École David Thompson Weekly Update | A Community of Excellence
Weekly Update – Thursday September 25 | Message de la semaine – jeudi 25 septembre
“Our common humanity is what we all share. No matter how long or difficult the path ahead, we are all one.” Dr. Chief Robert Joseph
David Thompson Newsletters are always available on our website!
Hello Tiger Families!
As the fall equinox ushers in a new season with crisp mornings, colourful leaves, and opportunities for fresh starts, we also take time to reflect and grow as a community. This week, some of our Grade 9 students attended WordFest and had the chance to meet author Bob Joseph during a presentation on 21 Things You May Not Know About Indigenous Self-Government. Tomorrow, we invite all students to wear orange shirts as we come together to honour Orange Shirt Day with meaningful activities in homerooms, time on the land, and an opening presentation from Cyrus First Charger. It is a day to honour Survivors, remember the past, and build understanding together.
It was so nice to connect with families at Meet the Teacher this week. We’re grateful to the many volunteers who made the BBQ, Book Fair, and Band Parent Meeting possible. We also appreciated having the City of Calgary’s Leadership program, LEAD program join us to support our community. The LEAD program runs Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the school year from 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm in the Learning Commons.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Lost and Found table. We loved seeing so many items reunited with their owners. This is the final call to claim anything still left behind. All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the day tomorrow.
Our soccer and basketball teams are off to a great start. The girls played short and still won against Fairview, and the boys brought home a win, too. Go Tigers!
Together, we’re building a warm and welcoming space for learning.
Warmly,
The David Thompson School Team
Items in this update:
- CBE Required Online Forms
- Staffing Updates
- CBE Caregiver Series
- Eastern Canada Caregiver Information Meeting
- Yearbooks
- Support our Learning Commons
- Important Dates
- Dates of Significance
CBE Required Online Forms
Currently, approximately 18% of students do not have a completed Demographic Verification Form for the 2025-26 school year. These forms are a legal requirement from Alberta Education. Forms may be found on SchoolEngage, which is one of the applications found in the MyCBE account.
To complete all required forms:
- sign in to the MyCBE account
- click on the SchoolEngage icon
- select the form
- complete or review and update the form
- click on Submit to send the form electronically to the school
- repeat steps 3-5 for each form
IPP Planning and Input
Our teaching teams are beginning the Individualized Program Planning (IPP) process for the year, and teachers are reaching out to connect with students and families with this in mind. These early conversations help us create meaningful, personalized learning goals based on each student’s strengths and needs.
If you haven’t connected with your child’s IPP key contact (often the homeroom teacher), and have diagnostic information to share or would like to share your perspective about strategies and goals that work, they’d love to hear from you. You’re welcome to email their homeroom teacher directly or Ms Shields, Student Services Learning Leader at dmshields@cbe.ab.ca.
Staffing Updates
We wanted to share a quick update with our school community. Mr. Arsenault our computers teacher and one of our PE team members will be away for at least the next month due to an injury. We wish him a smooth and speedy recovery. In the meantime, we’re pleased to welcome Mr. Allan Schlegel, who will be stepping in to support Mr. Arsenault’s classes during his absence. Mr. Schlegel is an experienced educator and we’re grateful to have him join the team.
CBE Caregiver Series
The CBE caregiver series present a series of free webinars presented by experts within Recovery Alberta and the Calgary community, the Community Education Service of the Mental Health Collaborative & Child & Adolescent Addiction & Mental Health and Psychiatry Program. Further information is available here: ces@recoveryalberta.ca | http://community.hmhc.ca | (403) 955 4730
- Oct 6 – Digital Dilemma: The Impact of Screens, Social Media and Gaming on Youth
- Oct 7 – Is your Child Struggling at School? It May Be Time for a Psychological Assessment
- Oct 8 – Level Up: Exploring the Impact of Gaming and Technology on Adolescents
- Oct 15 – Mental Health & Youth
- Oct 20 – Cyber Safety
- Oct 21 – ADHD is Awesome!
- Oct 22 – Executive Functioning Essentials for Parents
- Oct 22 – Vaping: What’s Really Going On?
- Oct 29 – Stressed but Strong, Anxious but Awesome: Understanding your child’s worries through a strength-based lens
- Oct 30 – Navigating the Pressure to Perform: Benefits of Well-Being Centered Identity Development for Children and Teens
Classroom at the Crosses – Free Educational Program for Youth
Classroom at the Crosses is a free Educational Program for Youth presented by Valour Canada. This, 2-hour educational program is designed for youth ages 7 – 14, offering a hands-on look at Canadian military history, peacekeeping, and service. Groups of 10 to 30 children rotate through three engaging sessions: Guided tour of the Field of Crosses, artifact handling – real military artifacts inside a heated tent and an interactive classroom session – featuring the Battle of Vimy Ridge or the Sinking of the Llandovery Castle
For more information please visit: https://valourcanada.ca/classroom-at-the-crosses/ or email Contact@ValourCanada.ca.
To register for this program, please visit https://bit.ly/4pyL4c5
- Date: Sat Nov 1
- Time: 10:00 AM - Noon
- Location: Memorial Drive - Field of Crosses (200 Memorial Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 3C2)
Grade 8 Eastern Canada Trip Caregiver Meeting
This year, we will once again be offering the Grade 8 Eastern Canada trip visiting Ottawa, Montréal and Quebec. This is an amazing opportunity for students to immerse themselves in French culture and language, providing authentic opportunities for students to practice their French! If you are interested in learning more about the trip, there is a mandatory parent information session. Questions can be directed to Mme Andrews at: naandrews@cbe.ab.ca
- Date: Wednesday, October 1st
- Time: 6:00 pm
- Location: Main Gym, École David Thompson School
Yearbooks
The 2025-2026 yearbooks are on sale now, and we are offering an exclusive back to school offer! With the purchase of a personalization on your yearbook, students can get up to 4 free icons added on their yearbook if they order before October 24th! Students can order their yearbooks here: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productBrowse/1114752/David-Thompson-School/2026-Yearbook/2025062404274547088/CATALOG_SHOP/ Questions can be directed to Mme Andrews at naandrews@cbe.ab.ca
Support our Learning Commons
That’s a wrap! The Scholastic book fair is now over. Thank you for your support of the Scholastic Book Fair this past week. It was great to see so many stopping in during meet-the-teacher night. We’re also excited to share that David Thompson School has once again been selected to participate in the Adopt-a-School fundraiser, in partnership with Indigo Crowfoot! — running from September 5 to October 5, 2025! This initiative helps us raise valuable funds for our Learning Commons, supporting reading and educational resources for all our students. Every dollar donated goes directly to our school to enrich our collection of books and learning tools. Thank you for helping us grow a love of reading in our school community! You can donate online here: https://indigoloveofreadingfoundation.givecloud.co/fundraisers/david-thompson-school-1
Important Dates
Sept 26 – Orange Shirt Day Marked
Sep 29 - Non-Instructional Day - No School
Sep 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - No School
Oct 1 – Girls soccer at RT Alderman
Jr Boys BB at Sherwood and Sr Boys at Fairview
Eastern Canada parent meeting
Oct 2 – Boys soccer Willow Park
Oct 6 - Jr Boys BB at Griffith Woods
Oct 8 – Sr Boys BB at Panabaker
Oct 9 – Sr Girls BB at Griffith Woods
Oct 13 – No School - Thanksgiving
Oct 15 – School Council
Sr Boys BB at Rideau Park
Oct 16 – Photo retakes
Sr Girls BB at Wilma
Oct 20 – Non-Instruction day
Oct 22 - Jr Boys BB at DTS
- Sr Boys BB at Rideau Park
Oct 23 – 6.1 and 6.2 to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
- Sr Girls BB at Wilma
Oct 28 – Military Studies field trip to Field of Cross
Oct 30 – 6.2 to Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
Oct 30 – Grade 7 Climbing trip
- Sr Girls BB at Griffith
