Happy Friday Citizens of Nellie! EXCITING NEWS FROM OUR MUSIC DEPARTMENT! Nellie McClung has been selected as one of eighty-five schools in Canada to receive the MusiCounts grant for the 2025-2026 school year. Ten schools in Alberta were selected and we were one of the lucky ten. “Music classrooms are the beating heart of any school, and MusiCounts is proud to support 85 schools with the instruments they need to keep that beat alive. With these resources, students nationwide will build connections with their peers, find their voice, and learn healthy ways to cope with their emotions,” said Kristy Fletcher, President of MusiCounts/COO of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. The Nellie McClung music department received $18,000 to purchase new instruments and equipment. This sounds like a lot but if you know the prices of instruments you will understand that the money was quickly spent. We have invested in five new handheld microphones as well as new high-quality ukuleles, hand chimes, xylophones and pitched percussion. Nellie McClung is very blessed with a generous parent council and because of that our music room is filled with inspiring instruments for the students of Nellie McClung to explore and build musical skill upon. I am very grateful that we can replenish some of our well used and well-aged instruments with this grant money. The students and I look forward to showcasing our new instruments this year at our annual winter and spring performances. See you then and thank you again MusiCounts!
WEEK IN REVIEW - Monday September 8th was International Literacy Day, and September is International Literacy Month. You can see photos of some of the fun class literacy activities like grade 6's using tech teaching games to practice identifying literary devices such as onomatopoeia, similes, metaphors, hyperbole. by following Nellie on Instagram: Nellie McClung
You can make reading a joyful part of everyday life at home with the Literacy Month Toolkit. This free resource is packed with family-friendly reading activities, weekly themes, and daily prompts designed to engage kids of all ages. From quick ideas you can do at home to creative ways to read together, the Toolkit makes it simple—and fun—to celebrate reading all month long. The International Literacy Association has also created these additional resources for families and caregivers:
Make the Most of Family Read-Alouds
Readers in the Wild Bingo Card
Record a #MyBookVoice Book Talk - Tuesday September 9th was our first fire drill of the year. We work diligently to establish appropriate safety measures and precautions for the various situations that may occur and affect our staff and students. Fire drills are a long-standing expectation of everyone who congregates in a setting such as a school. Our students and staff treat each drill as though it was the real thing and we are very proud of their performance during those drills. CBE schools are required to have a minimum of six fire drills each school year and two lockdown drills.
- Tuesday was also Coffee & Conversation with the Principal. It was wonderful to meet with parents, chat, answer questions, and hear feedback. I am always happy to meet with parents to answer any questions. Please don't hesitate to reach out!
Aleta Terlecki, Acting Principal, Nellie McClung adterlecki@cbe.ab.ca THE WEEK AHEAD: - Sept. 15-19 Fall Book Fair
- Thurs. Sept. 18
5pm-6pm Meet the Teacher presentations (5:00pm, 5:20pm, 5:40pm)
3:15pm-4:00 and 5:00pm-6:30 Book Fair open for families and purchases
5:30pm-7:30 School Council Family Welcome Back Food Trucks Picnic - Fri. Sept. 19 Bottle Drive Sign up to be a Bottle Drive Volunteer
12:45pm Friday Dismissal
NEWS ITEMS: - Meet the Teacher- Please join us on Thursday evening Sept.18th for Meet the Teacher. Each teacher will be giving a presentation at 5:00, repeated again at 5:20 and a third time at 5:40. This allows for parents with three children to attend presentations from 3 different teachers. This is an opportunity to learn about your child's class schedule and expectations, homework, parent communication, field trips, special events, and an opportunity for parents to ask questions. This is not individual conference time, we are still getting to know the students. Simultaneously during this time, the book fair will be open in the Learning Commons and the Welcome Back family picnic with food trucks will be happening in the back field.
- Book Fair- Sept. 15-18 Book Fair is this week! Orientation and viewing for students will take place during scheduled class library times on Tuesday- Thursday. Purchasing for families will be open right after school on Thursday afternoon from 3:15pm-4:00pm and again during Meet the Teacher presentations from 5:00pm-6:30pm
- Welcome Back Family Food Truck Picnic Thursday Sept. 18, :530-7:30.There will be yummy food trucks, a great mix of music and fun games! Bring your blanket and join us in the playground and field for a fun family evening. Celebrate the beginning of a new school year, build our school community spirit with other families.
- Running Club will be happening at different locations after school each Wednesday in October. The first race will be Wednesday Oct. 1 at Sam Livingston Elementary. There will be a $10 fee per student to cover the cost of pinnies and ribbons etc. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.
VOLUNTEERS We have some exciting field trips coming up this year! If you would like to volunteer with your child's class, please ensure you: - You have a current, valid police information clearance including vulnerable sector search
- your name is current in our CBE Security Clearance database.
- You have filled out the Annual Volunteer Registration Form for the 2025-2026 school year.
If you are not yet registered to volunteer, follow the steps outlined here: CBE Volunteer Clearance Process
COMING UP: -Fun Lunch: Little Caesars. Log in here to order: Healthy Hunger Sign up to be a Fun Lunch Volunteer -6:30pm School Council meeting Stay on top of everything going on by visiting our school calendar and link it to your phone. SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS - Next School Council meeting: Thursday Sept. 25, 6:30pm in the Learning Commons. Everyone welcome! Receive updates from the Principal, hear about School Council plans for School dances, fundraisers, Fun Lunches and provide your input. No need to take on a role. We are a friendly and relaxed group, committed to supporting our kids - please join us to see what we are involved in! Pizza dinner and babysitting are provided!
- School Council minutes are always posted on the Nellie McClung school website
- Fun Lunch dates are listed here: Healthy Hunger
- we need help delivering Fun Lunches to each class! Please sign up to be a Fun Lunch Volunteer
- Please sign up to help out with our Bottle Drive on Friday Sept. 19: Bottle Drive Volunteer
NEWS STORIES AND PHOTOS Please see the Nellie McClung School Website for all of the latest news. For pictures from the week, adventures and experiences the students are participating in, follow Nellie on Instagram Nellie McClung. See posts this week of Kindergarteners learning about water displacement; grade 2's playing dice games to practice sight words; grade 6's creating grid art to practice fractions, decimals and percents; grade 4s learning about 'juicy' words (adjectives) and much more! Be friends with our Nellie School Council on Facebook Nellie McClung Community Kindest regards,
Aleta Terlecki Pronouns: she, her Acting Principal | Nellie McClung Calgary Board of Education | cbe.ab.ca t| 403.777.8620 e| adterlecki@cbe.ab.ca |
