Greetings West Dover Families

We had a wonderful evening on Thursday last week at the school at our Welcome Back to School event.  Several agencies from the community were present.  Many, many parents and families attended.  Our school council was present doing some fundraising. It was wonderful to meet folks and have a chance to have a conversation.  Please know, parents are always welcome to volunteer in our school.  We also need some parents to help on field trips.  For field trips, there is a security clearance required, and Ms Nicholls, our school secretary can help you navigate what needs to be done.

Please note, there is no school on Friday, Sept 27 - this is a non instructional day in schools across the CBE.  On Thursday, Sept 26, at 145pm in the gym, we will host our first monthly assembly of the school year.  Sept 26 is orange shirt day - if you want, and if your child has an orange shirt, feel free to send them to school wearing orange.  Orange shirt day is a day to remember the thousands of indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their homes and placed in a residential school, away from their families, language, and culture.  Residential schools existed in Canada for over 100 years, with the last indigenous residential school in Canada closing in 1996.  Indigenous families, along with all families are important members of our school community and we welcome and for the benefit of all students, embrace indigenous ways of knowing and learning in our school. Our school has made a commitment to action related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report led by Justice Murray Sinclair, that we deepen our understanding of trauma informed teaching practice.  Monday, Sept 30 is also a non instructional day, as it is the national day for Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous people whose language and culture have lived on the land in southern Alberta for thousands of years.

Looking forward to another fantastic week of learning. 

Roy Strum, Principal