Welcome Banting and Best School Families to the 2023-2024 school year!

We would like to offer a warm welcome back to our returning families and a special welcome to our new families and students. We are very excited to welcome all students back for the first day of school on Thursday, August 31 at 8:00 a.m.

We hope that your summer has been a safe one, filled with fun family activities while enjoying the wonderful sunshine.

Start-Up Procedures – Kindergarten

We are fortunate to be able to offer Full Day Kindergarten again for the 2023-24 school year. Classes will begin on Thursday, August 31, 2023 with the first 6 days being a staggered entry. Please meet on the compound by the doors at your designated time.

Start-up Procedures – Grade 1-3

On the afternoon of Monday, August 28, teachers sent out their welcome letters and introductions. We are very excited to welcome students back. Please note that this year we will be hosting anOpen House on Wednesday, August 30th from 1:00-2:00 pm. This is an optional opportunity for students and their parents/guardians to come for a quick peek of their classroom and meet their teacher.

On the first day, teachers will be meeting their classes outside in the field. Teachers will be wearing reflective vests and will have a sign to indicate their meeting place.

Students who arrive on the bus will be supported by staff to find their teachers and classrooms.

Class Lists

Staff have made careful considerations and collaborated in thoughtful planning to create well balanced class lists. As such, classroom moves will only be occurring due to significant changes in registration.

Arrival & Dismissal

All students will enter and exit through their assigned doors (see below). If students are late, they are to enter through the front door and check in with the Office. Soft entry is from 8:00-8:10 a.m. This means that students are able to enter the school through their designated doors starting at 8:00 a.m. and head directly to their classroom. Their teacher will be there to welcome them. Classroom instruction begins promptly at 8:10 a.m. We are working very hard to reduce the number of lates at the school as this not only impacts student work in the classroom but also creates large demands on the staff.

Door	Teacher	Room	Grade
North Door	Ms. Frank	6/7	Kindergarten
	Ms. Laviolette	6/7	Kindergarten
	Ms. Fink	5	Grade 1
	Ms. Hahmo	17	Grade 1
South Door	Ms. White	1	Grade 2/3
	Ms. Mitchell	2	Grade 2/3
	Ms. Proctor	4	Grade 2/3

If you need to pick up your child early from school, please check in at the front office. You will be required to sign them out.

Medication / Health Forms

Health forms will be available through the online forms, more information to come. If your child has a severe allergy and/or requires medication, please inform your child’s teachers and ensure the office has the necessary information and medication. All medication needs to be dropped off by an adult. The Student Health Plan paperwork is critical for us to be able to support your child.

School Supplies

All or your child’s supplies will be distributed at school by their classroom teacher. The fee for school supplies will be uploaded to your MyCBE account in September.

What to bring to school

• A backpack
• A personal labelled water bottle
• A packed lunch and snack. Please include all utensils your child may need.
• Labelled Running shoes (to be used indoors, appropriate for Physical Educational activities and kept at school)
• Labelled Outdoor clothing: be prepared for the changing weather throughout the day
• Please leave toys, trading cards and valuable items at home.

Parents / Visitors / Volunteers

For September, we will not have volunteers. This allows classrooms time to build community and settle in. Completing your registration and Police Check early will ensure you are ready for classroom volunteering opportunities when they become available.

Breakfast Program

Our school has a universal Breakfast Program. All students are invited to select items from our healthy choices items each morning from 8:00- 8:15 am. Due to safety considerations, these items will be put away promptly at the end of this time.

Communication Methods

Open, continuous communication is of utmost importance throughout the school year. We communicate through SchoolMessenger emails. Please add us to your contacts to avoid our messages going into the junk folder. The school website news is updated regularly. Teachers will be sharing their forms of communication with you over the coming weeks.

Don’t miss out on school messages! To ensure you receive important information from our school and the Calgary Board of Education, please: Subscribe online to receive commercial electronic messages on school topics such as student fees, picture days, field trips and fun lunches. (The link will open into a separate website managed by SchoolMessenger, our mass communication tool.)

School Calendar

Please visit our school website for our school calendar. The “About Us” tab links the calendar page, or click here for the link.

Bussing

Please know that bussing decisions are not made at the school level. If your child typically takes the bus but will not be riding the bus at the end of the day, please contact the main office and the teacher to let them know ahead of time. If you are bringing your child on the first day of school and they are taking the bus home, please ensure they know which bus they are on.

We are looking forward to working alongside you to provide a positive, exciting, productive, successful, and safe school year.

See you on August 31 and we hope you enjoy the rest of your summer!

Warm Regards,

Kim Durnford, Principal
Heather Seymour, Learning Leader