Dear William Reid Families,

We had a wonderful week at William Reid School! Trickster Theatre transformed our school into a full-fledged production space, and it was inspiring to see our students, staff, community volunteers, and the Trickster team create such high-quality performances together. We are deeply grateful to everyone who was able to offer their time and support throughout the residency.

This week also culminates in our Oktoberfest fundraising event—a celebration that reflects the ongoing care, commitment, and volunteer spirit that defines our school community. We look forward to gathering tonight, bidding on some great auction items, sharing some laughs, and enjoying one another’s company.

This week has truly highlighted what brings us together as a community. Nous travaillons bien ensemble!

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

Upcoming Dates and Events

Nov 25            Picture Retake Day

Nov 26             International Day (see #1)

Nov 27            No School for Kindergarten (see #2)

      • School Conferences Evening (4:00 PM- 8:00 PM)
      • Kindergarten Conferences (8:00 AM- 8:00 PM)
      • Fun Lunch – The Lunch Lady (Not for K & Gr 1)
      • Gr 1 – Telus Spark

Nov 28            Non-Instructional Day - No students

      • School Conferences (8:30 AM – 1:00 PM)

Dec 8-12        Owl’s Nest Book Fair (see #4)

Dec 11             Winter Concert (see #3)

Dec 17             Winter Market Event (see #6)

1.   International Day | November 26

Our student voice action committee engaged in conversation about how to create a greater sense of belonging at William Reid School. The students agreed that they would like to have an international day. To celebrate our international day, we would ask that students dress in clothes that they feel represent their culture or culture of origin. Additionally, we would love to have students bring in their lunch something that would be representative of their cultural origin. Please note that we are asking that students do not share their lunch with others. The intention is to create greater cultural understanding.   Cultures could be considered, a country, a province or a community that they feel a deep connection to.

2.   School Conferences | November 27, 28

Bookings will open on Saturday, November 22 @ 8AM and close at 6PM on November 26.

Grades 1- 4

Thursday, November 27 from 4:00 to 7:45 PM and Friday, November 28 from 8:30 AM to 12:45 PM

Kindergarten

Kindergarten Conferences can be booked from 8:00 AM to 7:45 PM on November 27 and from 8:30 AM to 12:45 PM on Nov. 28.

To accommodate Conferences on Thursday, November 28, there will be no kindergarten classes that day.

CBE Booking System (MyCBE)

Appointments will open on Saturday, November 22 at 8:00 AM. Please go to MyCBE and book under My Conferences. (Instructions below)

To book, please follow these steps:

1.    Log in to your myCBE parent account.

2.    Choose your child’s grade in the “Conference” drop-down menu.

3.    Read the “Conference Message” in the box to determine when the classroom or where the meetings will be held.

4.    Book the time with your teacher, this will be in person.

3.   Winter Concert Event | December 11, 2025

Trickster Theatre worked wonderfully with our students this week, and we are excited to showcase the culminating performance on our viewing evening, as we know many of you would love the opportunity to see the production. Thanks to the generous support of our School Council, a film crew professionally recorded the show. We will be hosting a special Premiere Event on the evening of December 11, 2025, from 6:45 PM to 7:45 PM. All students and their families are invited to join us at the school to watch the video recording of the Trickster production together at that time.

Additional details about the Premiere Event will be shared in William’s Weekly on Friday, December 5, 2025.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

4.   Owl’s Nest Book Fair| December 8-12, 2025

 

Please note that the Book Fair will be open the evening of December 11.

5.   School Council | Next Council meeting, December 9, 2025

There are still a number of positions that are open to fill. Please consider volunteering.

School Council

The next William Reid School Council meeting is Tuesday, December 9 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.

Fundraising Society – Open Roles

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

6.    Winter Market | December 17, 2025

We are excited to announce the Winter Market is back!!

On December 17, students will visit a market in the gym and “shop” for holiday gifts for their loved ones. This will be similar to a garage sale, where gently used items are donated by you, our school community. Each child will be asked to bring a list of people they will be shopping for, and loonies, toonies and small bills to “buy” the gifts ( $1 per gift is suggested, but optional - proceeds to the Calgary Food Bank). Once students have chosen their gifts, our busy parent volunteer elves will wrap each item so children can bring them home the same day.

Starting Nov 24 until Dec 16, students are asked to bring in previously enjoyed “treasures” from home that you would like to rehome. We are looking for previously enjoyed books, puzzles, games, knick-knacks, jewelry, art, etc., for Dads, Moms, caregivers, sisters and brothers (not for pets). No large items that are hard to wrap or bring home by the student, and no stuffies. We would also love donations of gift bags, tissue paper and wrapping paper! 

Please bring donations directly to Mme Moreau's classroom.

To make this special event a success, we need your help - come in and enjoy the holiday fun! Sign up to volunteer here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4EAEAB2AABFBC52-60550105-holiday#/

If you have any questions please contact Julie, julielinmccann@gmail.com, Rachel racheldekorol@gmail.com, or Mme Moreau jewalshmoreau@cbe.ab.ca

7.    EvenStart Winter Hampers – Message from School Council 

It is an annual tradition at William Reid School (WR) to support the EvenStart Foundation, in partnership with the Heartland Agency in Calgary, by helping families during the holiday season. This year we have the pleasure of sponsoring five (5) families in the city of Calgary who need a helping hand.

We encourage parents to engage their children in the process. Our goal of having our children participate in the EvenStart Christmas hampers is to foster a sense of community citizenship, service and engagement.

Use the links below to review instructions and family lists to learn how you can make a meaningful impact this holiday season!

Parent Volunteers

We are looking for 5 parent volunteers to collect gift items at their house for one Grade/Family. The pick up date by EvenStart Foundation is on Monday, December 15 between 9am and 12pm.

Volunteer Commitment Includes:

  • Having your home address & cell phone number made available to your fellow grade parents.
  • Collecting and storing donated gift items in your home until EvenStart comes to your home to pick up the donations on December 15. Please check off each gift item as they are dropped off using the table for your designated Grade/Family in the 2025 Christmas Hampers google sheet.
  • Being home on Monday, December 15 between 9am and 12pm to ensure collection by EvenStart.

If you wish to volunteer or if you have any questions related to the EvenStart Christmas Hampers, please contact Sarah Simms at sarahasimms@me.com.

Thank you in advance for your generous donations!

In the spirit of giving, we will also be assisting William Reid families in need.

William Reid Families to support

We are also collecting gift cards for certain William Reid families that need our assistance.

Donations will be restricted to gift cards and prepaid credit cards. Suggested gift cards may be for Walmart, Superstore, Safeway, Sobeys. Please write the $ value on the gift card.

DROP-OFF location: THE OFFICE at WILLIAM REID SCHOOL

The collected cards will be evenly distributed among the William Reid families in need by the school’s Principal, Kenzie Rushton.

Please mark the envelope for William Reid families as this is not affiliated with the Evenstart Foundation.

8.   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 

9.   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 12pm.

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

Healthy Hunger Volunteer Sign Up 

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