October 2024

Dear Parents,

Summer seems to be behind us, autumn is definitely underway, and the first month of school is complete! Sifton has had a very busy month, with several exciting events. Thank you to all of the families who attended our Boo Hoo Breakfasts and Open Day on September 11 and 12. If you didn't have a chance to join us for these events, there will be a Family Connection Night next week on Wednesday as well.

We also had two spirit days during the month of September; we wore school colours on September 6 and polka dots on September 13. Our runners competed in the Camrose Vikings Biathlon this month. We also had a visit from an Indigenous teacher to help us learn about residential schools. Our grade 5 students hosted an interesting and moving assembly to teach us about Truth and Reconciliation as well.

In October we are looking forward to another active month, full of fun and learning!

École Sifton Admin Team

We use our ROAR every day.

We do our best in every way.

We make strong choices.

We respect all voices.

We strive for more.

Here we ROAR!

Did you know that reading the school newsletter in Smore allows you to translate it into different languages? Just click on the translate button and pick one of the many languages from the drop down menu!

October 9 Family Connection Night (see information below)

October 9 Deadline for Terry Fox Donations

October 10 New Norway Run

October 11 Staff meeting/Division PD/Staff Collaboration (No School for Students)

October 14 Thanksgiving Day (Schools/BRSD Offices Closed)

October 15 School Picture Day (see information below)

October 15 Parent Council Meeting at 7:00pm

October 16 Picture Day for Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten/maternelle

October 16 Hockey Hooky for classes that are attending

October 31 Halloween Activities

November 1 Staff meeting/Division PD/Staff Collaboration (No School for Students)

M/W Kindergarten / Maternelle (Mrs. Skoglund & Mme Urkow)

October 4

October 18

T/Th Maternelle (Mme Urkow)

There are no Friday classes for T/Th class in October. The next Friday class is:

November 8

Don't forget about our school home page that has a complete and up to date list of important dates and information. https://sifton.brsd.ab.ca/

Please Remember to complete the School Verification form on SchoolEngage . Here parents can confirm contact numbers and ensure information for students is up to date and accurate.

If you need to come to the school for any reason, please check in at the office. Anything that needs to be dropped off or picked up can take place there. To avoid disruption to learning, parents should not be going to classrooms or dropping off/picking up from lockers.

Part of keeping students safe is having a strong plan in case of emergencies. Please take a minute to look through this message from the superintendent outlining our district's emergency procedures.

Tuesday, October 15 is Picture Day!

Wednesday, October 16 is Picture Day for our Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten and maternelle students. Anyone who missed Tuesday's photos can also get a picture Wednesday morning.

Mme Kendall will be starting up Art Club again soon. Please watch for permission forms coming home.

Sifton Students and their families are invited to attend our Family Connenction Night on the evening of Wednesday, October 9, hosted by the Battle River School Division Mental Health and Capacity Building Team.

On Tuesday, October 1 all K-5 students participated in the Terry Fox Run. Students ran as many laps as they could around the school year in the 1/2 hour allotted. Each time they completed a lap they got their punch card punched. Students have also been fundraising for the Terry Fox Fund. To date our school community has raised over $3800!! Online fundraising is open until October 10. If you are donating online please make sure you indicate which student you are donating for so that they may get the credit.

10 of the top 20 fundraisers will get the opportunity to throw a whipped cream pie in the face of Mrs. Barclay, Mr. Kennedy or Ms. McLennan on October 10.

Sifton staff and students celebrated International Dot Day on September 13 by wearing polka dots to school! We continue to encourage students to make their mark, even if it starts out as something as small as a tiny dot!

To learn more about Truth and Reconciliation students at Sifton school had a presentation from Ramona Washburn on September 23.

On September 27 the grade 5 classes lead a school wide assembly.

Mrs. Barclay's grade 5 class painted rocks orange and wrote words of encouragement on them. the rocks were then laid along the walking paths in the valley.

Grades 3-5 students were challenged to read a total of 30 000 minutes by September 27. As a result of their hard work they attended the opening of the Wild Robot Movie (based on the popular book).

September 24, 2024

Dear Parents and Guardians of BRSD:

It has been a great start to the BRSD school year! September has been filled with excitement and energy, as our schools have come alive with many welcome back activities, barbecues, extracurricular programs, and rich learning opportunities. It's wonderful to see our students, staff, and families reconnecting with our school communities.

This month, our students and staff have engaged in meaningful learning experiences around significant events. As we approach National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, our schools have been involved in activities and discussions to honour and reflect on the history and legacy of residential schools. This is a vital part of our commitment to reconciliation, and we are dedicated to fostering understanding and respect for Indigenous cultures and histories within our school communities.

Additionally, our schools have participated in the Terry Fox Run, continuing the tradition of honoring a courageous Canadian hero whose determination continues to inspire us all. It has been heartening to see our students come together to celebrate Terry's legacy and raise awareness and funds for cancer research. BRSD has raised over $1.06 million during 447 division events.

Our focus remains on our vision, Every Student, Every Day, a Success, while we continue to enact a variety of strategies to support our Three Year Educational Plan. Schools are implementing programs and supporting literacy and numeracy improvement in all grade levels across the division. In addition to this, seventeen BRSD teachers are piloting the new social studies curriculum in our schools. This pre-implementation activity for social studies will enable our teachers to gain experience and develop expertise in the new curriculum which will support student learning this year and in future years.

All of our Kindergarten to Grade 6 classrooms have been equipped with sound field systems. This benefits all students in classrooms, as students will be able to hear more clearly. Our technology team continues with the installation of ViewSonic Interactive ViewBoards. These initiatives are designed to support staff in an engaging student learning environment.

We have already seen great enthusiasm from our students participating in extracurricular activities. This participation plays a vital role in building confidence and teamwork and fosters a sense of belonging. I want to thank our staff coaches, community volunteer coaches, supervisors and referees who make this possible.

Our school start-up has been fast, furious and fun. Here is a media release that sums up September. As we advance into the school year, we are excited about endless learning opportunities for our students. Thank you for your ongoing support and trust in our division. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Rhae-Ann Holoien
Superintendent of Schools

Did you know that Battle River School Division offers free ebooks and audiobooks to students, faculty and staff? Check it out by downloading Sora, the student reading app or going to the Sora website. You can easily find us in Sora by searching for Battle River School Division (not Sifton School). Use your school email address and password to login.

Our digital learning commons connects students with a collection of reading materials to supplement their studies, as well as offering the kind of titles they would find in a public library for pleasure reading. There is a great opportunity to broaden our collection with required reading and recommended titles that are used in classes. From classic literature to graphic novels, there is a wide variety of books available!

You can also connect your account to the Parkland Regional Library collection (even if you don't have a Camrose Public Library card) to expand the number of books available to you. The age ratings will also automatically align with what we have in our division, so younger students shouldn't have access to young adult content.

For help on using SORA, here is a link to their FAQ page: https://help.soraapp.com/en-us/5033.htm

The next parent Council meeting is Tuesday, October 15 at 7:00pm in the Library Learning Commons. All parents/guardians of students attending Sifton are welcome to attend.

A bushel of thanks to all the families that supported our Davidson Orchard’s Apple Fundraiser this year!

Together we purchased 159 boxes of apples and raised over $1300 in funds for Sifton Parent School

Council initiatives.

A BIG THANKS to Jody, Danielle, Tawnya, Anne and Petra for volunteering their time to disburse boxes

Thursday and Friday afternoons and to Christen, Carole, Laura and Carli who were waiting in the wings

and ready to help if needed. You are all the apple-solute best!

Also, a very special THANKS to Jody and Dana for taking the lead and organizing this fundraiser over the

summer months. You are both awesome to the core!

Follow Us!

Facebook: Ecole Sifton Camrose Parent Council

Instagram: parentcouncilsifton

Connect With Us!

Email: parentcouncilsifton@gmail.com

Hot Lunch is available to order for students in Grades 1 - 5.

If you have ordered hot lunch and you child is absent, their lunch will be donated unless you contact the school by 12:00pm to make other arrangements. Unfortunately we can not offer refunds for any reason. Thank you for your understanding.

Hot Lunch Orders for October:

October 4 - Booster Juice

October 18 - Subway

October 25 - Boston Pizza

Ordering for November will be open from October 15 to 25. After that no more orders can be submitted for the month.

November Hot Lunch:

November 8 Fat Burger

November 22 Quesada

November 29 Panago Pizza

Please place your ordering using our online payment system : https://www.studentquickpay.com/brsd/

Without parent volunteers we would not be able to have hot lunch.

If you would like to help distribute hot lunch please sign up using this link: https://forms.gle/9bbr3YJ8G6bDUHGg7

Thank you for your support!

Last spring, Sifton students had a chance to get their hands dirty by digging, weeding and planting the 6 raised garden beds located behind the school. To help with this project, Parent School Council allocated funds to purchase a water tank, watering cans and other small items.

A million thanks to the Songhurst, d'Entremont, Shark/Arial, Fontaine, Bennett and Dey families for volunteering to water and care for these garden beds over the summer. You’re a-maize-ing! Because of your help, the vegetable and cover crops students planted did well and resulted in soil that has improved by leaps and bounds.

Also, thank you very mulch to everyone who helped launch this project last year including Cleanit Greenit for donating compost, Mitch Urkow for picking up equipment and supplies from Edmonton, and Christen Schwanke for donating seed, worm castings, straw as well as several hours of her time and expertise. A special shout out to Mme. Urkow for spearheading and coordinating this garden bed revitalization that gives students a hands-on opportunity to learn the life cycles of plants, the seasonal changes of nature and ponder the value of our connection to the land. We are happy to share that students are looking forward to rolling up their sleeves to prepare the beds for winter!

An account has been opened at the bottle depot where families can drop off bottles any time, and the funds can go towards the school. Ask to donate them to "Sifton School Parent Council" when you drop them off.