Weekly Communicator
Head of School Message
Dear GCA Families,

A number of weeks ago a new family came to inquire about having their children come to our school. One of their options was to send their children to the public school. Their son said, “But Mommy and Daddy, we will not learn about Jesus there.” At Glenmore Christian Academy, it is our heart's desire to see all of our students come to understand what it means to live in Christ’s truth. It is only in Him that we will understand the meaning of life which is to serve Him and serve others. That is so contrary to what the world teaches us: “Look out for yourself.” Think about the hours, days, months and years that your children will be exposed to God’s truths at GCA. “If you hold to Christ’s teaching, you will know truth, and the truth will set you free.” 1 John 8:31-32. Free from what? From the lies that Satan deceives us with – lies of deceit, lies of feeling unworthy, lies of temptations and sin that lure us.

Our mission is to Teach Truth, Inspire Excellence, Experience Christ, and Serve Through love. As parents, and as a school, we want to help “unwrap” the God-given gifts of your children, not primarily for their own personal growth and advantage. Rather, that they have opportunities to develop their individuality in order that they may offer their unique gifts to the body of Christ and society (Roman 13:3-8).

At Glenmore Christian Academy our prayer is that we see all the children through ‘the eyes and heart of Jesus’ so that we are able to love and respect each student that walks through our classroom and hallways. When children are loved, they begin to blossom! There will rarely be improvements made in student learning when the teachers do not love and respect students. Love transforms students to become lifelong learners. In order to love students, we need to understand, communicate, celebrate, empower and forgive them when necessary.

Understanding our students can only be done in partnership with the home. During these unique times, we have not been able to meet with you as we normally do. Please continue to connect with your child’s teachers through email if there are any concerns or, as you have been doing so well these last few weeks, to write a note of encouragement. Thank you for partnering with us.  

Have a blessed weekend!

Soli Deo Gloria
Stanford Hielema
Head of School
Upcoming Dates & Important Info
  • Dress Down Day - On Wed Sept 30, we will be inviting students in Grades 1-9 to join thousands of Canadian youth in wearing orange to honour the national Every Child Matters event. We wear orange to honour the Indigenous people who lived through residential schools in Canada. Next week, we will be discussing The Orange Shirt Story in class, and students can wear something orange (shirt, socks, hat, accessories, etc.) along with other dress down clothes.

COVID-19 School Reminders
What if my child has symptoms?
We have received many questions about what parents should do if their child has any symptoms of COVID, and have talked with our Zone Medical Officer of Health for clarification. Here’s what she confirms:

If you have a child with any symptoms of COVID-19, your child takes a COVID-19 test, and the results come back negative, the child can return to school when the symptoms resolve. If your child is still symptomatic, they must stay home until they are symptom-free. If you are unsure, we encourage you to speak to a nurse via HealthLink (811) before returning. We will continue to support your students’ learning needs while they are at home. 
Elementary Updates
Elementary Office
403-254-9050

  • Elementary Drop-off/Pick-up Times - Please note that Elementary students are only to be dropped off to go to their entry doors for 8:10 am as there is no supervision before that time. If you need to drop off your children before 8:10 am, or pick them up after 3:30 pm, please consider registering your child in our After/Before Care (ABC) Program.
  • Reporting an Absence - Absences can be reported via the home page of the GCA Parent Website, as well as through the GCA App. Along with reporting your absence to the homeroom teacher, the office also needs to know. Thank you.
Junior High Updates
Junior High Office
403-254-9051

  • Reporting an Absence - Absences can be reported via the home page of the GCA Parent Website, as well as through the GCA App. Along with reporting your absence to the homeroom teacher, the office also needs to know. Thank you.
  • Next Week's Cafeteria Students - Grade 6 and 7 students will eat in the cafeteria September 28-Oct 2. The Junior High cafeteria schedule can be viewed here.
  • December Band Concerts - we are excited to announce with the lifting of some Band restrictions that we are tentatively planning for Band Concerts!
Tues Dec 8
Grade 6K and 6Z @ 4:00 pm
Grade 7 and Jazz band @ 7:00 pm
 
Wed Dec 9
Grade 6T and 6S @ 4:00 pm
Grade 8 and 9 @ 7:00 pm
GCA Community News
Unified Classroom Tutorials
Unified Classroom (UC) is a powerful tool that will allow us to post our Weekly Updates for each grade in your personalized UC dashboard.  
We have prepared short tutorial videos to help you navigate to the right spot inside Unified Classroom. 
There are actually 5 brief tutorial videos on this link. It is WELL worth your time to view.
How to Navigate Between Your Children
How to Fill out and Submit Verification Forms
How to Access Weekly Announcement in Junior High
How to Use the Calendar Feature for Junior High
How to Access Your Junior High Students' Assignments
Cafeteria service is up and running! Our October Menu is now online. Food delivery has been a seamless transition and is working very well. Activate your My Kids Spending account so you are able to add funds, place orders for delivery to where your child is eating or to see what purchases have been made on their account. Follow these instructions to activate your account. If you are having difficulties with the process or need help with this, please contact the cafeteria staff at cafeteria@gcaschool.com or 403 254-4085.
Student Data Verification Forms
Thank you to everyone who has submitted their Verification Forms. We have received over 62% of them. Forms are available in PowerSchool, under Quick Links --> Forms. Watch the instructional video here for more details.  Please log-in to PowerSchool to complete the student verification form. Verification forms are due today. Thank you!

Top Marks
The next Customer Service Day is Thurs Oct 8 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the Elementary Music Room. Please note: students will have to try on items over their gym clothing as there will be no changing tents available. Each item that is tried on will be steam cleaned between each student. No appointments are necessary.
Admissions 2021-22
For all those interested in submitting an application for the 2021-22 school year in JK, Kindergarten, or any other grade, the GCA Application is now available online. Payment for the application can be made at either office with cash, cheque or debit cards or by requesting a one-time payment form. An enrollment specific account will need to be created in order to submit an application as this is different from the PowerSchool account for current students. Please contact Heidy Aviles at h.aviles@gcaschool.com with any questions.
Parking Lot Reminder
First of all, thank you to everyone for your cooperation for drop-off/pick-up of students. The parking lot flow has been working really well. Just one reminder: please do not drop your child off in the Elementary middle lane of the lot. If you are not parking for drop off, please use the L1 Elementary Drop-off Lane instead. This is to ensure the safety of all the students. Thank you!
Unified Classroom Tip
Welcome to UC Tips where each week, we will provide you with a new tip or piece of information regarding Unified Classroom to help enhance your user experience. Today's tip is for Junior High parents. When you log on to UC, and are on your Jr High student's initial dashboard, scroll down to Class Overview and click on the downward chevrons beside each class. It will expand to show your student's current "average" as well as the amount of absences, tardies, incomplete assignments, late or missing assignments.
Enjoy your weekend!

Blessings,
The GCA Team