Dear Falcon students and families,

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend and feel ready to take on Fall as all the leaves and signs of Autumn are here. This past week, our students began writing some of their first summative assessments, and our athletic teams started their seasons. On September 14 our students had their first Opportunity Wednesday of the year and many took advantage of the time by signing up at the Club Fair. This upcoming Wednesday will see our first Staff Collaboration Wednesday. Teachers will be meeting in their departments, but students will still have access to rewrite opportunities after collaborating with their instructors on a plan.

We are excited to host our "Meet the Teacher" event this Tuesday! Please RSVP so we can be prepared to greet you and to have a paper copy of your students timetable for you when you arrive. We are also looking forward to inviting our parents to join our first Bev Facey School Council meeting of the year on Tuesday, September 19 right after the Meet the Teacher event. Please look at the feature below for more information on how to attend either in person or virtually.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ken Wlos

Principal

Bev Facey's School Council meets every third Tuesday of the month from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in our school library. This Tuesday is our first meeting (and due to Meet the Teacher it will start at 6:15 p.m.) and as such elections for formal positions on the council will be conducted. Our council is vital to our school community, and we would love to see as many parents as possible attend. Please peruse the agenda and the minutes from last May's meeting via the PDF Links below the article.

Our last several meetings have been a hybrid model allowing our parents to attend in person or virtually, and many have let me know that this method is preferred moving forward. If you are interested in attending via Microsoft Teams the link is below.

Link to the BFCHS School Council Virtual Meeting ________________________________________________________________________________

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Meeting ID: 285 593 290 706
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+1 780-461-9551,,326756859#

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Phone Conference ID: 326 756 859#

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This Wednesday, Sept. 20 marks our first Staff Collaboration "Opportunity Wednesday" of the 2023-2024 School year. This early dismissal will happen on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Our students will finish their day at 2:17 p.m., busses, however, will not arrive until 3:17 p.m. Students will still receive the same number of required hours of instruction as we have manipulated our lunch hour to be slightly shorter. This revised schedule was implemented last year at all grade 10 to 12 high schools within EIPS.

Opportunity Wednesdays allow numerous advantages for our students, including the following:

• Academic Coaching - students can access all of their specific class teachers to review or relearn concepts that they may have not mastered or may have missed, work on CTS projects, etc. (All teachers will host academic coaching sessions every second and fourth Wednesday of the month).
• Rewrite Opportunities - students, after demonstrating that they have grasped a concept that eluded them through a formative activity, can gain the opportunity to do a Rewrite on a summative assessment. (Administration hosts rewrites in the Computer Labs every Opportunity Wednesday).
• Student Peer to Peer Opportunities - students may take part in opportunities for life skills learning and peer to peer support activities, which also may provide dual credit access to Early Child Education & support courses. (Through the Facey Friends program linked to our district programs students - offered every Opportunity Wednesday).
• Staff Collaboration - Teachers will meet and collaborate around improving practice and accessing Professional Development opportunities in their departments. (Collaboration days will occur every third Wednesday of the Month).

Students riding the busses are welcome to take advantage of the opportunities above or may decide to study in the library or commons areas until the busses arrive at 3:17 p.m.

We are looking forward to leveraging "Opportunity Wednesdays" in a variety of ways as we move forward. We feel strongly that this time will be able to not only provide a lot of support for our students academically, but also give students a chance to access some important presentations around preparing for life after High School.

Monday - Sept. 18, 2023

• Model UN - meets today in room 216 at lunch.
• Sr. Boys Volleyball team travels to Arch Bishop Jordan for a 6:30 p.m. game.

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Tuesday - Sept. 19, 2023

• Falcons Swim team practice- 7:00 a.m. @ the Kinsmen pool.
• Metro Golf Championships - Boys @ Links, and Girls @ Spruce Grove.
• Cross-Country Running team practice @ 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. (meet in the main foyer)
  
• BFCHS Golf team travels to the Links golf course (10 a.m. start)
• Jr. Girls Volleyball team travels to St. Peter the Apostle for a 5:30 p.m. game.
• Jr. Boys Volleyball team hosts St. Peter the Apostle for a 5:30 p.m. game.
• Meet the Teacher Night - 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
• School Council meeting today in the Library @ 6:15 p.m..

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Wednesday - Sept. 20, 2023 (Early Dismissal @ 2:17 p.m.- Opportunity Wednesday)

• Evacuation Drill - Block 2 (10:15 a.m.)
• Opportunity Wednesday - Teacher Department Collaboration Session from 2:17 p.m. to 3:17 p.m. Bus schedule will be a regular 3:17 p.m. pickup at school. Students can access rewrites and take part in peer to peer support with "Facey Friends".
• Cyber Defense Team - meets today at noon in room 216.
  
• Cross Country Team travel to- Rundle Park @ 4:30 p.m. for the Popsicle stick Team Relay Races.
  
• Junior Football team host Arch Bishop O'Leary @ Emerald Hills Park - 7:30 p.m.
• Sr. Boys Volleyball team travels to Memorial High for a 5:00 p.m. game.
• Sr. Girls Volleyball team travels to Jasper Place for a 6:30 p.m. game.

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Thursday - Sept. 21, 2023

• Falcons Swim Team Practice- 7:00 a.m. @ the Kinsmen pool.
• Jazz Band meets for practice at noon today in the Band Room (Room. 142)
• Robotics Club meets today at 3:20 p.m. in room 216.

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Friday - Sept. 22, 2023

• Facey’s Gender & Sexuality Alliance (Spectrum) meets today @ lunch in room 159! All are welcome!
• Senior Football team travel to play Austin O'Brien @ Johnny Bright Park - 5:30 p.m.
• Our Volleyball teams host the Falcon Junior High Invitational Tournament.
  
• Senior Girls Volleyball travel to the SCS Invitational Tournament.

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Saturday - Sept. 23, 2023

• Falcon Volleyball teams continue to host and work at our Falcons Junior High Invitational Tournament.
• Senior Girls Volleyball continue in the SCS Invitational Tournament.

Bev Facey Football continued this week with a fantastic win for our Senior Squad. They defeated Paul Kane in a game that saw our team put up a strong fight in the second half to pull out the win. Our Senior team now moves on to take on Austin O'Brien at Johnny Bright Field this Friday at 5:30 p.m..

Click the following link for the Sr. Schedule:

Falcons Sr. Football September Game Schedule

Click the following link for the Jr. Schedule:

Falcons Jr. Football September Game Schedule

September 19, 2023- University of Alberta Post Secondary Presentation

September 19, 2023 - Meet the Teacher Night - General Meeting in the Gym to start (5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.)

September 19, 2023 - School Council Meeting (6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) - Bev Facey Library

September 30, 2023 - National Truth and Reconciliation Day

October 4, 2023 - Early Dismissal - Staff Meeting (2:17 p.m. Bus pick up)

October 6, 2023 - Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

October 9, 2023 - Thanksgiving Day (No School)

October 25, 2023- Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences (5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)

October 26, 2023- Student-Parent-Teacher Conferences (5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)

Post Secondary Information Sessions

Our Counselling team has firmed up some Post Secondary Sessions in the next couple of weeks, and we will be promoting them via social media over the next few weeks. It's important for our students in Grade 11, and definitely in Grade 12 to attend these sessions in order to get as informed as possible about what is available to them in terms of post-secondary opportunities. Here are our current confirmed sessions:

• September 19, 2023 - University of Alberta Post Secondary Presentation - 8: 45 a.m -9:45 a.m.
  
• September 26, 2023 - Concordia University 1:1 Meetings - 1:00 p.m - 3: 00 p.m.

Next in Trades Apprenticeship Day

Alberta declares Monday, September 26 as Apprenticeship Day to recognize the contributions of apprentices to the province. Check out the link below for more information.

https://www.nait.ca/nait/about/events/2023/next-in-trades-apprenticeship-day?utm_source=web&utm_medium=homepage-feature&utm_campaign=sst-next-in-trades-home-page-feature

MacEwan University Open House

MacEwan University is hosting an open house on Saturday, November 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check out the link below for more information.

https://www.macewan.ca/future-students/open-house/

NAIT Jill of All Trades

Jill of all Trades s a full-day event designed to acquaint female high school students with the exciting possibilities of pursuing fulfilling careers in skilled trades. This years event will be held on November 23rd.

https://www.nait.ca/nait/schools-programs/school-of-skilled-trades/beyond-the-classroom/jill-of-all-trades