Welcome Back!

Hard to believe we are off and running with another school year!

A few items to note:

September 13th - 6:30pm - 7:30pm - Meet the Teacher Night

September 13th - 7:30pm - Parent Council Meeting
September 22nd - 4:00pm - 7:00pm - Welcome Back BBQ

Please join us after Meet the Teacher Night for our Parent Council Meeting!  

Our Executive was elected before the summer and are ready to start off the 2016-17 school year. Brander Gardens Parent Council meetings always include updates for the principal on school activities/issues and are a great way for parents who are not able to be in the school often to be informed of activities going on in the school.  If you are a parent or guardian of a child at Brander Gardens you are already a member of the Parent Council.      

Fall Running Club has also started for students in Grade 3-6.  Practices are M/W/F mornings at 8:00am.  Information and permission forms went home with students in Grades 3-6 last week if they attended the meet-up in the Gym. 

May Update!

It is hard to believe that there is less than 2 months left in the school year!  Here are the important dates for the month of May:

• May 2 -13, 2016 - Artist in Residence DanceEd Movement
• May 5, 2016 – ICON School group photo
• May 6, 2016 - PD Day, no classes for students
•  May 13, 2016 – Hot Lunch
• May 13, 2016 - DanceEd Movement Presentation for Parents - 12:45pm & 2:15pm
• May 19 & 20, 2016 – Teacher Day in Lieu - No school for students 
• May 23 - Victoria Day - No school for students
• May 25, 2016 - Welcome to Kindergarten Event - 2:00pm & 5:30pm
• May 30, 2016 - Parent Council AGM - 7:00pm 
• June 2, 2016 - Parent Volunteer Appreciation - 1:30pm 

Welcome Back from Spring Break - Dates to Remember

Hard to believe that Spring Break has already come and gone!  Here are the notable dates for April and May:

• April 8th - Beach Day - Come dressed for the Beach!
• April 8th - Hot Lunch Day - Boston Pizza - sign up at healthyhunger.ca
• April 11th - 14th - Schoolastic Book Fair 
• April 14th - Annual Spring Book & Clothing Exchange 
• April 18th - Professional Learning Day for all School Staff (no school for students)
• April 25th - 29th - English Highest Level of Achievement Test in writing for all grade 2-6 students
• April 29th - Family Glow Dance and Silent Auction - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
• May 2nd - DanceEd Movement Artist in Residence beings (PAC sponsored activity)
• May 5th - Class/group pictures for all classes
• May 6th - Professional Learning Day for all School Staff (no school for students)
• May 10th - Provincial Achievement Tests begin, all details and dates on SchoolZone
• May 11th - ArtsFest at Lillian Osborne High School, our grade 3 Dance Club will be performing
• May 13th - Dance Day - wear your costume for your dance performance
• May 13th - Hot Lunch Day - Opa - sign up at healthyhunger.ca

Volunteers are needed for (check SchoolZone for contact information):

• Scholastic Book Fair
• Glow Dance 

Please remember to check the lost and found for your child's missing items,  The boxes are very full!!!  

Siblings Guaranteed Enrollment at Brander Gardens Again!

With the opening of the new school for MacTaggart, Magrath and SW Terwillegar students, the suspension of the sibling rule for Brander Gardens has been reversed.  This means siblings of currently enrolled students are now guaranteed enrollment at Brander Gardens again!

For more information check the Edmonton Public School's website: http://www.epsb.ca/ 

February News

Welcome Back!

Our First Parent Council Meeting of 2016 was held on January 25.  Thanks to all the parents/guardians who attended.

Items of note for February:

February 1, 2016 - PD Day - No School
February 2, 2016 - Kindergarten Registration Opens
February 4, 2016 - Hot Lunch Day  (Please note the original day was Feb. 5th)
February 5, 2016 - Division II Skiing Trip
February 15, 2016 - Family Day - No School
February 25 & 26th - Teacher's Convention - No School

Items of note for March:

March 1, 2016 - Annual Carnival Celebration
March 1, 2016 - French Immersion Open House @ 7:00 PM for all SW Edmonton FI schools
March 9, 2016 - Kindergarten Open House - 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
March 14, 2016 - Pre-enrolment for existing students opens online (closes April 15th, 2016)

Running Club (gr. 3-6) and Scrabble Club (gr. 3-6)  are ongoing.
Recorder Karate has also started for those learning the recorder in music class.
Grade 1 choir will run from mid-Feb to Spring Break, they will perform at the March assembly

Alberta Government Document on Guidelines for Best Practices

For those interested in reading the published document by the Government of Alberta, it can be found here:

https://education.alberta.ca/media/1626737/91383-attachment-1-guidelines-final.pdf