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Matter of Principal
April 2015
Mission
Annual SMS School Council AGM
Thursday May 28 at 9 am after Stampede Pancake Breakfast
For information on School Council contact:
Shelley Murray, Chair
SMS school Council
samurray4@shaw.ca
To provide a safe and caring
environment where academic
excellence, character
development, parental
involvement and staff
leadership are valued and
fostered.
Vision
Excellence in student
achievement and character
development through
distinctive teaching and
learning.
In this issue:
TWO SPECIAL DOOR PRIZES!!
1. Up to $200 towards your child’s activity fees for the
2015/2016 school year
2. FFCA Spirit Wear
Matter of Principal…
1
School Council positions… 2
Casino Society info…
3
SMS Fundraising…
4
School News…
Both Door Prizes will be drawn at the end of the AGM and
parents must be in attendance to win!
Thanks to Wear It for donating the Spirit Wear Door Prize
We appreciate you!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Justin Kool
Susan Boyd
Principal Educator
Associate Principal
5-6
Family Movie Night…
7
Friendly Reminders…
8
Library News…
9
Mountaineering News…
9
Counsellor Corner…
10 - 11
Parent Volunteer Info…
12
Service Learning…
13
Student News…
14
Art Contest…
15
Calendar…
16
School Council Position Descriptions
Executive positions:
Hot Lunch Coordinator:
Chairperson:
Verify all hot lunch dates with administration
Sets the Agenda for Council meetings
Work with suppliers/vendors for lunch orders
Chair the School Council meetings
Hand out hot lunch order forms/envelopes and collect hot lunch orders
Representative and spokesperson of School Council
Counts all monies and prepare monies for deposit by the treasurer
Member of the ASC (Association of School Councils for FFCA)
Organize bins for each classroom and make sure the lunches are
Attends all ASC meetings
Ensures compliance by the School Council with regard to FFCA
bylaws and the School Act
Act as primary contact to the FFCA board of directors
delivered on time
Reports information to School Council at meetings
Andy’s on Main Coordinator:
Runs the Andy’s concession snack stand
Vice-Chair:
Coordinates volunteers to help run Andy’s
Have all duties and responsibilities in the absence of the Chair
Replenishes supplies/food
Assist the Chair in running the meetings
Performs any other duties related to Andy’s as applicable
Member of the ASC and present a report from meetings of the
Reports information to School Council at meetings
ASC to Council
Attends ASC meetings
Community Service Coordinator:
Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Chair
Coordinates and Implements school community activities (examples
Secretary:
Reports information to School Council at meetings
Keep and distribute accurate minutes from the Council meetings
Casino Coordinator:
would be Pancake breakfast, Welcome back BBQ, teacher appreciation)
Make available minutes to the school community
Attends monthly council meetings
Maintain an accurate list of the contact information of School
Coordinates volunteers for our Casino dates
Council members
Treasurer:
Maintain records of all financial transactions of School Council
Coordinates with Alberta liquor and Gaming for our casinos or questions
Advises council on casino related matters
Receive and Deposit all monies received by School Council
Mentor Family Coordinator:
Complete cheques to be sent out in a timely manner for
Act as the main liaison between Administration and Mentor Families
payments of services
At AGM present a next year budget and maintain a running budget
on all balance sheets
Presents a balance sheet of the funds to School Council at meetings
Other Council Representatives:
Fundraising Coordinator:
The coordinator implements various fundraising activities (Such as
SUTP, Entertainment Books, Magazine, Flower orders) and
any other fundraising campaigns approved by the School Council
Reports fundraising activities and profits to Council at meetings
Volunteer Coordinator:
Collects and maintains volunteer hours
Sends notices to parents for volunteer opportunities
Reports volunteer information to School Council at meetings
Act as liaison, as a School Council member, between School Council
and Mentor Families
Schedule Mentor Families for various events if there is a need identified
by the School Council
Maintain scheduling of the Mentor Families for school events identified
by Administration
Be familiar with the Being Heard Document and encourage appropriate
communication
To commit to be available to answer questions by e-mail from the School
Community throughout the school year; to attend various School events
as a Mentor Family throughout the school year
Please note that the duties listed above are basic duties and may not
be limited to the ones as stated above.
If you have any questions please contact Shelley Murray, Chair SMS
403-238-1527
samurray4@shaw.ca
2
CASINO SOCIETY NEWS
We are coming close to the end of the school year and it is time to begin planning for 2015 - 2016.
We invite you to attend the FFCA SMS Campus Society (Casino Society) ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING on the morning of Thursday, May 28th immediately following the School Council AGM.
We will be selecting our Executive for the 2015 - 2016 school year which include the positions of
President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Come and enjoy the Stampede Pancake
breakfast and consider becoming involved for the upcoming school year.
We look forward to seeing you on May 28th!
SAVE THE DATE!
PARENT SOCIAL EVENING
FRIDAY MAY 22, 7PM – 9PM
School Council is hosting a social gathering to celebrate our special partnership with
our wonderful SMS parents. The staff, students, and council of SMS appreciate the
important role parents play in the education of our students and the success of our
school. We would like you to enjoy an evening of fun and refreshments. This will be
an opportunity for parents to meet and mingle with other parents and our staff. Come
and join us for a fun night out! More details will follow in early May, so mark your
calendars now!
We hope to see you there!
3
FUNDRAISING AT SMS
At South Middle School fundraising is an important part of our school community. School
Council uses funds to support SMS Community building and school initiatives such as the
Welcome Back BBQ, Stampede Breakfast, school infrastructure and new technology in
the classrooms.
ONGOING PROJECTS:
QSP Magazines
This online fundraiser started in November and is ongoing throughout the school year.
Check out the website at www.qsp.ca and use our online ordering code: 3658283
For information regarding fundraising programs please contact:
ffcasmsfundraiser@gmail.com
Dear SMS families,
School Council still has a limited number of movie tickets for sale: 11 Adult and 10 Child tickets please help us to
sell these before the school year is over! First come, first served! If you would like to order from our extra tickets
please send in cash or cheque made out to: FFCA SMS School Council, and indicate how many tickets you
would like and we will be able to get them back to you as soon as possible. Extra tickets will be first come first
served.
CINEPLEX GREAT ESCAPE - $35.00 each
The Cineplex Great Escape includes two (2) general admissions, two (2) regular soft
drinks and one (1) regular popcorn (Approximate Retail Value: $42.37)
CINEPLEX CHILD ADVENTURE - $15.00 each
The Cineplex Child Adventure includes one (1) child admission and one (1) kid’s tray
combo which includes a drink, popcorn and treat (Approximate Retail Value: $16.64)
Any questions please contact Shelley Murray, Chair SMS school council
403-238-1527
Samurray4@shaw.ca
4
On May 4th, there will be an assembly for the entire school where an SMS teacher will kiss a
goat for the WE DAY Charity. The “We Create Change” charity provides a goat that will be sent
overseas to help a family in need. A goat for a family provides milk, food and economic
opportunities. Our plan is for every student to donate 2 dollars. If every student donates a
toonie, our school will be able to purchase 23 goats for families in need. Each goat is $50.
Please consider donating to this worthy cause.
By: Sachitri K. 7W
The Student Transportation Association of
Alberta (STAA) has announced that
Monday May 4th is the Second Annual School
Bus Driver Appreciation Day. This day will be
recognized all across Alberta to draw attention to
the important role school bus drivers have in the
lives of students. Be sure to thank a Bus Driver
for all that they do!
Congratulations to Amber S. from FFCA NWE campus for
her winning entry in the School Bus Safety poster contest!
Back row L to R: Shounak
7SU, Shawn 6N, Kyla 6S,
Luca 6S, Saad 5HU
Front row L to R: Mrs. Sealy,
Elizabeth 6B, Jasmeet 6B,
Petrina 6K
Missing from photo: Srisha 5F
This year, 9 students
from SMS attended the
Calgary Youth Science
Fair (CYSF) on April 17 and 18 at the Olympic Oval at the
University of Calgary. To qualify to attend CYSF, these students
had to think of a scientific problem or question, design and
conduct an experiment, and create a tri-fold and oral presentation.
The SMS students joined more than 1000 grades 5-12 students
from all over Calgary in the two-day science extravaganza. Each
project was judged at least 3 times and participants were scored
on their science and presentation skills. Congratulations to all of
our SMS participants for being fantastic representatives for our
school. Prize winners include Srisha (5F) with bronze/$25, and
Shounak (7Su) with gold/$75.
5
Important Update Regarding the
Grade 6 PATs/SLAs
Alberta Education recently announced that the Grade 6 Student Learning Assessment
(SLA) Pilot will be rescheduled. The Grade 6 SLA Pilot was originally going to be
implemented at the beginning of the 2015/2016 school year. The implementation date
has now been moved to the beginning of the 2016/2017 school year.
This does not affect our current plans regarding this school year's Grade 6 Provincial
Achievement Tests (PATs). The Grade 6 PATs will be written as planned near the end of
this school year, as we have done in the past.
For further information regarding the PATs and SLAs please see the Alberta Education
website at: http://education.alberta.ca/admin/testing/achievement.aspx
PAT Examinations Schedule 2015
Wed. May 13 - Language Arts Part A 9:00am - 11:00am
Wed. June 17 - Language Arts Part B 9:00am - 10:00am
Thurs. June 18 - Mathematics 9:00am - 10:15am
Fri. June 19 - Science 9:00am - 10:00am
Mon. June 22 - Social Studies 9:00am - 10:00am
Reminder for Parents:
When taking your
child(ren) out of class
early for appointments or
other reasons, please
contact the office at
403-259-3175 as soon
as you can in order for
the office staff to contact
your child(ren).
Thank you!
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!!
6
Friday May 1st
SMS Theatre (aka our gym) Presents…
A cross country coach (Kevin Costner) in a small California town transforms a team of
athletes into championship contenders. Based on a true story!
Movie Starts at 6:30pm
Family pack of 4 movie tickets $20 & Single movie tickets $6
Food tickets $1 each to towards: pizza-2 tickets, pop-1 ticket, and popcorn-1 ticket
Please preorder tickets using the envelope that went home with your child.
Feel free to bring a picnic blanket and lawn chair (making sure it won’t scratch the gym floor)
and wear pajamas. We will have mats out for comfortable seating.
Come on out for an entertaining movie night with great snacks all the while supporting
Grade 8 Farewell!
Questions? – Please contact Gina Grace at the school.
7
Friendly Reminders
Address:
School Council Meeting
6626 – 20A Street S.E. Our next meeting is May 11, 2015 at 6:30pm in the SMS staffroom.
All are welcome to attend.
Calgary, Alberta T2C 0R3
Phone: 403-265-9200 School council is still looking for parents to fill two positions of
community coordinator , fundraiser coordinator and mentor
family coordinator, if you are interested or want more
information then feel free to contact myself at the email address
below.
WEAR IT STORE HOURS
Tuesday 10-7
Wednesday 10-7
Shelley Murray, Chair school council SMS
Thursday 10-7
Samurray4@shaw.ca
Friday 10-4
Saturday 10-4
Appointments for in store purchase of your school uniform can
be made through the Wear It website at...
www. wearit.ca
School Council AGM
May 28, 2015 9am
Attendance
A Friendly Reminder to Kindly Notify the Office
When a child is going to be late or absent from school, it is the parent/guardian’s
responsibility to call the office by 9am and inform them of the reason for the
lateness/absence. Please leave a message on the voicemail with your child’s first and
last name, homeroom teacher, and reason for lateness/absence. If you email your
child(ren)’s teacher please also email the main office:
cindy.conaghan@ffca-calgary.com
Please contact the office at 403-259-3175 ext. #221.
Lost and Found
There is currently a large number of items in the Lost and Found
near the office. Please remember to label your child’s items
clearly so they can be returned to them. Have your child check
the lost and found bins across from the office, as well as their
classroom lost and found, for any items they may have
misplaced.
Scrapbooking Club
We have started a scrapbooking club for students in Grade
5-8. We are currently looking for donations for our club. Items
could include: paper, adhesives, scissors, stickers, ribbons,
buttons, punches, as well as other scrapbooking items.
Donations can be dropped off at the office for Mrs. Bradley.
Thank you!
8
Library News
Level Up!
rihannaboi95
Teen Gaming Club
a live-streamed play by
Jordan Tannahill
at Fish Creek Library
Whether you are a board game enthusiast, or just a
little curious about tabletop gaming, we encourage you to
drop in every Monday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
for board games and video games at the library.
There will be snacks!
Free for teens 13 to 19 years old
Upcoming dates:
May 4th, May 11th, May 25th, and June 1st
“I make these videos for you –
whoever you are – watching in
your bedrooms with the volume
low down, or on your headphones, under your covers.”
Sixteen-year old Sunny needs to talk about what's happening, but
he has to do it where no one will find him. Because Sunny, aka
rihannaboi95, made some videos and while they're getting lots of
hits, some people at school found them too and now the eggshell
world he so carefully treads is threatening to collapse beneath
him. Cloistered within the Forest Lawn bedroom of his friend
Keira, Sunny records a video for his loyal viewers, invoking his
YouTube namesake when he needs her most.
Join our viewing hub at the Fish Creek Community Library
in the 3rd Floor Program Room
Saturday, May 2nd, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
No registration required
In partnership with Downstage Theatre
Starring Diego Stredel, directed by Simon Mallett,
design by Deitra Kalyn
Mountaineering Club
The Mountaineering Club team has been busy planning the last few months
of school with some great activities.
The first two presentation will be held in the Fitness Room at 11:50, bring your lunch.
Monday, April 27th Miss Miller will be talk about long distance hiking
trips and a little orienteering.
Thursday, May 7 Fish Creek Provincial Park will be in to
present Walk on the Wild Side - Carnivores of Alberta.
Thursday, May 21 we are doing a group city hike to Carburn Park and Beaverdam
Flats. This will be an all-day event. We are considering to also do the BBQ this day. Due
to the increase in out-of-town bus costs (about $600 to mountains), we have opted for the
city hike and will do a weekend hike in June.
Monday, June 1st will be back-up day for city hike due to weather conditions.
Saturday, June 13 will be a family mountain hike (no back up day) location yet to
be decided upon.
Don’t forget to check Edmodo for more details on upcoming events and
paperwork for upcoming hikes.
9
FFCA’s Counselor’s Corner
10
11
Parent Volunteering Information
Have you logged any of your Volunteer Hours yet? Perhaps you haven’t because you are unaware of why it so important to
log your hours? The reason that FFCA is so adamant about logging in Volunteer Hours is simple…bragging rights! When our
Board members visit with government officials in hopes of acquiring funds for our schools, a report that shows how committed
and dedicated our families are to our school speaks volumes!
Or perhaps it is because you are unclear of what constitutes Volunteer Hours?
- Have you watched your child participate in a school sport that they are a part of?
- Have you cooked or baked for your child’s class?
- Have you attended an FFCA drama production, such as Cinderella or Aladdin?
- Have you sat down with your child and tried to help them understand long
division or shopped for supplies for a school project?
- Have you gone to the grocery store and shopped for a snack for your child’s class?
- Have you sat and shed a few tears while attending our Remembrance Day
Assembly?
- Have you come out to the Pancake Breakfast to indulge in a delicious pancake or
two?
All of these examples, plus many more, are considered “Parental Partnership Opportunities” and are worthy of being logged as
Volunteer Hours. So what are you waiting for? It is so simple to make a difference, just go to the FFCA website and…
Under “Campuses”, click on your child’s campus
Click on “Family Login” (right hand side)
Under “FAMILY” click on “Login as a FAMILY”
Login with your “Username” and “Password”
Click on “Family Volunteer Hours” (right hand side)
Fill in the necessary information: date, activity, hours and campus
Click on “create/add” and logout.
It is that easy and quick! Just one entry places your family’s name on the “Volunteer Report” and shows the world how proud
you are to be part of the FFCA community!
Michelle Haylow
SMS Volunteer Coordinator
12
Service Learning
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 March1st 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.
The Parent Handbook link for Google Apps for Education is:
http://www.ffca-calgary.com/Public/FFCA_GAFE_Handbook.pdf
We are looking for donations as part of a
character incentive program we run at our
middle school.
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.
Each week a new entry will be posted on the blog. Please be sure to
share the link with your student and parent community through your
classroom communications such as Edmodo. A link to the blog is also
found on the FFCA website.
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.
Recent articles on the blog are:

App Smashing in the Grade One Classroom - by Duana Webb, SEE


Service Learning at NWE - Christa Delmar, NWE
Kindergarten Student Wins 1st Place in the Palaeo contest - Pat

Mealey, NWE
Collaborative Learning using Google Apps for Education - Bryndan


Costuros Spence, SMS
A Message From FFCA Superintendent - Roger Nippard
Global School Play Day - Marja Erkens, NEE
Students in our school are given tickets for
positive behaviors such as: helping or
encouraging other students, picking up
garbage without being asked, volunteering
within the school and community, or standing
up for a friend or classmate. We have draw
bins where students place their tickets, which
will be drawn for a variety of prizes at whole
school assemblies throughout the year.
We would appreciate any donations you
would be able to provide for this program.
Donations such as gift cards to chapters,
7-11, or iTunes cards in any denomination,
coupons for free items at your company or
services, or tickets/passes to movies and
events are some examples of what we are
looking for. Please call or email if you have
any further questions. We look forward to
your response.
Sincerely,
Michelle Newell
michelle.newell@ffca-calgary.com
Rachel Bradley
rachel.bradley@ffca-calgary.com
Blog Main Page:
http://corner2capstone.ffca-calgary.com/
403-259-3175
13
Student News
Bus Delay Communication
BUS PASSES
To sign up to receive email and text
messages regarding bussing go to
the FFCA website and select the
“Parent” tab, then “Transportation”.
Follow the instructions listed for
Southland transportation.
South Middle School does not
issue bus passes to students.
If there is an emergency that
requires your child(ren) to
change busses, parents need
to contact Susan Goldsmith in
advance at:
susan.goldsmith@ffca-calgary.com
Telephone Etiquette
Casual Days
A reminder to our students about clothing for casual days:
 Appropriate and modest attire must be worn
 Shirts should have sleeves that come to the shoulder
 No bare skin can be shown in the
stomach area
A Reminder for All Students
 Shorts and skirts must be knee length
When using a school phone to call parents for
any reason (sick, forgot homework, etc.) and
no one answers the phone please
Leave a Message.
 Tights or jeggings are not to be
worn as pants
 Tights or jeggings can be worn under long
Even if you call a second phone
number, always leave a
message so your parents will
know who called.
shirts, shorts, skirts, or dresses
 Clothing is to be respectful and not
contain any inappropriate images or words.
Math Mansion
Math Mansion
The Math Mansion, FFCA SMS Peer Math Tutoring Program,
opens October 1!
Students can get help from awesome, amazing, highly talented
and tutor-trained grade 7 and 8 students in anything math
related like:
-Test preparation
-Test corrections
-Basic facts
-Getting caught up on missed work
-Getting more practice with challenging stuff!
The Math Mansion will be open every day at lunch recess in
the science lab.
Questions? Please contact Sabina Floyd or Jane Ranshaw
14
15
SMS May 2015 Calendar
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
1
Reminders for April 30:
Early Dismissal
 Fort Calgary - Gr 5B
 Final Drop-in Badminton 6 - 8 pm
 Soccer game @ Calgary Waldorf
School 5pm
4
5
Gr 5 Information session
6
 Soccer game @ West
for parents 6:30pm
Island College 5pm
Soccer practice - Lunch
Friends of Rachel - Lunch
Recess
Soccer practice - Lunch
Recess
11
7
Fish Creek Park - 7D
 Soccer game @ Calgary
Waldorf School 4pm
13
14
Friends of Rachel - Lunch
Card Club - Lunch
Recess
Soccer practice - Lunch
Soccer practice - Lunch
Recess
Recess
Victoria Day
No Classes
MRU - Gr. 8’s
Recess
12
18
8
15
Soccer game @ Calgary
Academy 5pm
19
20
21
Calgary Zoo - Gr 7
Friends of Rachel - Lunch
Spirit Day - Wax Museum
Photo
School Holiday
No Classes
Fish Creek Park - 7SE
Recess
Soccer practice - Lunch
Recess
22
Elbow Valley Visitor Centre 8F
Casual Day Moustache Day
Hot Lunch Day
Soccer game @ Rundle
College 4pm
25
26
27
28
Soccer practice - Lunch
Aerospace Museum -
Friends of Rachel - Lunch
Aerospace Museum - 6L &
Recess
6k & 6B
Soccer game @ West
Island College 5pm
Recess
29
Organizational
Day
No Classes
6S
Aerospace Museum - 6CS
& 6N
Soccer practice - Lunch
Recess
Project Club - Lunch Recess
SMS Stampede Pancake
Breakfast 8:15am
School Council AGM 9am
(following breakfast)
Casino Society AGM
following School Council
AGM
Track & Field Day
@ Foothills Athletic Park
SMS June 2015 Calendar
Monday
1
Soccer practice - Lunch
Recess
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
2
3
4
Fish Creek Park - 7SU
Fish Creek Park - 7SE
Calgary Climbing
Elbow Valley Visitor
Soccer practice - Lunch
Centre - 6S/7P
Centre - 8HE & 8G
Soccer game @ West
Island College 4pm
Recess
5
Heritage Park - Gr 7’s
16