for this blog will
derive from our FFCA community. If there is something you would like to write about, please
send me your blog post in a word document. This blog is open to ALL writers from staff, students and the FFCA community.
Please share these blog links with your student and parent community in your Edmodo communications, email,
campus and classroom newsletters.
Recent articles on the blog are:
Ctrl & click on the links below for this week’s new blog post:
The Importance of Afterschool Involvement, Grade 12 Student, Sergio Jaume, HSC
Blogging Transforms Learning- Erin Petley, NEE
Family Literacy Day- Dawn Ackroyd, NWE
NMS Library Blog- Michelle Trenholm, NMS
Global School Play Day- Marja Erkens, NEE
Using a Weebly, Technology Integration in Grade 3- Laurel Filgate, SWE
Blog Home Page
We are in need of writers for the middle of April. If you or your students would like to write for Cornerstone2Capstone
http://corner2capstone.ffca-calgary.com , please send an email to salima.hudani@ffca-calgary.com
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
FROM CENTRAL OFFICE
Moving?
If you are planning to move in 2015, and your new home puts you within the boundaries for a different campus,
please email a completed “Request for Internal Transfer” application to phoebe.greentree@ffca-calgary.com.
A “Request for Internal Transfer” application form can be found on the FFCA website www.ffca-calgary.com
under the “Parent” tab. Internal transfers can only occur if seats become available in the requested campus.
Internal transfers do not occur mid-year, so be sure to have your request into Central Office before April 1 st for
it to be possible to have your child start at the designated campus for your community at the beginning of the
new school year.
2015-2016 SCHOOL CALENDAR
We are pleased to announce that our Board has approved the 2015-2016 School Calendars. You can find the
calendars posted here (please press “control” + click):
http://www.ffca-calgary.com/parent/schoolcalendar.aspx
Please note the following when examining the 2015-2016 calendars:

The first day of school for High School is Aug. 31.

The November break will occur between Nov. 9 and Nov. 13.

Monthly Early Dismissal days for Elementary and Middle Schools have been removed.

The last day of school for students is June 28.
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
MATH CORNER
Solution to last month’s question:
4464 digits where at least 2 digits are the same. There are 9000 4-digit
numbers in total. There are 9 * 9 * 8 * 7 digits where all 4 digits are different. Therefore, 9000 – 4536 = 4464 four digit numbers where at least 2
digits are the same.
This month’s question:
A lady commented that her husband’s age has the same digits as her age
but in reverse order. The difference of their ages is one-eleventh of their
sum. How old is the lady?
We had some outstanding results for the Waterloo contests written last
month. Congratulations to Aaron So, Oviya Moorthy and Sunvy Tong for
achieving the highest marks in their grade levels at FFCA. Well done to
all students who participated.
FIRST DAY BACK FROM MARCH BREAK?
Please keep in mind that the first day back from March break is April
ing all the students rested and eager to be back at school!!!
6, 2015!
We all look forward to see-
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
FROM THE FFCA SCHOOL COUNSELLOR, SHELLEY GERAN (cont’d)
Grade 12 Post-Secondary Information For Students and Families:
Now that we are in March, here are some additional important reminders in the post-secondary application
process. For questions on any of these areas, please contact Ms. Geran.
Marks and Transcripts:
All post-secondary institutions require students’ marks for admissions. For students applying to Alberta institutions, these schools will access transcripts through the Apply Alberta system. No further action is required
by students. For students applying to schools outside of Alberta, you may be requested to send interim grades
to the institution. If students need help with this, they should ask Ms. Geran for help with this process. Additionally, students must request that their final transcripts be sent from Alberta Education to the out-ofprovince schools. There is a cost of $10.00 for each transcript that is required. It is critical that this is completed so that these marks are received before August 1st. Failure to do so will lead to a loss of an offer of admission.
Re-writing Diploma exams:
If students wish to re-write diploma exams in June, they must register and pay the re-write fee. The deadline
to register to re-write exams in June is April 16. The fee is $26.25 for each exam that is re-written. Ms. Geran
has the re-write forms – if students use this form, they must pay by either cheque or money order. If students
wish to pay by credit card, they must complete the form online to do so. The online address is on the paper
form. If students re-write diploma exams and do not pay the fee, the exam will not be marked and the student’s transcript will not be updated.
Advising and Post-Secondary Registration:
Once students obtain offers of admission, it is extremely important to read emails that are sent about registering for classes. Every institution is somewhat different in how they handle registration. However, it is the
student’s responsibility to learn about this process. The University of Calgary will send out a registration
package with instructions on registering. Students will also receive a date and time when they can sign up for
their courses. It is critical that students have prepared their course choices before this registration date which
usually occurs later in May. Mount Royal University will also send out registration instructions; usually students sign up for courses in April. MRU also requires students in some programs to attend advising sessions
to sign up for courses. All this information is emailed to students. Please read all emails carefully and follow
instructions and timelines for registration.
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
FROM THE FFCA SCHOOL COUNSELLOR, SHELLEY GERAN (con’td)
University of Alberta Registration 101 sessions in Calgary:
The University of Alberta will be in Calgary this spring to help students who have received offers of admission
to prepare for their first-year courses. At Registration 101, students determine which classes to take in their
first year, learn how to design their schedule, and learn how to register using Bear Tracks. All sessions will be
held at the University of Alberta Calgary Centre – 120, 333 5th Ave. S.W. Students must reserve their seat by
completing the RSVP online at ualberta.ca/reg101.
General Session (All Faculties)
Dates: Monday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 21
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Faculty of Arts
Date: Monday, April 20
Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Faculty of Engineering
Date: Tuesday, April 21
Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Faculty of Science
Date: Wednesday, April 22
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m. or 7:00-9:00 p.m.
U.S. College Expo in Calgary
This expo may be of interest to any of the students at FFCA High School. This event will be held on Sunday,
April 12 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. This is an opportunity to meet representatives from a variety of American colleges. There is free admission to this event, but students need to pre-register at www.uscollegeexpo.com.
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
DRAMA CORNER
The FFCA Performing Arts Department
invites you to…
ONE ACTS, 2015
Please join us at one or all of our three performance dates to experience the ONE ACT
PLAYS that our Advanced Acting Team has prepared, rehearsed, and produced.
Tuesday, April 28, 7pm: One Act Night #1 (Choir performs as well)
Wednesday, April 29, 7pm: One Act Night #2
Saturday, May 2, ALL DAY EVENT: Zone 9 AHSDFA One Act Festival
**At this Festival, professional adjudicator, Haysam Kadri (Artistic Producer of the
“Shakespeare Company”, will decide multiple awards and the coveted Outstanding Play that
will move forward to production on the Provincial stage in May in Red Deer! Very exciting!
Tickets: Available at lunch/ at the door
$5/ student $10/ adult
The Plays: (All plays are Student Directed)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Monochrome written by FFCA student, Megan Wilson
The Yellow Wallpaper adapted by FFCA student, Ali Grams
Never Swim Alone by Daniel MacGivor
Fortress by Michael Scanlon
Flowers for Algernon by David Rogers
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
GOOGLE APPS FOR EDUCATION LAUNCHED FOR STUDENTS AT FFCA
We would like to take the opportunity to share some exciting news about a new tool we starting to use at FFCA!
Alberta Education has a fundamental goal to “inspire all students to achieve success and fulfilment, and reach
their full potential by developing the competencies of Engaged Thinkers and Ethical Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit, who contribute to a strong and prosperous economy”. We greatly value the role of teaching digital
citizenship as part of this process and we believe part of our unique charter is to teach kids to function with character in our highly technological society. With the intent of providing digital tools that promote collaboration
and provide an opportunity to exercise digital citizenship, we have begun to adopt Google Apps for Education
(GAFE) at FFCA.
GAFE is an integrated suite of communication, collaboration and productivity tools provided by Google and
managed by FFCA. These tools are accessible from anywhere on just about any device and will facilitate a high
degree of sharing and collaboration amongst FFCA staff and students. Students will have access to their own
Google Drive cloud storage that will enable them to create and store assignments created with Google Docs.
It’s important to note that currently the FFCA Google Apps for Education environment functions as a closed
environment that is managed by FFCA. None of the resources are currently accessible by any parties outside of
the FFCA organization. So for example, even though your child has an FFCA email address as part of Google
Apps (username@myffca.com) they are blocked from sending and receiving emails outside of FFCA. They can
only send and receive emails amongst FFCA staff and students. As always, we strive to create a safe learning
environment for our kids, and this extends to the technology environment we provide as well.
We are incredibly excited about the potential for this new tool to facilitate a higher degree of collaboration
amongst staff and students. Many jurisdictions across Alberta have already adopted Google Apps for Education
with favorable results.
For additional information we invite you to refer to the attached handbook for FFCA Google Apps located on
our web site at:
http://www.ffca-calgary.com/Public/FFCA_GAFE_Handbook.pdf
If you do have any further questions please feel free to contact either of us or your Principal Educator.
Jeff Cullen
Director, Technology Services
FFCA
Jeff.cullen@ffca-calgary.com
Salima Hudani
Director, Educational Technology
FFCA
salima.hudani@ffca-calgary
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
FROM OUR 2014-2015 SCHOOL COUNCIL
CONTACT LIST
Chair Person
Vice Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Fundraising
Community Coordinator
Partnership Coordinator
Campus Coordinator
Communications Coordinator
ESL Parent Liaison
Nancy Narang
Rhonda Free
Rina Hawkins
Angela Gallagher
VACANT
Tara Millington
Sharon Corbeill
Gloria McCracken
Tara Millington
Carmen Jaume
Do you have a few hours a month to help with Fundraising and attend school council meetings? We
would love to hear from you! Please contact us for more information at HSC.SchoolCouncil@FFCACalgary.com .
Have a question? Thoughts? Advice for School Council?
We want to hear from you! Attend one of our meetings or email us at HSC.SchoolCouncil@FFCACalgary.com
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
EXAM SCHEDULE—MAY 2015
Please Note: Exams taking place in May have different start times.
May 4
May 5
May 6
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
AP: Chemistry
(8:00 – 12:00)
AP: Calculus AB
(8:00 – 12:00)
AP: English Liter ature and Composition
(8:00 – 12:00)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
May 11
May 12
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
ELA 9 PAT Part A
(9:00 – 11:00)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
May 13
May 7
May 8
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 1:15 PM
May 14
May 15
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
NO SCHOOL
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
AP: English Language and Composition
(12:00 – 4:00)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
May 18
May 19
May 20
May 20
May 22
NO SCHOOL
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
May 25
May 26
May 27
May 28
May 29
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 1:15 PM
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
EXAM SCHEDULE—JUNE 2015
All June exams have a start time of 9:00 AM
June 08
June 09
June 10
June 11
June 12
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Regular Classes
(Grade 9-12)
Social 10 -1/-2 Written
Social 20 -1/-2 Written
English 10 -1/-2
English 20 -1/-2
Personal Response
Written Exam
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
June 16
June 17
June 18
South Gym
English 30 -1/-2
Part B
North Gym
English 10 -1/-2
English 20 -1/-2
Reading Comprehension
South Gym
Social 30 -1/-2
Part B
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
June 15
Library/
Computer Labs
Social 30 -1/-2
Part A
Library/
Computer Labs
English 30 -1/-2
Part A
Bus Departure
@ 3:20 PM
June 19
North Gym
Math 10C/AP
Math 20 -1/AP/-2
North Gym
English 10 -1/-2
English 20 -1/-2
Written
North Gym
Science 10
Biology 20
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
June 22
June 23
June 24
June 25
June 26
South Gym
Biology 30
Physics 20
South Gym
Chemistry 30
Chemistry 20
South Gym
Math 30 -1/-2
Science 20
South Gym
Physics 30
South Gym
Science 30
North Gym
Science 9
North Gym
Math 9
North Gym
ELA 9 Part B
North Gym
Social Studies 9
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
North Gym
Social 10 -1/10-2
Social 20 -1/2
Bus Departure
@ 1:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
Bus Departure
@ 12:15 PM
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
Uniform Information 2014/2015
Uniform Consignment Site
Our NEW store hours:
Closed Sunday, Monday
Tuesday 10-7
Wednesday 10-7
Thursday 10-7
Friday 10-4
Saturday 10-4
FFCA Families are able to buy and sell gently used uniform items by accessing the Consignment Store within the
FFCA website.
Location: 6626 – 20A Street SE
Phone Number: (403) 265-9200
All ordering can be done online at:
www.wearit.ca
– size information is also provided.
To access the site, go to your Campus Home Page, and
select the link to “Family Log In”.
 Choose “Consignment Store” for your shopping needs,
and
 “Your Consignment Items” to put an item on the site
and manage your account
Please note: All buying and selling of items is done between the
families - no payments or collections are available on the site. To
purchase an item, simply email the family posting the item and
ask for photos or set up a time for viewing and payment.
Uniform Information 2014/2015
Please ensure your child has all of the required uniform pieces for the 2014-15 school year. The rules are the same as previous years however we have noticed that several students have not been clear on the expectations. Please review the following with your student:
For gala days, students MUST wear a white oxford-style monogrammed (FFCA monogram or Wear It Swirl) dress
shirt. No other dress shirts are acceptable. For non-gala days, a plain solid white golf shirt is acceptable. No logos, colours
on the inside of the collar or tight fitting golf shirts are permitted.
Girls are to wear black KNEE-HIGH socks or tights (that are NOT semi-transparent/transparent and that do not have any
print or pattern) ONLY.
Boys are to wear BLACK socks only. Only plain black belts are to be worn – no flashy buckles.
Shoes for both boys and girls are to be non-patent polishable black leather lace-up or slip-on dress shoe with or without
functional non-decorative buckle or Velcro closure, maximum heel height of 2 inches – no running shoes of any type
(except for gym class!).
With regards to jewelry, hair, etc.:
 Girls may wear one earring per ear – they must be subtle and non-distracting
 Boys may not wear earrings
 No other visible piercings will be allowed
DO NOT allow your child to get their nosed pierced until after the last day of school in June!!!

Girls’ hair accessories need to be simple and are limited to the following colours: black, burgundy, forest green and
white
 Dyed hair will be allowed as long as hair is a natural colour
 Make-up must be subtle
Please refer to the website for complete uniform details.
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
Logging Volunteer Hours
Did you know ….the time you spend helping out the school counts as volunteer hours? This includes
driving to sporting events and baking for staff appreciation meals.
Please remember to log your time into the online volunteer system at the following link:
www.ffca-calgary.com Parent Information / Family Login / Volunteer Hours
Thank you for taking the time to volunteer and to log your hours.
Street Safety
Parents please be aware that you need to be
safely and courteously dropping your kids off
in the morning. We have seen parents who
stop in the middle of the intersection or road
to drop off their student and also parents who
do u-turns in front of the school. This isn’t
safe for your kids, the other kids, or other drivers and it isn’t courteous either…
For more information about the above, or any other health-related topic, please visit
www.albertahealthservices.ca
kidshealthnewsletter@albertahealthservices.ca
Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
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FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
Bus Delay System
Attention Parents\Guardians of students riding on FFCA's charter bus service
Sign up now for the late bus notification system. If you had signed up for this in the past you must sign up
again, your information is not retained from year to year because bus route numbers, cell numbers and email
addresses often change from year to year.
Please go to http://www.southland.ca/parentlogin.aspx to register and confirm your email address, (Carrier is
Southland) then you can pick the campus (all campuses begin with FFCA) and the bus route and click on ADD
Route and the system will place the route in your list to the right. Each route has an AM and PM so you will
need to ADD both if your child rides two way. If you have more than one child you can choose another campus
and add that route to your list as well. You can also register your mobile phone number (click on SMS Service
beside the green plus sign) so that you will also receive a text message when delays are posted for your child's
route. You can only register one mobile phone number, should you need the message to go to another mobile
device you will need to register another email address.
Susan Goldsmith
Director, Transportation Services
susan.goldsmith@ffca-calgary.com
Bus Information!
Please note at the High School, we do not issue bus
passes for social reasons. However, occasionally a bus
pass will be issued for unexpected emergencies. Thank
you for understanding. Any questions concerning bus
passes should be directed to:
suzanne.greco@ffca-calgary.com
Updating Your Information?
Please always remember to update the
FFCA online registration for any changes,
especially when you have moved.
These updates are especially important
for accurate bus routes.
For more information about the above, or any other health-related topic, please visit
www.albertahealthservices.ca
kidshealthnewsletter@albertahealthservices.ca
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
Parents tend to be the strongest role models in their child’s life and this can be a strong parenting
asset. Imagine all of the wonderful things you want your child to be, for example, kind, respectful, and
honest. If you choose to model those traits, your child is likely to follow suit. As a role model it is important to recognize that you have a range of emotions and responses. It is not realistic to expect you
can always model happy, calm behaviour. There are upsetting moments in life that can make you feel
sad, frustrated or angry. However, if your child sees that you are angry, for example, but able to handle it appropriately, they are more likely to handle their own anger appropriately too. A similar outcome can be expected with respect to alcohol. If your child sees that you choose to celebrate special
occasions with or without alcohol – they learn something. If alcohol is used, it is critical to model responsible drinking. This is not a moral judgement about choosing or not choosing to drink alcohol,
but an observation that what a child sees and experiences is more likely what they will choose for
Communicate - Talk to your teen about the choices you make to be a good role model. Ask them what they think is important in a
role model, and why? Find ways to talk about the topic of role modeling when out with them. For example, if their soccer coach is
supportive and encouraging, mention it and ask them what they think. Alternately, if an adult is behaving inappropriately, such as a
parent booing at a sport event, talk about this too.
Provide opportunities - Find opportunities for your teen to act as a role model for younger children. Ask if your teen’s school has
such opportunities and/or seek them out in your community.
Be aware of other influences - Know your teen’s friends and their friends’ parents. Be aware of what is being modeled in the homes
that your teen is visiting. Help your teen try to make sense of the lifestyles they see in advertising and on TV shows. Learn from
mistakes - Everybody makes mistakes; it is part of being human. If you do make a mistake, such as losing your temper or overdrinking at a family function, it is possible to talk to your teen about this without burdening them with adult problems. You can apologize and explain that you made a mistake but that you are trying hard to change. The important thing is to reassure your teen that
you love them and that adult problems are not their fault. When something goes wrong, use it as an opportunity to discuss different
choices (e.g., What would they do differently next time? What did they learn from this? What do they think would happen if they
tried it differently?).
The information above was compiled from the Alberta Health Services’ Parent Information Series. For more information on role modeling and other topics for parents please visit http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/2434.asp
What’s Bugging You?
Have you ever seen a bedbug, a cockroach, or a mouse? Most pests are looking for food, water and shelter. If we provide them what
they need they will stick around. Some pests carry germs, others do not. Some will bite humans while others will not. Pest control
begins with some basics:
Try not to panic. Most pests are harmless.
Get a positive identification. If you know what you have you can find out how to prevent the pests from becoming a problem.
Clean. Many pests will hide in clutter. Get rid of items you do not need. Get items off the floor.
Fix water leaks. Pests need water. Turn off taps, do not have standing water around and fix leaks.
Food. Clean up food spills. Keep food in tight containers.
Travel. Keep suitcases up off the floor and off the bed. Check for bugs prior to returning home. Launder items when you return
home and keep the suitcases outside in the garage. If you have brought any pests home they won’t be brought in.
If you are renting the landlord should be providing pest control. If you have questions about what is bugging you please contact
Environmental Health or visit www.albertahealthservices.ca/eph.asp
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living
FFCA HIGH SCHOOL PHOENIX MESSENGER
March 2015
BITS & PIECES FROM THE FRONT OFFICE
Attendance — Please Notify the Office!
When a student is going to be late or absent from school, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to call the office and
inform the office of the reason for the lateness/absence before 8:00 am. Please leave a message making sure to spell
the student’s last and first name. Spelling the name ensures the information is correct and that a call does not go to
the student’s home at the end of the day.
Please contact the office at 403-243-3316, ext. #1001.
Student arriving to school late or leaving early?
When a student arrives to school late or leaving early, there are 2 steps required to keep attendance records accurate:
1. A parent needs to call the school to explain that the student will be late or when the student needs to leave the
school early (for a medical appointment, dental appointment, etc.). That tells us that the parent knows that the
student will be late or leaving early.
2. When a student arrives to the school late, it is imperative that they check in at the Front Office. The same is true
when they leave early. This is so the school always knows if the student is in the building. If a student doesn’t
check with the Front Office, an automated message will go home advising that the student was absent. Please don’t
hesitate to call Suzanne at 403-243-3316, ext. 1001 should you have any questions.
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Partners in Learning, Leading & Living