Foothills Academy School News
January 24, 2017

SchoolDates Important School Dates Family Fun Night



Feb. 4 - Family Fun Night



Feb. 14 - FAPA Meeting

To help you plan for the year, a complete copy of the school calendar is available online and  through this link.
big_dreams_education.jpg WorkshopParent Workshops
TONIGHT! Steps to Success: How to Make the Transition to Post-Secondary
Tuesday, Jan. 24th

Is your child considering post-secondary education in their future? It is never too early to start planning. Attend this interactive and informative workshop to discover items you should consider when planning for the transition from high school to post-secondary, for instance, when should your child be contacting Accessibility Services, what documentation do they require and how current does it need to be?
Presenter: Colleen Smereka from SAIT 
 
To register for the Steps to Success workshop, click here.

Tuesday, Feb. 7th

Executive Functions (EF) are the cognitive management system of the brain. We all have strengths and weaknesses in our executive functions, however, individuals with ADHD and LD may experience much more difficulty in development and use of these functions than others of the same age and developmental level. These impairments are usually due to difficulties in the chemistry of the brain's management system. This can result in behaviours that are often labelled as "attention seeking", "defiant", "showing off", "unmotivated" or "lazy", "emotional overreactions", and "inflexible", just to name a few.

Parenting a child with executive functioning issues can have its challenges, both in the home and at school. Learn what executive functions (EF) are; how and when they develop; how deficits in EF can impact your child and family dynamics; and how you can support your child with EF Deficits. This session will also increase parents' knowledge on how EF deficits impact how their child learns and what they can do to help their child at school.

Presenter: Tanya Keto, BEd, MEd and Provisional Psychologist (Manager, Professional Development & Parent Education)
 
Famly Fun Night
FamilyfunFamily Fun Night
Get Your Tickets Today & Check Out the Silent Auction!

We're please to let you know that Family Fun Night on February 4tth is definitely happening! But, we'd like to sell many more tickets. So, continue to promote the event to your friends, family and colleagues. All net proceeds from this event will be directed to the Foothills' bursary fund that helps all families access the programs and services Foothills Academy has to offer regardless of financial circumstances.

As a reminder, buying tickets to at least one of our fundraising events is part of your Family Commitment (unless you've made other arrangements with our Business Office). For those of you who did not attend our golf tournaments or Fall Funtasia, the commitment is to purchase at least 8 tickets for Family Fun Night. 

Order your tickets online at  Foothillsfamilyfun.com  or  you can  download the order form   and return it to  Loretta   and she'll get your tickets to you. You can also call her at 403.270.9400 ext. 208. While you can come by the school at any time to purchase tickets, Loretta will have a table set up in the lobby on Friday when the students are dismissed from school if you want to pick them up then.

For this fun evening, guests will have full and exclusive access to the entire TELUS Spark Science Centre facility from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm. There will be a variety of options to entertain everyone. In addition to all the regular Science Centre and Creative Kids Museum activities, there will be additional activities available for all ages. There will be two dome show movies (to choose from and the opportunity to go through the  Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy exhibit on its opening day. We will be also offering face painting, some carnival-style games, family photo booth, opportunities to Spin to Win, bid on Silent Auction items and more! 

Star Trek Starfleet


For more details on Family Fun Night,  check out our webpage .


Family Fun Night Silent Auction

Check out all the silent auction items on the event website. There are 44 items to choose from all the way from Calgary Flames tickets and memorabilia to Cinderella tickets to Lake Louise ski tickets to art to a $500 gift card for The Running Room

Sponsors
 - We are still accepting sponsors for Family Fun Night.  Contact Loretta for more details or call 403.270.9400 ext. 208. 
 
We are currently looking for volunteers to help before the event and throughout the evening of Family Fun Night.  
  • Event Preparation: Volunteers are needed Monday (all day), Thursday (afternoons) and Friday (mornings) to help get everything ready for the event. Contact Jan Haggeman if you are able to spare a few hours. 
  • Family Fun Night: You can sign up to work a particular shift (4:30 - 8:30, 8 - 11) or the entire evening. If you are attending and would be available to work a partial shift, we will try to accommodate this. Contact Loretta for details.

Bell Let_s Talk
Bell Let's Talk Day
January 25, 2017

On Wednesday, January 25th, we encourage everyone to support the Bell Let's Talk campaign to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Many people living with a mental illness report that negative stereotypes about mental illness, and the resulting potential for discrimination, causes them more suffering than the illness itself. As a result, two thirds of those suffering from mental illness are too afraid to seek the help that they need.
 
Mental illness affects people of all ages and from all walks of life. It can take many forms, including depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Most individuals find ways to live with their illnesses but how they are treated by others often proves to be more of a challenge than the illness itself.
 
On Bell Let's Talk Day, January 25 we are joining the conversation around mental health.
Stigma surrounded many diseases in the past, but concerted efforts to confront these attitudes resulted in change for the better, including better treatment, more funding for research, and greater understanding from family, friends and colleagues. The goal is to achieve the same level of acceptance and understanding regarding mental illness.
 
On Bell Let's Talk Day, Bell will contribute 5 cents to mental health related initiatives for every text message sent, and mobile and long distance call made by Bell and Bell Aliant customers, every tweet and Instagram post using #BellLetsTalk, view of the official Bell Let's Talk Facebook video and use of the Bell Let's Talk geofilter on Snapchat.
 
You can also learn more about the   five simple ways to end stigma and download the Bell Let's Talk toolkit and begin your own conversation about mental health at home, school or in the workplace.
 
Join us as we work together to break down the stigma that surrounds mental illness.

Lost and Found
Claim by Feb. 6th

We have an abundance of lost and found items in the building. Any items that are unclaimed by February 6th will be donated. There are hoodies, shoes, jackets, water bottles galore and much, much more! If your child is missing any items, chances are they are here. Contact Ms. Byrnes at reception for more information.

Foothills Academy
ReenrollmentRe-Enrollment Intentions
Let Us Know Before Feb. 10th

We are asking you to complete the  Re-enrollment Intentions Form  i ndicating your intentions for your child to continue to attend Foothills Academy for the upcoming school year. It will only take a few moments and will greatly aid us in our planning. 

Exposure Festival
ExposureExposure Photography Festival
Foothills Opening Reception Thursday, Feb. 2nd

From Feb. 2 - 24th, the walls in Community Services will showcase our Photography students' photographs as part of the Exposure Photography Festival. This year's exhibit, Don't Lose Focus,  showcases three photographs from each student taken while out on school excursions as well as some taken on their own time. All photographs demonstrate a mastery of the techniques learned with a high standard of excellence. Nothing is out of bounds, everything from black and white to the bold and beautiful, common visuals to the abstract, motion to still life. The Foothills Academy students approach photography with creativity in mind.

Join our Photography students at the Opening Reception on Thursday, February 2nd from 7 - 9 pm. Light refreshments will be served.
Foothills Academy Recreation
Winter programs for school students now registering - FREE!!

Three Recreation programs are being offered this winter exclusively for Foothills Academy students by the Amicus Recreation team. Best of all, these programs are FREE for students. Register now by clicking on the images below or through this link.

 
Grades: 9 - 12
Dates/Time: Thursdays, 3:45 - 5:00 pm
January 26 - February 23 ( No program - Feb. 16)
Location: Foothills Academy Society
 
Preparing for the learners permit test can be a challenge. We take the information out of the prep book, and use kinesthetic and gamified learning to engage with the material for the test. Test anxiety can be an added layer of challenge, so we will be working on test anxiety strategies to support students in the test prep.
 
Grades: 7-9
Dates/Time: Wednesdays, 4:00 - 5:00 pm
February 1 - February 22
Location: Foothills Academy Society
   
The Kudo Game lab lets kids and teens create games on the PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem solving, storytelling, as well as programming .In a generous partnership with Microsoft, all teaching and tech are provided for this program.
Kathy Laycock FAPAFAPA Update
Next FAPA Meeting Feb. 14th

Our next FAPA Meeting will be on  Tuesday February 14th at 7pm  in the Staff Lounge. All parents are welcome, and we would love to have you join us.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Family Fun Night next month, make sure you get your tickets ASAP. There are a number of volunteer opportunities that need to be filled, as per your Family Commitment. Please contact Loretta for details. 

As always if you have any questions or ideas you would like to share with us drop us a note at   FAPA@foothillsacademy.org.
LINKagesPart-Time Employment Opportunity with LINKages

Some of our Foothills Academy high school students volunteer at the Colonel Belcher Centre through the LINKages program. Because of our connection with them, they have approached us about advertising a part-time employment opportunity as a facilitator. Normally we don't advertise for other organizations but since this could be a benefit to our parent community, we thought that it was appropriate to share it with you. If you are interested in finding out about this position, please contact Betty Good, School Program Coordinator at LINKages at 
News from the Gym Sound Kreations
SoundDreations Dance, Basketball and Curling

Sound Kreations SoundKreations Dance Residency:
Monday January 30th - Friday February 3rd.
I am delighted to be offering a hip-hop dance opportunity for all our PE students during gym class next week.  Introducing our instructor - Nando!  He has been dancing with SoundKreations for over 5 years.In August of 2014 Fernando represented Canada at Hip Hop International (Dance Competition). Placing 9th out of 60 of the worlds best teams in Las Vegas. Performed for WE DAY 2014 at the Saddledome. Won first place at WOD LA (World of Dance Los Angeles) and has danced for Janet Jackson in her unbreakable tour (2015.)  We look ofrward to working and learning some awesome moves alongside Nando!

Basketball league games this week:
SH Game - Monday 23rd Jan. 
Venue: Chinook Winds 4pm start.
JH Game - Tuesday 24th Jan. 
Venue: Louis Lycee Pasteur 4pm start.
Regular practices will be on Wednesday for SH team and Thursday for the JH team.

SH Curling practice:
Tuesdays 4 - 6pm at Calgary Winter Club.
CISAA championships Feb 24 and 25.


Go Falcons gooo!

Viv Toffolo
Athletic Director and Leadership Teacher
Community Services E-News Sign Up to Keep Informed

Do you want to find out about all the programs and services offered by Community Services at Foothills? We send out a separate E-News specifically for Community Services with information about programs, services and other resources in the community. If you're an educator, we have a version specifically for you too.