Dear Highwood Families, 

Welcome to a new school year!  We hope your summer was fun and relaxing but soon it will be time to start the routine of school again.  Please read the points below carefully to familiarize yourself with some important information

  • Thursday is the first day of school for all students except for Monday/Wednesday kindergarten students who will start school on Friday.
  • Our first half-day is Friday.  All students will be dismissed at 12:05 PM.  Students will not have a lunch break, so please ensure they have a bigger snack. Tuesday/Thursday kindergarten DOES NOT attend school this Friday (Aug 30), but Monday/Wednesday kindergarten DOES attend school. 
  • School hours are Monday to Thursday 8:20 AM - 3:16 PM with a 32 minutes lunch break; Friday 8:20 AM - 12:05 PM with no lunch break.   
  • Students are invited to arrive at school at any time between 8:05 - 8:20 AM. ONLY ON THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF SCHOOL (August 29 and 30) will all students line up outside on the back compound behind their teacher’s picture to enter the school together.  Starting September 3, when students arrive at school, they will come directly into the school.  Students can only enter through the front door or the side door (facing the swimming pool). There will be staff supervisors at those doors.  All other doors will be locked and inaccessible. As soon as students arrive at school, they will go to their classroom where their teacher will supervise them until instructional time starts at 8:20 AM.  Students that are late must enter through the front door and get a welcome slip from the office before heading to their classroom. We ask that parents do a quick drop and go (and not park) as there is minimal parking and lots of traffic at that time in front of the school. There is no parking or stopping in front of the school due to our 8 school busses.  There is also no parking or drop offs in the staff parking lot at the back of the school. 
  • NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 (Labour Day) 
  • Have your child bring a water bottle to school every day.  We have filtered water stations that students can refill their water bottles.  Please ensure that it is not glass (it breaks easily when dropped) and that all of your child’s items are labelled. 
  • Students will eat lunch at their desk in their classroom.  There are no microwaves and no hot water available.  Students will be supervised by a lunchroom supervisor paid for by lunch supervision fees.  If your child is staying for lunch, you must pay this fee in your MyCBE account. 
  • We are limiting access of parents and adults into the school building for safety and security reasons.  We ask that if you need anything, please ring the front door bell and an office staff member will come to the door to help you.  You can also call the office if you have any questions (403-777-6200). 
  • If your child is going to be away due to an appointment, illness, etc. please notify the teacher as well as the school.  You can do so by emailing the school (highwood@cbe.ab.ca) or calling and leaving a message.  This saves us from having to contact you in trying to locate your child.  This is important if your child will be not be starting school on August 29 but on a later day. 
  • Your child’s homeroom teacher will be emailing you to introduce themselves and ask you a few questions.  It is extremely important that you reply to this email as soon as possible.  We require essential health and safety information that is necessary before your child starts school (ie. Medical conditions, medication, custody agreements, etc.). 
  • Classroom placement is something we take very seriously and take a lot of time and care to put together.  Understand that teachers work on class lists in collaboration with each other and try to find a combination of students that will work well with each other to learn and grow both academically and socially.  This sometimes means that best friends are separated. 
  • After school, please ensure that your child knows how they are getting home.  If they are being picked up, the parent pick up area is on the back compound behind the school.  We ask that you be on time and be mindful of where you park.  DO NOT block driveways and garages… we often get complaints from angry neighbours because of people blocking their driveway.  The south side of Holmwood Avenue (directly in front of the school) is NEVER a drop off, pick up, or parking area.  It is strictly for school bus use.  If a family member is driving your child, it is important to pass on this information to them.  If your child is taking the bus, it is extremely important that your child knows which bus letter and which stop they are getting off at. DO NOT ASSUME IT IS THE SAME AS LAST YEAR!  Have them memorize this. If you registered for the school bus in May/June, you should have been assigned a bus letter and bus stop in your PowerSchool account.  If you registered and did not receive this information please contact CBE transportation.  Do not contact the school as we are not responsible for transportation.  Please arrive at your child’s bus stop early every day.  If your child usually takes the bus and will be picked up the odd time, please send a note to the teacher or call the school office ahead of time.  Students will take the bus if we have not received notification in advance from a parent.  We ask that you don’t notify us last minute as things are really busy at dismissal time and the teacher often doesn’t have time to check for messages because they are teaching all day.  Students telling us they are being picked up will not suffice as they often get mixed up on dates and times. 
  • Always check the website - myschoolbusmonitor.ca and type in Highwood Bilingual School for the status of your child’s bus.  They will post any late busses on this website.
  • Staffing update - Ms. Elaine Yeung will be on maternity for the 2024-2025 school year.  She hasn’t had the baby yet but it should arrive any day now!  Ms. Chae Kim has been hired to cover her Grade 1 and 2 maternity leave.  She will be partnered with Ms. Elena Qie, who was our Grades 3 and 4 Mandarin teacher last year.  Ms. Grace Wang will be moving up to teach Grades 3 and 4.  She was previously our Grades 1 and 2 Mandarin teacher.
  • Highwood’s 2024-2025 school year calendar can be found here on Highwood’s website.

Sorry for the long message but all of the information is important to ensure that your child has a successful school year. 

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday (Friday for Monday/Wednesday kindergarten)! 

Highwood School