William D. Cuts Newsletter
December 2023
MESSAGE FROM ADMIN
Only 12 days until winter break (but who’s counting). December 22 marks the last day before the two-week break. Dismissal on the 22nd will be at noon, and students will return to class on January 8.
Thank you for your diligence in keeping students home when they are sick. There are some nasty bugs going around, and we have seen them hit the school population. Teachers are doing their best to keep Google Classrooms updated so students can check on what is being done in class, and there is flexibility with due dates.
Thank you to all of the school volleyball coaches for all the work ensuring a successful season for all of our teams. Basketball is well underway with teams being picked and exhibition games scheduled. League play will start after the break. The improv team has also been working hard to get ready for upcoming performances and competitions. Performances are always really entertaining; stay tuned for dates to come watch.
The food bank bingo run at WD Cuts was a big success, with over 500 pounds of food being collected. Thank you to the leadership students and teachers for the work in organizing this event. The leadership students will also be running a marketplace at school on December 13, with all the proceeds going to charity as well. The Hockey Academy will also be collecting donations for the Ben Stelter Foundation at the showcase event on December 15.
Thanks for the ongoing support of WD Cuts. Have a great break.
Cory and Matt
REMINDER
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday, Dec. 13 - Winter Market Place
Friday, Dec. 22 - Early Dismissal 12:00pm
Monday, Dec. 25 -Friday, January 5 - Christmas Break
Wednesday, Jan 10 - Early Dismissal 12:00pm - Staff Meeting
Tuesday, Jan 30 - Last Day of Semester 1
Wednesday, Jan 31 - PD Day - No School
DID YOU KNOW
PIZZA MONDAYS!
Options:
Cheese, Pepperoni and Hawaiian
HOCKEY ACADEMY SHOWCASE
SOUL FIRE
HOT LUNCH
WDCUTS PARENT COUNCEL IS RUNNING HEALTHY HUNGER
TO PARTICIPATE IN FUN LUNCH, we ask that you agree to these points below prior to ordering for your child. HealthHunger
1. When you know your child will be away, and have adequate notice, we ask that parents cancel their fun lunch through the Healthy Hunger website directly. This includes instances such as planned out of school field trips, medical or dental appointments, or families choosing to keep their child home for other circumstances. If you know your child is going to be away, please cancel your fun lunch order. Healthy Hunger has a 5 day cut off window where you can cancel your order without issue and receive reimbursement in your original form of payment. For, the cut off is the previous Friday evening.
2. We also know there are many instances where students may be unable to attend school unexpectedly and with very little notice. Should your child be away due to illness or any other unexpected circumstance, parents will need to notify our hot lunch coordinator by email to wdcutsparents@gmail.com or telephone the school to make alternate arrangements. This MUST happen before 11 AM on the day of hot lunch. Any other requests, sent in other ways (e.g. to your child’s teacher) or after the deadline, cannot be considered so please plan accordingly.
Please provide specific instructions about what should be done with your child's lunch.
• If you wish to pick up at the school, you may do so only after 12:30 PM on the hot lunch day. Items must be picked up the same day for food safety reasons.
• If you would like the lunch to be sent with another student, please clearly indicate the name of that student and their class number (or teacher).
• We are unable to hold lunches overnight or provide any other arrangements.
**If you do not provide instructions for your child(ren)'s fun lunch prior to 11 AM as outlined above, the volunteers will use their discretion to determine next steps. This may include donating the lunch or discarding it.
We ask that you treat our volunteers with kindness and respect at all times. We could not do this without them!
Thank you for your ongoing support of our fun lunch program. It provides valuable fundraising dollars to our school.
-The WD CUTS FUN Lunch Team wdcutsparents@gmail.com
SCHOOL FEES
2023/2024 SEMESTER 1 SCHOOL FEES/OUTSTANDING BALANCE ARE NOW DUE
WE WOULD APPRECIATE PAYMENT IN FULL FOR SEMESTER 1 FEES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Payments can be made through the PowerSchool Parent Portal using a Credit Card or a Visa Debit Card. (Please note that all debit/credit transactions are subject to a 2.4% service charge.) If an online payment is not an option, you may send cash or cheque to the school office with your student (payable to: St. Albert Public Schools 5565).
For Academies: Through PowerSchool you have the option of creating a Payment Plan by adding the academy fee to your basket, (only the academy fee no additional fees) and from there you can create instalments.
If you have any questions/concerns regarding your school fees, please contact Jolene Metcalfe at 780-458-8585 or email jolene.metcalfe@spschools.org
For access to the PowerSchool Parent Portal click here: https://spschools.powerschool.com/public/home.html
If you are having trouble accessing the PowerSchool Parent Portal, please contact: wdc@spschools.org
PICTURE DAY
REMINDER ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA USE
As we near the mid-way mark of the semester, we want to remind parents about the responsibilities students have when using social media platforms, especially those that are video-based:
Obtain appropriate consent from individuals - peers AND teachers - who appear in video, audio recording and images before forwarding them to other people or posting them to online spaces.
Before recording, be transparent about the purpose of the video, audio recording or images. Recording things with underlying motives and posting them out of context is not appropriate.
Respect others and communicate in a supportive way. Never participate in harmful, inappropriate or hurtful online behaviours.
We encourage you to have conversations with your children about social media regularly. Supporting them as they transition through adolescence and into adulthood will only help them become the best version of themselves.
For more information about our division policy about Acceptable Use of Technology, please visit the division website.
Willliam D. Cuts Junior High School
Email: wdc@spschools.org
Website: wdcuts.spschools.org
Location: 149 Larose Drive, St. Albert, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-458-8585