Dear Higgins Families,
Below is the update for the week beginning Monday, November 25.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Our Student Learning Conferences take place on Thursday, November 28 from 4pm - 8pm, and Friday, November 29 from 8:30am - 12 Noon. If you haven't already done so, you may go into your MyCBE account and book conferences, or if you prefer, you can call the school at 403-777-7060 and we'd be more than happy to assist you.
In past years, our conferences have been held in the school gym, but this year we will be holding conferences in teacher classrooms. Teachers can be found in the following locations:
Homerooms | Tearcher Names | Room Numbers |
7-1 and 7-2 | Mr. Le and Ms. Templeton | Room 16 |
7-3 and 7-4 | Ms. Millette and Mrs. Frederick | Rooms 4 and 5 |
7-5 and 7-6 | Ms. Mackay and Ms. Couper | Rooms 7 and 9 |
7-7 and 7-8 | Ms.Khalil and Mr. Gillis | Room 11 |
PLP | Mr. Mahoney and Ms. Wall | Rooms 14 and 15 |
8-1 and 8-2 | Mr. Siddiqui and Mr. Bong | Room 13 |
8-3 and 8-4 | Mr. McLean and Mrs. Ballantine | Room 26 |
8-5 and 8-6 | Mr. Finlay and Ms. Sheffield | Room 10 |
8-7 and 8-8 | Mr. Chan and Ms. Khullar | Room 23 |
9-1 and 9-2 | Ms. Hampton and Mrs. George | Room 20 |
9-3 and 9-4 | Ms. Bessem and Ms. Mackinnon | Room 8 |
9-5 and 9-6 | Mr. Anderson and Mr. Ray | Room 12 |
9-7 and 9-8 | Mr. Liu and Ms. Verwaayen | Room 22 |
Physed | Mr. Brar, Ms. Temple, Mr. McNeely | Gym |
Construction | Mr. Robson | Room 28 |
Foods | Ms. Tran | Room 24 |
Band/Guitar | Mr. Zacharias | Room 25 |
During the Student Learning Conferences your school council will be on hand selling baked goods as part of a fundraiser. The product will be very reasonably priced, so we encourage you to bring some loose change.
Athletics
Basketball season has come to an end, and we would like to congratulate our Jr. Girls Team for winning their championship game. All teams represented their school, community and family so well that we could not be more proud. Congratulations to all.
Though Basketball playoffs are done, the tournament of champions is held at the following dates and times:
- Wedneseday, December 4 - Location and Time TBA
- Thursday, December 5 - At Higgins, beginning at 5pm
- Friday, December 6: Location and Time TBA
Upcoming Wrestling Dates
Tuesday, November 26: 2:45pm - 4:00pm: Wrestling Practice
Tuesday, December 3: 4:30pm - 7:30pm: Wrestling Quad at Higgins
Thursday, December 5: 2:45pm - 4:00pm: Wrestling Practice
Calgary Open Minds
This past week, Mrs. Frederick took a group of committed arts students to Ars Common in Downtown Calgary to participate in an immersive art experience through Calgary Open Minds. The students had a fantastic time. Thanks to Mrs. Frederick for organizing everything and being so committed to students.
Important Dates
Wednesday, November 27: Wordfest - Group of Grade 9 students are going to the Downtown Library to participate in Wordfest.
Thursday, November 28: Parent-Teacher Conferences from 4pm - 8pm
Friday, November 29: Parent-Teacher Learning Conferences from 8:30am - 12 Noon. Please note that there is no school for students this day.
Tuesday, December 3: Higgins Wrestling Quad 4:30pm - 7:30pm
Wednesday, December 4: The Higgins Honour Band is performing downtown at Norton Rose Fulbright, and International Law Firm that works hard to celebrate our students.
Thursday, December 5: Basketball Tournament of Champions at Higgins, beginning at 5:00pm.
Tuesday, December 10: School Council in the Learnng Commons, beginning at 6:30pm.
Friday, December 20: Last Day of School before Winter Break
Saturday, December 21 - Sunday, January 5: Winter Break. School is Closed.
Celebrating the Northeast
Jamie Mitchell is the founder/director of JM Elite – Baseball Academy and a former professional baseball player with the Tampa Bay Rays (Major League Baseball) organization. That's right, a former Major League Baseball Player spent time with our students this past Friday!!!!
Jamie has a deep connection to Northeast Calgary, as he is the son of Bill Mitchell, the former Lester B. Pearson High School Teacher and Basketball Coach for over 20 years at the school. Bill’s career at Pearson would include winning the Wayne Thomas Award (Calgary High School - Coach of the Year), Two Division 1 City Championships, and coaching numerous fantastic basketball players including our past Higgins guest speaker Robbie Sihota, upcoming Higgins guest speaker Josh Feist, and our very own Mr. Brar! Growing up Jamie was constantly in the gym at Pearson and established great relationships with the basketball players his father coached, which are still strong today!
Growing up in Calgary, he attended Bowness High School. After graduation, he played baseball at the University of Mount Olive (Mount Olive, North Carolina) and Northwest Nazarene University (Nampa, ID). The culmination of all his hard work and effort in baseball paid off in 2014, when he signed a professional contract with the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada.
After his professional career, he would establish JM – Elite Baseball Academy in Northeast Calgary, the same community his dad invested in for years! At JM–Elite, Jamie has created a dynamic and competitive atmosphere that welcomes baseball players of all skill levels. Whether they are looking to sharpen their skills during the off-season or want to enjoy some fun with friends, the academy is the place for everyone to play year-round.
Before speaking to the Business class, Jamie gifted our Dr. Gordon Higgins School administration team (Mr. McCracken, Ms. Houle, and Ms. Dann) an autographed baseball and bat. In return, the leaders of our school gifted him a Higgins shirt and water bottle. The exchange of gifts is symbolic of the strong bond between the “Mitchell Family” and our “Northeast Community."
The students were amazed to hear his story of growing up in Calgary and becoming one of the few Canadians to sign an MLB contract! The students appreciated Jamie taking the time to cover the various marketing principles he incorporated into the design of his “JM – Elite” logo. The marketing unit will be the last unit covered in our Higgins Business Class.
Jamie left the business class with a great message about having a growth mindset and the high importance of learning from our failures. With the average batter success rate in Major League Baseball being only 0.250, a growth mindset is necessary in life and baseball. He emphasized to the class that if we look at failure as a positive learning experience, we unlock potential for our next assignment, next test, or next at bat!
As School Principal I am always deeply grateful when people who have achieved great things make a decision to spend an hour with kids at a school. It makes a huge difference, and the impact is significant.
Student Feedback
“Jamie helped me realize that failure isn’t a dead end, it’s simply us understanding we always have the opportunity to take a different route on our journey. If you never fail, you never grow!”
“He inspired me by making me realize how important it is to have confidence in what you do and keep on trying till you make it. The fact he started his own business from the ground up is so motivating for me and my fellow business classmates”
“If you don’t fit in at one place, you can always move on and excel elsewhere. He went to two different universities and still ended up signing with a Major League Baseball team! We can’t be worried about what people will say, but it’s our responsibility to take action and move onto situations and environments that serve us best!”
Go Hawks!
Colin McCracken, Principal