Upcoming Dates

See our School Calendar for Upcoming Events

Principal Update

Sibylla Kiddle School Families,

Do you like making decisions? What should we have for dinner tonight? Should I press the snooze button one more time? What music station or podcast should I listen to on the commute? What accommodation should I book for my next vacation? Life is full of decisions. Some estimates suggest we make approximately 35,000 decisions a day. Some of those decisions are made with little thought. What size of coffee should I order? Whereas some decisions are really hard, like, should I make a big purchase?

Part of the reason decisions can be hard is they involve a choice where in the end you can’t have it all. Psychologist Barry Schwartz calls this the paradox of choice. Stress responses can occur when faced with too many options. Disappointment sets in when you realize your choice will mean letting something else go. Superficially, this happens to me all the time at the ice cream shoppe. Two scoops is too much ice cream and one flavor choice means I can’t have all the flavours I want. Obviously, life can throw much bigger decisions your way beyond ice cream.

Helping children navigate decisions is important. In fact, making a decision is called a higher-order thinking skill as it requires us to consider multiple perspectives, engage in analytical thinking and to consider impact. What decisions do you make for your child that they can make? If a decision doesn’t compromise their well-being or have other significant ramifications, let them make it. Over time, they will discover how to make better choices, how to negotiate the skill of decision-making and develop increasing confidence when faced with difficult choices.

Brad Emery
Principal

Literacy Night (for parents)

Our School Council is excited to host a guest speaker on April 29 at 6:00 PM. Sara Pedon will be joining us to share insights into how children learn to read, why reading development matters, and practical ways you can support your child at home. This presentation is specifically geared to parents with students in K-3 or to those parents who have older children who may find reading to be challenging.

Learning to read is complex, especially in English. Even simple patterns can be inconsistent. For example, the letter “a” sounds different in mad and made, and combinations like “gh” change from ghost to rough. These small variations highlight just how much children are processing as they learn to decode text.

If you’ve ever sat beside your child as they work through a book, you know that learning to read takes time, patience, and encouragement but it is absolutely achievable. We hope you’ll join us on April 29 to gain new insights and practical strategies to support your child’s reading journey.

Fundraising Society – Treasurer needed

The Fundraising Society is looking for a Treasurer. This is a critical position in the Fundraising Society as it cannot operate without a Treasurer. We do not need an accountant. If you like numbers and you can navigate a very simple spreadsheet, you meet the qualifications. If you are interested or if you have questions, please email SibyllaKiddle@cbe.ab.ca.

Scooter Rack – NEW

Thank you to the Sibylla Kiddle Fundraising Society for the new scooter rack on the southwest side of our building. As our school grows, scooter storage was becoming a premium. The new rack allows for 20 more scooters to be locked up and is intended to be more child-friendly than the previous towers we have near the front entrance.

Next Year Planning

We are beginning our planning for the 2026-2027 school year. Having accurate enrolment projections helps us to plan effectively, preventing the need to realign how many classrooms we have in September.

If you know that your child will not be attending our school in 2026-2027 can you please let us know, as soon as possible, by emailing SibyllaKiddle@cbe.ab.ca

We want to remind parents that our grade 5 students, who live in the designated attendance area for Dr. George Stanley School, will be automatically enrolled at that school.

If your child will be remaining with us for the upcoming school year, and they live in our designated attendance area, there is no action you need to take. They will automatically be enrolled into their next grade.

Personal Mobile Devices

As part of the Calgary Board of Education regulations on personal mobile devices, we are noticing an increase in the number of students wearing smart watches at school. While these devices can be helpful outside of school hours, they can become a distraction during learning time and may impact student focus and well-being.

To support a positive and engaging learning environment, we ask that smart watches and other personal devices be left at home whenever possible. We appreciate your partnership in reinforcing these expectations. More information about the CBE’s policy and information on this topic from the Government of Alberta can be found here.

See our Student Personal Mobile Devices page.