Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year, and a special welcome to our new West Dalhousie School (WDS) families. We hope that you had a fantastic summer, and you had the opportunity to spend time together with family and friends. I know many students are eagerly waiting to see their friends and to meet their new teachers and classmates. We are eagerly waiting for their arrival!
School Office Hours The school office is open on August 27, 28 from 8:00 am - 2:00 pm and on August 29 from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Each school year is new and exciting as we establish new teaching teams that work thoughtfully to create a safe, welcoming, and caring learning community within our school. We are also excited to welcome returning staff as well as a few new staff to WDS: Ms. Danielle Bernardin and Ms. Melissa Corscadden Plett will be teaching in our Enhanced Educational Supports (EES) classrooms, Ms. Siobhan Swan will be returning as part of our Grade 6 team; Mr. Cristian Medina-Gutierrez will be returning as part of our Grade 5 team, and Ms. Madeline Stephenson will be returning as part of our Grade 3 team and filling in for Ms. Lisa Joly while she is on leave. Ms. Joly is expected to return in late October or early November.
On Thursday, August 28, your child’s teacher will be sending you a message through SchoolMessenger to welcome your child to their new classroom. This message will contain information regarding procedures for the first day of school, what to bring, and any other relevant information that you might need.
If you are driving to drop your child off at school, please review the WDS Crosswalks and Drop off Zones document as the alert and keep an eye out for students, as they are often distracted by all the excitement going on. We would ask that you do not park in the staff parking lot and remember to be considerate of our neighbors.
The First Day of School for Grades 1-6 and EES will be on Tuesday, September 2. Staff will be outside on that morning at 7:55 am with name identification so you can locate your child's teacher. Please see the map indicating your child’s entry and exit doors and where they will be meeting their teacher on September 2 at 7:55 am.
Kindergarten Students will begin the year using a “staggered entry” model. This model allows students to visit the kindergarten classroom and for them to get to know their kindergarten teacher and classmates, and learn basic procedures before the regular Kindergarten program begins on September 4. Students will be divided into 2 groups: Group A will attend their first day of school on Tuesday, Sept 2, from 8:30 am - 9:30 am, and Group B will attend their first day of school on Wednesday, September 3, from 10:00 am - 11:00 am. Ms. Pearson, our Kindergarten teacher, will be in contact with kindergarten families to inform them of their staggered entry time. On September 4 and September 5, all kindergarten students will attend school from 8:05 am – 11:00 am.
Yellow School Bus Riders (registration done every school year) – if your child will be taking the yellow school bus (fee for service) and you have not registered yet, please ensure you do this right away as you cannot ride the bus until you are registered and the paperwork is processed. Please register through your MyCBE Account. For more transportation information, please see Busing and Transportation.
If you have registered for the yellow school bus, please ensure your child knows which bus they are on and where their home drop-off spot will be. If you have registered for the school bus but your child is not riding home on the school bus, please let your child’s teacher know, as we do take attendance each day. School Bus Registration
Lunch Supervision Registration If your child will be staying at the school during the lunch hour you will need to register for lunch supervision. You can register and pay the fees using your MyCBE parent account. Lunch supervision registration and fees will be available after September 2025.
Before and After School Care Program For children attending Dalhousie Community Before and After School Care Program, the program is run in the school’s Gymnasium. For more information about the Dalhousie Out of School Care, please email doscdirector@dalhousiecalgary.ca
We look forward to an amazing 2025-2026 school year.
Sincerely,
Rhonda Williams and Keri Glowacki
Principal and Assistant Principal
West Dalhousie School