Dear William Reid Families,

We had a wonderful, yet very short week!

As we head into our residency week, we would like to thank all our William Reid families for what will be a wonderful and exciting experience! Trickster Theatre will be joining us for an Artist in Residence program next week. During this time, students will co-create an original theatrical production featuring every student in the school. We are in need of cardboard donations for prop-making, and we are seeking parent volunteers to support us with this special week. 

Also happening next week is our bi-annual fundraising event. Oktoberfest will be happening on Friday, November 21 – our biggest (and only) fundraiser! We are looking forward to having a wonderful turn-out in support of William Reid School!

Enjoy your weekend, and we look forward to an exciting week ahead.

Upcoming Dates and Events

1.    Trickster Theatre

Trickster Theatre is coming to William Reid School. This is a week-long artists in residence program where students co-create an original theatrical production featuring all our students. Trickster provides all of the curtains, lights, sound, costumes, and students are involved in making all props as the school gymnasium is transformed into a magical ‘black-box’ theatre with ALL the students performing in the final show!

With this event occupying our school for the entire week, we are seeking parent volunteers who can help out throughout the week. Please ensure that you have your police clearance prior to signing up.

William Reid Trickster Sign Up Genius

If parents would like to be involved with the residency, the sign up explains the different ways you can be involved.  As we are going with Shadow and Blacklight pieces then some parent help would definitely be useful.

Call for cardboard!

If you have any large boxes or pieces of cardboard, please bring them to the school as they will be used for making props for the production.

2.    School Council | Next Council meeting, November 18, 2025

Volunteer.

Parent Council is responsible for organizing a number of special activities throughout the school year. Every year we have turnover on our organizing committees, which provides an opportunity for new, enthusiastic parent volunteers to lend us their talents. We have open positions including Parent Council Chair, President Parent Society, VP Parent Society, Library volunteers, Naturalization volunteers, 2026 Casino organizer.

School Council

The next William Reid School Council meeting is Tuesday, November 18 at 7:00 PM. It will be held in-person and online via Microsoft Teams. All parents are welcome, it is an excellent way to stay up to date and be involved in school planning.

With parents “graduating” onto Elboya, the William Reid School Council (WRSC) and William Reid School Fundraising Society (WRSFS) are in need of filling roles for the 2025/26 School Year. Whether you have a few hours or want to take on a leadership role, there’s a place for you! Please contact wrchair@gmail.com with your interest.

School Council – Open Roles

• Chair – Leads meetings, sets agendas, and liaises with the principal and school community.

• Naturalization Committee – Lead the maintenance outdoor learning spaces; organize seasonal clean-ups and summer watering. Current lead is in their final year – ideal time to learn and step in for next year.

• Special Lunches – Manage monthly special lunch program and day-of logistics. Current lead is in their final year – ideal time to learn and step in for next year.

Fundraising Society – Open Roles

• President – Leads meetings, oversees fundraising, and ensures compliance. Holds signing authority.

• Co-Treasurers – Manages financial records, reporting, and budget planning. Current lead is in their final year – ideal time to learn.

• Casino Director-at-Large – Organizes volunteer shifts for next casino fundraiser (Fall 2026). Last casino raised $80,000.

3.    Winter Concert

Given the time we’ve recently lost and our upcoming Trickster Theatre residency during the week of November 17–21, we’ve made the difficult decision to modify this year’s Winter Concert.  Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough time for students to be fully prepared for a winter concert in a way that reflects their hard work and talent as they have done in the past

We know this news may come as a disappointment, as it’s not what any of us had anticipated. We sincerely appreciate your understanding, flexibility, and continued support as we make adjustments to ensure the best learning and performing experiences for our students.

Further information will come out in the coming weeks as to how our Winter Celebration will be modified.

4.    Seasons Changing

To maintain a clean and comfortable learning environment during these shoulder seasons as well as support our custodian in looking after our school, here are some reminders that we would like to draw your attention to:

1.     Please ensure that your child has clothing for changes in weather – winter hat, mitts or gloves; Layers for warmth; appropriate footwear

2.     Students are required to have a pair of indoor and outdoor shoes. Please ensure that your student has these and that their indoor shoes remain at school

3.     Students will be asked to take their shoes off when the weather outside is wet, this can lead to mud tracking into hallways and classrooms

5.    Oktoberfest Fundraiser

 Date Change – Friday November 21 at Last Best Brewing (607 11th AVE SW).

See the attached flyer.

The William Reid School Fundraising Society holds a fundraiser every two years called Oktoberfest. This is a fun event consisting of: an evening out; a silent auction that is hosted online and a live auction held during the evening. In the past, this event has raised in the neighborhood of $20,000 for the school. These funds go directly to the school, and this is the only event that the Fundraising Society hosts for the year to generate funds. 

6.    Jacket Racket

Each year William Reid school participates in Jacket Racket, a volunteer organization that collects, sorts and distributes gently used, clean, winter jackets, snow pants, hats and mittens to Calgary children through the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. 

Until November 21, a box will be set up inside the School across from the office for collection.  We are asking parents and students to donate gently used, warm winter jackets, snow pants, hats and mittens (no boots), in all sizes (from small sizes for young kids in Kindergarten to large sizes for teens in Grade 12).

We encourage you to generously support this worthy project. Last year, thanks to the collection of donations from 50 + schools and businesses, Jacket Racket was able to provide warm winter wear to over 2000 students in 100 + schools across the city.

Please visit http://www.jacketracketcalgary.com or contact Sarah Simms at sarahasimms@me.com for further details or if you have any questions.

7.    Healthy Hunger Special Lunch Volunteers

We are asking for three parent volunteers each month to come and help distribute the special lunches to each classroom. Lunch time for all classes is from 11:35am to 11:55am. The time expected for parent volunteers is from 11:10am to approximately 12:00pm.

Please click on the Sign-Up Genius link below to view the volunteer sign up for each month.

Healthy Hunger Volunteer Sign Up

8.    Items Lost at School

We have had a large number of items turning up in our lost and found. I would like to thank our parent volunteers that take the time each month to organize and take photos to share with our community.

Here are some things to keep in mind in relation to lost items.

1.     If you are aware of a lost item at school, have your child check our lost and found or come and check it in the morning during drop off time or pick up at the end of the day

2.     Should your child show up with an item at home that does not belong to them, please ensure that the item is returned to school and we will make our best effort to return the item to the rightful owner.

3.     Labelling your child’s clothing on the inside eases our staff's ability to find the owners of missing items.

Ongoing Fundraising Links

We have several ongoing ways that parents can contribute to our school financially throughout the year.

Financial Donations:

https://www.educationmatters.ca/project-matters/william-reid-school/

Bottle Drive:

Manchester Bottle Depot – 410 – 38aAve SE – Donate your bottles here for William Reid School

If you return your empty bottles to the Depot mentioned above and let them know that you would like your refund to be donated to the William Reid, the funds will come directly to the school.

Kind Regards,

Sheri Bullough
Assistant Principal
École William Reid School  
for
Kenzie Rushton
Principal | École William Reid School

“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things.”
Flora Lewis