Friday May 22, 2026

Hello Rideau Families!

Maatoomsii’Pookaiks (Children First) Indigenous Education PL Day

Thank you to our School Council and Rideau Park Parent’s Association!

On Wednesday May 20, we hosted our final School Council and RPPA meeting of the year. As this was the AGM (Annual General Meeting), we had the opportunity to say “farewell and thank

you” to outgoing executive council members and “welcome!” to our new executive. As a school, we are incredibly grateful to have such a dedicated group of parents who are able to volunteer their time to contribute to our shared goal of enriching learning experiences at Rideau

Park School. There are many things that we would be unable to fund through our school budget and that we have been able to provide for students, thanks to the hard work of our Council members, parent volunteers and the generosity of our broader parent community for participating in fundraising initiatives. Key funding this year included:

Learning Commons Renewal:

• • flip top tables and soft seating, which allows us to flexibly shape the space for a variety of group sizes and learning purposes

Junior High Classroom Renewal (3 classrooms):

• • Flip top tables and new classroom chairs

Standing Desks (x18)

• • Adjustable height for flexible learning in classrooms

Flexible seating: stability balls, scoop rockers, surf chairs, wiggle pads…

• • Students across K-9 benefit from seating that allows them to engage their core, work on the floor or gently move their bodies, assisting in focus and engagement

Experiences such as: Latin Dance Residency, Duck Hatching, No Child Left Behind (to reduce fees for families)

• • This helps us to provide learning opportunities without charging additional fees to families.

As we look forward to the 2026-2027 school year, we are happy to share that our School Council has approved financial support for:

• Additional Classroom Renewals – this will allow us to purchase flip top tables for two more classrooms!
• Academic and Artist Residencies: Yellow Steps Place-Based Learning, Havana Cuban Latin Dance

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

SAVE THE DATE – You are invited to our Volunteer Tea!

Volunteers, please join us on Wednesday June 15 at 2:45 PM for a special event to honour YOU. We will gather in the Learning Commons and treat you to coffee, tea and a variety of sweets to thank you for the time that you have provided to us this year. Whether you supported us through Council, helped out on a field trip, read to students or acted as a room parent, this special break is our expression of thanks to you.

Registration for School Bus transportation for 2026-27

Eligible families must apply by Sunday, June 14, 2026 for students to be added to routes for the start of the next school year. We continue to accept registrations after the deadline; however, students are added to the closest existing bus stop with available space. Processing times for registrations submitted after the June 14 deadline will be delayed. It may take until mid-October before your child is able to ride the bus. Confirmed routes will be posted in MyCBE in August.

Provincial Achievement Test (PAT) Volunteers Needed!

PAT’s are just around the corner for our students in grades 6 and 9. Adult volunteers (with security clearance) are needed to support students as either test readers or scribes. If you can assist with any of the dates and times below, please contact our Assistant Principal Ms. Cochrane jacochrane@cbe.ab.ca

Our School Calendarhas all of our Exam dates and times.

Additionally, if your child will be absent for any of the dates indicated below, please contact Ms. Cochrane ASAP.

Gym Strip & Spirit Wear Ordering

Students in Grades 7, 8 & 9 are expected to change from their street clothes into gym strip for PE classes. The Top Marks website will be open to place orders for gym strip until Tuesday May 26. Orders placed within this window will arrive at the school at the beginning of next school year for distribution to students. Once the Top Marks window closes on May 26, it will open again on September 7 for a limited time.

For a year-round option, t-shirts & hoodies can be ordered with Summarized Designs at any time: https://rideaupark.cbe.ab.ca/merchandise

Both Top Marks and Summarized Designs have children's to adult sized options for Spirit Wear and gym strip. Place an Order with Top Marks 

2025-2026 Yearbooks!

You can order your yearbook through our regular fee payment portal: MyCBE Account

Rideau Park Parents Association - School Council Update

Thank you to our School Council and Rideau Park Parents Association for working tirelessly to enrich the learning environment at Rideau Park School for all students.

Welcome to our new executive council for 2026-2027!

School Council Chair - Krista Teare

Vice Chair – Jen Geoghegan

Treasurer – Jenny Swift

Secretary – Charmaine Ironside

Thank you to our outgoing executives: Tyler Durocher (past Chair), Cathy Burton (past Secretary) and Reidun Tathum (past Treasurer). And, thank you to all parents who have filled roles to support fundraising efforts, special events and volunteer work in the classroom.

Healthy Hunger – Hot Lunch

Here are the final dates for this school year! Thank youto parent volunteers, in particular Healthy Hunger Coordinator Jenny Swift for organizing hot lunches for students this year.

May 28 – Boardwalk

June 11 – A & W

June 25 – Boston Pizza

Reminders – Help us with the following!

• There is an increase in parents working with delivery services to have lunch dropped off for students. This is creating extra pressures in the office (receiving additional visitors, locating students, figuring out who the order is for…). We respectfully ask that families do their best to have lunches packed from home so that we can remain focused on learning as our central purpose at school.
• Students are asked to please walk their bikes and scooters once the arrive on school property. We are noticing many ‘near-misses’, especially at the end of the school day when students are rounding the corner at the south end of the building. Please also remember to secure your bikes and scooters. The school is not responsible for any lost, damaged or stolen property.
• Our lost & found is full of unclaimed personal items again. Ask your child to check the lost & found by end of May. Items unclaimed at end of May will be donated.

Key Dates

See our School Calendar