Bus Maps

The 2011 bus information and maps are now posted on the McKenzie Towne School's CBE website.  You can view them here.  School hours for this year are 8:20am to 3:05pm with a lunch break of 11:50-12:45.  Morning kindergarten classes will run from 8:20 to 11:07 and afternoon kindergarten classes will be from 12:18 to 3:05.  Friday classes will run from 8:20-12:15. 

Back to School!

It's almost that time of year again!  Back to school is less than one week away.  The bus route information should be posted on the school doors this coming week.  Other back to school information can be found on the McKenzie Towne School CBE website.  Agendas will be on-line this school year.  If you are interested in seeing how another school has done on-line agendas, you can visit Cranston's school website.

The first meeting of the McKenzie Towne School Council and AGM for the Parent Association is scheduled for September 26th.  Please watch for agendas to come out soon.  These are important meetings and we encourage all parents to attend.  Many of the executive positions will be coming up for election at these meetings.  If you are interested in serving on the executive of either the MTSC or MTSPA and would like more information, please contact our Chair at chair@mtsparents.com.  Terms for executive positions are typically 2 years, however, we do not wish to limit people, so if you are interested but can only commit for 1 year, please let Sherri know. 

Our long awaited casino dates are set for November 15 and 16th at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino.  Some information was sent home already at the end of the last school year and more information will be going out in the near future.  We will be looking for a number of volunteers to work shifts at the casino.  This casino could earn in excess of $60,000 for the Parent Association, which will have a direct benefit on the students, but cannot happen without support from volunteers. 

In addition to plans for the Casino, be on the lookout for SUTP book sales beginning in September.  Order forms will go home with students early in the school year.  $10 of each book sold goes directly to the Parent Association.  This has been a successful fundraiser for our school in the past and we look forward to your continued support. 

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you for another great year at McKenzie Towne School!

MTS Capacity Update - Relocatables!

It's official!  We are excited to announce that McKenzie Towne School will be receiving 4 relocatable classrooms, that will arrive in the fall.  These classrooms will be added to the west side of the school.  We do not have details yet about timing in terms of students moving into those classrooms, but look forward to great learning opportunities in these spaces.

Thank you to all the parents who voiced their concerns about our school capacity.  Have a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing everyone in September!

Reminder - MTSC/MTSPA Meetings

It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is just around the corner and our final meeting of the school year is tomorrow (Thursday) night.  Please consider attending these last meetings of this school year.  We will start off with the MTSC Meeting at 6:30 pm, then a short 5 minute break at 7:40 pm followed by the MTSPA Meeting at 7:45 pm.  Each meeting is about hour and will be held in the school staffroom.  Please view and print the agendas for the MTSC and MTSPA meetings to bring along with you.

Hope to see you all there!

MTSC/MTSPA Meetings this Thursday

Just a quick reminder that this month's meetings of the McKenzie Towne School Council and Parent Association are being held this coming Thursday, June 23rd, beginning at 6:30 pm.  Further details, including the agendas for both meetings will be posted as soon as possible.

Hope to see you there.

Parents stunned as Calgary school board jacks up bus fees, removes family cap

Parent reaction to a massive hike in fees to send children to public school by bus was swift and heated Wednesday.

Trustees with the Calgary Board of Education decided Tuesday to raise fees by 38 per cent for most charter bus users and remove the family maximum cap.

In some cases, this means doubling and even tripling the amount parents will have to pay in September.

Recap of Meetings

Tonight's meetings of the McKenzie Towne School Council and Parent Association were lively and well attended.  Thank you to all those that came.  Unfortunately, Art Johnston was not able to attend the meeting.  He did forward responses he had received from the Minister of Education, David Hancock's office to some questions we had regarding the capacity issue, which we invite you to read.   In addition, we received a response from the CBE's Superintendent of Facilities & Environmental Services, which you can view by clicking here.  The information we have received poses additional questions and a need for further understanding.  To that end, Mr. Johnston has invited some parents to attend a meeting at his office on Friday June 3rd.  We encourage parents to submit their questions for Mr.  Johnston (see details on left column).  For background information, you can read the earlier post.  We will plan a further communication to parents once that meeting has taken place.

In other business of the Council, Sherri reminded everyone that the executive terms will be up at September's AGM.  If you have an interest in serving in an executive role, please approach Sherri or one of the other members to find out more information.  Mrs. Pollock and Ms. Anderson provided us with an update regarding the grade one and kindergarten classes and Annette shared the Leadership report, including a thoughtful discussion with parents about the values and vision of our school. 

During the Parent Association meeting, a Fun Lunch was announced for June 21st.  Plans include pizza, drink and dessert for a cost of $4/child.  Stay tuned for further details coming soon.  Our casino dates were announced as November 15 and 16th at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino.  We will be looking for volunteers to work shifts over the two days.  More information including volunteer requests will be coming in the near future.  Sean T continues to make progress in terms of the surplus playground funds and hopes to be able to provide another update at the next meeting.

Our next and final meeting of the school year will be on Thursday June 23rd, beginning at 6:30 pm.  We hope to see everyone there.