William D. Cuts Newsletter
March 2024
Message From Admin.
March 2024
The snow has finally arrived which is good news for Ski Club. The last Rabbit Hill trip was February 28, and the wrap up is a trip to Marmot on March 20. A huge thank you to our custodian Tom for the countless hours clearing snow from around the school. Hopefully spring is right around the corner, and we get a lovely spring break. The first day off for students is March 22, and classes resume April 2.
March also has us looking forward to next year. Registration for new students to the division is now open, and returning student registration will open March 4. Links to register are on the school and school division websites. The school open house on March 5, 6:30 to 8:00. There will be a Rec Academy information session at 6:30 in the gym, and Pursuit Program session at 7:30. Registration for both of these programs will open March 6 at 9:00 AM on the W.D. Cuts website.
Option selection for next year will open on March 11 at 9:00 AM, and is done through PowerSchool Parent Portal. If you do not yet have an account set up, you will need to contact the office to do so. When you are logged into the PowerSchool Parent Portal, click on the “Class Registration” tab on the left hand side of the screen. This should bring you to the option selection screen. Students who are not in the Recreation or Hockey Academies will need to choose a total of 8 primary options and 2 back ups. There will be 4 option classes each semester next year. The program uses “credits” to describe the course weightings. Each class is 0.5 credits and an overall total of 4.0 credits must be selected in order to be able submit. Once everything is entered correctly there will be green check marks beside each of the sections.
For those students who are registered in the Recreation or Hockey Academies, these must be chosen as one of your primary options. Rec and hockey will each count as 3 credits so only 2 more primary options need to be selected, as well as 2 back ups. A detailed description of the option courses is available on the school website. If there are any questions regarding any of the processes for next year do not hesitate to reach out. Registration for the school must be completed before options can be selected.
Cory and Matt
Unsung Hero Feburary 2024
Each month, staff members nominate students in our building who demonstrate what it means to be an unsung hero. An unsung hero is someone who embodies hard work, integrity, and inclusivity, often without the need for recognition or acknowledgement of their efforts.
Kayla.J
Lexi.J
Ayla.B
Thane.W
Cooper.F
Maguire.W
Geode.Y
William.F
Alexis.Q
Hailey.R
Ryker.C
Leni.B
Ava.J
Tessa.N
Emma.R
Wildfire Junior Improv Festival
Overnight Jasper Trip, February 2024
2024-2025 Transportation
The 2024-2025 Bus Pass: Application is now available on the BusPlanner Portal.
Bus routes and stop locations are set based on applications received before June 1, 2024. Please do not wait to apply.
A few factors that come into play when assigning a stop include:
- central location in relation to students in the area (based on applications received by June 1st)
- transit stop location
- accessibility to neighbourhoods (new and established)
- traffic pattern/congestion
- direction of bus path (side of road)
Please ensure that all transportation fees are paid or a payment plan has been established with Transportation Services before submitting your application.
If you have any questions please contact Transportation Services at 780-460-3712.
Get your gear and Show your spirit! Store closed March 8th 2024. All orders will be delievered to the school March 21st!
Crusader Spirit Wear Store is now open!
WDC Open House Information Session
Purdy's Spring Fundraiser
W.D. Cuts Parents Advisory Association is running a Purdys
Chocolate Fundraiser.
Last day to order is March 6, 2024. Chocolate will be here in time for Spring Break!
March Mindfulness
Neutral ground is a wonderful youth program in our community that is fueled by wonderful volunteers who want to provide a place for all students to connect and find new interests. This free program is for all ages (including adults) and may be just the right thing for a few of your students who struggle to connect or have limited extra curricular opportunities.
Upcoming Dates To Remember
Tuesday March 5th - WDC Open House
Wednesday March 6th - Bellerose open house 6-8:00pm - Last day to order Purdy's
Thursday March 7th - Paul Kane Open House 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Monday March 11th -Option selection for next year will open on March 11 at 9:00 AM
Wednesday March 20th - Ski Club Marmot Basin
Friday March 22nd April 2nd - Spring Break
Tuesday April 3rd - Half day - Staff Meeting
Reminder
Parking and Drop off
Ensuring our students get to school safely is everyone’s responsibility. Please be mindful of crosswalks, parking rules and speed limits when you are near our schools, especially during the morning drop off and afternoon dismissal times.
- Please do not park in a no standing area or across a local resident’s driveway.
- Please do not stop on a school crossing and/or drive over the crossing whilst the crossing supervisor or any pedestrian is on the crossing.
Chromebooks
High School Open House
Yearbook
2023 - 2024 Yearbook is now available to purchase.
Log into PowerSchool to order yours.
Did You Know??
Pizza Monday's 🍕
Options:
Cheese, Pepperoni and Hawaiian
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 1/2 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 📸
Social Media
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