Happenings 

  • April 10 - 12: Grade 6 Camp Kindle
  • April 8: Blue Day ( no Students outside from 11:50 AM to 1:50 PM)/ Solar Eclipse April 8 - 12: Second Sea Trip

We want to remind all parents that students are not allowed to order and deliver food to Branton school (Doordash, Skip the Dishes, …). Thank you for your understanding and support. 

Precautions for the Solar Eclipse

On Monday, April 8 a partial solar eclipse will be visible in Calgary. The solar event will begin just before noon and conclude by 2:00 p.m., with the maximum coverage occurring at 12:43 p.m. We know that this provides a unique learning experience for students and staff in our schools; however, there can be serious impacts to vision as a result of viewing the eclipse in an unsafe manner.

During this partial solar eclipse on Monday, we would like to invite all students to remain at school during the lunch break. Please send a lunch with your child. If students are not participating in educational activities around the event, schools may choose to have students be involved in supervised indoor activities. If you decide that your child will walk home for lunch on Monday, please discuss with your child not to look at the sun to protect his/her eyes from damage by the solar eclipse.

During a solar eclipse, looking directly at the sun is dangerous. Safe viewing of the eclipse requires wearing specialized glasses or watching through a telescope or solar binoculars that have specialized lenses and should only be performed under the direction of a professional. For more safety information can be found on the NASA website or from the Canadian Association of Optometrists. If you have further questions, please contact your school office.

School Planning Survey 

We would like parents input as we start to plan the 2024-25 school year. 

The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback from families on school planning, which includes the school development plan, school budget, and school fees. When students, staff and families work closely together, students experience greater success. 

Please access the survey at the following link between April 2 and April 15: Branton School Planning Survey 2024-25, Middle and Junior High School.

Cafeteria and Menu 8 avril au 12 avril 2024

Please see our Cafeteria & Menu page.

Grade 9 Social Studies Room 20

In February Etudes Sociales 9 students studied on collective rights in Canada. These include language rights given to francophone and Anglophone Canadians in minority language settings, and treaty rights given to Indigenous Canadians. At the end of this unit, students explored the 94 calls to action that were recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015. Since then, we have moved on to Canada’s immigration and refugee policies. Students have explored the push and pull factors that convince foreigners to move to specific locations around Canada by creating brochures advertising Canadian cities. To finish this unit, students are writing a song or a rap which reflects the journey of a refugee in their efforts to come to Canada for safety.

Grade 8 Social Studies Room 20

In Études Sociales 8 we have been studying the history of the Japanese Edo and Meiji periods. In our study of the Edo period, we learned about the cultural differences between Euro and Japan at a time when Japan was a closed country (1600-1800s). Students learned about Bushido (the way of the samurai) and created their own Hachimaki to represent the values of Bushido they found the most personally meaningful. We then moved on to see the impact of rapid modernization and industrialization on Japan once the country opened in 1868. Coming up, we are participating in a cultural exchange with a school in Japan. Branton students be receiving videos from Japanese students who will be sharing some of the elements of the Edo period which they still see in their lives. Students from Branton will also be sending videos to these students to help them understand life in Canada.

Music Notes

Thank you to everyone who participated in the fundraisers! We raised over $3200 for students to attend band camp! This is awesome. I am so excited for them.

  • Grade 8 and 9 Camp – April 16 and 17 All Volunteers in Place. 😊
  • Grade 7 Band Workshop – April 25 and 26. Still need volunteers for both days please! If you are CBE police cleared and able to help on one (or both days) please email asap!
  • I am currently looking for 4 more people on Friday (at least one male) and 2 on Friday. If you are able to help, please let me know. There is an opportunity to do light work while students are in session, if that helps!

Festival Performances

Each band will be participating in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival in the band category. The dates and times are as follows:

  • Grade 7 - Tuesday, April 30 at 2:30 – 3:10 pm
  • Grade 8/9 – Wednesday, May 1 at 8:30 – 9:10 am

Detailed letters will come out next week. We will be taking buses from Branton and returning to the school when finished. Performance location is the Polaris Center. Students will be required to wear their Branton Band shirt and dark pants for this performance.

Jacquie Baird

Band Director, jlbaird@cbe.ab.ca

Important! Parent Volunteers Needed

We are happy to announce the return of our field trip with RiverWatch this year. This exciting day on the Bow River is a central part of our Environmental Chemistry Unit in the Grade 9 Science Program. Students will be rafting on the Bow River and learning the environmental chemistry by doing several water tests in different locations on the Bow River.

Only one teacher will be attending the following trip:

  • Mr. Savoie with 9-1,9-2 and 9-3 (May 6) (Monday)
  • Mr. Abbott with 9-4,9-5 and 9-6 (May 7) (Tuesday)

Therefore, this experience requires that we have enough parent volunteers to meet the Calgary Board of Education supervision guidelines for field trips. So, to ensure the day runs smoothly, we need a minimum of 6 parent volunteers (one parent per boat - Teachers will circulate from boat to boat throughout the day).

Please note, that new police clearances usually take between 2 and 3 weeks to complete. As such, volunteers who have already completed the police clearance make the process much quicker, but we welcome any parents who are interested to start the process ASAP if you’d like to come. Volunteer interest has traditionally been high from parents in the past, so selection will be first-come, first-served based on returning this form of interest AND having a security clearance in place.

If you are interested in volunteering, please know that each raft will have a professional river guide who is trained in first aid and will be responsible for teaching rafting safety, leading discussions and coordinating paddling and such.

Your primary role would simply be in a supervisory capacity. Our goal is for you to also enjoy the day and maybe learn a bit too and therefore, teachers will address any discipline or group management issues that arise during the field trip. Please, email the following teachers accordingly to the homeroom that your child is with. Mr. Savoie (josavoie@cbe.ab.ca) 9-1, 9-2 and 3, May 6 (Monday) Mr. Abbott (crabbott@cbe.ab.ca) 9-4, 9-5 and 9-6 May 7 (Tuesday).

Signing Out Your Child

We are at a very busy time of year for students with appointments, etc. To assist you with meeting your child for an appointment during school hours, it would be a great help if you could pre-arrange these departures. Please send your child with a note that can be presented to the teacher at the time of departure. After that, they can bring it to the office and sign out without having their classroom interrupted. There are also times when classes are outside and there may be delays in finding/connecting with them. Thank you so much for your assistance. Please know that we do understand there are times when appointments come up last minute, at which time, we are happy to help you connect with your child.

Empowering Alberta’s Youth: Join the 2024-25 Minister’s Youth Council

Recruitment for the 2024/25 Minister’s Youth Council has begun. Alberta Education is seeking approximately 40 junior and senior high school students from across Alberta, between the ages of 14 and 19, representing diverse interests, identities, backgrounds, and perspectives, to join next year’s council. Of the 40 council members, Alberta Education will accept up to eight returning members and at least 32 new members.

Council members will learn about topics related to government and the inner workings of Alberta’s education system. They will have an opportunity to speak directly with the Minister of Education and senior leaders in the ministry and provide their thoughts and ideas on how to strengthen education for all Alberta students. Participation on the council will provide students the opportunity to make a tangible impact on Alberta’s education system, strengthen their leadership skills, and leave a legacy for future generations.

The deadline for submitting student applications is April 30, 2024. For more information visit the Government of Alberta website.