Welcome to the first Week At a Glance of the 2026 - 2027 school year!

Each week we share updates about things that have happened at the school, upcoming events and important things for parents and guardians to know! We value the partnership between home and school and look forward to working with you to support your children this year. This week we have a lot of back-to-school information to share with you!

Here's what's coming up at JJ:

Please read the important information below:

Attendance

Regular attendance at school supports students' academic growth and confidence.

Here are some of the short-term and long-term benefits of regular attendance:

• By Grade 3, students with regular attendance are more likely to read at grade level.
• By Grade 6, regular attendance is a predictor of high school completion.
• ​By Grade 9, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than test scores.
• Students who attend daily are less likely to fall behind in school.
• Concerns with school attendance may indicate other challenges in a student’s life.
• Regular school attendance is an important life skill on the path to graduation and future employment.​​

Notify the Office

Parents/guardians are expected to notify the school of their child’s absence prior to the start of the school day. Please contact the office at (403) 777-8670, extension 1 with the following information:

• Your name and relationship to the student
• Student’s Full Name (spell last name)
• Grade
• Date(s) of Absences
• Reason for the Absence

More information about attendance can be found here: Attendance

Communication

Whole-School Communication- School administration sends a weekly link to the Week At a Glance on our school website with upcoming events and information families need to know.

Commercial Messages - To also receive important commercial messages by email — such as field trips, picture days, fun lunches, and other important activities — parents / legal guardians must subscribe. Subscribe here: CASL

Classroom Communication - Teachers will send School Messenger emails to parents/guardians once a week or every 2 weeks. In these updates, teachers will share about learning activities in the classroom, special events and reminders.

Teachers will invite parents to join their Google Classroom through their students' CBE Google account later in September. Google classroom is where families can find updates about the learning in the classroom and suggestions for practicing at home.

Email is the best way to get in touch with your child's teacher. Please note that teachers are not able to check their email or respond during the school day and cannot take phone calls when they are teaching. Please call the school office at if you need to get a message to your child or if it is urgent.

Code of Conduct

Supporting students with behaviour and relationships is part of teaching and learning. Our goal is for everyone to contribute to our welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment. A consistent approach to school expectations by school staff, students, and parents/guardians results in students understanding and following expectations at Janet Johnstone School.

Please see information about our School Expectations, Code of Conduct and Progressive Discipline here: Code of Conduct

Classroom Complexity Team and Class-size Reduction Funding

This fall, the CBE has hired hundreds of teachers, education assistants and other school staff to support student learning. These positions have been funded by the Government of Alberta with the intention of addressing classroom complexity and class sizes.
Mme Ellen Cameron will be our Classroom Complexity Team (CCT) teacher and Mrs. Duthie and Mme Jennifer will be the Education Assistants joining the team.

We are pleased to welcome additional new staff to our school for the 2026-27 school year:

Ms. Erika Medina Gonzalez, Education Assistant

Ms. Heather Tossell, Education Assistant

Ms. Stephanie McGill, grade 2 English teacher

Mme Julia Holgate, French Immersion kindergarten teacher

Mme Natasa Tilleman, French Immersion kindergarten and grade 3/4 support teacher

Mme Sara Whyte, grade 1/2 French Immersion teacher

Mme Hasna Hajjaoui, grade 1/2 French Immersion teacher

Mme Jorja Armstrong, grade 3/4 French Immersion teacher

We are very pleased to welcome these new staff members to our school community! This additional staff will help ensure students benefit from:

• Increased teacher attention
• Improved classroom learning environments
• Greater support for diverse learning needs

Please see our complete staff list here: JJ Staff

Community Walks: Update on field trips within walking distance  

Please be advised the process for trips within walking distance of the school has been simplified, excluding restricted activities, e.g. swimming. As parents/ guardians, you will no longer need to fill out a consent form for your child to go on a class trip that is walking distance from the school, e.g. to a local park. Appropriate walking distance is determined by the Principal and may vary, depending on the age of the students.  

Teachers will provide at least 48 hours’ notice when planning a trip to a local site. Parents/guardians will be notified by email. The following is a list of sites near the school that teachers may use to complement classroom learning (more destinations will be added as learning opportunities come up):  

As with any field trip, we want to inform you about some common hazards involved with walking trips to the above locations. Please note this list may not include all of the hazards for a given trip:  

• Slips, trips and falls
• Getting separated from the group
• Street crossings
• Pre-existing medical conditions and/or allergies 
• Exposure to infectious diseases (eg. COVID-19 virus, SARS, MERS, influenza).

If you have any questions regarding field trips within walking distance of the school, please contact your child's teacher.  

Looking Ahead at JJ:

We are looking forward to many exciting learning and community building activities this year, including:

Nature Wellness Residency - All grade groups will participate in a wellness residency with a facilitator who will help them explore their connection to nature and the positive effects of spending time outside. Some of the sessions will take place outside near the school and some will be at the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area. Grades 3 and 4 will participate in the residency in October and Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 classes will have their turn in the spring.

Sport Hub Lacrosse Residency - In May, all students will learn how to play lacrosse in the spring with professional coaches through the City of Calgary's Sport Hub program.

Space Exploration - Our whole-school inquiry will be related to space and we will be explorers, navigators, dreamers, scientists and story keepers. Each grade team will focus on ideas that relate to their curriculum. We will culminate our exploration with a mobile planetarium in the spring where we will explore the planets and the constellations!

French Canadian Carnaval and Francophone Week - All students will participate in actvities in February and March to learn about and participate in French cultural!

School Spirit - Assemblies - Whole school assemblies take place on some Friday mornings. The purpose of these assemblies is to create a sense of community and an opportunity for students to learn together and to share their leaning in an informal way. An important element of our assemblies is also to have children learn appropriate audience manners. We strive to have the children be attentive and appreciative listeners. If your child will be presenting at a Friday assembly, you will be notified by the music teacher or your child's teacher.

Family Groups - One or two Fridays a month, all students participate in Family Groups. Family Groups are mixed groups of students from all grades and the French Immersion and English programs. Each Friday, groups meet in the same classroom with their animal groups. The animals are based on Indigenous teachings of the Medicine Wheel. Teachers rotate through the groups and teach lessons related to Social Emotional Learning, Indigenous ways of knowing and outdoor learning. Family Groups are another way that our staff works together to help students feel that they belong and are connected to our school. Learning with other children and adults helps students increase their self-confidence and builds more friendships.

School Council Update

A dedicated group of parents and other community members work together to support our school. This year, we will post updates from our JJ School Council (JJSC) and Friends of Janet Johnstone School Association (FHHSA) in the School Council section of our website: JJSC