Good Afternoon Higgins Families,

Below is the update for the week of February 24, 2025

Labour Relations

As you know, CUPE Local 40 is on strike.  For information regarding impacts to schools please follow this link: labour action web page

To help manage the above impacts we are asking for assistance from students in the following areas, and ask parents to discuss the below bullets with your children:

  • To minimize the amount of disposable packaging, students are asked to bring home any uneaten food and any empty wrappers.
  • No food in classrooms:  Unless the teacher has given special permission, students will not be permitted to bring snacks into the classrooms.  Students will need to bring food they can eat quickly during our 6 minute locker break. 
  • Garbage/Recycling:  We have always asked students to do their part in keeping classrooms and the school clean.  We will further emphasize the need for students to put garbage and recycling into containers, and to ensure paper towels in washrooms are placed into the large recycling containers.

Office Hours

Please note that the office will be closed at 3:15pm Monday through Thursday, with no phones being answered after that time.   The office is closed Fridays at 2:30pm.  

Athletics and Extra Curricular Activities After School

Currently all activities related to Athletics, Band Rehearsals, Robotics, and other activities will continue.   In terms of Athletics please note the following changes:

  • Student spectators are not permitted to watch Volleyball Games.  If a parent is in attendance as they are needed to provide transportation home after the game, they may attend, and in these cases, if they have a child with them, they may also be in attendance. 

Athletics Schedule

Monday, February 24

  • 2:45pm - 4:00pm:  Girls' Volleyball Practice

Tuesday, February 25

  • 2:45pm - 4:00pm:  Boys' Volleyball Practice

Wednesday, February 26

  • 2:45pm - 4:00pm:  Girls' Volleyball Practice
  • Boys' Volleyball:  Ted Harrison at Higgins (start time at 4:15pm)

Thursday, February 27

  • 2:45pm - 4:00pm:  Boys' Volleyball Practice
  • Girls Volleyball:  Higgins at Ted Harrison (4:15pm start). 

Important Dates

February 24 - 26:  Grade 9 Students attend Full Day Field Trip at the Rothney Observatory.

February 28:  Non-Instructional Day:  No School for Students

Celebrating the Northeast

This week's speaker for the Higgins Speaker Series was Dr. Rose Kombo, an Optometrist and proud Northeast resident from the community of Castleridge. Dr. Kombo completed her Bachelor of Science with a minor in Sociology at the University of Calgary. She shared with the students her journey at the prestigious New England College of Optometry in Boston, where she interned at various health centers and hospitals.

The students were impressed to hear about her completing multiple honourable externships, including a contact lens externship in Miami, an ocular disease externship at the University of Maryland, and an externship at the East Boston Health Center. Her last stop on her academic journey also saw her obtain valuable experience in an ocular disease externship at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In her conversation with our students, she mentioned the life lessons growing up in the Northeast and attending Lester B. Pearson High School have shaped her to become a personable eye doctor who gets to know the patient first as a person. Her genuine and humble approach to her career resonated with our leadership students, who want to find their calling to impact society for the better. Dr. Kombo is a true testament that actions speak louder than words!

Student Feedback:

"Dr. Kombo helped me realize that I should look forward to eye checkups/appointments because, as we learned today, issues we see in the eyes can be directly linked to other health problems."

"She is a very successful woman, inspiring me to choose a career I like and succeed. I also want to help people, so after hearing her talk, I feel more motivated and driven towards my goal. This interests me in the medical field as I have considered dentistry before. I will most likely want to become a dentist, but I still admire Dr. Kombo's journey and helpful nature."

"The story of her helping her friend from elementary school overcome issues with her eye health was very emotional. She never gave up on helping her friend even though the friend had felt she had exhausted every avenue. She changed her friend's life with the proper care and treatment. I can only hope to have that impact in my life."


Sincerely,

​​​​​​​Colin McCracken, Principal