EHS Weekly News for June 22
Upcoming Dates:
Mon. June 22:
Grade 5 Retreat - Calaway Park
Wed. June 24:
Sports Day!
Sports Day Volunteers! – Fill out form
Thurs. June 25:
Last day of classes for Kindergarten students
Online Report Cards available Until July 31
Fri. June 26:
No School for Kindergarten Students Only
Last day of classes for Grades 1-5
Tues. June 30:
Last chance to order 2025/2026 School Year - Yearbooks! Order Yearbooks | Lifetouch Yearbooks Yearbook ID Code:13134826
2026/2027 School Year Information
Mon. Aug 31:
First Day of School Grade 1-5
Kindergarten Staggered Entry
Tues. Sept. 1:
Kindergarten Staggered Entry
Sports Day!
As part of celebrating a great year of learning, we will be having a Sports Day on Wednesday June 24. We will have AM Kindergarten and the grade 1 to 5 classes having an opportunity to play together outside in the morning, and then the PM Kindergarten class will have their own special opportunity with some grade 4 leaders in the afternoon. We need some volunteers to help with running the sports day stations…and this is definitely one of the most fun volunteering opportunities at the school each year! Run the parachute station, the sponge toss, and all the other Sports Day traditions! We hope you can join us!
Sports Day Volunteers! – Fill out form
Parent Council Thank You and Welcome!
As we near the end of the 2025–26 school year, we would like to take a moment to recognize and thank our wonderful Parent Council. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated and caring group of parents who work tirelessly behind the scenes to help make Eric Harvie School an exceptional place to learn and grow.
The Eric Harvie Parent Council supports countless opportunities that directly benefit our students. From helping offset transportation costs for field trips, to supporting the purchase of student technology, to organizing engaging school activities and events, their contributions have a meaningful impact on our school community every day.
As this school year comes to a close, we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the following outgoing executive members. Thank you for your time, commitment, and dedication to our students, staff, and families. Your contributions are deeply appreciated.
Chair – Amber Spence
Treasurer – Janani Santhanam
Fundraiser – Andrea Kardos
Casino Chair – Amber Spence
We would also like to warmly welcome the following individuals who will be joining the Parent Council Executive next year. We look forward to working together as we continue to support and strengthen our Eric Harvie community.
Chair – Simone Houghton
Treasurer – Zahid Mahimwalla
Fundraiser – Allison Logan
Casino Chair – Andrea Kardos
On behalf of our students and staff, thank you to all Parent Council members for the countless hours you give to make Eric Harvie School such a special place. We are grateful for your partnership and support.
Grade 5 Farewell Events
We are excited for the adventures ahead for our grade 5 learners and looking forward to some opportunities for them to celebrate their time at Eric Harvie School with their classmates!
Grade 5 Farewell trip to Calaway Park on Monday, June 22nd
Our Parent Council has helped to organize and fundraise for this experience that will be free of charge for grade 5 learners. The volunteer organizers are kindly asking families to let them know if their child already has a 2026 Annual Pass. If your child has a 2026 Calaway Park Annual Pass, please reply to ehsfunlunch@gmail.com with your child’s first and last name as soon as possible.
Please note that permission forms do need to be returned ASAP to participate, and please ensure your child is prepared for any weather that June seems to be ready to bring this year.
Grade 5 “Farewell Walk” on Friday, June 26 at 11:30 am
Our staff and the Grade 5 Farewell Committee have also organized a final opportunity to recognize our grade 5 learners and to say “Farewell for now!” as they get ready for their next learning experiences.
If parents and guardians are able to come to the school on the last day of classes (Friday, June 26) at 11:30 am, we will have a Farewell Walk out the front doors of the school. To celebrate the last time they will exit the school as an EHS learner, classes will dance and groove out to the front of the school where we will set-up opportunities for pictures and to say “farewell for now” to their friends and teachers. Teachers of other grades will also make their way to the front of the school to also wish these learners who have had many great experiences over the years at EHS all the best. If parents/guardians are unable to stop in at the school at this time and would like a photo of their child with the classroom teacher, please email Josie at jccesario@cbe.ab.ca and we will work together to try to email you a picture as well.
At EHS, we frame the transition from grade 5 to grade 6 as a small step in the journey towards the amazing futures that these learners have ahead of them, so there is no formal “graduation” type of events…these amazing learners will have many of those in the years ahead!
We hope parents are able to stop in for at least one of the many year end events at Eric Harvie School so we can also say thank you to you for being a part of our school community!
Last Chance to Order Eric Harvie Yearbooks!
Order Yearbooks | Lifetouch Yearbooks
Raz Kids
Raz-Kids is a digital reading solution for Kindergarten to Grade 5 students. There is an extensive library of digital books along with activities to develop active reading strategies. This tool will be available to all students throughout the summer. Please contact your child’s teacher for your child’s personal login information.
Lost and Found - Final Opportunity to claim items
We will be starting to set out our Lost and Found items outside on the compound for one last chance for them to be claimed. Any unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the school year.
2026-2027-School Year
As we prepare for the next school year, it would be helpful to know if your child will not be returning to Eric Harvie School for the next school year.
Unless we hear otherwise we will assume your child will be attending EHS for the next school year. If you are moving out of the north Tuscany area, please check in with us about how this is handled within the CBE.
Please email Josie Cesario at jccesario@cbe.ab.ca if your child(ren) will not be returning next year. We appreciate your assistance with our planning.
CBE Statements - Student Fees NOW DUE:
CBE Parent Account Statements went home with those students who have outstanding fees owing. Fees can be paid through your MyCBE account www.cbe.ab.ca/mycbe directly or feel free to visit the office where debit and credit payments can be accepted. Should you have any questions please contact Josie Cesario jccesario@cbe.ab.ca . Thank you for clearing up your fees by the end of the school year.
Grade 3 student statements were re-sent home this week because the Drumheller field trip charges were not included on the original statements. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
EHS Staffing changes for 2026-27 School Year
The end of the school year brings changes to staff and our opportunity as a school to work to help design the best learning environments for our learners for the year ahead. This year we have the following changes that are occurring due to the end of term specific contracts, new adventures and even one retirement!
Alyson Zwack has made the decision to retire after over 30 years of teaching with the CBE. She has been a part of the Eric Harvie Staff since the opening of the school and she has supported SO MANY learners during this time. Many learners will remember her furry friends that have been a big part of our school community also! We wish Mrs. Zwack all the best and will see her around in the future as she will be doing some substitute teaching with the CBE between other adventures in retirement!
Zainab Petiwala has been a part of our grade 1 classrooms for the past one and a half years and her enthusiasm and care for learners has been greatly appreciated. She has accepted a continuous contract with Taradale School for next year - we wish her all the best in this next adventure in her career.
Chris Blais taught in our grade 4 team for this past year after several years with the CBE Learning and Technology department downtown. He was able to get an opportunity to take a Learning Leader role focused on learning with Technology at Brentwood School for next year - a very rare role to find at elementary schools recently. We wish him lots of success in this new role and look forward to hearing about the exciting projects he leads at his new school!
Cassandra Davis has supported our grade five classes over the past 2 years and has developed great relationships and connections with the learners in her class. Her enthusiasm and kindness helped to make a supportive learning community and the learners in her class are very thankful for her support. All the best in your next adventures!
In regards to our next year staffing plan, we do occasionally see changes that occur prior to the start of school on August 31. We can share our plan for the year ahead with families now, with a few minor spots that may/will be updated prior to the start of school next year:
Kindergarten team: Joanna Mask (AM & PM) and Taryn Conley (AM)
Grade 1 team: Melanie Palmer, Julie Disher, Karah Chilton
Grade 2 team: Sarah Day, Lauren McEachern, Kyla Low
Grade 3 team: Eva Cole, Erin Ulveland, Natalie Watterson/Chrissie McLean
Grade 4 team: Lexi Paterson, Sandy Campbell (temporary role for teacher on leave - Wendi Laing), TBD
Grade 4/5 class: Monica Huebner
Grade 5 team: Andrew Lawson, Shiroji McDonald, Danielle Kopczynski
Admin & Support team:
Jenna Stacey- Diversity Learning Leader
Jennele Coulson- CCT Teacher
Madi White- Music Teacher
Lesley Tait - Assistant Principal
Ben Strand - Principal
Important notes for next school year
- The office will officially close for the summer at 12:00 pm on Monday, June 29, 2026.
- The EHS office will reopen on Wednesday, August 26, 2025 at 9:00 am
- The first day of school for 2026-27 will be Monday August 31, 2026 at 8:00 am.
- We will continue to refine class lists, adding new registrants, through to the morning of August 28/26.
- Parents will receive an email from your child’s next year teacher after 1:00 pm on Friday, August 28, 2026 welcoming your family to their class. That email will include information regarding entry doors for each class.
- For Kindergarten, please see the separate email about staggered entry plans for August 31 and September 1. Your child will have an initial short introduction to the Kindergarten class on these days.
Class Placement Plan for Fall 2026
Learner placements are decided collaboratively by teaching staff and administration. The teachers work together closely in creating lists and balancing many factors, such as academic abilities, learning styles, gender mix, specific learning needs and positive learning connections. This is a very thoughtful task as teachers think of the best interest of each child as they create class lists.
Our plan over the past years for letting families know about their grade 1-5 child’s class placement was to have an email from the teacher the day before classes begin. It was very rare that we made changes after the first day of school. We are making some changes to this plan to meet a few challenges we have seen developing. We are currently receiving many more new registrations over the summer than we have seen in prior years. We have seen that the placement process for new students that we are just meeting has occasionally resulted in inequities across class groupings. These inequities can then have an impact on the teaching and learning for classrooms for the remainder of the year. We will be continuing with a practice used in multiple other CBE schools where we may make some adjustments to class lists after the first day of classes.
On August 28, 2026, teachers will be reaching out to families with introductions and instructions for the first day of school. Please note that the teacher your child meets on the first day may not be their permanent teacher for the entire year, and we encourage you to prepare your child for this possibility. The beginning of the school year is a crucial time for establishing a positive learning environment, and I want to assure you that our teachers will work collaboratively in teams to support learners through any necessary changes. We will also provide clear communication and rationale to families when changes need to be made after the first day of classes. However, due to the current complexities in our enrollment situation, we may not be able to finalize classroom placements until after the second full week of school.
Our top priority is ensuring that every student has a successful learning experience, and we appreciate your patience as we work through this process. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me directly. We are balancing many factors to make learning equitable in all classrooms, and we will not be able to accommodate individual requests for classroom changes.