SWH Cougar Tracks 2023-2024

Happy Friday!

To help students and parents stay in the loop as far as all things Sherwood Heights, our Cougar Tracks newsletter will be our weekly communication tool. Be sure to watch for email notifications at the end of each week and you can also find each of the latest and greatest Cougar Tracks newsletters posted on our website!

We hope that these first couple of weeks have been welcoming and smooth for all of you! It is clearly evident that there is great energy inside the building and out in the school yard. We are grateful to our staff and students for helping us have such a great start up! We are appreciative of all the support we have received as well as the warm welcomes.

Grade 7 Week of Welcome

Our grade 9 leadership students have been planning activities for next week to welcome our grade 7’s to the building. On Monday, all grade 7 students are welcome to join us at lunch for a picnic. They are encouraged to bring a blanket to sit on and there will be lemonade provided! Tuesday and Wednesday we will be doing our Fly on the Wall competition. Each homeroom will choose one student to get duct taped to the lockers. Last homeroom with a student hanging on the wall wins donuts for their class! Thursday we will have dodgeball in the gym for Grade 7’s only and we’ll wrap up the week with a scavenger hunt and pie the teacher event on Friday. This is only the start of a year filled with activities!

Our Junior and Senior Volleyball teams are gearing up for an exciting season, Mrs. Alexander has updated us on all of the current athletics schedule and news below.

We also have opened up the opportunity to make course change requests. Please remember that these are requests and we will assess and consider but, unfortunately, not all requests can be granted. The deadline to submit these requests is noon on Wednesday, September 13. You can click the course change button below.

Here are a few reminders we would like everyone to keep in mind:

• Doors will be open at 8:20am. Please be mindful of this particularly as the outdoor temperature starts to dip.
• When dropping off your student(s), please ensure you are doing so in the designated drop-off areas. Staff parking lots are not to be used for student drop off or pick up.
• While we are an open campus; students can leave campus at lunch, student must return to school by 1:09pm as afternoon classes begin shortly thereafter. School rules and expectations for behaviour still apply when off school property.
• Student Attendance: If your student(s) will be late or absent, please notify our Mrs. Shiloff, our Attendance Secretary. You may call SWH directly at 780.467.5930 and press 1 for 'Attendance' or click the Attendance button below to be redirected to our Contact page on our School Website where you can select 'Student Attendance - Mrs. Shiloff' in the dropdown box.

Enjoy your weekend and we will see you all bright and early on Monday morning!

Please note: This is a REQUEST form. We do not guarantee that you can make changes to your schedule but we will consider your request and do our best. All request forms must be submitted by noon on Wednesday, September 13 to be considered.

Click here for Option Change form.

Be sure to check in frequently for updates as the come!

Sept 6: Early Dismissal

Sept 7: Running Club is every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 3-4:00pm starting Sept 7! Come run and/or prepare for the upcoming Cross Country season.

Sept 8: School photo day - RETAKES -OCTOBER 19

Sept 11-15: Week of Welcome -

• Monday September 11- Picnic and Lemonade
• join us on the soccer field for free lemonade! Bring your lunch and enjoy a picnic outside
• Tuesday September 12 - Hot Chocolate in the Morning! Grab a free hot chocolate and snack as you walk into school to enjoy in your period 1 class
• Fly on the Wall Round 1 at lunch: Homeroom 70, 71, and 73 will choose a student from their homeroom to tape up to the lockers at lunch
• Wednesday September 13 - Fly on the Wall Round 2 at lunch: homerooms 74, 75, 77 will choose a student from their homeroom to tape to the lockers at lunch
• Thursday September 14 - Dodgeball. Come to the gym for the second half of lunch and play dodgeball
• Friday September 15 - Scavenger hunt and pie a teacher: join the scavenger hunt around the school during lunch for a chance to win the best prize... getting to pie a teacher in the face!

Sept 14-16: Senior Volleyball tournament - Girls venue -LLR - Boys Venue ABJ

Sept 21-23: Junior Volleyball tournament

**venue to be in next newsletter

.....Stay tuned for the official League schedule.....

Sept 20: Meet the Teacher 5-6, School Council 6-7

Sept 27: Cougar Mile

Senior volleyball teams have been chosen and practices are under way to get prepared for the upcoming EIAA tournament (September 14-16).

Junior teams will complete their tryouts next week, and get ready for their EIAA tournament (Sept 21-23). The junior B teams will also be selected and practices with start up the following week!

As always, check the athletic calendar online or by the gym for the most up to date schedule!

In other news, we've hit the ground running (pub intended) with our Running Club which will meet every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday until the EIAA meet on Oct 4 and the Zones meet on Oct 13.

Our schools Cougar Mile is set for September 27. More info about this day will be discussed in phys Ed classes!

Any parents or guardians interested in coaching or assistant coaching any sports in the 2022-2023 year please contact Kristin Alexander.

Mental Health has been identified as an EIPS priority this year and in response, Sherwood Heights has introduced several new ways to access student support.

Mrs. Jessica Moen is in the role of School Based Social Worker this year at SWH. Mrs. Moen’s primary role is to facilitate connections among family, school, and community to assist with positive growth. She works as part of the multidisciplinary team to help our families set goals, integrate interventions, plan strategies and arrange resources that will help students be successful in school, at home, and in their community. She offers support services in a variety of formats (individuals, families, and groups), in a variety of settings (school, home, community settings) and is the primary connection with many community agencies. Mrs. Moen can be found in her office beside the vending machines across from the main office and contacted at jessica.moen@eips.ca or by phone at 780-446-3222.

Referrals for ALL student support services can be done using any of the following ways:

• Scan the QR code posted around the school and on the Student Support Bulletin

• Fill out the Need To Talk form

• Email: jessica.moen@eips.ca

• Visit us in person in our offices

Calling all SWH parents! We're looking for volunteers to provide snacks for our dedicated staff on the first Wednesday of every month. Your small contribution of snacks can go a long way in showing our appreciation for the hard work our staff puts in.

Sign up using the link Staff Meeting Snack Sign Up join us in expressing our gratitude and community spirit. The dates are provided within the form. For any questions or more information, please contact Jessica Moen at Jessica.moen@eips.ca . Thank you for helping us make staff smile with snacks!

Our monthly Smudge Ceremony is starting on October 5th, taking place in the school library. This will be held on the first Thursday of every month at 11:45 AM in the library. This meaningful tradition offers an opportunity for our Indigenous community at SWH to come together in a spirit of unity, respect, and mindfulness. During the ceremony, we will honor the Indigenous culture and heritage through smudging hosted by our district’s Indigenous consultants, together we will explore a deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous traditions and values.

We encourage students who want to join us in the library to come to the office to sign up for a consent form before we begin, this is an open group that all students can join anytime throughout the year! If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to reach out to Aaaron.tuckwood@eips.ca

School fees for the 2023-2024 school year will be posted on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. Throughout the year, fees are often added to cover the costs for various activities, such as field trips, extracurricular activities, and late, damaged or lost textbooks. Please watch for "School Fees Due" in our newsletter in the next couple of weeks.

To access your fee information, simply log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal and go to “Student Fees.” There you can view fees and pay them online using a credit card. Make sure to monitor your child’s account on an ongoing basis.

For more information about school fees, waivers and payment deadlines, visit eips.ca/schools/fees. And, if you have questions, think there is an error or need help creating a PowerSchool Parent Portal account, contact your child’s school directly before the summer break.

NOTE: Pursuant to Board Policy 23: School Fees and Administrative Procedure 505: School and Administrative Fees, EIPS will forward any unpaid 2022-2023 fee amounts to a collection agency. To prevent this from happening, remember to pay your fees before August 31, 2023

Enjoy browsing a wide selection of products from a variety of brands that you can then customize with the approved logos and graphics found on the site. Display your pride in fantastic apparel customized entirely by you. Our site lets students, parents, fans, & staff choose from approved merchandise to fit their needs 24/7 with no minimum order quantities. All orders are shipped directly to your own home!

2023-2024 Online Cougar Wear Store

Resources for Families

Community Supports

Family and Community Service

(FCS) call-in hours 780-464-4044

Monday, Fridays: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868

The Distress Line 780-482-4357

Strathcona Food Bank - 780-449-6413