Principal's Monthly Updates
Welcome Back!
As we settle into the rhythm of the new school year, we hope everyone is feeling refreshed and ready for new learning experiences! As an administrative team, we are very thrilled with the vibe in the school and the maturity students are displaying, especially with the new cell phone policies being put into place. We appreciate everyone’s support!
We are having an Open House Thursday September 19th from 4:00-6:00. This is an opportunity for students to show their families where they spend their days! Teachers will be in the building to share what the students are learning and the curriculum outcomes. Teachers will not be sharing individual information for each student at that time, but you are always welcome to check marks in Edsembli and contact the teacher for more information.
Communication and collaboration between school and home are essential for student success. We encourage you to check our website regularly for updates. We encourage you to reach out to your child’s grade level administrator at any time.
Interested in knowing what is happening in the school? Attend our school council meetings which take place every second Tuesday of the month. Our first meeting is October 8th at 6:30 and you can attend either virtually or in person. We will send out a link on the day of the meeting. If you attend in person, there will be snacks! Did you know we also have a Fine Arts Society and an Athletics Society? If you are interested, reach out!
Updates
We are going to have a Yearbook this year, but it may look a little different than in previous years. Next week we are meeting with students to get the ball rolling! If you are a parent with a skill set in this area and want to help, contact us!
Many Sports have started up, including Volleyball, Soccer, Golf, Football and Cross Country. Please note there will be no backpacks or bags permitted during home games this season
There are some choir and band trips coming up
Six of our students are involved with a student exchange to Spain and Quebec through Alberta Education the exchange students will be arriving at our school soon!
Life After High School Presentation (Parents and Students) on September 25th at 6pm in the AHSFA theater. This informative presentation will help guide students and parents through the post-secondary application process, scholarships, and what to do in preparation for students’ next steps.
Timetables are now complete, and we will be assigning school fees and sending emails once assigned
We welcomed several new staff this year!
Band teacher- Emma Ashcroft
Art Teacher- Shauna Kelly
Math teacher- Gary Lipon
Mechanics teacher – Jeff Laslo
Learning Coach -Cassi James
Science Teacher- Mattias Strom
Academic Counselor- Raji Samra
Secretary – Tamara Watkins
Learning Commons Facilitator- Carla Nott
Wellness Counselor (replacing Jamie Malcolm’s position)- Sabrina Hayward
New and returning Educational Assistants – Sbeydy Garcia, Jordan Harpell, Rachelle Droit and Jaquie Ragudo
Important Upcoming Dates:
Thursday September 19th - Open House 4:00-6:00
Wednesday, September 25th - Life After High School Presentation (Parents and Students) 6:00pm
Thursday September 26th - Orange Shirt Day
Friday September 27th- P.D. Day - No school for students
Monday, September 30th - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – No school
Tuesday, October 1st - Picture Day
Tuesday October 8th - School (Parent) Council meeting
Monday October 14th - Thanksgiving- No school
Monday October 24th - Sweet Show Case
EFCHS/AHSFA administrative team,
Kerry Welsh – Principal welshk@fsd38.ab.ca
Jeromy Hall- Vice-Principal Grade 10s hallj@fsd38.ab.ca
David Taylor –Vice Principal Grade 11s taylord@fsd38.ab.ca
Gina Kilbreath –Vice-Principal Grade 12s kilbreathg@fsd38.ab.ca
August 2024
Dear students, families, and community members!
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We hope you had a restful and enjoyable summer. As we embark on a new academic year. We are filled with excitement and optimism for the opportunities and experiences that lie ahead for our students, staff, and community.
As we begin this new school year, we want to emphasize the importance of fostering a positive and inclusive school culture. We are committed to ensuring that every student feels valued, respected, and supported.
Communication and collaboration between school and home are essential for student success. We encourage you to check our website regularly for updates. We encourage you to reach out to your child’s grade level administrator at any time.
Kerry Welsh – Principal welshk@fsd38.ab.ca
Jeromy Hall- Vice-Principal Grade 10s hallj@fsd38.ab.ca
David Taylor –Vice Principal Grade 11s taylord@fsd38.ab.ca
Gina Kilbreath –Vice-Principal Grade 12s kilbreathg@fsd38.ab.ca
School Start Up
A few items to note for school start up:
August 30th is the first day for grade 10 students. School starts at 8:30, and an assembly will take place in the gym at 9:00am. Please note there is no bussing available on that day. Lunch will be provided for all grade 10 students.
September 3rd is the first day of classes for all students. Lunch will be provided.
We often get questions about the school supply list for grade 10 students. Please note that students will need to bring a writing utensil and paper for the first day. All other supply requirements will be shared by individual teachers.
Bussing
A reminder that if your child rides the bus, you need to re-register annually. For more information, please follow this link:
Cell Phone Policy
As you may know, Education has passed a Ministerial Order that regulates the use of mobile devices in schools.
We are finalizing details on expectations in our school, and they will be sent to you shortly. We will also be sending out a student reference guide with other pertinent information.
Timetables
Timetables can now be viewed in Edsembli! If you are having issues accessing Edsembli, please contact the front office.
Student timetables were created based on course selections and teacher recommendations. Every effort was made to ensure your course requests/preferences were met. If you need to make a change to your courses for the 24/25 school year, please complete a course change request via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/T9NmvvHJQaDPM9NS8 . Students can submit the form once. Requests via email will not be accepted
There will be NO line up/in person changes this year.
All change requests MUST go through the form!
We will be accepting changes until September 6, 2024
Please remember:
We CANNOT accept requests for a specific teacher or to be with friends.
Multiple requests only slow this process down- you can submit your request ONCE!
Academic Advisors will be working hard to complete schedule changes, so please be patient
The evening before school starts, check your schedule to see if changes have been made.
If your requested change does not get processed, this means we were not able to accommodate your request!
Our class numbers are at capacity. VERY little movement and change will be available.
Parking
Parking passes will only be issued to grade 12 students for the 2024-2025 school year. Currently, there are 190 spots for students to park in the student parking lot or the angled parking. Based on last year's parking trends, we will be able to issue 225 passes.
Please fill out all sections of the Google Form listed below. If you have two vehicles that you drive regularly, please add the information for both vehicles. Once the form is completed, please bring your driver's license with you when parking passes are available. Students will be contacted through email to pick up their passes. Passes will be assigned in the order in which they are received.
Note: We can only give parking passes to valid drivers. Grade 12 students who obtain a valid driver's license during the year will fill out the forms at that time
Community Connection
There are many ways to support our school community. Did you know we have an active school council, as well as a Fine Arts Society and an Athletics Society? The Fine Arts society is looking for a treasurer for next year. If you are interested, please let us know!
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to a wonderful school year!
EFCHS/AHSFA administrative team,
Kerry Welsh – Principal
Jeromy Hall- Vice-Principal Grade 10s
David Taylor –Vice Principal Grade 11s
Gina Kilbreath –Vice-Principal Grade 12s
June 2024
Dear EFCHS/AHSFA families,
As students finish their final exams, and get ready for a well-deserved summer, we would like to thank you for your continued support. Our administrative team has seen amazing growth and leadership in the students over the 2023-2024 school year.
Here are a few upcoming items of interest:
Learner Profiles
Learner Profiles will be available the first week of July. They will be posted to the students’ Edsembli profiles. Edsembli will be unlocked to parents and students on June 27th to see individual marks and comments.
School Start Up
A few items to note for school start up.
- August 30th is the first day for grade 10 students. School starts at 8:30, and there will be an assembly first thing, and there will be a barbecue lunch. Please note there is no bussing available on that day.
- September 3rd is the first day of classes for all students.
- Timetables will be accessible in August prior to school starting. If changes are required, students can request adjustments via the Google Form that will be provided in our Welcome Back email.
- Student parking will open at the end of August. A Google form will be sent out to all grade 12 families.
Bussing
A reminder that if your child rides the bus, you need to re-register annually. For more information, please follow this link: Apply for Transportation (foothillsschooldivision.ca)
Cell Phone Policy
As you may know, Alberta Education announced a province-wide ban on cell phone use in classrooms. We will share information with you on how this will be implemented once it becomes available.
Community Connection
There are many ways to support our school community. Did you know we have an active school council, as well as a Fine Arts Society and an Athletics Society? The Fine Arts society is looking for a treasurer for next year. If you are interested, please let us know!
Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful summer!
The ÉFCHS | AHSFA Administrative team
June 4th, 2024
Dear Students, Families and Community Members,
Happy June! We hope you are enjoying the warm weather!
As we wind down the year, we want to thank you for your continued support. Our administrative team has seen amazing growth and leadership in the students over the course of the year! Graduation was amazing and we are excited to hear about the next chapters in the graduates’ lives!
To keep you updated on the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, would would like to share that Ms. Hellman is headed to Oilfields School as a vice-principal. She will be missed! It has been wonderful to have her on staff, but we know she is just a phone call away! Dave Taylor, a teacher at our school with a wealth of vice-principal experience, will be the grade 11 vice-principal next year.
Administration for the 2024-2025 school year will be
Grade 10 VP- Mr. Hall
Grade 11 VP- Mr. Taylor
Grade 12 VP- Mrs. Kilbreath
Principal- Mrs. Welsh
A few items to note as we begin the month of June:
All timetables for Foothills School Division will be accessible in August prior to school starting. They will not be released until then for a few reasons. Firstly, classes and teachers change over the summer. Secondly, every FSD school will be consistent in their approach.
Also, a reminder that if your child rides the bus, you need to re-register them annually using this link: https://www.foothillsschooldivision.ca/page/198/apply-for-transportation
If you are looking for the exam schedule, it can be found here: https://www.foothillsschooldivision.ca/foothillscomposite/_ci/p/18936
Upcoming Events:
June 3rd- Combined Choral Concert at Okotoks Alliance Church
June 3rd- Soccer Semi-Finals
June 6th – Music BBQ and Concert in the Gym
June 10th- Soccer Zones
June 12th- Last Day of Classes – regular school day
June 20th - Athletics Awards Banquet
August 30th- First day of classes for grade 10s only
September 3rd- First day of classes for all students
Thank you for your continued support, and for a fantastic school year!
The ÉFCHS | AHSFA Administrative team
Dear Students, Families and Community Members,
Happy May! Time is passing so quickly and there is so much to share!
Our ÉFCHS | AHSFA website is receiving an overhaul. We hope that these updates will help students, families and community members navigate it to find what they need more quickly. We encourage you to check it out and give us feedback so that we can continue to improve!
Students should have picked their courses for next year in a program in Edsembli. It was our first time using this program to have students register and there definitely were some setbacks. Thank you for your patience. We believe all challenges were resolved and it will be a much smoother process next time. Please know that courses are not prioritize on a first come first serve basis. We want to make sure all students have equal opportunities.
On that note, all timetables for Foothills School Division schools will be accessible in August prior to school starting. They will not be released until then for a few reasons. Firstly, classes and teachers change over the summer. Secondly, every school will now be consistent in their approach.
Last Monday and Tuesday, we hosted a conference at our school for all teachers employed by Foothills School Division. Sessions were run by several organizations and focused on how we can best support today’s students through a trauma informed lens.
Also, we want to make sure everyone is aware that if your child rides the bus, you need to re-register annually. Registration has not yet opened, but here is the link for more information: Apply for Transportation (foothillsschooldivision.ca)
Everyday there seems to be something happening at our school! Upon suggestions from a few community members, I will be sending a list of activities that take place during the month. If you are looking for more detailed information, check out our website where we are posting the announcements!
May 1- Grad Breakfast for Grade 12 students
May 3 - Red Dress Day
May 6 - Soccer Home Game vs Strathmore
May 7- 9 - Provincial Skills Competition in Edmonton
May 7 - Baseball Home Game vs Vauxhall@ Tourmaline Field
May 8- Baseball Home Game vs HTA @ Tourmaline Field
May 10 & 11 - One Act Plays Provincial Festival (advanced acting students)
May 13 - Math AP Exam
May 14 - One Act Plays in the ÉFCHS | AHSFA Theatre
May 14- Baseball Home Game vs HTA @ Tourmaline Field
May 14- Rugby Home Game vs HTA
May 16 -Grad Ceremony
May 17 -Grad Dance (BMO)
May 22 - Home Soccer Game vs STA
May 23 - Provincial Band Festival
May 29 - Fire Drill
May 30 - Alberta Music Festival
May 30 - Kyle Two Young Pines performance for Grade 10 students
May 31 - Alberta Music Festival
Thank you for your continued support and we hope you have a wonderful May!
Yours truly,
The ÉFCHS | AHSFA Administrative team
