Dear Douglas Harkness Families
Upcoming Events
- December 20 – last day of classes (still half day for Gr. 1-6 and no kindergarten)
- December 23 - January 3 – no school
- January 6 - Students return to school
Note | Please refer to the Calgary Board of Education’s 2024-2025 Instructional Calendar and Douglas Harkness School’s Calendar.
Gift of Literacy
Thank you to the families that attending our Gift of Literacy Night on Thursday, December 5. This successful evening was filled with literacy activities for families to enjoy. Students went and engaged in each literacy station located in various learning spaces. Those students who completed their form at each station, placed their form for a prize. Over 40 prizes were given to students. These prizes included: journals, water bottles, fruit baskets, superstore gift card and backpacks with supplies.
Thank you to the APPLE School, Superstore and anonymous donors for their generosity.
Practice Fire Drill
This morning our staff and students did a practice fire drill. The students were prepared and out of the building in a very good amount of time.
School Development Plan (SDP) and School Improvement Results Reporting (SIRR)
At the start of every school year, schools are required to have a School Development Plan for the current school year. In addition, schools are required to report on the results of last year’s SDP called a School Improvement Results Reporting.
Please click on the below links to view the plan and report:
Douglas Harkness School Development Plan - 2024-25
School Improvement Results Reporting| 2023-24
Our school’s goal this year is: School Goal Students’ achievement in Mathematics will improve.
Our school’s outcome this year is: Students’ fluency in calculating using the four basic operations will improve through responsive feedback from teachers.
There have been many celebrations of success: e.g., improvement in decoding skills, improvement in numeracy skills, students enjoying math and literacy, parents are saying students are engaged in learning and parents are saying the literacy and math skills are useful to their child’s learning.
The areas of growth we will look into are the learning of fluency in mathematics and interventions, increased parental involvement in education and improve sense of belonging.
Resources Available
If your child needs any winter clothing, please let the main office know. Our learning community has connections and resources to support you.
Volunteers
Douglas Harkness School is looking for volunteers for field trips. If you are interested in volunteering, please go to the below link for morning information: Come Volunteer With Us
Step 1: You will need to register through online SchoolEngage. A MyCBE account is required to complete the Annual Volunteer Registration Form.
Step 2: You will require a Police Information Clearance (PIC).
School Council and Parent Society Meeting
Thank you to the Committee Members and the parents who attended the School Council and the Parent Society meeting last night. We offered both in person and on-line meetings.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, January 16, 2025 from 6pm-7pm. Online link and doors will be open at 5:45pm.
For more information on the School Council and Parent Society, please see further below in this email.
Douglas Harkness Staff Parking Lot
A reminder to parents to please park only on the street and not in the Douglas Harkness Staff Parking Lot as it is for staff only.
Complete two forms: Demographic Verification Form and Annual Authorization Form
Parents / Legal Guardians are to complete both the Demographic Verification Form and Annual Authorization Form in SchoolEngage.
The Demographic Verification Form is to ensure your child’s information (parent phone number / email, medical, address, guardianship) is up to date in our system. The Annual Authorization is for parent consent/permission to share student information.
You will do so through MyCBE. If you don’t have a MyCBE account, please learn how to create one here.
Demographic Verification Form
To learn how to complete the Demographic Verification Form, please go to the Demographic Verification Form technical support page for parents.
Please click on the following link for instructions on how to complete the Demographic Verification Form and the Annual Authorization Form: Demographic Verification Form and Annual Authorization Form
Note | a computer is not required to complete these two forms; you may complete these forms on your cell phone.
Please see the instructions on how to complete both the Demographic Verification Form and the Annual Authorization Form in SchoolEngage.
If you do require assistance in completing the forms, please contact the Douglas Harkness Main Office and we will happily assist you.
School Council and Parent Society
The next School Council and Parent Society meeting is on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The doors and link will be open and available at 5:45pm.
This is an opportunity for parents / legal guardians to make a meaningful difference for students by participating on the school council.
Under the Education Act, a school council is a collective association designed to advise the principal and the CBE Board of Trustees on matters related to the school. School councils have legislated advisory and decision-making authority defined within the Education Act and the School Councils Regulation. They are different from Parent Societies & Associations, whose main function is to raise funds for the school. You can find more details in the CBE School Council Handbook.
Reference
Sincerely
Ms. Amardeep Chana, Principal
Mr. Kenneth Perrone, Assistant Principal