Dear David Thompson families, 

With the arrival of summer, you undoubtedly find yourselves drawn toward the outdoors, more time with family and friends, a slower pace, as well as hobbies or plans that may have been set aside over the course of the school year.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff in creating a welcoming, inclusive, safe and caring environment through these challenging times.  Thank you to all of our teachers for your hard work and perseverance in designing engaging and meaningful tasks.  Also, thank you to those teachers who also volunteered to coach teams, run clubs, organize fundraisers and theme days, plan field trips, and most importantly take time to listen to, laugh with, and encourage everyone in our learning community.  In addition, thank you to our support staff who have continued to be so instrumental in the day-to-day operation of the school. 

I would be remiss not to express my sincere thanks to caregivers.  Your flexibility, understanding, and support for your children and our school is truly appreciated.  Teachers have valued your focus on supporting your children and for your words of encouragement and kindness during these uncertain times. 

Lastly, I want to thank all of our students.  You are the reason we come to school every day.  Your enthusiasm and energy feeds our soul.  Without you, teaching would simply be a job.  Thank you for giving our work purpose and meaning.  We are immensely proud of your accomplishments and your resilience.  We look forward to seeing you continue to grow in the years to come.   

Summer Learning 

For families looking for ideas to reinforce mathematical thinking, read and writing, and wellness, here are some ideas: 

Math 

• Talk about the likelihood of events.  For example, the likelihood of rain, a team making the playoffs, etc. 
• Work on puzzles or play cards or board games that involve mathematical thinking 
• Make your mathematical thinking visible to your children.  For example, how you estimate the supplies you need for a home project, estimating time to travel somewhere, estimating the price after a discount or with taxes, or your budget for groceries or a trip. 
• Look for shapes and patterns in real life. 

 Reading 

• Have lots of reading materials available around your house.  
• Model lifelong reading by setting aside time each day to read at home and talk about it 
• Read the same book as your child and discuss it 
• Rent or buy audio books to listen to when driving in the car with your children 
• Take your child to the public library, visit their website, and go to a bookstore to find materials that reflects your child's passions or interests.  Try not to object to their choice, even if it is a teen pop star biography. 
• Language is all around us; when you are out with your children, talk about what you notice.  This might be a great pun, literary allusion, metaphor, or interesting word.  
• Find time every day to have a conversation with your child.  Not only does it build self-esteem and improve social skills and connections, but it can also help them become better communicators and improve their vocabulary, which is key in improving reading comprehension, writing and speaking skills. 
• French immersion students need exposure to a lot of different books, but more importantly, they need to be offered highly interesting texts that make reading fun!  Use this link to some recommendations for middle school French Immersion students.  I encourage you to do a Google search alongside your children to find books just right for them.  Many websites allow you to “look inside,” which allows kids to check the level of French and gauge how interesting it is to them.  Chapters allows you to filter searches by grade for French Immersion books. 

Wellness is also an important part for families to consider.  Here are a few ideas: 

• Go for a nature walk or take part in other physical activities 
• Start a project as a family 
• Rediscover old family recipes or find new ones you can do together 
• Get away from screens, particularly social media 
• Plan staycations as a family that incorporate everyone's interests 
• Create a jar of fun things that require little organization and pick one each day to do as a family 
• Explore mindfulness or meditation techniques 
• Reconnect with friends and family you haven't seen in person in a way that respects local health guidelines and bylaws 
• Take up journaling 
• Celebrate small successes 
• Reach out to professionals if someone is finding it hard to cope. 
• Spend some time with the land. Go for a walk and notice seasonal changes. What are you noticing for the first time this year?  
• Attend a Powwow! There are lots of events scheduled in and around Calgary! 

We look forward to an exciting return to school in the fall!  Be sure to continue to visit our website for back-to-school information and the CBE corporate website for the latest announcements regarding back-to-school plans. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful summer break surrounded by friends and family.  Take care of yourself and each other, and we will see you in the fall! 

Chris Keuben 

Principal  

École David Thompson School