Good afternoon families! We hope that you have enjoyed your fall break. We are looking forward to welcoming students back to school tomorrow.

Thank you so much to Mr. Rattan, our senior band and the Grade 7 Leadership students for their organization and participation in our Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday, November 8. We also want to thank Mr. Peter Malcomson for his time to speak on behalf of the Canadian armed forces. We appreciated the assembly to recognize past and current Canadians serving our country to maintain our freedom.

Below you will find the latest edition of the Colts' Community Chronicle. We would like to draw your attention to some important upcoming events:

• Thursday, November 16 - School Council Meeting 7:00 pm in the A.E. Cross Learning Commons
• Thursday, November 23 - Healthy Hunger (A & W) - please be sure to get your orders in by this weekend
• Thursday, November 23 - Parent Teacher Conferences - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm (In-Person at A.E. Cross)
• Friday, November 24 - Non-Instructional Day
• Friday, November 24 - Parent Teacher Conferences - 9:00 am - 2:00 pm (on-line via Microsoft Teams)
  • Please note that additional information regarding how to book conferences with your child's teacher will be coming later this week. Conference bookings will begin on Friday, November 17 at 4:00 pm.

Within the Chronicle, there is important information for our Grade 9 families about upcoming High School tours and open houses. Please note that students will only be attending the Grade 9 tour of the school that their address is designated. 

We hope that you have a wonderful week.

A.E. Cross School Council Agenda November 16 

Sincerely, 

Randy Lewis
Principal, A.E. Cross School

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Colt's Community Chronicle Nov. 13-17

Important Dates

Friday, November 10 to Tuesday, November 14 Fall Break – No School
Thursday, November 16 School Council Meeting – 7:00 PM
Thursday, November 23 Healthy Hunger (A & W)
Thursday, November 23 Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:00 – 8:00 pm (In-Person)
Friday, November 24 Parent -Teacher Conferences 9:00 am – 2:00 pm (via Teams)

Colt's Athletics

For all Athletic information visit A.E. Cross School Athletics page.

Team Fees

Please check your MyCBE account for updated team fees. They should be added back to your account this week. In order for the school to pay for referees and other team needs, we need the player fees paid.

We want all of our students to have the opportunity to play sports for AEC no matter the situation at home. If you are unable to pay the fees due to budgetary restrictions, please email jarichards@cbe.ab.ca.

Colts Basketball

Colts’ Basketball is coming to an end for the 2023-2024 school year. Our boys teams will be competing in the Division playoffs on Thursday, November 16. We want to wish them the best of luck as they represent A.E. Cross on the court.

Colts Wrestling

Colts’ Wrestling will practice on Mondays from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm and on Wednesdays from 8:00 am to 9:00 am.

Basketball Spectator Expectations 

We remind spectators that while at the school watching games, there are no in and out privileges and CBE code of conduct for students still applies. We all wish to enjoy watching our student athletes compete in a respectful and safe environment. We have also come to a decision as a basketball division (Bishop Pinkham, AE Cross, Griffith Woods, Mount Royal, Vincent Massey, and West Ridge Schools) that any student wishing to be a spectator at away games must be accompanied by a parent/guardian for the duration of the game.

SPARK Club 

SPARK Club will be starting back up the week of November 23. Every Thursday morning from 8-9am, students are welcome to drop into the main gym to practice their favorite activities. The activities going on will depend on who is present and what they want to do.

This is a student driven club. Basketball, volleyball, badminton, floor hockey, 9 square, working out are just some of the activities done in the past.

Ski and Snowboard Trip

The ski and snowboard trip scheduled for January 10 and January 17, 2024 is currently looking for some additional parent volunteers. If you are interested in spending the two days with our students on the slopes of Winsport please contact Mr. Richards at jarichards@cbe.ab.ca.

Healthy Hunger Fun Lunches

Families can set up their orders through the Healthy Hunger website. Please ensure that when ordering lunch for your student you pick your student's homeroom teacher.

Future Healthy Hunger/Fun Lunch dates can be found below:

• November 23, 2023 – A & W
• December 14, 2023 – Mucho Burrito
• December 21, 2023 – Kernels Treat Day
• January 25, 2024 – Subway
• February 14, 2024 – Kernels Treat Day
• February 29, 2024 – A & W
• March 21, 2024 – Boston Pizza
• April 18, 2024 – Edo Japan
• May 1, 2024 – Kernels Treat Day
• May 16, 2024 – Mucho Burrito
• June 13, 2024 – Boston Pizza
• June 24, 2024 – Booster Juice Treat Day

Lunchtime Expectations

Please see our Lunchtime page.

High School Information

Please see below for dates and times for upcoming High School tours and open houses. This information will be updated as more information becomes available. It is also on our Preparing for High School page.

Bowness High School (Website)

• Wednesday, January 17, 2024
• Grade 9 Tours in the morning (More Details to Come)
• Open House in the evening (More Details to Come)

Central Memorial High School (Website)

• Wednesday, December 13, 2023
• Open House – 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
• Thursday, January 18, 2024
• Grade 9 Tours (More Details to Come)

Crescent Heights High School (Website)

• Thursday, November 23, 2023
• Grade 9 Tours (More Details to Come)
• Thursday, January 25, 2024
• Open House (More Details to Come)

Ernest Manning High School (Website)

• Thursday, December 7, 2023
• Grade 9 Tours – 12:45 pm
• Open House – 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Henry Wise Wood High School (Website)

• Wednesday, November 29, 2023
• International Baccalaureate Information Night – 7:00 pm

Western Canada High School (Website)

• Monday, November 27, 2023
• International Baccalaureate Open House - 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm

School Council

The next school council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 16th at 7:00 pm in the Learning Commons at A.E. Cross School.
You are invited to attend the next A. E. Cross School Council and A. E. Cross Parents' Association (AECPA) meetings.

Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023
Time: School Council meeting will begin at 7pm with the Parents' Association meeting directly following.
Location: In Person at A.E. Cross School - upstairs in the Learning Commons

We welcome all parents and guardians to attend this meeting and build school community!

Please reach out to the email below if you have any questions, ideas or would like more information.

Thank you,

A. E. Cross School Council and Parents' Association Executive

Email: aecrosscouncil@gmail.com
Webpage: https://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/aecross/get-involved/parent-society/pages/default.aspx

Additional meeting dates will be at 7pm on Thursdays on the following dates. Watch your email for meeting invitations which will include agendas and meeting location (in person or virtual) the week prior to the meeting.

• November 16
• January 18
• February 22
• April 18
• May 16
• AGM – June 13

Thank you so much to all the volunteers!

School Forms

There are a variety of different forms that parents are asked to complete at the start of each school year. The completion of these forms has been moved online to SchoolEngage. The following forms can be completed via SchoolEngage:

• Demographic Verification Form
• Annual Authorization Form, which includes:
  • School District Use of Personal Information
  • Consent for CBE Use of Student Information
  • Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party)

SchoolEngage can be accessed through the following link: SchoolEngage

Should you need any of the above forms printed for you, please contact the main office.

Social Media Reminders

It is extremely important to monitor your childrens’ online presence. Make sure that they are not posting anything that might get them in trouble in the future. Here are a few tips for you to help you with your children and social media:

• Understand the apps.
• Understand that all social media is advertisement.
• Create a media plan.
• Have an honest conversation.
• Listen to your teen.
• Model positive social media behavior.
• Non-negotiable limits.

Spanish Bilingual Program

Overview of the Spanish Language Virtual Exchange Program

The virtual exchanges will run for a duration of 6 weeks each, dates are shown in the table below. Students from Alberta (Grade 9) will be matched with a partner in Spain or Mexico and will participate in one-to-one video conference meetings to support each other in their language and culture learning goals. Themes and topics for discussion will be provided to support the students in their conversations with each other.

The application deadline for the Mexico program is October 15, 2023 and the application deadline for the Spain program is January 15, 2024.

Let Sra. Hernández know that you are interested!

¡Es una oportunidad fabulosa!

Chinook Learning Services offers courses specifically designed for parents and caregivers of CBE Spanish Bilingual students. For Fall 2023, Chinook Learning Services is once again offering Spanish for Parents – Level 1 classes. This eight-week course will help parents of bilingual students learn or refresh their Spanish language skills, build their network of bilingual parents and support their children’s learning at home.

Please visit Chinook Learning Services for more information.

Student Pick-up and Drop-off

We have noticed that parents who are picking up and dropping off students are sometimes parking in our bus zone adjacent to the school on 33 Avenue. This is making it difficult for our school buses to pick up and drop off students. Please avoid parking in the bus zone so that our students are able to access their transportation safely. Thank you for your attention to this.

Volunteering at A.E. Cross

There will be activities done at A.E. Cross that require parent volunteers. In order to volunteer for events occurring at the school, parents must complete an Annual Volunteer Registration Form.

Child and Youth Well-Being Webinar Series

The Calgary Board of Education invites all parents and guardians to join us in an online series focusing on child and youth well-being. These sessions will be hosted in partnership with experts from Alberta Health Services and will explore topics such as vaping, brain development, mental health, and sexual health.

Click here to learn more:
Child and Youth Well-Being:
A Webinar Series for Parents and Guardians

CBE educators believe that parents and guardians can inspire their kids to make healthy lifestyle choices and increase protective factors – in order to do so, they need the right tools and information.

Well-being is a precondition for learning. As our understanding of student well-being continues to evolve, it is important for those that support children and youth to stay up to date on the same information so everyone can support student success.

The intention of the series is to advance student well-being by raising family and caregiver’s understanding of a variety of health-related topics.

Thank you for your time and consideration to join us.