Fort High's Weekly Bulletin

Nov 11 - Remembrance day

Nov 11-15 - November Break

Nov 20 - Awards Ceremony 6:30 pm in gym

Dec 5 - Save the date: Musical Theatre class presents The Adventures of Dorothy 7:00 pm

As we approach the November Break, I wanted to connect with our school community and share some important updates.

First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to all the families who attended our recent Parent-Teacher Interviews. Your participation and engagement in your child's education are invaluable, and we genuinely appreciate the time you took to meet with our dedicated staff. These conversations are crucial in fostering a strong partnership between home and school, benefiting our students' academic and personal growth.

With the November Break just around the corner, I encourage all our families to take this opportunity to rest, recharge, and spend quality time together. Whether you're staying local or travelling, I hope this break provides respite from the busy school routine. Remember, school will resume on November 18th, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for the remainder of the term.

I'm excited to remind you that our annual Family Feast is fast approaching. This beloved Fort High tradition is a beautiful opportunity for our school community to come together and share a meal. As always, this event's success relies heavily on our amazing volunteers' support. If you're interested in lending a hand, whether it's with setup, serving, or cleanup, please don't hesitate to contact the school office. Your contribution, no matter how small, would be greatly appreciated.

I want to thank you all for your continued support of Fort High. The strength of our school community lies in the dedication and involvement of our families, staff, and students.

Enjoy your November Break, and we'll see you soon!

Warm regards,

Mr. Tuckwood

Looking at getting ahead on your Christmas shopping and empowering young creators? Come support Fort High students on November 16th and 17th at the DOW Christmas Market to see what some of the students of Enterprising Minds have been working on in class. Young entrepreneurs will be welcomed into the world of markets by selling alongside other local vendors and showcasing their skills related to product development, market research, pricing strategies, sales techniques, marketing skills, problem-solving, and time management. Payment can be made with cash, or e-transfer is also available.

GRAD 2025: The Grad Class of 2025 is fundraising for their Legacy Project. We have partnered with our local M&M Food Market! Order forms for the M&M fundraiser will be available in the office starting Nov 4, and will also be available at Parent Teacher Interviews. All order forms will be due Friday November 22. M&M is donating back 15% of Food Purchases as well as 10% of Gift Card purchases to our Grads. Please bring in your orders and cash/cheques to the front office as you have them filled out, with cheques made out to: Fort High School. Families will be contacted directly by M&M for the order pickup before Christmas holidays (beginning of December). Thank you for your support!

Save the Date: Our Musical Theatre class presents The Adventures of Dorothy December 5 at 7:00 pm. Tickets will not be released until after November break.

Stay tuned for more information.

by Amelia Polischuk

by Eden Lays

Next week is Métis Week! Click on the link for Métis Week activities: https://shorturl.at/caKco

We have early dismissal every Wednesday at 2:15 pm. Our purpose is to focus on student/staff school initiatives during this time. Please note that the first Wednesday of every month is when busses leave at 2:15 pm, for staff meetings across Elk Island Public Schools. For the other Wednesdays, busses will still arrive at 3:15 pm. Students are expected to use this time to catch up on missed academic work. The early out Wednesdays will start on September 4th.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact our new principal Aaron Tuckwood at aaron.tuckwood@eips.ca or Rita Lal at rita.lal@eips.ca

We are excited to offer exam catch up after school, three Wednesday's a month. The first Wednesday each month is reserved for Staff Meetings, where there will be no exams running. Please be sure your children have arranged transportation should they write past bus departure at 3:20 p.m. and please remind them to bring supplies to complete the exam (e.g. calculator, pencil etc.)

It is expected that students communicate with their teachers to make arrangements.

As part of our ongoing commitment to foster a conducive learning environment, we would like to inform you about the updated Personal Mobile Device (PMD) Plan, effective for the 2024-25 school year.

Key Guidelines Overview:

• PMD Usage During Class Sessions: To maintain a focus on educational activities, all PMDs should remain powered off or on silent and out of sight during class time. Exceptions apply only if a teacher grants permission for a specific educational activity or in cases of documented medical or special learning requirements.
• Non-Instructional Period Use: PMDs may be used during non-instructional times, including before and after school, class breaks, lunch, and spare periods. During spares, usage is permitted in the library and foyer areas.
  
• Restricted Areas: To protect everyone's privacy, PMDs are strictly prohibited in examination settings, change rooms, washrooms, and private counselling areas.
• PMD Storage Recommendations: We strongly suggest leaving your PMDs at home. Should you choose to bring them to school, you are solely responsible for their security and integrity. Fort High and Elk Island Public Schools will not be liable for any loss, theft, or damage.

Understanding the Progressive Discipline for PMD Misuse:

1. First Infraction: This will result in a verbal warning from the teacher and a record of the incident.
2. Second Infraction: The PMD will be confiscated and sent to the office, followed by a notification to the parents/guardians.
3. Third Infraction: This will trigger further disciplinary actions with parental/guardian notification.

Communication with Parents:

We'd like to ask parents to avoid contacting their children via PMDs during school hours. For urgent matters, please get in touch with the school office directly at 780-998-3751, and we will ensure your message is relayed promptly.

Your understanding and adherence to these guidelines are critical in helping us maintain a respectful and distraction-free learning environment. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need further clarification.

Research shows sustained, collaborative and job-embedded professional learning significantly enhances teacher efficacy and student achievement. Simply put, the more times teachers get to learn from one another during the year, the better it is for student success. Professional learning doesn’t mean a day off for staff—they improve upon their knowledge using time dedicated for collaboration, growth and relationship-building. This ensures students continue to receive high-quality education throughout the school year.

With the winter season almost here, we have a few reminders for families:

• Ensure students have clothing appropriate for expected weather conditions.
• If weather conditions are bad enough to impact student transportation, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families directly, as well as posting on social media and eips.ca as early as possible.
• Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by an EIPS administrative procedure that states, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.”
• Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions.
• When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students.

For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.

The Guide to Reporting Student Achievement (GRSA) and School Education Plan (SEP) for the 2024-25 school year are available now! The GRSA explains how we assess student achievement, how we determine grades and more. The SEP details our school goals for the year—with key strategies and measures in achieving these outcomes. You can access our GRSA and SEP through the two corresponding home page tiles at https://www.forthigh.ca/

Support Numbers

Contacting 911

Kids Help Phone

Alberta’s Mental Health Help Line

Alberta’s Children and Mental Health Crisis/Mobile Response Team

Crisis Contact Numbers for Strathcona County

Fort Saskatchewan Community Mental Health Supports and Services

Hope for Wellness Help Line for Indigenous Peoples: 1-855-242-3310

SRO QR code

Please click the link below to view a spreadsheet of the multiple scholarship opportunities available to students.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1InbVu8D_duNEUw7e8kC667MXWXezbMDfXKoUWlxYkLw/edit?usp=sharing