To celebrate the start of the 2016-17 school year on Tuesday, September 6, the parent council welcomes new and returning parents to stop by the Welcome Hut for some coffee, treats and conversation starting at about 8:15 am. This is a great opportunity to meet and mingle with other families. Hope to see you there!
Hillhurst School has the opportunity to raise more than $65,000 at an upcoming casino, and we need your help to make it happen. The opportunity to volunteer at a casino comes around every 1½ to 2 years, and Hillhurst is scheduled for Monday, June 27 and Tuesday, June 28. Over the two days, we need almost 40 volunteers to cover different shifts.
The effort is worth it. The School Council puts all of the proceeds towards extra resources and experiences that enrich learning for students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. For example, casino funds can help pay for field trips, science kits, ukuleles, books, art supplies, soccer balls, skipping ropes, hip-hop instruction, Lego robotics, artist-in-residence programs, iPads, laptops, Smart boards, Makerspace materials and more. Simply put, the impact is amazing.
Volunteers don’t need any experience to volunteer for the Casino. We won’t be dealing cards or managing games, but doing behind-the-scenes work with assistance from advisors who are there to help. We know parents are busy — if you are unable to help, perhaps an aunt, uncle or grandparent is available. The shifts are daytime or evening, approximately 8 hours long. If you can help with just one shift, you alone raise approximately $2,000!
For more information, contact Janet, our Casino Coordinator, at 403-971-9316 or janetleong@shaw.ca. To sign up, go to SignUpGenius.com/go/70A0845A9A62CA64-casino and choose a time that works for you, then Janet will contact you with the details. We need to get most volunteers signed up now, so please call or email as soon as possible. Thanks!
Hillhurst School Council needs to fill vacancies
Studies show that students benefit when their parents or guardians actively support their success at school. Students who have positive parent/guardian involvement are more likely to be motivated, earn higher grades, have better behaviour and social skills, and continue their education to a higher level
One of the ways parents can help is by joining the Hillhurst School Council. The council meets once per month to discuss school operations and activities with the principal, hear from teachers about the work they’re doing in the classroom, and plan special events and fundraising activities. Several council positions are being vacated this year, and we are looking forward to welcoming new parents and guardians who bring their enthusiasm and expertise to the table.
Descriptions of the executive positions being vacated are detailed below — and there are other ways to contribute to council as well. If you have any questions about these positions or are interested in them, please contact our Chair at jennycleaverwiens@gmail.com or our Principal at daball@cbe.ab.ca
VICE CHAIR
Assists the Chairperson with their responsibilities as determined by the Chairperson
Tasks & Duties:
· Respond to email communications and prepare agendas and reports.
· Talk to school principal or school members.
· Assume the duties of the Chairperson in their absence
SECRETARY (Mandatory)
Acts as a recorder at each meeting and ensures the meeting minutes are accurate.
Tasks & Duties:
· Have a sign-in sheet available for attendees at the meeting.
· Record the meeting and ensure that minutes accurately reflect discussion.
· Keep minutes, correspondence, and records (including copies of school council annual reports) filed in an orderly, accessible fashion, in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act.
KEY COMMUNICATOR
Serves as link between school council and the Calgary Board of Education (cbe.ab.ca/parents/School_Council/kc_role.asp), the Alberta School Council Associations (albertaschoolcouncils.ca) and the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils (http://capsc.ca).
Tasks & Duties:
· Keep contact information for Hillhurst School Council current with the CBE, ASCA and CAPSC.
· Attend two board-wide “Council of School Councils” meetings per year, and approximately two smaller Trustee-hosted meetings per year (optional).
· Share information from meetings and monthly CBE Key Communiques with Hillhurst School Council.
· Share ASCA e-news updates with other members of School Council.
· Attend monthly CAPSC meeting, sign up for monthly e-newsletter and share information with Hillhurst School Council.
· Keep Hillhurst School membership and annual dues paid for ASCA and CAPSC.
Thank you to all parents and students who have helped to serve fun lunch! Subway has been very well received and will continue to be our fun lunch vendor through this school year. The next fun lunch is Thursday, March 31.
As always, “Fairy Lunch” is available at no charge for any student who wishes to participate but cannot pay. Please pick up a hard copy order form from school office, choose a 6-inch sub and two side items, and check box for “Fairy Lunch.” The cost is covered by a small profit built in to paid lunch orders.
**** Note important change !****
The online order deadline will now be Saturday at midnight, the weekend prior to Fun Lunch. This is due to a Healthy Hunger system requirement that order cutoff is five days before the lunch date. We cannot accept late orders. Higher cost and perishability of Subway’s food means we no longer order extra to provide for late orders. Thank you for your understanding.
The Fun Lunch Team
The season of snow and of celebration has become, very much, the Season of Giving. We usually associate this idea with giving gifts to others. And indeed, that was one of the goals of our Giving Day Book Sale in December. The children were encouraged to choose books to gift to their families and friends this holiday. But it became so much more than that. The giving spread in great ways, even in ways we never expected.
It started with the donations. Over 75% of our students and families gave items to our sale. We had heaps of wonderful books to put on sale. Without that, nothing else could have happened.
And then there were the students who gave their time. We had so many students volunteer to assist with this event that we soon ran out of jobs. Their desire to give something tangible to this event was overwhelming.
This was also the case with our parent volunteers. Parents who signed up for one shift sometimes stayed for a second, or a third. Parents who weren’t even signed up showed up to lend a hand. All of our volunteers gave their time and energy thoughtfully and with great enthusiasm, and it was very much appreciated.
On the day of the sale, students freely gave their tickets to friends in need, they gave generously with cash donations, and they gave heartfelt appreciation to our committee and our volunteers. Once again, it was the random acts of kindness of our children that made this day soar.
Due to the generosity of our students and families, we were able to deliver three truckloads of gifts to Catherine Nichols Gunn School, as well as $740 in cash proceeds. They were also the recipient of eight boxes of books, to use in their school library or to gift to students this Christmas. The Calgary Food Bank also received several boxes of books to gift to children with their food hampers this Christmas. All remaining books were donated to Calgary Reads.
We had 12 members of our local literary community give freely of their time and talent to host literacy workshops for our students on Giving Day. When the students weren’t shopping at the book sale, they were soaking up songwriting, theatre, activism, storytelling, and accessible literacy such as ASL and Braille. Sharing our passions with young people gives back on many different levels, and we are grateful to these volunteers.
Our Giving Day Committee (both the adults and our children) was so pleased to be able to give some excitement and entertainment to Hillhurst students at our Giving Day kick-off assembly. We were honoured by the presence of many famous (and infamous) guests, such as Mayor Nenshi, the Grinch and our very own Betty Lou and Carla. Giving joy is incredibly fulfilling, and seeing the joyful faces of the students was, for us, the true show of success.
Thank you to all who donated, who volunteered and who supported our efforts along the way. We wish you all a very happy holiday season.
The Giving Day Committee
