Important Dates

Monday, September 9 to Friday, September 13 Welcome Week Spirit Days 

Wednesday, September 11 School Photo Day  

Thursday, September 12 Meet the Teacher Evening 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm 

Friday, September 13 Terry Fox Run

Principal's Message

Good afternoon families! ¡Buenas tardes familias! We hope that you have been enjoying this amazing late summer weekend! We have a lot of different things going on at A.E. Cross over the next week. Those items are highlighted in the latest edition of the Colts’ Community Chronicle which can be found below.

A few important items to note:

  • School Photo Day – Wednesday, September 11 – classes will be called down to the West Gym throughout the day to have their student photo taken. Should students be absent on September 11, our partners from Lifetouch will be back at A.E. Cross later in the fall to take photos again
  • Meet the Teacher Evening – September 12 – 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm – we hope that you are able to make the time to come into A.E. Cross School to see your child’s classroom and introduce yourself to the teachers!
  • Healthy Hunger – Instructions and Dates for the Healthy Hunger program at A.E. Cross School can be found in the attachments below

Healthy Hunger Setup Instructions 

Healthy Hunger Dates for 2024-2025 

This week is Welcome Week Spirit Week. This week will culminate in an assembly on Friday, September 13 during RTI Block where we honour Terry Fox. Each day this week, we encourage students to dress up according to the following days:

  • Monday, September 9 – Say Goodbye to Summer Hawaiian Shirt Day
  • Tuesday, September 10 – Colts’ Colours Day – Wear Black and Orange for A.E. Cross
  • Wednesday, September 11 – School Photo Day – Dress your best for the Camera
  • Thursday, September 12 – Jersey Thursday – wear the jersey of your favourite team
  • Friday, September 13 – Terry Fox Run – wear Red and White to honour one of the greatest Canadians

We are very fortunate to welcome back our School Resource Officer, Constable Boychuk, to A.E. Cross this year. Constable Boychuk joined our school just prior to Winter Break last year and he is a member of the Calgary Police Service and works to support students, staff and parents throughout the school year. The School Resource Officer program is committed to fostering partnerships among law enforcement, schools and the community and helps to ensure safe school environments, successful students and productive citizens. Constable Boychuk is shared amongst many Junior High Schools in our area but if you would like to get in touch with him, please contact the main office. Constable Boychuk stopped by A.E. Cross last week and met some of our students while walking through the hallways.

Thank you for all of the support that you have given your children over the first few days of school. We know that it is always a difficult transition back to school after the summe break but we are thrilled with what we are seeing out of all of our Colts so far this year! Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Randy Lewis

Principal, A.E. Cross School

Terry Fox Fundraising

This year AEC would love to raise money for Cancer through the Terry Fox Run. On Friday, September 13 students will participate in the annual Terry Fox Run. This year we will host an assembly that morning where staff members have volunteers to shave their heads and have students pie them in the face in support of raising money for cancer.

Students are encouraged to donate money to achieve pre-determined dollar amounts that will determine which teachers are pied and which teachers shave their heads. 

If you or your students would like to begin donating, please use the link below to donate. Please make a general donation as we do not have classrooms set up this year. https://schools.terryfox.ca/71615

Physical Education

Students as expected to change for Physical Education. Gym strip will be available to purchase or students can bring their own clothes. Students will be given their own gym locker to leave their gym clothes. Please send appropriate clothes for the weather as we will be outside until December or the weather hits below -19.

Meet the Teacher Evening

Meet the Teacher evening is scheduled for Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Our staff is looking forward to welcoming you into the school and into their classrooms that evening. A tentative schedule for the evening is as follows:

  • 5:15 PM – Main Gym Doors Open
  • 5:30 PM – 5:50 PM – Welcome and Introductions by Administration
  • 5:50 PM – 7:00 PM – Informal exploration of the school to meet their child’s teachers 

Earn a Bike Program

Students from AEC are invited to join the earn a bike program offered by Two Wheel View. This is an after-school program open to 15 students. Students will learn how to build and maintain a bike. They will learn bike safety and a bit of history about bicycles. The program will take place Wednesdays from 4-6pm start October 9 and ending on Dec 11. If your child is interested, please send them to Mr. Richards to sign up. First 15 students only! 

Healthy Hunger

Please see the Lunchtime page to see how you go about setting up your healthy hunger account for the new school year.

Future Healthy Hunger/fun lunch dates are listed below:

  • September 25, 2024 – A & W
  • October 9, 2024 – Edo
  • October 24, 2024 – Cobs Bread (Treat Day)
  • November 6, 2024 – Subway
  • November 27, 2024 – Boston Pizza
  • December 19, 2024 – TBD (Treat Day)
  • January 15, 2025 – Inglewood Pizza
  • February 12, 2025 – A & W
  • March 5, 2025 – Subway
  • March 20, 2025 – Cobs Bread (Treat Day)
  • April 17, 2025 – TBD (Treat Day)
  • April 30, 2025 – Edo
  • May 15, 2025 – Cobs Bread (Treat Day)
  • May 28, 2025 – Boston Pizza
  • June 20, 2025 – Booster Juice (Treat Day) 

Lego Club

LEGO club will take place Wednesdays at lunch beginning in October. If parents have any LEGO they would like to donate to the lunch time club, please send it to the school with your child and have them drop it off in room 19 with Mrs. Shumay. 

Principal's Advisory Council

What is the Principal Advisory Council?

The Principal Advisory Council is a group of students in grades 7, 8 and 9 who meet once a month to advise me, your principal, on various issues relating to A.E. Cross School. At times, students might be invited to present at a staff meeting or a department meeting. 

As your principal, I wish to hear a wide range of student voice. ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME. 

Applications for the Principal Advisory Council are available at the main office or you can find a copy of the application attached to this message. Please fill out the application by Monday, September 16, 2024 at 4:00 pm. The list of students selected for the Principal Advisory Council will be posted by the main office on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. 

School Council

The A.E. Cross School Council and Parents' Association will be having our first meeting of the school year at 7pm on Thursday, September 19 in person at the school. Save the date and watch for more details to be emailed out a week in advance of the meeting.

Additional meeting dates will be set during the September meeting. 

A number of positions for the 2024/2025 school year were filled during the annual general meeting in June.

We are still looking for volunteers to fill open/new positions including: 

  • Secretary
  • School of School Councils Liaison (Key Communicator)
  • Staff Appreciation Coordinator
  • Volunteer Coordinator
  • Fundraising Coordinator
  • Communication Coordinator (new position)
  • Grant Coordinator/Writer (new position)
  • Special Speaker Coordinator (new position)
  • Member at Large 

If you are interested in any of the above, would like more information, or just generally would like to be involved, please reach out to aecrosscouncil@gmail.com and/or attend the meeting on Sept. 19. We will also be present at Meet the Teacher night - look for our black tri-fold at the front entrance. Come and chat with us! 

Thank you in advance for your support! 

Continuing Education Opportunity

Chinook Learning Services offers courses specifically designed for parents and caregivers of CBE Spanish Bilingual students. For Fall 2024, Chinook Learning Services is

offering Spanish for Parents – Level 1 classes at three locations: Canyon Meadows School, Dalhousie School, and Eugene Coste School. 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. 

This course would also be beneficial for any Support Staff who are interested in learning along with parents! 

Here is the link on the Chinook Learning Services website: Spanish for Spanish - Level 1 Here is the link for the course content: Course Outline - Spanish for Parents - Level 1

School Forms

Each year, schools have a variety of forms that parents / legal guardians are required to complete or review and update, some of which are paper and others online. In CBE, the forms in an online format (SchoolEngage) are:

  • Demographic Verification - 2024-25 – This form includes your child’s personal information as well as parent / legal guardian contact information.
  • Citizenship Information Update - 2024-25 – This form becomes available if you change your child’s citizenship information on the Demographic Verification form.
  • Annual Authorization - 2024-25 – Combines the following forms:
  • School District Use of Personal Information - explains how CBE uses personal information in providing education services.
  • Consent for CBE Use of Student Information – provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by school/district and third parties.
  • Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups (Third Party) - provides an option to grant / not grant consent for additional use of student information by outside groups and third parties

SchoolEngage is one of the applications found in your MyCBE account. This is the same account that you use to pay fees, view academic information, book school conferences, etc. If you do not have a MyCBE account, on the MyCBE page click on Create a MyCBE Account. For online help refer, to MyCBE - Creating an Account (includes instructions and a video).

To complete these forms:

1  | sign in to your MyCBE account

2  | click on the SchoolEngage icon

3  | select the form

4  | complete or review and update the form

5  | click on Submit to send the form electronically to the school

6  | repeat steps 3-5 for each form 

Please submit the Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization forms in SchoolEngage for your child by Monday, September 16. These forms are mandatory every year for Alberta Education to confirm student funding. Thank you for completing them. 

If you have any other students with the Calgary Board of Education, you may proceed with completing their forms too.

If you have any questions, please contact your child’s school.

We thank those families who have already completed forms for their children. 

Volunteer at A.E. CROSS

There will be activities done at A.E. Cross that require parent volunteers. 

Parents and guardians can register to volunteer online in the SchoolEngage tab of their MyCBE account. Members of the community without a child in the system can also create a SchoolEngage account. 

Once volunteers have created an account they can request and receive their volunteer letter required to obtain their police security clearance. Schools will continue to follow the process for generating letters.

There are no changes, at this time, to the ePIC application and payment process, currently outlined on the CBE Volunteer InSite page and managed by Calgary Police Service. 

Once volunteers have their police information check and vulnerable sector clearance document (PIC VS), it can be uploaded and shared directly with the school through the SchoolEngage account.