Newsletter | October 2012 - Calgary Board of Education

October’s 

Important Dates 

Friday, October 5 

School Pictures Day 

Monday, October 8 

Thanksgiving Day 

No School 

Monday, October 15 

School Council Meeting 

7:00-8:30 in the Staffroom 

School Fees Due 

Friday, October 26 

PD Day-No School 

Captain Nichola Goddard School 

405 Panatella Blvd., Calgary, AB T3K 0P3 t | 403-817-3300 f | 403-295-2044 e | CaptainNicholaGoddard@cbe.ab.ca 

http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b662 

Newsletter | October 2012 

Principal’s Message 

Dear Parents/Guardians: 

It is hard to believe that the first month of the school year has passed. It has been a busy, 

yet exciting, and energizing start to our school year. The school staff continue to be amazed 

at the genuine enthusiasm of our students, their care and attention to their school 

community, and their willingness to take on new challenges. We all feel very fortunate to be 

working with such wonderful students and caring families. 

This is a year of firsts. We have had our first point scored in interschool sports, first 

intramural athletics programs, first fire drill, first School Council meeting, first Terry Fox 

Run, and of course the list goes on. Each event sets the foundation and direction for our 

school in years to come. We thank all of you for your participation, enthusiasm and support 

in the firsts that we have already experienced and those that are yet to come. 

As part of my school updates at the School Council meeting on Monday, October 15 th , I 

would like to invite parents to provide input into our school organization as we contemplate 

and plan for mandatory and optional field trips for our students. Mandatory field trips are 

generally those experiences that happen within the city or province and usually occur within 

the regular school day and are directly connected to particular Alberta Programs of Study. 

Optional field trips, particularly for our grade 7-9 students, may include such experiences as 

a West Coast Sailing trip or opportunities to travel to Quebec. These are not mandatory but 

are often offered to students in middle years schools. Each of these types of experiences 

comes at a cost, and I would like parents to provide me with feedback on whether optional 

travel experiences for students is something parents would like us to consider. Also I would 

like feedback on processes for collection of funds for fieldtrips both optional and mandatory. 

As principal of Captain Nichola Goddard School, I have been asked to join the Nichola 

Goddard Foundation Board of Directors. I am honoured to hold this position and excited 

about the potential connections we can make with the work of the Foundation and our work 

as a school community. The Nichola Goddard Foundation is holding a fundraising event 

on Friday, November 9 th . Tickets are $20. Please see the advertisement on page 8 of this 

newsletter for more information regarding this evening and the Foundation. 

I would like to acknowledge the work of my amazing staff of teachers and support staff who 

have worked many long hours to get our school up and running. They are an energetic and 

caring group of individuals who truly have your childrens’ best interests and our school 

community’s best interest at heart. I feel very grateful to have such a talented group of 

professionals to work with. I look forward to more firsts in the coming months. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Joy Chadwick, Principal 

Page 1 | 8




School Council 

School Council is a means for parents and community members to work together 

with the school to support and enhance student learning. 

Captain Nichola Goddard (CNG) School Council held its inaugural meeting at the school on 

September 10. Thank you to all who attended. We would like to take this opportunity to 

introduce the executive positions established by volunteers: 

CNG School Council 

Executive 

CNG Fundraising Society 

Executive 

CHAIR Lamis Youssef Lamis Youssef 

Vice CHAIR Michael Loh Michael Loh 

Treasurer Darlene Ferster Darlene Ferster 

Secretary Laura Devitt (TBD) 

Volunteer 

Coordinator 

Fundraising 

Coordinator 

Angela Loh --- 

Elaine Cohen Elaine Cohen 

We are thrilled to have filled the executive positions, but to do the best for our children and 

community we need your input. We welcome and encourage all parents to join us at our 

meetings, share opinions and offer suggestions. The newly formed council has much work 

to do over the next year. We will be creating our bylaws and operating procedures that will 

govern the work we do. 

Our next council meeting is October 15 at 7:00 PM. We will be discussing types of 

fundraising our school community would like to do and what big projects we would like the 

funds to be put towards. Please consider joining us. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT! 

2 | 8




Parent Volunteers 

We welcome parents volunteers at school. You need to ensure you have a current and 

valid “Security Police Clearance” prior to volunteering in the school. Only individuals with 

active clearances can volunteer in classrooms and on field trips. Volunteers sign in and out 

at the main office and wear a Volunteer Lanyard while in the building. Contact the school 

office for more information or to renew a Security Clearance. Our Parent Council Volunteer 

Co-ordinator is Angela Loh. Please complete the Parent Council Volunteer Registration 

form on our website which will then allow our Parent Council to contact you to inform you of 

volunteer opportunities as they arise. 

Student Drop Off 

We would ask that all parents refrain from 

using the visitor/staff parking lot as a drop 

off or pick up area for students. Please 

determine an alternate site to meet your 

children. As there is only one 

entrance/exit to this space, we have 

already had several near fender benders 

and near misses with students. 

Bike Safety 

We have had several students injured 

while riding their bikes this year. Please 

ensure that your child wears a helmet at 

all times and that they refrain from doing 

tricks or stunts on their bikes while riding 

to or from school. Also please ensure 

your child has a bike lock. As we are 

short on bike racks, please be aware that 

students may need to lock their bikes to 

other students’ bikes. 

Lunchroom Grades 4 - 6 

Grade 4-6 students are eligible to be part 

of our 4-day lunchroom program. The 

cost of this service is $185.00. Parents 

must register their students for this 

program. We are expecting that grade 4- 

6 students who are not registered in the 

lunch room have made arrangements 

with parents to walk home or to be picked 

up to have lunch off campus. Attendance 

is taken daily at lunch to ensure that all 

students registered are in the program 

each day. In order for a student to be 

excused from the lunch program, a 

parent must contact the office, send a 

note, or come to the office and sign-out 

their child. Timely notification is 

appreciated. 

Students who are not registered in the 

lunch program are able to stay for lunch 

for a daily drop in fee of $5.00. Families 

can purchase a 5 pack lunch pass for 

$25.00. Students can bring this pass to 

the office and it will be stamped when the 

lunch room service is accessed. Students 

require a note from their parents 

indicating their child is staying for lunch 

that day. This should be handed in to to 

office at the beginning of the day so that 

we can update our lunch attendance. 

Lunch room fees should now be paid. 

More information about Noon Supervision 

Fees can be found at: 

http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Parents/fees.asp 

For further information contact 

403-817-7888. 

Before and After School Care 

Captain Nichola Goddard School, in 

conjunction with the Thornhill Child Care 

Society, are pleased to be offering a 

Before and After School Care Program. 

There is still space available and 

interested parents should contact Taz at 

3 | 8




403-699-9754, or they are welcome to 

visit the Before and After School Program 

which is housed in the ancillary space to 

the right of the main entrance to the 

school. The program is open between the 

hours of 7:00 am - 8:30 am and 3 pm - 6 

pm. 

Attendance and Punctuality 

School attendance and punctuality is 

critical for successful learning. If your 

child is going to be late or absent, please 

call 403-817-3300, then press 1. This is 

very helpful to us when we are 

completing the attendance. We do call 

parents to follow-up on all unexcused 

absences each morning and after lunch. 

Also, please call the school or send a 

note with your child when they need to 

leave for an appointment. Students must 

check in and out through the main office 

if they are arriving or leaving outside of 

regular hours. 

Demographic Updates 

Please be sure to let our office know if 

you change your address, phone number 

or make changes to guardianship 

information. This will assist us greatly if 

there is an emergency and we need to 

contact you or your child’s designated 

emergency contact quickly. It is critical 

that this information be updated as soon 

as changes occur. 

Lates 

School begins at 8:21. To avoid 

attendance errors, it is very important that 

all students who arrive after this time visit 

the office to get a late slip. Students who 

arrive late to school will be expected to 

contact their teacher to find out what 

activities and assignments they have 

missed. 

News from the Music Room 

Band Information Night 

Thanks to all the parents who came out 

to the band information night. It was great 

to see all of you. I appreciate your 

support. The power point is on my D2L 

site if you would like to check it out. 

Students will require instruments by 

Monday, October 1 st . If parents were 

unable to attend our rental evening, they 

will need to go to St Johns Music or Long 

& McQuade to arrange for their child’s 

instrument rental. Those students renting 

larger instruments from the school will 

receive an invoice with the school 

fees. The following websites indicate 

where you kind find the locations of the 

rental stores. 

http://www.stjohnsmusic.com/calgary/rentals 

http://www.longmcquade.com/location/Alberta/Calgary_North/ 

Band Uniform 

All the band students will be wearing a 

uniform for our concerts. We have 

decided to order a nice black golf shirt 

with a school logo. Please ensure your 

child has black slacks and if possible, 

black socks and shoes. A band uniform 

identifies our school and makes us look 

professional when perform. 

4 | 8




Choir 

An extracurricular choir will begin this 

Wednesday from 12:30-1:00. If your child 

loves to sing we hope they will take 

advantage of this opportunity. It is open 

to all students (grades 4-8). The choir will 

meet in the upstairs music room. The 

focus of the choir will be to prepare songs 

for Remembrance Day and perhaps for 

the winter concert as well. The choir will 

meet every Wednesday starting this 

week. All are welcome. No experience or 

audition necessary. 

Thanks for supporting the music program 

at our school. 

Ms. Sarah Drew, Music Specialist 

Fees 

Outstanding school Fees invoices are 

coming home this week. Please note 

school fees are due October 15, 2012. 

Debit & credit card payments can be 

made online at 

http://www.cbe.ab.ca/Parents/fees.asp 

In order to use the online system, a 

parent/guardian email must be registered 

with the school. Please contact the 

school if your email address has changed 

or you need to provide us with your email 

address. Alternatively, payments can be 

made by cheque, debit or credit card at 

the school. 

Student Leadership Team 

We were very excited to see the variety 

of projects submitted by students wanting 

to participate in the Captain Nichola 

Goddard student leadership team! We 

are in the process of choosing the 

students who will comprise our executive 

and be key contacts for different 

committees which will coordinate special 

events and activities throughout the year. 

The Student Leadership Team is open to 

all students. This team of students will be 

responsible for organizing and supporting 

groups of students who will facilitate the 

many special activities and events for our 

school. Some possible student 

committees may include: an environment 

team, a technology team, special events 

team... there are many, many 

possibilities! 

We have a great year ahead of us with 

lots of events for students to participate 

in! One of the first events for our students 

will be "We Day" on October 24th. This is 

the first year "We Day" will be in Calgary. 

Our school will be taking a group of 

leadership students in grades 6, 7 and 8. 

More information regarding “We Day” will 

be forthcoming. 

Thank you to all the students who took 

the time to submit an application and to 

the many students who have already 

emerged as leaders in our school. 

Ms. Wolkowski & Mr. Belcher 

Athletics 

Extracurricular Activities 

Congratulations to our cross country 

team who have competed in two races 

already. Divisional races will be held on 

October 4 th at Canmore Park at 5:00 pm. 

Good luck everyone! Our boys' and girls' 

soccer teams are off to a great start. With 

very little time to practice before their first 

games, both teams are showing vast 

improvements with each game. Keep 

working hard soccer players; you make 

us proud! Volleyball season has begun 

and our first girl’s game is October 2 nd at 

Balmoral School and our boy’s first game 

is on October 3 rd at Balmoral. It is 

tournament style with each team playing 

3 games a night. Good luck in this 

season volleyball players! Wrestling will 

be starting in October. Students should 

listen for announcements. Wrestling is a 

great sport where all interested students 

5 | 8




in grades 6-8 compete against peers that 

are their own gender, age and size. 

Gym Classes 

With an excellent start to our PE 

program, our students have been working 

hard at improving their fitness and skills 

in cross country, volleyball and soccer. 

During health classes, students have also 

spent some time reflecting on qualities of 

Canadian heroes. 

We remind students as the temperatures 

get cooler to please come prepared for 

the weather. Bringing sweat pants and a 

hoodie to wear over your Phoenix gear is 

a great idea! We have many students 

who are still waiting for their gym strip. As 

soon as the order arrives, students will be 

given their missing items in class. Any 

lost PE clothes have been put in the lost 

and found bin located in the gym. 

Replacements can be purchased once 

all students have received their first set. 

The complete package is $30 but 

separately the cost of a shirt is $10 and 

shorts $15. Thank you for your patience! 

Terry Fox Run 

The first annual Terry Fox Run was 

completed with great success on Friday 

Sept 28th. Our students and staff 

exceeded our fund raising goal and 

demonstrated spirit in the community 

while running/walking. A special thank 

you to Mr. Don Cowie for coming to our 

school to talk with us. I would also like to 

extend a HUGE thank you to the Terry 

Dream Team, a group of students who 

worked so hard the past two weeks to 

make this event possible. It was an 

absolutely perfect day with beautiful 

weather and an amazing sense of school 

spirit. Way to go everyone! 

Ms. Mandi Connolley 

Junior Girls Phoenix Soccer Team 

Our Girls’ Soccer Team is off to a great 

start! Made up of students from grades 

6-8, we have built a strong community of 

players. We are learning how to 

communicate with one another and 

develop strategies to improve our skills 

as a team. No one can deny the spirit 

our girls have for their team and our 

school. Go Phoenix! 

Coaches: Ms. Walker and Ms. Jones 

Photo ID Cards 

The safety and security of our students 

and staff is of paramount importance to 

us. To help ensure safety, part of our 

school protocol is that we require all 

students, staff and visitors to wear 

identification wile in our building. 

Personalized student ID cards have now 

been issued to most students. Students 

currently without a personalized ID card 

will be issued one sometime in October 

following our school photo session. It is 

important that students always know the 

location of their ID card. For this reason, 

students are responsible for securing 

their ID cards in their locker at the end of 

each day. Parents who discover ID cards 

at home are asked to remind their 

children that these need to remain at 

school. 

Learning Commons News 

During September, students visited the 

Learning Commons for discussions on 

Digital Citizenship and to explore our 

growing collection of resources. Now that 

each class has had an opportunity to 

review expectations and procedures, 

students will be able to access this space 

on a regular basis. Although each class 

has a reserved time in the Learning 

Commons each week, students are not 

restricted to this time for book 

exchanges. Students are welcome to 

6 | 8




exchange their books at any time during 

operational hours. When your child is 

finished with a book, they are 

encouraged to come and get a new one! 

At present, all students are able to take 

out two books at a time for a borrowing 

period of two weeks. Books can be 

renewed up to two times. Students are 

expected to take responsibility for the 

items they borrow from the Learning 

Commons. Parents are asked to help 

their children take good care of borrowed 

materials and assist in ensuring they are 

returned on time so that others can use 

them. Parents are responsible for any 

charges on their children's records for 

lost, damaged or late materials. 

Introducing Captain Nichola 

Goddard Staff 

The teachers and support staff of Captain 

Nichola Goddard have been working hard 

to provide an inclusive and engaging 

learning environment for your children. 

They include: 

Administrative Team 

Dr. Joy Chadwick, Principal 

Mr. Chris Keuben, Assistant Principal 

Mrs. Laura Dyer, Admin. Assistant 

Grade 4 Home Room 

Mrs. Kristi Bourelle 4A 

Mrs. Letitia Turner 4B 

Mrs. Lesley-Anne Banks 4C 

Mr. James Beechey 4D 

Mrs. Jenny Regal 4E 

Mrs. Ashley Folkerson 4E 

Grade 5 

Mrs. Michelle Doell 5A 

Mrs. Donna McMahon 5B 

Mrs. Lindsay Wolkowski 5C 

Mrs. Lillian Meloche 5D 

Grade 6 

Mrs. Dorothy Jones 6A 

Division II Learning Leader 

Mrs. Jennifer Walker 6B 

Mr. Jeff Belcher 6C 

Mr. Geoff Fast 6D 

Grade 7 

Mr. Steve Martin 7A 

Mrs. Michaela Mistal 7B 

Mr. Fraser Morden 7C 

Mrs. Julie Nelson 7D 

Grade 8 

Mrs. Deborah Rheinstein 8A 

Mrs. Laurie Lemmond 8B 

Division III Learning Leader 

Mr. Craig Dubray 8C 

Mrs. Maureen Brinker 8D 

Complimentary Core and Physical 

Education 

Mrs. Sarah Drew – Music 

Mrs. Amanda Connolley – PE 

Mr. Stephen Hart – Learning Leader 

Technology and Learning Commons 

Support Staff 

Sheila Ashton, Bookkeeper 

Deborah Brown, School Assistant 

Trina Cwik, Lead Lunch/Office Assistant 

Valerie Chamberlain, Educational Assistant 

Moira Dickson, Lunch Supervisor 

Jenny Leung, Lunch Supervisor 

7 | 8




Nichola Goddard Foundation 

As you now know, our school was named to honour the life, service and sacrifice of Captain 

Nichola Goddard. Captain Goddard was killed on May 17, 2006, in Afghanistan while 

leading a platoon under Operation Peacemaker. Captain Goddard was a committed soldier 

who believed that her service would create opportunities for others, specifically through 

education and development. We are honoured and humbled to have Captain Nichola 

Goddard's name attached to our school and proud to have her legacy live on in our 

community. 

Goddard's love of life, learning and service lives on not only through our school but also 

through the charitable work of the Nichola Goddard Foundation. Currently, this foundation 

supports projects that provide sustainable lighting solutions in Papua New Guinea, as well 

as postsecondary school scholarships in Canada. Given the natural synergy between our 

values and the mission of the foundation, we intend to support and highlight their efforts 

whenever possible. For more information, please visit the foundations website at 

http://www.nicholagoddard.com 

Page 8 | 8

connect | listening to parents and community members 

The Board of Trustees is committed to creating strong and vibrant school communities 

throughout our system. During this school year, we plan to engage in more direct and 

meaningful conversations with the people who help make this vision a reality. 

School councils play a vital and active role in our school communities. That is why we are 

taking steps to develop a more direct connection with school councils this year. By creating 

 

ol councils we will strengthen connections amongst all partners in public 

education. 

We have also provided school councils with 

tools and resources that we hope will help 

them do their work. The 2012-13 School 

Council Handbook, available online at 

www.cbe.ab.ca/schoolcouncils, is one of 

those resources. 

The Board of Trustees will also be meeting 

with business and community leaders 

throughout the year. At these meetings 

trustees gain a better understanding of the 

knowledge and skills our students need to 

thrive in life, work and continued learning 

beyond high school. These important 

conversations will help us improve one of the 

best public education systems in the world. 

There are many Calgarians who help our 

students succeed each and every day. We 

are committed to ensuring they all have a 

voice. Together, we can continue to achieve 

amazing results for students. 

Please feel free to contact us if you would like 

to get involved in our conversations with the 

community. 

School Newsletter, October 2012 

contact | Board of Trustees 

The Board of Trustees wants to 

hear your ideas or concerns about 

public education in Calgary. You 

can also visit cbe.ab.ca to learn 

more about the Board of Trustees 

and upcoming public board 

meetings. By ward, here are your 

trustees: 

1 & 2 | Joy Bowen-Eyre 

3 & 4 | Lynn Ferguson 

5 & 10 | Pamela King 

6 & 7 | George Lane 

8 & 9 | Pat Cochrane 

11 & 13 | Sheila Taylor 

12 & 14 | Carol Bazinet 

e | BoardofTrustees@cbe.ab.ca 

t | 403-817-7933

Newsletter | October 2012 - Calgary Board of Education

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