Key Communiqué

You can read the last edition of the Key Communiqué for 2009 here. On behalf of the McKenzie Towne School Parent Association, we wish you all happy holidays and a very happy new year. Remember to check out the new bus schedules for January on the McKenzie Towne School CBE website. See you in our new school in January!

Special Announcement

The MTSPA Playground Committee would like to share some terrific news with you. We have recently been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Parks Foundation Calgary! This grant money aids us substantially in reaching our total project cost of $175,000 for our new school playground. Our sincerest thanks to the Parks Foundation Calgary for their support and to Sherry and Tina for all their hard work!

I would also like to mention that we are well on our way to meeting the $35,000 that we as parents are responsible for fundraising. Through corporate donations, the sale of SUTP books and our Dance-a-thon pledges we have currently raised $23,987! Many thanks to the families of McKenzie Towne School, the Fundraising Committee and the Playground Committee for their outstanding achievements thus far!

In early March 2010 we will be applying for a grant worth half the cost of our playground ($87,500), however we need to have $87,500 in our playground account in order to take advantage of this matching grant. Through in-kind volunteer build hours, in-kind services, a negotiated supplier discount and another fundraising event, we hope to meet this deadline. All for a September 2010 playground build!

To track our fundraising progress, two thermometers have been added to our website; one for the total cost of the project ($175,000) and one for the $35,000 that we as parents are responsible for fundraising. Let’s continue to work together and watch those thermometers rise!

If you have any questions, please email playground@mtsparents.com.

Annika Clennan
Playground Committee Chair

School Council & Parent Association Meeting Minutes

You can now view the minutes of the School Council and Parent Association meetings held on October 26, 2009. There is also a School Council page on the CBE's McKenzie Towne School website that you can always go to for meeting minutes.

The next meetings are scheduled for Monday January 18, 2009 beginning at 6:30 pm. Location is in the new school! These meetings are a great opportunity to hear what's happening in the school, learn about fundraising initiatives and get playground updates. If you would like to become involved, we encourage you to attend the next meeting.

McKenzie Towne School Playground Survey

The playground committee has spent many hours learning all we can about playgrounds that are safe, fun, stimulating, and meet CBE regulations. Our goal is to build a unique playground that the children will enjoy throughout their elementary years. After much deliberation we have short listed two suppliers and are pleased to offer you 2 potential playground designs for your consideration. As we value your opinion, it is our hope that you take a moment to view these designs and provide us with your feedback. Please note that these are not final designs and that results from this survey will be taken into consideration when the final decision is made.

Council and Parent Association News

Our council and parent association meetings were held last night and were as productive as always. We even ended on time! Highlights include an update from the grade 3 teachers about the art show that was held recently and we heard that Mr. Snashel is hard at work on the plans for the winter celebration and anticipates that volunteers will be needed to help with this event.

In the leadership report, Annette reminded us about student-led conferences this week and announced a plan for the students to donate this season to Joi to the World. Watch for more information coming home soon about this initiative. There are plans underway to form a group of parents in the new year to participate in determining a positive behavioural plan for our school community. Stay tuned for more information.

Sherri M. spoke about the meeting with MLA Art Johnston that she and I attended on November 10th. During our meeting, we discussed some of the history of our K-4 school and talked about the need for a middle school in our community. Mr. Johnston requested that we send him a letter to be forwarded to the Minister of Education, Dave Hancock. You can read the letter we sent here. We have been in contact with Mr. Johnston’s office since the letter was sent and are anticipating a response any day. We will keep you posted.

Sean T provided an update on behalf of the playground committee. The committee has been meeting almost weekly on this project and he was able to make announcements about some corporate donations we have received thus far. The committee is presenting 2 designs for a survey. The survey will be on-line and in schools from December 2-9th and parents are strongly encouraged to review the designs and provide their feedback.

Meetings scheduled for the new year will be January 18th, February 22nd and March 22nd. These will all begin at 6:30 pm in our new school so mark your calendars!

Check out the the latest edition of the Key Communique. The school calendar and newsletter for December is also available as well as the calendar for January.