Good afternoon Families,
Below is the update for the week of February 10.
Cold Weather Continues
As you are all very well aware, the cold weather has decided to remain with us for yet another week. Please ensure that students are dressed for the weather, even if on the bus.
Teacher's Convention and Family Day
A reminder to families that the school will be closed from Thursday, February 13th thru to February 17th due to Teacher's convention and Family Day.
Lottery for the Community of Redstone
As Dr. Gordon Higgin's school is closed due to our large population, we will be conducting a lottery for Redstone Families on February 12 at 9am. We will be accepting 40 grade 7 students for next year, and no new grade 8 and 9 students for the 2025-26 school year. The rules that govern the lottery process can be found here: CBE Lottery Process Incoming grade 7 families from Redstone have already been informed about the lottery process.
School Council and School Council Fundraiser
Hey Parents! At our last meeting, we talked about staffing updates, report cards, and high school transitions, plus some exciting upcoming events. Our big casino fundraiser is on May 11-12, and we need parent volunteers to make it a success! We also have a Pizza Day coming up, and we’ll be planning even more fun activities at our next meeting. We’d love to see some new faces and hear your ideas on what’s important for your kids—plus, help decide where our funds go! Join us on Tuesday, Feb 11 at 6:30 PM and be part of the conversation!
The School Council Pizza Fundraiser is on Wednesday, February 12. Though the cafeteria will be open, the pizza sales will be separate. As this is a school council fundraiser they will only accept cash, and cannot accept debit or point of sale payments. We will be adjusting the amount of food that is prepared for the cafeteria to try and not have waste.
Athletics
Monday, February 10
- Boys' Volleyball at Prairie Sky starting at 4:15pm
- 2:45pm - 4:00pm: Girls' Volleyball Practice
Tuesday, February 11
- Girls' Volleyball at Crossing Park School
- 2:45pm - 4:00pm: Boys' Volleyball Practice
Wednesday, February 12
- Boys' Volleyball host Crossing Park beginning at 4:15pm
- 2:45pm - 4:00pm: Girls' Volleyball Practice
Celebrating the Northeast
For the first Speaker of the Higgins Speaker Series of Semester 2, we had Laura Shutiak, the Executive Director of Youth en Route, a cycling education program supporting enhanced curriculum delivery in schools. Laura and her team feel that cycling is a life skill that builds confidence and community and reduces transportation poverty. She wants students to know that with bikes, they can go where they want when they want.
In her conversation with our students, she talked about her many different careers, including being a college teacher, journalist, sporting goods guru, and public education advocate. However, she expressed her real passion is with Youth en Route and helping students recognize that students have the simple freedom of getting on a bike to get to all the beautiful places within our city.
During her presentation, the students were excited to discover that Dr. Gordon Higgins School would be participating in the Youth en Route - ABC (Anything But Cars) Challenge week in the last week of April. The ABC (Anything But Cars) challenge week was created to encourage students to arrive at school in alternate modes of transportation other than a car. Whether it be riding bikes, scooters, walking, or busing, the objective is to have the students of our school understand there are various ways to make their regular commute environmentally friendly. Prizes and giveaways will be given to participants throughout the ABC (Anything But Cars) Challenge week.
We look forward to being part of this challenge in the spring!
Student Feedback
“She inspired me by showing how much she cares for the public and the students for whom she provides bikes. Going to different schools and teaching all students, including special needs students, how to ride bikes is amazing to hear about.”
“Laura took a problem of her kids calling for rides and made something of it, which also tackles other societal problems such as global warming, lack of physical activity, and mental health.”
“She inspired me because seeing how passionate she is about bike lanes helped me learn how important this is and inspired me to try my best to help society with this issue. She also inspired me to follow my dreams because she had a concern and immediately acted on it because she was genuinely passionate.”
“To realize that riding my bike in most cases is much faster than riding transit and is a great way to improve my carbon footprint.”
Sincerely,
Colin McCracken
Principal