Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A Message from the Playground Committee

Hello MTS Families,

We are thrilled to finally have a wonderful playground for our students and community!  After a year of intense effort, the playground was built Sept. 29th – Oct. 2nd.   We were fortunate to have 4 beautiful fall days and so many helping hands. 

The students had their first taste of the playground on Oct. 13th, after the rubber had been poured and set.  It was so gratifying to see everyone having so much fun! 

On Oct. 23rd, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the Playground.  A huge thank you to Rhona, Tiffany & Renata for organizing this amazing event and to all the volunteers who helped run it.  Everyone had a terrific time and it was a wonderful way to wrap up our project.

The Playground Committee would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all the donors, supporters and volunteers who contributed to the success of our playground project.  We couldn’t have done it without you!




  • Jayman
  • ATB Financial
  • A Child First Preschool
  • Subway
  • Manderley Sod
  • M&M Meats
  • 1450897 Alberta Inc.
  • Co-op
  • Sarcee Butte Ranches (Roy & Judy Copithorne)

  • Second Cup
  • Groomingtails Pet Spa & Day Care
  • Macs
  • DumpRunner Waste Systems Inc.
  • Sobeys
  • Whispering Pines Int. Inc.
  • Pizza Hut
  • Boston Pizza

  • Jepson Petroleum
  • Starbucks
  • Prestwick Fine Drycleaning
  • Burnco
  • Compact Rentals
  • Superstore
  • McDonalds
  • Safeway
  • Tim Hortons

We hope that you and your family enjoy many hours of fun on the new playground!

Annika Clennan
Playground Committee Chair
playground@mtsparents.com

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Recap of MTSC/PA Meetings Last Night

Thanks to all who joined us for the council and parent association meetings last night.  It was nice to see some new faces.  Thanks also to Kerrie for acting as timekeeper and keeping us on schedule so that we finished on time! 

In the council meeting, Sherri M asked that if anyone has feedback regarding guest speakers for future meetings, please let her know.  Some options may include our trustee Carol Bazinet, our CPS Community Liaison Pete Barker or ASCA.  In the Key Communicator report, Tiffany mentioned that the CBE is asking parents to complete an on-line parent communication survey.  You can access the survey by clicking here.

The volunteer coordinators reported that all classrooms should have their room parent in place by now and that a request for volunteers for the book fair scheduled for December will be coming out soon. 

In the teacher's report, Mrs. Addison spoke about the grade 2 classes and advised that they are organizing the Remembrance Day assembly this year.  She also talked about their work with growing patterns, liquids, bouyancy and campfire.  Mrs. Chen gave us an update about the grade one classes and their ongoing learnings about stories, poems, math concepts and problem solving strategies.  In the leadership report, Mrs. Sarginson reminded parents of the next gabbucino scheduled for November 23 from 2-3 pm at the school.  There was also a reminder about Friday's Spooky Science celebration and and an update regarding plans for the winter celebration on December 9th.  The leadership reports are available in each month's meeting minutes. 

Parking around the school is an ongoing safety concern.  As a reminder, please ensure you are parking only in safe, legal parking zones around the school.  In addition, anyone who witnesses unsafe or illegal activity on school grounds, such as graffiti is asked to report it to Calgary Police Services immediately.  If such activities are always reported, we are more likely to have a regular police presence around the school. 

Highlights of the Parent Association meeting include some discussion of committees being formed, such as yearbook, fun lunch, social events and schoolyard naturalization.  If you are interested in joining or forming any of these or other committees, please let us know.  Our Treasurer, Sherry, gave us an account update and advised that there are still about 50 SUTP books for sale.  The order form is available on this website. 

It was announced that Tina, our Fundraising Director has resigned her position; if you are interested in this important role, please let Sherri M. know.  The trade show originally planned for November is on hold due to a lack of resources and the committee will be revisiting other fundraising plans going forward.

The next council and parent association meetings are scheduled for November 29th.  An agenda and meeting minutes will be sent out prior to that date.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Reminder - MTSC/MTSPA Meetings

Our next council and parent association meetings are Monday night beginning at 6:30pm at the school.   We will be starting with another meet and greet, supported by Starbucks at 6:15, followed by the council meeting.  Please consider attending to see what the council and parent association does and how you can become a part of the decisions being made that affect your children.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Reminder - Playgroud Grand Opening Celebration!

Join us this Saturday as we celebrate the grand opening of our new playground at McKenzie Towne School!  We will have lots of entertainment, including Froot-Loop the Clown, facepainters and mascots.  Kids and families can play games for prizes, enjoy a snack provided by Sobeys McKenzie Towne and a hot beverage donated by Starbucks.  Child Find Alberta will be on-site with their child identification program as well as representatives from Calgary Police Services and AMA Safety Patrol.

So come celebrate with us for a fun filled afternoon on Saturday October 23rd from 1 - 4 pm!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Public School Trustee Election Results

Carol Bazinet has been re-elected in Wards 12 and 14 as public school board trustee.  You can click here for more information about the school board trustee election.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

HOJA at MTS!

Students and parents were treated this morning at school to a performance by HOJA.  For those of you who haven't heard of HOJA, they are a Canadian acappella group.  Each member of HOJA sings a variety of different voice parts including bass lines, lead vocals, tenor and baritone parts, instrument sounds such as guitars and trumpets, beatboxing and drum noises, and assorted sound effects.  The music was amazing, the students were enthusiastic and we even got a special performance by our very own Mr. Snashel! 

Thanks to McKenzie Towne School staff for making this presentation possible for our kids. 





Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Playground Grand Opening Celebration

The parent association would like to invite everyone to attend our playground grand opening celebration on Saturday October 23rd, from 1 – 4 pm at McKenzie Towne School.  The grand opening will take place rain or shine, with a brief opening ceremony and ribbon cutting beginning at 1:10pm.  Enjoy great entertainment including Froot-Loop the Clown and Diggety Dawg, fun activities such as face painting, mini golf, and bean bag toss.  You might even win a prize!  Representatives from Child Find Alberta and AMA Safety Patrol will be on hand as well as Calgary Police Services.  And, of course, who can have a celebration without cupcakes!

So bring your friends and family and come out to celebrate the achievement of this latest milestone for our school! 

We will also be looking for a number of volunteers to help with this event with set up, clean up, running games, etc.  If you can spare some time to help, please email Jaime at mtsplay@gmail.com.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Key Communiqué - October 8th Issue

The latest edition of the Key Communiqué is now available.  There are links to the presentations from the September 30th system meeting as well as information about the new Inspiring Action survey and grade level achievement assessment and reporting news.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Playground Build a Huge Success!

The playground build was a huge success last weekend!  We were fortunate to have such good weather and so many volunteers.  A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped out - we couldn't have done it without you!  Many hands made light work, everyone was well fed and fun was had by all.  We are currently in the process of installing the pour 'n place rubber surface.  This should be complete by Oct. 8th, weather permitting.  We will finish with some site reclamation and by late next week the playground should be ready for use!  Students will be introduced to the playground by our Admin Team, a couple of classes at a time.  Finally, on Sat. Oct. 23rd, from 1-4pm, we will celebrate the Grand Opening of our playground.  Stay tuned for more information...




You can see more pictures of the build by clicking on the link on the left hand side of your screen.