Stay Informed:

• See our School Calendar for our dates and events.
• Review our SchoolMessenger information for steps you can take to ensure you receive all of our messages.

Dear Vanier Families,

As we near the end of the first month of school, I hope that your children have shared that they are enjoying their time at Vanier and that they have spoken to you about something outside of class that they have joined or are excited to try.

Our first school sport finished this week as the Cross-Country season wrapped up Monday. It was wonderful to see so many families out supporting our students and so many students competing. Ms. Soukoreff proudly shared that Vanier finished 5th overall among all middle schools in North Calgary! Well done to all the students who competed as Lynx this season.

For families interested in joining our GEM program, we are down to three spots. If you are interested, please contact Mme. Shah.

The point-of-sale machine is now available in the cafeteria for card payments only. As we are an away-for-the-day school, phones are not permitted to be out.

Further down, you will also find a new Learning Commons/Library Corner section where Ms. Peggy will share updates and new book selections from Vanier.

Today also marked our annual Terry Fox Run. A special thanks to Mme. Dunn for organizing the event and mapping out the walk/run through the Winston Heights community.

To close out this week's update, I wanted to share a few reminders for families:

• Friday, September 25: Our first PD Day of the year. The school will be closed to students.
• Tuesday, September 29: Our first Parent Council meeting of the year at 7:00 PM. Please watch your emails for the invite.

We will welcome all students back to school on Monday.

Bonne fin de semaine,

Mr. Chad Edmonds – Principal
Georges P. Vanier School

GP Vanier Cafeteria Menu

View the Cafeteria Menu

Healthy Hunger Is Back!

We are excited to offer Healthy Hunger lunches and snacks again this school year! Families can order special lunches for their children through the Healthy Hunger website.

Upcoming Healthy Hunger Dates

To participate, visit HealthyHunger.ca, create or sign in to your account, and add your child using their current teacher and homeroom.

All orders and payments must be completed online before the ordering deadline.

Please note:

• Lunches are not provided unless an order has been placed in advance.
• If your child is absent on a Healthy Hunger day, their lunch cannot be refunded and will be donated.
• All orders close five days before the lunch date.

Learning Commons / Library Corner

• If your child likes origami, we have examples and paper available at the front desk in the Learning Commons. Origami is a Japanese art that can also help bring focus and calm to the mind.
• We have added 36 French picture books, Le Cumulus Machinus by Ugo Monticone, to our school's novel study list. Teachers will decide when to use them based on their teaching plans.

GEM Math Series

We are excited to share an opportunity for students in Grades 6–8 to participate in Girls Excel in Math (GEM) Calgary, a program offered through the University of Calgary.

GEM is for students who identify as girls and provides an opportunity to explore interesting mathematical topics that they may not normally encounter in the classroom, while discovering how these ideas connect to mathematics in the real world. Teachers from Vanier will be present at the sessions.

Students will begin with a large-group session led by Dr. Lauren DeDieu and will then collaborate in smaller groups with students from their school. These smaller sessions will be led by a teacher and supported by undergraduate and graduate math student volunteers.

Our school has reserved 20 spaces for students. Spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so please register as soon as possible.

You can email Mme. Shah at rashah@cbe.ab.ca.

Dates and Topics

All sessions run from 9:00 AM–12:00 PM on Saturdays at the University of Calgary:

If your child is interested in participating, please register with Mme. Shah or Ms. Richardson. Registrations will be accepted until all 20 spaces have been filled.

More Information About GEM

We are very excited to offer this opportunity to our students and hope many of them will take advantage of this chance to explore mathematics in new and interesting ways!

Warmly,
Mme. Shah

CBE Caregiver Series

The Calgary Board of Education invites all parents and guardians to join a live online series on supporting child and youth well-being. The series is hosted by the Recovery Alberta Community Education Service (CES) Program in collaboration with local experts from the Calgary community.

The sessions are designed to provide families with knowledge, tools, and strategies to help navigate the challenges and opportunities of raising children and teens today.

Child and Youth Well-Being Family and Caregiver Series

French Conversation Practice for Parents – Calgary Public Library

Practice your beginner-to-intermediate French skills in a welcoming and informal environment. French-speaking volunteer facilitators will help you build your language skills and confidence through guided activities, conversation practice, and small-group discussions.

Saturdays, September 26–October 31
1:00–2:30 PM
Central Library – Level 3 – 3-16B

Calgary Public Library Website

Registration is not required. Just drop in.

Save on Student Study Guides & Digital Resources

Offer available until October 2, 2026

We are excited to share a special offer for educational resources through a new partnership between EducationMatters and Castle Rock Research.

Families can purchase valuable study materials at a significant discount while helping raise funds for EducationMatters.

This is a great opportunity to get supplementary resources to support your student's learning this school year, especially in preparation for unit tests and PATs.

How to Order

1. Visit the CBE Site Sale – Castle Rock Research.
2. Select our school's specific ordering page.
3. Place your order here and pay directly online.

All print materials will be delivered to the school and distributed to students.

Annual Volunteer Registration Required for All School Volunteers

To ensure the safety and security of CBE students and staff, all volunteers must be registered with the school each school year before participating in volunteer activities.

The Annual Volunteer Registration Form is valid for the current school year only. All volunteers, including returning volunteers, must complete a new registration form each school year.

Registration Process

Parents and guardians can register as volunteers through the SchoolEngage tab in their MyCBE account.

As part of the registration process, all volunteers must review the Alberta's Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) requirements and sign to indicate their agreement with the conditions outlined in the form.

New this year: Community members who do not have a child registered with CBE must complete their volunteer registration in person at the school where they wish to volunteer.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day Events

All CBE staff, students, families, friends, and neighbours are invited to continue learning and show support at the 5th annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day event taking place at the Confluence Historic Site on:

Wednesday, September 30
9:00–10:30 AM

This community gathering is a collaboration between the City of Calgary, CBE, Calgary Catholic School District, Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, and The Confluence.

A CBE group photo will be taken at the CBE Smudge Tipi at the end of the event.

City of Calgary Events

Free parking: All Calgary on-street parking is free on September 30 each year.

More Community Events

All are welcome to attend:

• University of Calgary & Calgary Public Library – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Orange Shirt Day at The Confluence
• Werklund Centre – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Indigenous Runners Alliance – Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk

CBE Online Forms

Each year, schools have a variety of forms that parents, legal guardians and independent students are required to complete or review and update. Some forms are paper-based, while others are completed online.

For families who have not yet completed their annual forms, the original newsletter asks families to submit the Demographic Verification and Annual Authorization forms in SchoolEngage by Monday, September 15. Since that date has passed, the original deadline has been preserved here rather than changed.

Online Forms in SchoolEngage

• Demographic Verification – 2026–27: A required Alberta Education form used as proof of registration for funding purposes. It includes your child's personal information and parent/legal guardian contact information.
• Citizenship Information Update – 2026–27: Becomes available if you change your child's citizenship information on the Demographic Verification form.
• Annual Authorization – 2026–27: Combines several forms, including:
  • School District Use of Personal Information
  • Consent for CBE Use of Student Information
  • Consent for Use of Student Information by News Media and Outside Groups

SchoolEngage is one of the applications found in your MyCBE account. This is the same account used to pay fees, view academic information, book school conferences and register to volunteer.

If you do not have a MyCBE account, on the MyCBE page click on Create a MyCBE Account. For online help, refer to MyCBE - Creating an Account (includes instructions and a video). 

How to Complete the Forms

1. Sign in to your MyCBE account.
2. Click on the SchoolEngage icon.
3. Select the form.
4. Complete or review and update the form.
5. Click Submit to send the form electronically to the school.
6. Repeat steps 3–5 for each form.

If you have questions, please contact your child's school.

School Waivers

For the 2026–27 school year, all parents requesting a school fee waiver will begin by applying through the central fee waiver process.

For more information, please contact the main office at Vanier or visit:

CBE School Fee Waivers

Upcoming Sports Dates