Dear Highwood Families

A very big thank you to all families who have been so generous this holiday season.  We received A LOT of food and toiletry donations for the Veteran’s Food Bank and the Mustard Seed.  Both organizations were extremely grateful for our donations as the number of clients they are supporting is increasing daily.  Our holiday raffle draw was a huge success as well.  We broke last year’s record and raised $1553 for the Veteran’s Food Bank… that’s 3106 tickets!  Thank you for working with us to teach our students about the spirit of giving and how kindness changes the world.

January will be a busy month filled with preparations for our big Lunar New Year concert on Tuesday, January 21.  A detailed email was sent out a few days ago, but will be sent out again shortly after we return from winter break.  Only those that agreed to receive commercial content will have received this email.  If you did not receive this information and would like to, please contact the office to let us know that you would like to sign up to receive commercial content.  Invite all of your friends and family as our concert celebration is a very entertaining evening with over 1000 guests in attendance at the Jubilee Auditorium!

Here are just a few information items and reminders for the month of January:

  • School Development Plan
  • New Kindergarten and Grade 1 registration for the 2025-2026 school year
  • Lunar New Year celebration preparations
  • Important January dates

School Development Plan

This year Highwood’s SDP focuses on verbally using complete sentences and specific vocabulary in Chinese and English to problem solve using different Zen Zodiac strategies.  Throughout November and December we have been working on what to say to express personal feelings and to bring resolution to common issues through Make a Choice Monkey.  Starting in January, we will be focusing on Grazing Ox (Snack or Water)- Learning to listen to your body and know when something to eat or drink may make you feel better or help with focus and learning.

New Kindergarten and Grade 1 Registration for the 2025-2026 school year

Do you have a little one at home or someone you know that starts kindergarten in September 2025?  If so, kindergarten and grade 1 registration for Highwood School begins on Monday, January 13 with the deadline being Tuesday, February 11 at noon.  Registration forms are completed via SchoolEngage https://cbe.ab.ca/registration/registration/Pages/alternative-programs-schoolengage-school-in-lottery.aspx

*Current kindergarten CBE students registered at another school who are interested in the grade 1 program please complete an Expression of Interest form via SchoolEngage https://cbe.ab.ca/registration/registration/Pages/alternative-programs-expression-of-interest-lottery.aspx

A Registration form DOES NOT guarantee a spot at Highwood School.  It just means that you will be put into the lottery that will take place on Wednesday, February 12.  All families will receive an email notification after the lottery has taken place as to whether your child has been accepted into Highwood or has been placed on our waitlist. The priority for the lottery draw is as follows:

  • Priority 1: Students living in Highwood’s walk zone with a Highwood sibling who will also be at the school during the 2025-2026 school year
  • Priority 2: Students living in Highwood’s walk zone who do not have a sibling in the school; or Students living in a community designated to Highwood with a Highwood sibling who will also be at the school during the 2025-2026 school year
  • Priority 3: Students living in a community designated to Highwood

A reminder that kindergarten and grade 1 are entry points, which means that the child does not need to have prior knowledge of English or Chinese to attend Highwood School.  Students wishing to enter in grade 2 and above need to complete an entry assessment to determine if they are at grade level in reading, writing, speaking and listening in Chinese and English.

Current students do not need to apply to attend Highwood School for the next grade.  They automatically move into the next grade.  Grade 4 students automatically move to grade 5 at Colonel Irvine School unless you tell us otherwise.

Lunar New Year Celebration

Our big Lunar New Year Gala concert will be taking place at 7:00pm on Tuesday, January 21 at the Jubilee Auditorium.  Students will be working with Trickster Theatre in January to create entertaining pieces that celebrate the Year of the Snake.  The snake has gone missing and students will go to different countries to look for it since it is the star of the show!  Concert tickets will be sold via Ticketmaster on Thursday, January 9 at 10:00am.  Tickets are $12 each and we encourage you to invite all of your friends and family to this special celebration.  For safety reasons, tickets will not be available to the general public and can only be purchased using your child’s student ID number.  Thank you to School Council who have covered some of the costs so that tickets can remain at $12.  A more detailed email regarding ticket sales was sent out a few days ago and will be sent out again when we return from break.

Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time to help make props during the month of December.  We are looking for more parent volunteers that can come and help make props during the week of January 6-10.  Please sign up if you are able to help.... no experience required!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094EADA928AAF49-53165614-lnyprop

Note that on January 6 and 7, we are looking for a few volunteers that are able to do some basic sewing. 

Important January Dates

Monday, January 6: School resumes

Thursday, January 9: 10:00am- LNY online ticket sales begin; 6:30pm Open house for potential new kindergarten and grade 1 students for 2025-2026 school year

Friday, January 10: Early dismissal; Monday/Wednesday kindergarten attends school

Friday, January 17: Early dismissal; Tuesday/Thursday kindergarten attends school

Tuesday, January 21: 7:00pm Lunar New Year Concert at the Jubilee Auditorium

Wednesday, January 22: Fun lunch (Healthy Hunger- for those who ordered and paid online)

Friday, January 24: Early dismissal; Monday/Wednesday kindergarten attends school

Monday, January 27: Report cards available on PowerSchool

Wednesday, January 29: HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! We encourage all students to wear their Chinese traditional outfits as we will spend part of the day celebrating with LNY games and crafts!

Friday, January 31: NO SCHOOL- Non-Instruction DAY

The entire staff would like to thank everyone for thinking of us this holiday season and showing your appreciation with gifts and goodies.  We all feel so spoiled by the families at Highwood and are lucky to be supported by you.  We wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season and a restful and relaxing new year.

Sincerely,

Highwood School