Inferno News - August 30, 2024

Inferno News: August 30th, 2024

Here is our weekly update of events and information for Greystone Centennial Middle School. 

Principal Message

Although our staff only had 2 working days to prepare for the school year, I have been blown away with how they have transformed the school from summer shutdown to be ready for students. I had a chance to meet every class this week, and look forward to getting to know all our students and their families over the coming weeks. September is a busy month, as our classes go over new routines, complete a variety of screens that help with planning and instruction. We are also starting a number of fall extracurricular programs. Please review below for information.

Open House & Meet the Teacher Evening

On Thursday, September 5th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm we will be hosting our annual Open House and Meet the Teacher Evening. This is an opportunity for you to come into the school and meet the teachers that will be working with your students. There is no centralized program, so you can come and go any time throughout the hour. We hope to see you there.

Picture Day

Picture day will take place on Monday, Sept 9th. Retakes will occur for those that want them and those that missed picture day on a later date.

Message From our Counsellor

Welcome to a new school year.  The Greystone Counselling Department offers a variety of information and support regarding academic, personal, social and career related matters. Our full time school counsellor, Mrs. Janie Scheidl, M.Ed, PMCC  works with individuals, small groups, staff and whole classes to deliver programming to meet the educational, personal, social and emotional needs of all students.  At GCMS, we have a referral process where students can access brief counselling support on an as-need basis. Services are also provided for individual and family concerns and referrals to outside agencies can be accessed through the school counsellor. Please contact Janie Scheidl at 780-962-0357 or janie.scheidl@psd.ca for more information.

Inclusive Education Lead (IEL) introduction at Greystone

Hello, my name is Ali White and I am Greystone’s Inclusive Education Lead (IEL). Did you know that each week the IEL meets with classroom teachers to discuss programming and support for students? I work alongside teachers, educational assistants, administrators, school counsellor, PSD support services and outside agencies to support the needs of all students at Greystone. This is my first year at Greystone and I am thrilled to be part of this school team!

Before and After School Parking

On the first few days, we have had some families using the handicap parking stalls to drop off/pick up their child without placards. Please do not use these stalls unless they are required, as we have students and families that require these spaces.

Closed Campus - Lunch Permission Forms

Forms are available for any student in grades 5-8 who would like to go home for lunch. You can print off your own copy, or pick up a copy at the office. Please return these forms to the office.

Only grade 9s are allowed to leave school grounds at lunch to visit neighbouring businesses, but need a permission form signed as well. For more details, please contact the office.

BYOD (Bring your own Device) 

Make sure your child's name is on their device AND the charger. Please ensure students can add a school account without a parental access code or add the secondary school account under your supervision to their home device. Students require their separate access to their home and school accounts. This is extremely important as without a school account they cannot log onto the PSD WiFi.

School Owned Devices

All students who don't have a device of their own will be provided a school Chromebook for the year or until they bring one of their own. Student devices are to stay at school at all times, they are NOT to go home. Only school accounts are allowed on school devices.

School Accounts

Social media or unauthorized games are not allowed on school accounts.

Language & Fine Arts & CTF Courses:

Our Language & Fine Arts courses will run as 2 separate terms this year, with French being a full year option.  Term 1 will run from September 9 until January 30; term 2 will run from February 3 until June 26 (exam dependent).  

Career and Technology Foundations courses will run on a 4 term schedule:

Term 1 - Sept. 9 - Nov. 7; Term 2 - Nov. 18 - Jan. 30; Term 3 Feb. 3 - Apr. 17 and Term 4 April 22 - June 26 (exam dependent)

Students were introduced to the options earlier this week, and completed their survey (top three choices) on Friday, August 30.  If your child missed Friday, have them ask their homeroom teacher to see the office for placement.  The course descriptions are posted on the website under Our Programs/Language & Fine Arts Courses. 

Cross- Country Running Team

Does your child love to run? The GCMS track team is starting off the year with 6 cross-country running events.  We welcome all students and skill levels from grades 5-9 to be part of our GCMS X-Country running team. Please encourage your child to attend the information meeting on Tuesday, September 3rd at the nutrition break in Mme.Wolitski's room (French room). Cross-country info letter

Grade 5 & 6 Choir

This year Greystone will be running a Grade 5/6 Concert Choir program on Tuesdays at lunchtime. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 3rd. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Putt at genna.putt@psd.ca.

Volleyball Tryout
Tryouts continue next week:

Senior Girls (Gr 7/8/9): Tuesday, Sept 3 (3:45-5:15)

Senior Boys (Gr 7/8/9): Tuesday, Sept 3 (3:45-5:15)

Junior A Girl (Gr. 6/7/8): Wednesday, Sept 4 (3:45-5:15) & Thursday, Sept. 5 (Lunch Hour)

Junior A Boys (Gr. 6/7/8): Wednesday, Sept 4 (3:45-5:15) & Thursday, Sept. 5 (Lunch Hour)

Junior B Girls (Gr. 5/6/7): Monday, Sept. 9 (Lunch Hour) & Wednesday, Sept. 11 (Lunch Hour)

Junior B Boys (Gr. 5/6/7): Monday, Sept. 9 (Lunch Hour) & Wednesday, Sept. 11 (Lunch Hour)

Administrative Procedure Changes: Parkland School Division has updated a few of their Administrative Procedures (these are documents that guide our school division) in the areas of instruction, assessment, and reporting. This year, there are a few that will have an effect on school-home communication, assessment, provincial achievement tests, and timelines regarding missed assignment deadlines. Please read below for a summary of the following changes.

September course communication (AP 201):  Parents will receive a course outline by the end of September, which will include:

• • The programs of study (curricula) that your child will be expected to learn;

• • The methods of assessment typically utilized;

• • The expectations for assignment completion and the process for attending to assignments that are not completed by the due date expected and/or missed learning, including missed learning due to student absence;

• • The methods that will be utilized for ongoing communication of student progress; and

• • The student's learning expectations that will be utilized to generate the student's final grade for the program

Provincial Achievement Tests weighting (AP 202):  Provincial Achievement Tests will now be weighted into a student's final grade. Students must write the provincial achievement test unless an exemption is granted by the Superintendent or designate which is applied for by the school:

• • The weighting for grade 6 PAT's shall be 10% of the student's final grade

• • The weighting for grade 9 PAT's shall be 20% of the student's final grade

• • Provincial Achievement Test exemptions may be provided, as approved by the Superintendent or designate, for special circumstances, including, but not limited to, medical conditions, special education requirements, or extraordinary personal circumstances that would otherwise prevent a student from writing;

So far, Alberta Education has only posted tentative dates:

• May 28, 2025 Gr. 6  ELA Part A
• May 29, 2025 Gr. 9 ELA Part A
• June 12, 2025 Gr. 6 and 9 ELA Part B
• June 13, 2025 Gr. 6 and 9 Math Part A
• June 17, 2025 Gr. 6 and 9 Math Part B
• June 18, 2025 Gr. 6 and 9 Social Studies
• June 19, 2025 Gr. 6 and 9 Science 

Assignment Due Dates and Late Completions (AP 202): Teachers have long worked with students and families around deadlines and late assignments. However, there are significant updates to this administrative procedure around submitting late work. If a deadline is missed, and a student fails to meet reasonable expectations of submitting a late assignment, a student will receive an assignment/exam grade of zero:

• Teachers shall set reasonable due dates for assignments, and assignments are due on the date expected;
  • Schools shall communicate the school procedure for unfinished or absent learning tasks;
  • Students, with the assistance of parents and/or guardians, may collaborate with teachers, on the due date or shortly thereafter, to determine an acceptable date for unfinished assignments past the date due;
  • Students who fail to meet reasonable expectations for an assignment’s completion, in consideration of the above bullet, shall expect that the assignment is marked incomplete and may, therefore, receive an assignment grade of zero.